Five notable meetings between Spain and Brazil
After losing 1-0 to Colombia in Friday’s friendly in London, Spain will return home for a rare meeting with Brazil at the Santiago Bernabéu. Tuesday’s contest will see Spain go head-to-head with Brazil for the 10th occasion and the first time in 11 years. To mark the long-awaited encounter, we have picked out five notable meetings that have taken place between the two iconic footballing nations.
First meeting:
Spain 3-1 Brazil (World Cup – May 1934)
After missing the inaugural World Cup in 1930, Spain were one of 16 teams present for the 1934 tournament in Italy. With no group stage in use, La Roja got straight into the action with a last-16 game against Brazil at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in Genoa. Amadeo García Salazar’s side enjoyed a dominant first period, netting three goals before the break to effectively put the game out of Brazil’s reach. Although the South Americans pulled a goal back in the second period, Spain advanced to the quarter-finals with relative ease. Unfortunately, their World Cup journey was brought to an end by tournament hosts and eventual winners, Italy. Giuseppe Meazza’s first-half effort decided the replay after the initial tie had ended in a 1-1 draw.
Previous meeting:
Brazil 3-0 Spain (Confederations Cup – June 2013)
Jesús Navas is the only player in Luis de la Fuente’s squad who was present for the most recent head-to-head meeting in the 2013 Confederations Cup final in Rio de Janeiro. He was utilised as a substitute in what proved to be a forgettable outing for Vicente del Bosque’s troops. In fact, the damage was done before Navas had even entered the fray. Fred – the forward, not the ex-Manchester United midfielder – found the net on either side of a Neymar effort to give Brazil a three-goal cushion. A disappointing day was capped off when Sergio Ramos missed a penalty that Navas had won, before Gerard Piqué was given his marching orders for a desperate challenge on Neymar.
Most recent World Cup encounter:
Brazil 1-0 Spain (World Cup – June 1986)
The last World Cup meeting between the two nations proved to be a controversial group-stage affair. Former Real Madrid midfielder Míchel was denied what appeared to be a legitimate goal in the opening stages of the second half. Replays showed his thunderous strike hit the underside of the crossbar and drop down over the line. However, the officials decided against awarding the goal despite the Spanish protests. Brazil ultimately went on to win thanks to Sócrates’ close-range header. Incidentally, both countries saw their respective campaigns come to an end in penalty shootout defeats in the quarter-finals. Belgium ousted Spain, while France got the better of Brazil.
Brazil’s biggest win:
Brazil 6-1 Spain (World Cup – July 1950)
After winning all three matches in the first round, Spain advanced to the second group phase where they faced Sweden, Uruguay and Brazil. They drew 2-2 with Uruguay, before facing the tournament hosts in front of over 150,000 spectators at the iconic Maracanã. The home support would have been delighted to see their side sweep past their European opponents with an emphatic 6-1 victory. Silvestre Igoa netted a mere consolation for Spain, who went on to lose to Sweden and finish bottom of the standings.
Spain’s biggest win:
Spain 3-0 Brazil (Friendly – September 1990)
Spain went five meetings without a victory before they ended their 56-year wait for a win over Brazil in 1990. Carlos produced a sublime diving header to grab an early opener at El Molinón in Gijon. Fernando added a second after the break, before Míchel rounded off the scoring for Luis Suárez’s side. The result has proven to be just one of two wins Spain have recorded over Brazil in nine matches (D2, L5) – a statistic they will be determined to change on Tuesday.