In 1997, Brazil won the Confed Cup as Ro-Ro hit hat-tricks v Australia | OneFootball

Brazilian National Team celebrates the 1997 Confederations Cup title after a 6-0 thrashing of AustraliaCredits: CBF Disclosure

Australia, Brazil’s first opponent in the preparation cycle for the 2028 Copa América and the 2030 World Cup, was also in the Seleção’s path when it won the 1997 Confederations Cup. In the final of the first edition of the tournament organized by FIFA, the Canarinho cruised to a 6-0 victory, with hat-tricks from the Ro-Ro duo of strikers Ronaldo and Romário.

On December 21 of that year, at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, Fenômeno opened the scoring in the 15th minute and made it 2-0 in the 28th, shortly after opponent Mark Viduka was sent off in the 24th minute. Romário found the net in the 38th minute and in the eighth minute of the second half. Ronaldo completed his tally shortly after, in the 14th minute, and Baixinho added another in the 29th.

The final, however, was the second meeting between the teams in the competition. In the group stage, they played to a goalless draw in a match valid for the second round of Group A. Before that, in the opener, Zagallo’s team beat Saudi Arabia 3-0, with goals from Romário (2) and César Sampaio. They then closed out the group stage with a 3-2 win over Mexico. Romário, Denílson and Júnior Baiano scored.

In the semifinal, the Ro-Ro duo, who would show their quality again in the final against Australia, also made the difference: Ronaldo and Romário secured a 2-0 win over the Czech Republic.

Brazil’s lineup in the 1997 Confederations Cup final against Australia; the Canarinho won 6-0Credits: CBF Disclosure

At the end of the tournament, Denílson was named best player. Romário, in addition to being the second-best player, won the Golden Boot as the tournament’s top scorer (seven goals), while Ronaldo took the Bronze Boot (four goals).

The title won over the Australians was the first of four claimed by the Seleção in the competition (1997, 2005, 2009 and 2013). Brazil is the most successful team in Confederations Cup history, with the last edition held in 2017.

Then, in 2001, it was Australia’s turn to get the better of the Canarinho: they won the Confederations Cup third-place match 1-0 on June 9 of that year, in a game played at Munsu Cup Stadium in Ulsan, South Korea.

Now the teams will face each other in two friendlies in Australia during the FIFA international window. The first will take place this Friday (25) at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville, at 7 a.m. Brasília time (8 p.m. local time), and the second on Tuesday (29) at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane, also at 7 a.m. Brasília time (8 p.m. local time).

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