Brazil are no strangers to World Cup success, winning the tournament on five occasions, but in recent times the trophy has alluded them having not won the competition since 2002 in South Korea and Japan.
A brace from Ronaldo was enough for Luiz Felipe Scolari’s to beat Germany in the final.
But what are the stars of that tournament, that the current team are trying to emulate, doing now?
Rivaldo (left) and Ronaldo (right) were crucial players in Brazil’s World Cup triumph in 2002
Marcos – Goalkeeper
The goalkeeper was the undisputed starter between the posts for Brazil at the World Cup, although he did have competition from future Champions League winner and AC Milan star Dida.
Marcos would play every minute of the tournament for his side, only conceding four goals in the seven games.
At the time of the tournament, Marcos was 28-years-old and would continue his playing career until 2011 as he remained at Brazilian side Palmeiras where he became a club legend.
Marcos played every minute of the tournament for Brazil and is now an ambassador for HIT
In 2008 he made his 400th appearance for the club in which he was presented with a commemorative shirt with the number 400, his name and in writing, ‘O melhor goleiro do Brasil’, which translates to ‘the best goalkeeper in Brazil’ showing how highly he was rated in his home country.
His career could have been very different as he was approached by Premier League side Arsenal after his 2002 World Cup heroics, and he reportedly travelled to England before disappearing. He had opted to stay in Brazil and stated that he would rather play in the second division there than any European club just for the money.
In January this year, the now 49-year-old was working as an ambassador for HIT, a social platform connecting sports fans for recreational play and betting.
Cafu – Captain and defender
The captain of the World Cup-winning side, Cafu played every game for his side as he led them to glory against Germany in the final.
The 52-year-old is considered one of the best right-backs to ever play football, as he made 142 appearances for Brazil.
During the tournament, Cafu was at Serie A side Roma and to his success, he earned a move to AC Milan the following year. At the San Siro he would go on to win a league title in his debut season and the Champions League in 2007.
In 2019, the defender tragically lost one of his sons, Danilo, who died of a heart attack while playing football at his home. Cafu retired from football completely in 2008, but this year, he is one of the legacy ambassadors of the World Cup in Qatar.
Cafu was the captain of the Brazil side and is a legacy ambassador for the Qatar World Cup
Lucio – Defender
Just like Cafu and Marcos, Lucio played every game at the tournament for Brazil, helping his side win every game in 90 minutes.
At the time he was playing in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen but would move on to Bayern Munich in 2004, where he would win three consecutive league titles and domestic cups.
In 2009, he moved to Italy with Inter Milan, where he would go on to win Serie A and Champions League titles under manager Jose Mourinho. He moved to Juventus in 2012 but would only make one league appearance before moving back to Brazil.
The now 44-year-old would have spells with Sao Paulo and Palmeiras before joining FC Goa for two seasons in the Indian Super League before returning to Brazil with his home club Gama and retiring with Brasiliense in January 2020.
Lucio had a good career with Inter Milan as he won the league title and Champions League
Roque Junior – Defender
The 46-year-old was a star at the back for Brazil during the World Cup and went on to have an interesting career path after the tournament.
While at AC Milan he would move to the Premier League club Leeds on loan for the 2003-04 season before a loan move to Siena in Italy.
Roque Junior left Milan in 2004 as he moved to the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen, where he spent three seasons. After spells with MSV Duisburg and Qatari side Al-Rayyan he moved back to Brazil, initially on loan at Palmeiras before joining Ituano in 2010.
He retired from playing that year but moved into coaching and was given his first job in 2015 as he started managing Brazilian second division side XV de Piracicaba. After two years, he then took a job at his former club Ituana but left his role after a season.
He enjoyed a successful career, but his highlight was winning the World Cup as he told The Guardian in 2021: ‘The best one was being world champion, with all the tradition that our country has, and being part of the Brazilian squad enjoying this magic of being one of the few players to raise the trophy.
‘Being world champion with Brazil brought me my greatest happiness.’
Edmilson – Defender
The 46-year-old was a versatile player in the Brazil squad as he was able to play in defence and midfield.
The Lyon midfielder earned a move to LaLiga giants Barcelona in 2004, where he would spend four seasons making 71 league appearances and winning two league titles and one Champions League title before leaving the club.
After stints with Villarreal, Palmeiras and Real Zaragoza, Edmilson would retire in 2011 after finally playing for Brazilian club Ceara Sporting Club.
Two years ago, in 2020, Edmilson was announced as an SBT Football commentator for Libertadores da America games.
Edmilson was employed as a commentator during the Libertadores da America games in 2020
Roberto Carlos – Defender
Widely considered one of the greatest footballers of all time, Roberto Carlos was one of the Galacticos at Real Madrid during his second World Cup victory having already won the competition in 1994.
He even scored in Brazil’s second game of their campaign during the 4-0 win over China.
Carlos would stay at Madrid until 2007, when he left the club for Turkish side Fenerbahce, which would then be followed by spells at Brazil’s Corinthians and Russia’s Anzhi Makhachkala before he went on to management.
Coaching spells at Turkish sides Sivasspor and Akhisarspor, were followed by a player-manager stint at India’s Odisha Football Club – formerly known as Delhi Dynamos – before retiring in 2016.
He is currently an ambassador for Morroco’s candidature of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The retired defender also helped launch the Ginga Scout software that connects players with coaches across the globe, which he set up in 2016.
Roberto Carlos went into management after retiring from playing football in 2016
Gilberto Silva – Midfielder
The midfielder played every minute of the World Cup and his performances in South Korea and Japan earned him a move to Arsenal, where he would spend six seasons in which he would win the Premier League and two FA Cups.
