Australia v Brazil: men’s international football friendly – live
Updates from the first of two games in Queensland
Kick-off time in Townsville is 8pm AEST
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Joey Lynch is in Townsville tonight to report on the game and has already taken in Brazil’s unlikely visit to the north Queensland town with a population of just over 200,000 as the place to begin their regeneration after another World Cup failure.
A legacy of more World Cup titles than any other nation demands respect, as does the aura of a shirt worn by the likes of Pelé, Socrates, Roberto Carlos, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo and Neymar. Vinícius, Raphinha, Marquinhos et al are global superstars, and the cultural cachet of joga bonito still permeates. So too are the good vibes, good people and goodwill that accompany them; a Brazilian supporter with a prop World Cup trophy in hand was among those navigating the connection to Townsville from Brisbane airport on Thursday morning. These fixtures, followed by a game against India on 3 October, are going to prove lucrative for the South Americans too. They’ll even be taking the field in Queensland as the official “home” side.
Which brings us to football. And to start, if Brazil are after a genuine Australian football experience they will get one at Lang Park in Brisbane next Tuesday, when they play on a surface only four days after the Dolphins v Roosters preliminary final. But coming off another World Cup failure, Brazil have also landed at an inflection point. Or perhaps more accurately, the latest inflection point, as the nation conducts a new round of soul-searching over an increasingly diminishing place among football’s elite.
