Brazil coach Tite extends contract until 2022 World Cup

FILE – In this June 16, 2018 file photo, Brazil head coach Tite answers questions during a press conference during the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Rostov Arena in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Tite has extended his contract with the team until the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Brazilian football confederation made the announcement on Wednesday, July 25. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana, File)

SAO PAULO — Brazil coach Tite has extended his contract until the end of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the national football confederation said on Wednesday.

Tite, 57, who has been in charge since August 2016, is the first Brazil coach to extend his deal after a World Cup since Claudio Coutinho in 1978.

His team was knocked out by Belgium in the quarter-finals in Russia earlier this month but, unlike other national coaches, he has received little criticism since arriving home.

Tite has a record of 20 wins, four draws and two losses at the helm.

Coordinator-general Edu Gaspar has also had his contract extended until the next World Cup.

Brazil’s next matches are friendlies on Sept. 7 and 11 in the United States. The first is against the U.S., the second against a team as yet undecided.

The team’s next big tournament is the 2019 Copa America, an event it will host.

“The experience of this first cycle has established a relationship of trust among us all, and that will reflect in our next step,” Tite said in a statement.

“It is a great challenge and we are happy to face it, we are already focused on the next matches and tournaments.”

Brazilian football confederation chairman Rogerio Caboclo said the extensions were “part of a long-term project” that will give the team “careful planning” ahead of the next World Cup.