Gilberto Silva would then spend three years with Panathinaikos in Greece before finishing his playing career in Brazil after spells with Gremio and boyhood club Atletico Mineiro.
In May 2016 he re-joined Panathinaikos as the club’s technical director but only stayed in the job until December of that year.
He now runs a football consultancy business, one of the players he represents is Manchester United’s Fred. In 2020, he visited Colchester Zoo after an Anteater was named after him.
Gilberto Silva (right) runs a football consultancy business and represents United’s Fred
Kleberson – Midfielder
After being praised by Scolari as the driving force behind the team’s World Cup victory, Kleberson moved to the Premier League with Manchester United.
The midfielder spent two seasons at Old Trafford before having spells at Besiktas, Flamengo and Bahia in Brazil.
Kleberson retired from professional football in 2016 after a season with the American club Fort Lauderdale Strikers. After calling an end to his playing days, he moved into coaching.
In 2017, he joined the MLS side Philadelphia Union as an academy coach and this year, and the Brazilian became the assistant coach of the club’s reserves side.
Ronaldinho – Attacker
One of the most iconic players from the team, Ronaldinho, netted twice in the tournament, including the free-kick that looped over David Seaman to dump England out of the tournament at the quarter-final stage.
In 2003 he moved from PSG to Barcelona, and helped them win the Champions League in 2006 and two LaLiga titles before he left the club in 2008.
He moved to AC Milan, where he would spend three seasons at the San Siro before club-hopping around South America as well as a brief stint playing futsal in India, before retiring from playing in 2018.
Ronaldinho spent time in a Paraguayan prison after entering the country with a fake passport
He came into some legal trouble in 2019 as 57 of his properties and his Brazilian and Spanish passports were confiscated because of unpaid taxes and fines.
Ronaldinho and his brother would also spend some time in prison in Paraguay after he was alleged to have used a fake passport to enter the country. During this time he regularly played futsal and was released in 2020 as he and his brother agreed to a £153,000 fine between them as ordered by the judge.
Now, the 42-year-old does work with Esports and has released his own collection of football shirts on DryWorld Brands.
The Brazilian star (right) is widely recognised as one of the best football players of all time
Rivaldo – Attacker
The attacker partnered Ronaldo upfront for Brazil and netted five goals in the tournament, including the other goal against England.
The 50-year-old was at Barcelona during the tournament but made the move to AC Milan for the 2002-03 season, but things didn’t go exactly to plan as he was given the Bidone d’Oro award, which is presented to the worst Serie A player during a particular season.
When he left Milan, he almost joined Bolton before the club pulled out of the deal. Instead, over the following 12 years he had spells with Cruzeiro, Olympiacos, AEK Athens, Bunyodkor, Sao Paulo, Kabuscorp, Sao Caetano and Brazilian fourth division side Mogi Mirim. He retired from playing in 2014.
In 2021, the 50-year-old played in Soccer Aid for the World XI and seems to spend much of his time in his Florida home with his second wife Eliza.
In October this year, his son Joao Vitor Ferreira signed for Portuguese club FC Vizela, while another one of his other sons Rivaldinho plays for Romanian club Universitatea Craiova.
Rivaldo scored five goals for Brazil during the World Cup in South Korea and Japan
Ronaldo – Attacker
What more can be said about Ronaldo’s achievements at the competition and his entire career, he scored seven goals and only went one game without finding the net.
He even netted the brace against Germany in the final, which gave Brazil the trophy.
Ronaldo played for European giants such as Inter Milan, Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan during his career before retiring in 2011.
Ronaldo was the star of the team as he scored in six of the seven games in the competition
He scored 295 goals at the club level and 62 for Brazil as well as winning multiple trophies throughout his career.
In 2018, he became the majority owner of Spanish side Real Valladolid after he bought 51 per cent of the club’s shares for a reported £26.1million. Last year DAZN released a series titled Ronaldo: El Presidente, which followed the day-to-day running of the club.
The two-time Ballon d’Or winner also suffered from hypothyroidism – a condition that causes weight gain due to a slowing down of metabolism – which was discovered in 2007.
The retired Brazilian striker is now the majority shareholder of LaLiga club Real Valladolid
Juninho – Substitute
The midfielder came on as one of two late substitutes during the final and is best known in England for starring for Middlesbrough over two different spells.
After winning the World Cup he started his second stint at the Riverside Stadium, where he spent two years at the club.
The 49-year-old would go on to play for Celtic, Palmeiras, Flamengo, Sydney FC before retiring in 2010 as player-president of Ituano.
He is currently the is the coordinator of the Brazilian football team.
Denilson – Substitute
The Real Betis legend and former most expensive player in the world went on to play for many clubs in many countries, including Bordeaux, Al Nassr, FC Dallas, Palmeiras, Itumbiara, Hai Phong and Kavala.
He retired from playing initially in 2010, but earlier this year he came out of retirement as he signed for Brazilian lower division side Ibis Sports Club, meaning he is currently the only active player remaining from the World Cup winning Selecao side.
Luiz Felipe Scolari – Manager
The coach that masterminded the victory, Scolari stayed in management after the World Cup victory and is still working today.
He had spells with Portugal, Chelsea and Palmeiras before returning to the helm of the Brazil national side in 2012 for two years and the Word Cup campaign in Brazil in 2014.
The 73-year-old is currently the manager of Athletico Paranaense, who compete in Brazil’s top football division.
Luiz Felipe Scolari is still managing at the age of 73 with Brazilian side Athletico Paranaense