RAFAEL: INTERNATIONAL CAREER IN SUMMARY

Rafael da Silva represented his country at a major international tournament organised by FIFA for the first time at the 2007 edition of the U-17 World Cup in South Korea. He was part of the Brazil squad that finished second behind England in Group B with six points from three matches.

The Brazilians thumped New Zealand 7-0 in their first group game with Fabio da Silva getting one of the goals. Fabio da Silva and Rafael da Silva are twin brothers.

Fabio then scored twice during the 6-1 win over North Korea in the next Brazil game in the group. In their final group game, Brazil were beaten 2-1 by England. In the last 16, Brazil exited the tournament via a 1-0 defeat to Ghana. In total, Rafael da Silva played 12 times for Brazil.

Portugal tried to get Rafael to play for them when he was snubbed by Brazil. Carlos Queiroz was the Portugal manager who asked Rafael and Fabio to play for the European nation since they are Portuguese citizenship holders. Rafael was open to the idea of playing for Portugal, while Fabio only wanted to play senior team football for Brazil.
Rafael da Silva was given an invitation to the Brazilian senior national team for the first time ahead of the friendly match against the United States of America on August 10, 2010. He was officially called up for the team by manager Mano Menezes on July 26, 2010. The right-back didn't make his debut during the US game.
Brazil snubbed Rafael for the international friendlies in May and June 2012 initially before he was called up as a replacement for the injured Dani Alves. Danilo was selected ahead of him at right-back for the game against Denmark on May 26, but he would later come on to make his debut for the five-time world champions.
Rafael also played for Brazil at the football event of the Olympic Games in London in 2012.