 He was still playing in friendly matches, and in a November 2009 friendly against England, Silva put in a man of the match display in Doha.Silva was an unused substitute in all matches at the 2010 World Cup, where Brazil were defeated in the quarter-finals by the eventual finalists, the Netherlands.Silva was selected as captain by new Brazil coach Mano Menezes ahead of the 2014 World Cup qualifying cycle, replacing Lúcio.