By Braden Chalker
Brazil head into this summer's Copa America as one of the favorites alongside current holders Argentina.
The five-time World Cup winners came so close to lifting the coveted title in the summer of 2021, falling short against Argentina and Angel Di Maria's first-half strike. However, with Dorival Junior at the helm, Brazil will be out for revenge and hope to lift their 10th Copa America trophy.
Even though the iconic Neymar won't take part in the competition, Brazil will still fancy their chances of claiming their first major trophy since 2019.
Here's everything you need to know about Brazil heading into Copa America 2024.
How did Brazil qualify for Copa America 2024?
16 nations will compete in this summer's Copa America, with six joining in from CONCACAF -- the USMNT, Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, Panama and Costa Rica -- while the remaining 10 teams are all CONMEBOL teams and thus have gained automatic qualification to the United States.
Alongside Brazil, the other nine teams that automatically qualified were Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Chile and Peru.
Who are Brazil's key players for Copa America 2024?
The likes of Vinicious Junior, Rodrygo, Eder Miliato and Alisson will all headline the Brazil squad leading up to the tournament. However, players like Lucas Paqueta, Gabriel Magalhaes and Endrick will all have parts to play if Brazil are to add another Copa America title to their envious trophy cabinet.
Brazil's 23-player squad for Copa America 2024
Goalkeepers:
- Alisson (Liverpool)
- Bento (Athletico Paranaense)
- Ederson (Manchester City)
Defenders:
- Guilherme Arana (Atletico Mineiro)
- Beraldo (PSG)
- Danilo (Juventus)
- Yan Couto (Girona)
- Gabriel Magalhaes (Arsenal)
- Marquinhos (PSG)
- Eder Militao (Real Madrid)
- Wendell (FC Porto)
Midfielders:
- Joao Gomes (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
- Bruneo Guimaraes (Newcastle United)
- Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
- Lucas Paqueta (West Ham United)
- Andreas Pereira (Fulham)
Forwards:
- Endrick (Palmeiras)
- Evanilson (FC Porto)
- Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
- Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal)
- Raphinha (Barcelona)
- Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
- Savinho (Girona)
Brazil's predicted lineup for Copa America 2024
Brazil's predicted lineup for Copa America 2024 ( 4-3-3 ): Alisson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Militao, Wendell; Paqueta, Guimaraes, Luiz; Raphinha, Rodrygo, Vinicious Junior.
Who will Brazil play against during Copa America 2024?
Brazil were drawn into Group D along with Colombia, Costa Rica and Paraguay. The South American giants will be expected to top their group, but matchups against all Colombia and Paraguay could prove to be difficult.
The Selecao Canarinha take on Costa Rica in their first group-stage clash on June 24 at SoFi Stadium. Brazil will then aim to go two-for-two when they square off vs Paraguay on June 28 at Allegiant Stadium before rounding out the group stage against Colombia on July 2 at Levi's Stadium.
Should Brazil top Group D and advance to the quarter-finals, they'll square off against Group C runners-up -- which could be any of Bolivia, Panama, the USMNT or Uruguay. We could be in for a tasty matchup with Brazil facing either Uruguay or the USA with both nations expected to qualify for the quarter-finals, but it's really a toss-up as to which nation will top Group C.
This article was originally published on 90min.com as Brazil's road to Copa America 2024.
