Brasileirão 2026 starts Wednesday: format, key stories, first matches | OneFootball

The Brasileirão is back this Wednesday. Due to the new Brazilian football calendar, the competition will start earlier this year. In this article, we’ve gathered everything you need to know about the tournament, curiosities, and how the championship will work.

Format

The round-robin format of the competition remains the same. There will be 38 rounds throughout the championship. After the first 19 rounds, the fixtures restart with home and away venues switched.

The only difference from previous years will be the break in June/July due to the World Cup. During the international tournament, the Brasileirão will be paused.

Tiebreaker Criteria

- Most wins.

- Goal difference.

- Goals scored.

- Head-to-head.

- Number of red cards.

- Number of yellow cards.

- Draw

Records

- Most titles: Palmeiras (12 titles).

- Current champion: Flamengo.

- Last five champions: Flamengo (2025), Botafogo (2024), Palmeiras (2023 and 2022), and Atlético-MG (2021).

- Largest attendance: Flamengo 3 x 0 Santos – 1983 – Maracanã – 155,523 in attendance.

- Best player of last season: Arrascaeta (Flamengo) – 18 goals and 14 assists.

- Top scorer of all time: Roberto Dinamite (Vasco) – 190 goals.

- Current top scorer: Kaio Jorge (Cruzeiro) – 21 goals.

- Most goals scored in a single season: Washington (Athletico) – 34 goals in 2004.

- Most goals in a single match: Edmundo (Vasco) – 6 goals in Vasco 6 x 0 União São João de Araras.

- Biggest win: Corinthians 10 x 1 Tiradentes – 1983.

- Most points: Flamengo (2019) – 90 points

How was last year?

In 2025, the title race was decided between Palmeiras and Flamengo, considered by many to be the country’s biggest powerhouses. In the final rounds, Alviverde lost steam and saw Mengão pull ahead at the top of the table to win their ninth Brazilian trophy. Besides Cruzeiro, who finished third, Mirassol exceeded expectations and had a historic campaign, finishing fourth.

The relegation battle lasted until the final round. Neymar’s Santos was in a moment of uncertainty, but like Internacional, managed to escape in the last game. Fortaleza and Ceará were relegated to the second division, along with Sport and Juventude, whose relegations had already been confirmed a few rounds earlier.

The four teams promoted from Série B and set to participate at the highest level of football in the country in 2026 are: Coritiba, Athletico-PR, Chapecoense, and Remo, who will be the only representative from northern Brazil.

First Round Matches

01/28 (Wednesday)

7:00 PM

Atlético-MG vs Palmeiras – Arena MRV

Coritiba vs RB Bragantino – Couto Pereira

Internacional vs Athletico-PR – Beira-Rio

Vitória vs Remo – Barradão

7:30 PM

Fluminense vs Grêmio – Maracanã

8:00 PM

Chapecoense vs Santos – Arena Condá

Corinthians vs Bahia – Neo Química Arena

9:30 PM

São Paulo vs Flamengo – Morumbis

01/29 (Thursday)

8:00 PM Mirassol vs Vasco – José Maria de Campos Maia

9:30 PM Botafogo vs Cruzeiro – Nilton Santos

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.