2014 FIFA World Cup Thread Brought to you by Coca-Cola and McDonald's

[Tastycles]

So, the World Cup is imminent, lets have this thread for chatting all about it.

A few starting points:

Who are you backing?

How will your nation do?

Who's going to win it?

At what stage in the tournament will Phil Jagielka (only taking one because Rooney has bottled it/been sent off/got injured/is suspended) spoon his penalty over the bar in a shoot out for England?

Which player will have the fittest wife?


Personally, possibly due to my respect for Roy and the fact that half the team is the Liverpool team, I'll be backing England this time around properly. I don't think they'll set the world on fire, but the group next to theirs is shite and Suarez is injured, so I think they'll probably come second in the group then go to the quarters and then out on penalties. If the stars align they might only lose the semi on penalties instead.

Obvious Prediction: Wayne Rooney will have yet another shit tournament for England. Everyone will have a wank about his Euro 2004 performance and ignore the fact he played well in 2 out of 4 games and then got injured. He will then return to Manchester United and continue to make in a week what I make in 10 years for the next 5 years thanks to David 'foresight' Moyes.

Outside Prediction: Italy or the Netherlands go out in the group stages. Neither team are in particularly easy groups - Italy have Uruguay and England as potential qualifiers in their group and the Dutch have Spain and Chile.

For Italy, Balotelli and Cassano are absolutely batshit mental and Pirlo is older than Stevie G and far more integral to the team. I don't think they will implode, and probably will win the group, but there's a chance that they fuck it up.

For Holland, the manager is on his way out and abrasive, has Patrick Kluivert as an assistant and the Dutch pretty much always fall out with each other at big tournaments. Furthermore, the defenders all have little experience - Vlaar, seen most often letting someone piss through the Villa defence is their most capped defender, and he has 23 caps. Again, it's by no means a certainty nor do I think they will fuck it up, but the seeds are there for it. Watch now as Dirk Kuyt scores a hat trick against Spain.

Ridiculous Prediction: With Ricky Lambert, Leighton Baines, Fat Frank, Stevie G and Rooney all in the squad, England might actually win a match on penalties.

Before anyone mentions Belgium as a dark horse a) They are something like 4th favourites, b) they rarely function well as a squad because Belgium is basically two independent, different language speaking countries sellotaped together and c) whilst Hazard is obviously world class, they still have luminaries like Fellaini and Mirallas in the side.

 

[Alastor]

Who are you backing?
Italy but they will probably get knocked out in the group stage. So I'll hedge the bet and back Argentina too. Really want Messi to win a World Cup.
How will your nation do?
Didn't qualify.
Who's going to win it?
Brazil probably. I see Brazil being solid all around and riding the home nation high like France did in '98 to win it. Of course they could just as well implode due to ridiculous expectations. I should probably take the safe pick and just pick Spain as defending champs. France is my dark horse based on the talent and experience of that squad. But they always seem to struggle to score.
At what stage in the tournament will Phil Jagielka (only taking one because Rooney has bottled it/been sent off/got injured/is suspended) spoon his penalty over the bar in a shoot out for England?Not going to make it that far?

Which player will have the fittest wife?
Iker Casillas
Obvious Prediction
Messi or Ronaldo failing to win the World Cup and be labelled flops. Klose scoring a header for Germany in the World Cup. Hodgson gets slaughtered by the British press if England don't win it all.
Outside Prediction
Van Persie scoring a tons of goals in the group stage to end up top scorer. I'm looking at you Australia.
Ridiculous Prediction
Japan winning Group C over Columbia, Greece and the Ivory Coast to face England in the 2nd round after England bottled the last group match against Costa Rica and finished 2nd. England to lose to a controversial penalty from a Rooney foul on Kagawa in the dying minutes of the game. Rooney and Kagawa are villains for the new season.

