“To have two of the most successful football teams in the world return to the MCG to continue their longstanding rivalry reinforces our position as one of the world’s great sporting cities and Australia’s event capital,” Victoria's Sports Minister Martin Pakula said on the day the 'Superclassico' was announced.
The announcement, which made headlines in Australia, raised eyebrows among journalists in Brazil, who questioned why it was announced - and tickets placed on sale 24 hours later - despite the CBF not providing confirmation.
The suspense and confusion ended on 4 May when the CBF confirmed on Twitter that the clash in Australia was booked, while also announcing a punishing schedule of friendlies for the seleçao.
In addition to the game in Melbourne on 11 June, the CBF confirmed two other friendlies, against South Korea, in Seoul, on June 2, and against Japan on 6 June.
The three clashes will take place in three countries over the space of ten days.
Why CBF took more than two weeks to confirm the match announced by Victoria's sports minister
The match in Melbourne was reported to be a rescheduled World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina but ended up as friendly after FIFA mandated the two countries play another match in Brazil on September 22.
Although both teams are qualified for the World Cup, they are still required to play the final qualifier that was sensationally interrupted in September last year in Brazil.
During that game, Brazilian government health officials walked onto the pitch in Sao Paulo just after kick-off and demanded that the match be called off because four Argentinian players were in breach of Brazil’s COVID-19 entry requirements.
A location for the qualifying match has not been disclosed by the CBF.
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