Duda Sampaio backs Brazil for World Cup, hails Arthur Elias | OneFootball

On the eve of the start of the season leading up to the 2027 Women’s World Cup, Duda Sampaio showed confidence in the current moment of the Brazilian National Team. The Corinthians midfielder believes the work developed over the last few years has put Brazil in a position to compete for the world title and highlighted coach Arthur Elias’s influence on the team’s improvement.

In an interview with ESPN’s Bola da Vez program, Duda spoke about expectations for the World Cup, which will be held in Brazil between June and July 2027. For the Brabas’ No. 27, the recent results against some of the world’s top national teams helped boost the group’s confidence.

Photo: Rodrigo Gazzanel / Corinthians

The player mentioned, among other results, Brazil’s wins over the United States, France, and Spain. According to her, the squad has always recognized the quality within the National Team, but recent performances have started to turn that internal belief into results.

“It’s something we talk about a lot within the National Team. There are so many names, there have always been so many names, and we never managed to achieve something truly significant. That makes people look at us differently. We’ve been showing that: first, the win in the United States against them, wins over France, Spain. All of that is making us certain that it’s possible,” Duda Sampaio told ESPN.

In the midfielder’s view, one of the main goals of the current generation is to make sure the confidence that exists within the group is also felt by those who follow the National Team. Duda also stressed the appreciation of the Brazilian players’ own characteristics since Arthur Elias arrived as head coach.

“For me, that’s the main goal: to make people believe, but inside the group we always believed, we always saw Brazilian talent. We grew up in the streets, I grew up in the countryside, but it’s natural for Brazilians. When Arthur [Elias] arrives at the National Team, he manages to put that into practice. Not trying to make us play like other national teams, but to play with what is the Brazilian essence.”

“After that, we were able to understand each other much better, and the results are showing every day with each call-up. Now, we feel that this is the time to make it happen. At this World Cup, we really have this desire to do that, to finally put an end to it and show that the National Team can achieve everything it wants and aims for.”

Duda explains the changes brought by Arthur Elias

Duda Sampaio has known Arthur Elias’s work since their Corinthians days. Despite her familiarity with the coach, the player revealed that the model implemented with the National Team has important differences compared to the one used by the coach during his time at Parque São Jorge.

Among them is the way of marking opponents man-to-man. According to the midfielder, the approach can cause difficulties especially in the opening minutes of matches, when other national teams are still trying to understand Brazil’s strategy.

“When he arrived [Arthur Elias at the National Team], it was very similar [to Corinthians]. Today, it’s completely different. Man-to-man marking is something unique. We used to do it in the build-up [from the back], in pressing we could do man-to-man, but the way it is with the National Team, we had never done it. It’s interesting because the other teams aren’t prepared for it. We talk a lot about the start of games, about taking advantage of that vulnerability of the opponent not really knowing yet, not having adapted yet, because as the game goes on, opponents are able to adapt.”

The improvement of their rivals, however, also requires the National Team to find new solutions. Duda said teams have already started specifically studying Brazil’s style, and because of that, the model needs to keep being refined.

“Today the difficulty is enormous. All the opponents that are going to play against Brazil are definitely very prepared with that in mind, this man-to-man marking. But it’s also something we work on a lot, we really pursue that improvement. When the opponent brings something they manage to make work, we have to find a solution for it. It really is a daily evolution.”

The change initially caused concern within the squad

Despite the results achieved later on, the implementation of Arthur Elias’s approach was not accepted without doubts by the players. Duda explained that constantly playing in one-on-one matchups involves risks and that the squad needed to develop trust in the system.

The silver medal won at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games was cited by the midfielder as an important moment in boosting the players’ confidence in the work being done.

“[How did the group take it?] Somewhere in the middle. If you stop to think about it, it’s very risky. You’re always one-on-one. He managed to build our confidence so that we could trust ourselves. When he came with that idea, we were very worried, we had several things that weren’t working at first, but we quickly saw, at the Olympics, that the results were already there. That made everyone embrace it even more easily. He manages to make everyone believe in it. Even with some reservations, we trust it and try to do our best.”

Duda has racked up titles with Corinthians and the National Team

Developed by América-MG, Duda Sampaio joined Corinthians in 2023 and quickly became part of one of the most successful periods in the history of the Brabas. Since then, she has won three consecutive Women’s Libertadores titles, in 2023, 2024, and 2025, in addition to Brazilian Championship titles in those same three years.

The midfielder also won the 2023 and 2024 Supercopa do Brasil titles and the 2023 Campeonato Paulista wearing the black-and-white shirt.

With the Brazilian National Team, Duda was part of the silver-medal-winning squad at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and also took part in the 2025 Women’s Copa América title run.

Now, the player is aiming for the main goal with the Canarinha. Brazil will play the 2027 Women’s World Cup at home, and the expectation is that Arthur Elias’s final squad selection will be made in May, before the preparation period for the competition at Granja Comary.

Before the World Cup, the National Team will still have fixtures during FIFA windows. The next window is scheduled for October, between the 5th and the 13th, with opponents still to be defined.

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