Brazil manager risks repeating Jurgen Klopp blunder with bold 2026 World Cup prediction

Brazil manager Dorival Junior has boldly predicted that his side WILL be in the final of the 2026 World Cup.

Dorival, who took charge of the Selecao back in January, kept his job despite an underwhelming Copa America campaign in which they only reached the quarter-finals. And Brazil have had a mixed record across their seven World Cup qualifiers so far, winning three, losing three and drawing the other.

But the 62-year-old firmly believes that Brazil will reach the next World Cup final when it takes place in New Jersey in two years' time. "We will be in the 2026 World Cup final. We will be finalists," Dorival declared ahead of Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Paraguay.

"You can film me while I'm saying this. I have no doubts. We will be there."

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His prediction led to comparisons with Jurgen Klopp, who made a similar prediction after Liverpool lost the Champions League final to Real Madrid in 2022. "Where's the final next year?" Klopp asked. "Istanbul? Book the hotel." He added: "I have a strong feeling we'll come again."

Unfortunately for the German, his side lost again to Real in the round-of-16 the next season, going down 6-2 on aggregate. Brazil, like Liverpool in Europe, Brazil are always fancied when it comes to World Cups, having gone into the 2022 edition as favourites.

Managed by Tite, the Selecao once again could only reach the last eight, losing on penalties to Croatia. Bitter rivals Argentina have dominated South American football over the past three years, winning three major tournaments.

Brazil's star man, Vinicius Junior, will be hoping to turn the tide in Mexico, Canada and the United States in 2026, although the 24-year-old winger is enduring a sticky patch for his country. Dorival compared his struggles to former talisman Neymar, who remains injured after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus in his left knee last year.

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"We want to see players in the condition where he produces at all times, in the same way he does at his club," Dorival said of Vinicius, who's only scored two goals for Brazil in the past 12 months.

"We always have cycles within the clubs themselves, we have moments when Rodrygo will be featured over a few months, soon Vini will enter this same condition. We have to be very calm. This same expectation was generated around Neymar, that at all times Neymar had to be the solution to our problems."

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