Brazil legend Cafu has begun the postmortem of his country’s World Cup exit, urging the federation to immediately begin work on the 2030 tournament.
The Selecao were dumped out in the last 16 stage by Norway in one of the biggest shocks of the competition, leading to widespread fury back home.
But Cafu – who played 142 times for his country and lifted the trophy in 1994 and 2002 – has called for calm, despite the disappointment of the early exit.
‘Unfortunately, the result wasn’t what we expected in this World Cup,’ Cafu told the Daily Mail at a LEGO event in New York less than 24 hours on from the final whistle.
‘Brazil’s always a highly respected team. They’ve been world champions, we weren’t great in this World Cup – that’s a fact… the Brazilian national team performed worse than we hoped.
‘But I always say cycles start, cycles end and the cycle for the 2030 Brazilian national team starts now.’
Neymar’s international career came to an end when Brazil were knocked out of the World Cup
Cafu admits Neymar will be missed, but says attention now turns to the 2030 World Cup cycle
So what needs to happen for that cycle to begin in the right way, with the national team now having failed to get beyond the quarterfinals since Japan and South Korea back in 2002, when Cafu himself was in the team?
‘To think about what went right in this World Cup, correct what went wrong,’ he explains. ‘It’s not just a quick, one-off thing, because [one game] isn’t going to make you throw away four years of work.’
The defeat to Erling Haaland and Norway also marked the end of Neymar’s international career, after he returned to the fray as a surprise inclusion in the 2026 World Cup squad.
The Santos forward is second only to Cafu in the all-time appearance list for Brazil, and his 80 goals are the most of any player in the country’s long history.
On the 34-year-old, Cafu tells the Daily Mail: ‘The great idols, massive stars, people who have success in sport and in life, one day all retire.
‘Sons become fathers, fathers become grandfathers, grandfathers become great grandfathers… generations keep going and going. Neymar leaves behind a great legacy in soccer. He is retiring as a major player and we’re going to miss him.’
Cafu is a World Cup legend, having lifted the trophy twice – in 1994 and 2002 (pictured)
Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr is the leader and superstar of the current generation of the Selecao
As attention now turns to 2030 and the next World Cup cycle, the baton will be passed to the likes of Vinicius Jr, who will carry the hopes of his nation upon his shoulders in Morocco, Spain and Portugal in four years’ time.
But how does the current generation, and the next crop of players, compare to his own team of the 90s and 2000s, or those who came before and lifted the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970?
‘You can’t really compare generations,’ Cafu explains. ‘I can’t compare my generation to the 70s, 70s can’t compare to the 80s, 80s can’t compare to the 90s.
‘They were a generation of winners and generations that made soccer history. Our generation made history playing in three consecutive World Cup Finals and I hope that the generation of 2030 can have the same impact.’
Cafu was speaking to the Daily Mail at the official opening of the LEGO Fan Zone in New York City.
At the event, the LEGO Group and FIFA unveiled an extraordinary LEGO recreation of the iconic FIFA World Cup Trophy at Rockefeller Plaza, inviting fans to experience the build up close as excitement grows towards the FIFA World Cup 2026 Final.
