🏆 Brazil captain Marquinhos can match historic World Cup feat | OneFootball

After lifting the Champions League trophy for Paris Saint-Germain’s second title this Saturday (31), center-back Marquinhos could make even more history in football.

Confirmed by coach Carlo Ancelotti as captain of the Brazilian National Team for the 2026 World Cup, the defender could become only the second player in history to win Europe’s top club competition and the World Cup as captain in the same year.

To this day, that feat belongs to a single legend of the sport: Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer.

In 1974, the Kaiser, at 28, led Bayern Munich to European glory and, weeks later, captained West Germany to the world title.

At 32, Marquinhos is at the peak of his career in terms of leadership and achievements.

The center-back overcame severe cramps in the tense final against Arsenal, won by PSG on penalties after a 1-1 draw in regulation time, and is already preparing to travel straight to the United States to join the Brazilian delegation.

This will be the defender’s third World Cup.

For Brazil, his greatest achievements were the gold medal at Rio 2016 and the 2019 Copa América title.

Now, under Ancelotti’s command, he is chasing the most coveted trophy on the planet.

If he wins the World Cup with Brazil, Marquinhos will not be the only player to win both tournaments in the same year, but he will join a select list of athletes who reached the top of Europe and the world in the same season.

Look back at the players who achieved the "double summit":

1973/74 (West Germany and Bayern Munich): Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Gerd Müller, Uli Hoeness, Jupp Kapellmann, and Franz Beckenbauer.

1997/98 (France and Real Madrid): Christian Karembeu.

2001/02 (Brazil and Real Madrid): Roberto Carlos.

2013/14 (Germany and Real Madrid): Sami Khedira.

2017/18 (France and Real Madrid): Raphaël Varane.

2022/23 (Argentina and Manchester City): Julián Álvarez.

While Marquinhos focuses on his physical preparation for the tournament, the Brazilian National Team will play its final warm-up friendly this Sunday (31), at 6:30 p.m., against Panama at the Maracanã, with the official squad numbers already set – including Neymar’s return in the No. 10 shirt.

The star, however, is recovering from a calf injury and will not be on the field.

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

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