 Silva's next cap came in an international friendly against Portugal on 20 November 2008; Brazil won by a convincing 6–2 scoreline, and Silva was praised for having "dominated" the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo.Silva was praised by his teammates for his performance.He was not a starter during the 2010 FIFA World Cup cycle for Brazil, despite his high level of club performances for Milan.