Brazil sack coach Dorival Júnior after heavy loss to Argentina
Brazil have parted ways with head coach Dorival Júnior following a crushing 4-1 defeat to Argentina on Tuesday, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) confirmed on Friday.
Argentina won 4-1 in Buenos Aires, despite the absence of its talismanic captain Lionel Messi, to inflict Brazil's heaviest ever loss in World Cup qualifying, News.Az reports, citing ESPN.
"The Brazilian Football Confederation announces that coach Dorival Júnior will no longer be in charge of the Brazilian National Team," the CBF said in a statement. "The board thanks the professional and wishes him success in his continued career. From now on, the CBF will work to find a replacement."
Dorival, who took full responsibility for his team's poor showing, remained confident that he could turn things around.
However, following Friday's meeting between CBF president Ednaldo Rodrigues and Dorival, a decision was taken to part ways.
Dorival, 62, leaves the national team with a record of 7 wins, 7 draws and 2 defeats from his 16 games in charge, with Brazil not yet guaranteed a place in next year's tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Throughout his spell, Dorival has not been able to count on the services of Brazil's all-time leading scorer Neymar because of the player's injury issues.
The former São Paulo manager had been appointed to bring stability after a turbulent period since Brazil's 2022 World Cup quarterfinal exit due to a penalty shootout loss to Croatia, which led to the sacking of former coach Tite.
Dorival was handed the job after his success with Flamengo in 2022 where he won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Cup, a trophy he lifted again the next year with São Paulo. However, he was not the CBF's first choice, with Rodrigues having initially set his sights on Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Despite promising signs with a 1-0 friendly win over England and a 3-3 draw in Spain in Dorival's first games in charge, Brazil never took off.
The coach came under fire last July after Brazil's Copa América quarterfinal exit at the hands of Uruguay, Brazil failed to impress and won just one of their group games before losing 4-2 in a penalty shootout against 10-man Uruguay after a goalless draw.
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