Brazil Unites with Senegal and Guinea in Landmark Anti-Racism Friendlies

The Brazilian National Football Team is organizing two anti-racism friendlies against Senegal and Guinea in support of Vinicius Jr. on the next international break in June.

Guinea will face Brazil in Barcelona on Saturday, 17 June, while the African champions, Senegal, are set to face the Selecao in Lisbon on the 20th.

Brazil will play two friendlies next month against African opposition:

🇧🇷 Brazil vs Guinea 🇬🇳 (June 17, Barca)
🇧🇷 Brazil vs Senegal 🇸🇳 (June 20, Lisbon) pic.twitter.com/12IT8lrjw4

— Dean Ammi (@AlgerianFooty) May 28, 2023

The Brazilian Football Association has launched a national campaign against racism in the Brazilian league after last week’s incident in Spain. Vinicius was subjected to racial abuse in a La Liga match between Real Madrid and Valencia, leading to several public demonstrations against racial abuse in Spain and the league. It is the 10th such case against the player that La Liga has reported to prosecutors this season.

Flamengo supported Vini Jr. with a sit-down protest against racism last night in Brazil ❤️🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/jCTQrlHd38

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 28, 2023

With the slogan “There is no game with racism’, the Brazilian Federation aims to extend the fight started in 2022 under its new president, Ednaldo Rodrigues. Rodrigues has stood for changes in the law that allow the Brazilian court system and football officials to punish racism in stadiums more severely.

The lights on Brazil's iconic Christ the Redeemer statue were turned off in support of Vinicius Junior ✊ pic.twitter.com/KiwW7mew48

— GOAL (@goal) May 23, 2023

“We want Brazil to lead the fight against racism worldwide,” Rodrigues told Reuters in a recent interview.

🚨| BREAKING: Brazil notifies Spain it considers applying "the principle of extraterritoriality" for the racist attacks against Vinicius. The Brazilian Criminal Code provides that, in exceptional situations, it is possible to apply Brazilian law in case of crimes against… pic.twitter.com/7EAG1s4Zs6

— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 23, 2023

According to Reuters, the FA worked closely with the Real Madrid attacker to ensure he felt at ease for the two friendlies scheduled to take place in Iberia.

According to the Brazilian source, Globo, the Federation asked Vinicius if he would play compete in these games. The Presidents of FIFA and UEFA, Gianni Infantino and Aleksander Ceferin, respectively, are invited. Moreover, the representatives of the Spanish Federation will be present as well.

The 22-year-old forward has been called up for the Brazil side set to play Guinea and Senegal next month.

FIFA Men’s World Ranking

Brazil, a five-time World Cup winner, is placed third in FIFA's men’s world ranking of national teams with 1834.21 points.

The African champions, Senegal, are placed 18th in the FIFA Men’s World ranking of national teams with 1613.21 points, with Guinea in 79th with 1305.92 points.

The last game the Selecao played against an African national team was against Morocco in March, where Brazil was beaten 2-1. A defeat led to Brazil's drop to third place and secured the top 11th place for Morocco in the world ranking.

Morocco 🇲🇦 building on from their historic run at the World Cup.

Beat Brazil 🇧🇷 2-1 in a friendly in front of a packed home crowd in Tangiers.

What they are doing in the men’s and women’s game, investing seriously, is working . pic.twitter.com/TGoaby2mWt

— Mimi Fawaz (@MimosaFawaz) March 26, 2023

As for head-to-head games, Senegal has faced Brazil once in a friendly that ended with a draw (1-1) on 10th October 2019 at Vila Real de Santo António. However, it is Brazil’s first game against Guinea.

Recent Form

Senegal

The African champions are undefeated this year, with two wins in the group stage of Africa Cup of Nations qualification.

Senegal 5-1 Mozambique
Mozambique 0-1 Senegal

They will play a game in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification against Benin on 17 June.

Guinea

Guinea is also undefeated this year, as they won two games against Ethiopia in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations qualification.

Guinea 2-0 Ethiopia
Ethiopia 2-3 Guinea

They will face Egypt in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations qualification on 14 June.

Brazil

Brazil played one game in the current calendar year, losing to Morocco.

Morocco 2-1 Brazil

Full Brazil Squad

Goalkeepers: Alisson, Ederson, and Weverton

Defenders: Ibanez, Eder Militao, Maquinhos, Nino, Danilo, Vanderson, Alex Telles, and Ayrton Lucas

Midfielders: Andre, Gumiares, Casemiro, Joelinton

Forwards: Paqueta, Malcolm, Pedro, Raphael Veiga, Richarlison, Rodrygo, Rony, and Vinicius Junior

Brazil coach Ramon Menezes called up 23 players. The Senegal and Guinea squad lists are yet to be announced.

🚨Official:

The Brazil squad for June. pic.twitter.com/ZjyEnhU0kl

— Brasil Football 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) May 28, 2023

Frequently Asked Questions About Brazil and Senegal

How did Brazil draw 1-1 with Senegal?

Brazil and Senegal played out a 1-1 draw when they met last. Liverpool's Firmino opened the scoring, but Senegal struck back in first-half injury time to earn a draw. The draw extended Brazil's winless run to three games, the longest since Coach Tite took over in 2016.