Published
Jun 02, 2026 at 11:04 PM EDT
Brazil‘s five World Cup titles are the most of any nation since FIFA created the iconic tournament in 1930.
But the Brazilian men’s national team is entering the 2026 World Cup on a 24-year drought, and they are not favored to win the coveted trophy this summer. They need everything to go just right, and they initiated a good-luck streak with a spiritual tradition at Galeão Airport in Rio de Janeiro on Monday.
The team’s plane was “baptized” with a “symbolic blessing” before departing for Newark, New Jersey.
“Two fire engines formed an arc of water for the plane to move through on the runway,” the U.S. Sun’s Emillia Hawkins reported. “The tradition is often seen in aviation before an important flight, such as the first time a plane is taking to the air. The ‘baptism’ was carried out by airport staff who, on this occasion, contacted the Brazilian Football Confederation to authorize it.”
Brazil has a final warm-up friendly against Egypt at Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 6. Brazil, competing in Group C, will open its World Cup campaign against Morocco at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on June 13.
Brazil is expected to be without Neymar, the national team’s all-time leading scorer, for both matches. Team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar confirmed last week that Neymar has a Grade 2 calf strain and should be “cleared in two to three weeks.”
Neymar has not appeared for the national team since tearing his ACL in October 2023, so it would be foolhardy to place all of Brazil’s stock on his health. But this Brazil squad isn’t as overtly talented as teams past, so every healthy body will count.
