'USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory' Sports Documentary Coming to Netflix in May 2026
With never-before-seen footage and first-hand interviews, a compelling new documentary on the 1994 World Cup-winning Brazil team arrives on May 7, 2026.
Image Description: TETRA: ACREDITAR DE NOVO Cr. Courtesy of Netflix/Netflix © 2026
With the 2026 World Cup fast approaching, Netflix is leaning into the football fever with a documentary tailor-made for the moment. USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory arrives on May 7, 2026, revisiting the 1994 World Cup-winning Brazil squad through player-captured footage and candid interviews that have never been seen publicly before.
USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory is a Brazilian Netflix Original sports documentary produced by Trailer Films, with Luis Ara serving as producer, writer, and director.
It forms part of a growing slate of Brazilian football content on the platform. A brand-new miniseries centered on the 1970 World Cup-winning team is also in the pipeline, while a documentary on Ronaldinho recently landed on the service. Netflix additionally released a documentary on Brazilian and Real Madrid forward Vini Jr. in 2025.
When is USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory coming to Netflix?
Netflix has confirmed a release date of May 7, 2026 for USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory.
The timing is deliberate. With the United States hosting the World Cup for the second time — sharing duties with Mexico and Canada in 2026 — the documentary serves as an ideal warm-up for fans ahead of the tournament's opening matches.
A trailer has also been released:
What is USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory about?
To appreciate what the 1994 triumph meant, it helps to understand the pressure that preceded it.
Brazil is widely regarded as the most successful international football nation of all time, the only country to have won the World Cup five times (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002). Between 1958 and 1970, the Seleção were virtually unstoppable, claiming three championships on the back of generational talent including Pelé, Zito, Didi, Carlos Alberto, and Tostão.
Picture: Brazil's 1970 World Cup-winning team
What followed was a painful 24-year drought. In the 1970s, increasingly organized European sides neutralized Brazil's flair. The dazzling but defensively vulnerable teams of 1982 and 1986 — built around Sócrates and Zico — thrilled audiences without delivering the trophy. Then came the nadir: the 1990 campaign, Brazil's worst since 1966, in which coach Sebastião Lazaroni pivoted to a rigid defensive system that alienated supporters and ended in early elimination.
Arriving at USA 94 battered in confidence and barely through qualifying, Brazil needed to rediscover both their identity and their nerve. The weight of expectation after nearly a quarter-century without a title made the tournament an enormous test of character — one the documentary sets out to examine from the inside.
Image Description: TETRA: ACREDITAR DE NOVO Cr. Courtesy of Netflix/Netflix © 2026
USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory will chronicle the Seleção's path to the final, drawing on interviews with key members of the squad — including Romário, Bebeto, Branco, Raí, Zinho, Dunga, Márcio Santos, and Viola. One of the documentary's more compelling selling points is its archive of never-before-seen behind-the-scenes footage, captured on video cassette by goalkeeper Gilmar Rinaldi and right back Jorginho during the tournament itself.
Image Description: TETRA: ACREDITAR DE NOVO Cr. Courtesy of Netflix/Netflix © 2026
Netflix has also shared an official synopsis for the documentary:
"This is the story of Brazil's fourth World Cup title, won in 1994, as told by its key protagonists: the players from the Brazilian team and their rivals. The film was created using previously unseen content recorded by the athletes themselves over the course of the tournament. This is the story of Brazil's return to glory for the first time since the golden days of Pelé. The team that arrived at the World Cup dealt with skeptics in the press and distrust from fans. But thanks to teamwork, the leadership of captain Dunga, and goals from Bebeto and Romário, they won their fourth title."
Image Description: TETRA: ACREDITAR DE NOVO Cr. Courtesy of Netflix/Netflix © 2026
Are you looking forward to watching USA 94: Brazil's Return to Glory on Netflix? Let us know in the comments below!
