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Two players enter the 2022 FIFA World Cup with goals in consecutive World Cups for Brazil.
One of them is unsurprisingly Neymar, but the other is among the best defenders of his generation. Thiago Silva is perhaps the most experienced player in Qatar and potentially the most important non-attacker for the Seleção's title hopes.
Thiago Silva has won nearly everything you could imagine at the club level with AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea and on the international stage with Brazil, but a World Cup title has thus far escaped him.
The 38-year-old defender will be vital in defense for Brazil, but he also has a knack for producing important goals.
This article was produced in partnership with Prada Luna Rossa.
Top Club Highlights
Thiago Silva has five goals in his 66 English Premier League appearances for Chelsea, and all have been scored with his head.
Four of his five goals in England have come against two of Chelsea's London rivals—two against Tottenham Hotspur and two versus West Ham United. He used his aerial ability in tight space to direct home those tallies.
He has had a flair for the dramatic in front of his own goal as well. He made a last-gasp goal-line clearance against Brighton & Hove Albion on October 29, one of his many key interventions while defending the Chelsea net.
The peak of his Chelsea stint came when winning the Champions League in 2021. Prior to his time in London, he spent eight seasons with PSG and secured seven Ligue 1 titles. Before that, he was with AC Milan for three seasons and helped the club win one Serie A title.
Top Brazil Highlights
Thiago Silva scored one goal for Brazil in all but one year (2016) from 2012-19.
Three of those tallies have come in international competitions. He scored against Colombia in the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup, versus Venezuela at the 2015 Copa America and in a group-stage match with Serbia at the 2018 World Cup.
Despite never having lifted the World Cup Trophy, he has won both Copa America and the Confederations Cup, in addition to earning both a bronze and silver medal in his Olympics appearances.
Thiago Silva's all-around strengths in defense were a major reason why Brazil topped the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table with 45 points and five goals conceded.
Biggest Strengths
Even at age 38, Thiago Silva remains a truly complete center back. His defensive positioning is always savvy and his timing generally impeccable, and he leads the Chelsea squad with 40 clearances and 17 interceptions in the Premier League this season.
He is calm and consistent with the ball at his feet as well, notching an 89 percent pass completion rate for the Blues in EPL play, to go along with two assists.
As shown in the highlights above, he's maintained some aerial prowess and remains a danger on set pieces.
But beyond his individual skill, his leadership stands out as a major strength, having served long stretches as captain for both Brazil and PSG.
World Cup Outlook
Brazil is considered one of the favorites to hoist the trophy in Qatar.
The pressure has built over the last decade on the Seleção because they have not reached the championship match in the last four World Cups. They were knocked out in the quarterfinals in 2006, 2010 and 2018 and suffered the infamous 7-1 defeat to Germany in the 2014 semifinals on home soil.
Brazil has an embarrassment of riches in attacking positions and will be expected to roll through Group G against Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon before setting its sights on a trophy quest. Anything less than a title is not acceptable in Brazil, and that will also require a stiff defense that Thiago Silva will be expected to lead.
Danilo Feliciano de Moraes, the son of former Brazil international Cafu, died on Wednesday after suffering a heart attack during a football match with friends.
Per Globo (h/t TalkSport's Billy Hawkins), the 30-year-old Danilo complained of feeling unwell just 10 minutes into the match and was transported to the Albert Einstein Hospital in Sao Paulo. His death was later confirmed by a friend and former team-mate of Cafu.
Cafu's former clubs AS Roma and AC Milan expressed their condolences, as did Francesco Totti:
The 49-year-old Cafu is considered among the greatest full-backs of all time and has more caps for Brazil than any other player in history (142). He won two Serie A titles, one each with Roma and Milan, as well as the 2006-07 UEFA Champions League with the Rossoneri.
With Brazil, he triumphed at the 1994 and 2002 FIFA World Cups and won the Copa America twice.
Cafu retired in 2008 and was enshrined in both the Roma and Milan Halls of Fame.
Brazil won the 2019 Toulon Tournament final in France on Saturday, beating Japan 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 stalemate after 90 minutes.
Antony opened the scoring for Brazil after 19 minutes, but Japan levelled through Koki Ogawa six minutes before half-time.
A tight encounter saw both teams struggle to find a winner, and a shootout was needed to decide the destination of the trophy.
Brazil scored all five of their spot-kicks, but Reo Hatate missed Japan's final penalty to give the South Americans victory.
After Antony's early strike in the first half, it appeared the Brazilians might cruise to the title, but their opponents had other ideas.
Japan dug deep and stopped Brazil from playing throughout, and their equaliser was deserved before half-time.
Antony's opener was clinical after he combined with the impressive Matheus Cunha in the final third. However, Japan were not outclassed technically, and they battled their way back into the contest with a volley from Ogawa.
Brazil were the better side in the second half, forcing Japan deeper as they searched for a winner.
Antony and Cunha continued to cause problems in attack, but Brazil appeared to have run out of ammunition in the closing stages of the match, and it was Japan who came close to winning the game lot on through Hatate.
The penalties from both sides all hit the back of the net until goalkeeper Goleiro Ivan kept out Hatate's effort to give Brazil a ninth success in the competition.