 

[CranialCrack]

Who are you backing?
Italy but they will probably get knocked out in the group stage. So I'll hedge the bet and back Argentina too. Really want Messi to win a World Cup.
How will your nation do?
Didn't qualify.
Who's going to win it?
Brazil probably. I see Brazil being solid all around and riding the home nation high like France did in '98 to win it. Of course they could just as well implode due to ridiculous expectations. I should probably take the safe pick and just pick Spain as defending champs. France is my dark horse based on the talent and experience of that squad. But they always seem to struggle to score.
At what stage in the tournament will Phil Jagielka (only taking one because Rooney has bottled it/been sent off/got injured/is suspended) spoon his penalty over the bar in a shoot out for England?Not going to make it that far?

Which player will have the fittest wife?
Iker Casillas
Obvious Prediction
Messi or Ronaldo failing to win the World Cup and be labelled flops. Klose scoring a header for Germany in the World Cup. Hodgson gets slaughtered by the British press if England don't win it all.
Outside Prediction
Van Persie scoring a tons of goals in the group stage to end up top scorer. I'm looking at you Australia.
Ridiculous Prediction
Japan winning Group C over Columbia, Greece and the Ivory Coast to face England in the 2nd round after England bottled the last group match against Costa Rica and finished 2nd. England to lose to a controversial penalty from a Rooney foul on Kagawa in the dying minutes of the game. Rooney and Kagawa are villains for the new season.

I agree to most of this. Group c is one hell of a group, its hard to predict.
But i would love to see Japan make it out the group stage.
Im deciding now to put or not to put my money on japan.

 

[Alastor]

I agree to most of this. Group c is one hell of a group, its hard to predict.
But i would love to see Japan make it out the group stage.
Im deciding now to put or not to put my money on japan.

Japan is the weakest of the four in the group. Columbia lost Falcao but they are playing in their home continent and still have the better overall team. Ivory Coast has YaYa Toure. Greece and Japan will probably be playing for third in this group. Hence my ridiculous prediction of Japan winning the group.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

I think you guys are underrating that Japanese team a good bit. They're the Asian Champions, finished top of their group and have a strong attack force. Defense isn't all that, but they're much better than the Greeks and I don't think there's a great deal of difference between them, the Ivorians or the Columbians even. That's an interesting group for my money and one worthing keeping an eye on. I'd put more stock in a solid Japanese side than the Ivory Coast who are this supposed African powerhouse and yet always seem to fail to deliver.

As for I'm supporting, I said four years ago that the German's would win this tournament so I kind of have to stick with them but as a true Scotsman, I'll be adopting the usual tactic when we fail to qualify; support whoever England play. That said I'm not going to be doing so with any degree of ferocity as I like Roy, the press are far more restrained than usual and the team lacks the ego that previous ones have (though Jack Wilshire can fuck off). This also extends to the Spanish who I find mind-numbingly dull to watch and loathe as a result of the "oh what wonderful football they play" manure. Also, whoever I get in the draw at work. Was Russia at the Euro's, hoping for something a wee bit better here.

Bold predictions? England and Holland out in the first round, USA to go through at the expense of Ghana and Ronaldo's Portugal and Japan to top Group C (as alluded to before), going onto the Quarter Finals for the first time ever, defeating an aging Uruguay side en-route, before crashing out to the Spaniards (ugh) unfortunately.

 

[Loveless]

Who are you backing?

I guess I have to go with England, can't say I'm happy about it. Thankfully, I no longer have to support Australia/Portugal because of my ex, so I'll be wishing 10 plagues on them instead.

How will your nation do?

Last 16, quarters at best. The manager is a fool

Who's going to win it?

I honestly don't know. My instinct says Spain or Argentina.

At what stage in the tournament will Phil Jagielka (only taking one because Rooney has bottled it/been sent off/got injured/is suspended) spoon his penalty over the bar in a shoot out for England?

Last 16

Which player will have the fittest wife?

I'll take Ronaldo's woman. Mainly to piss him off, mainly because it must suck for her partner to be an arrogant, permatanned, preening homosexual mummies boy.

Obvious Prediction:

Brazil won't win and in a rage akin to 1950, the country will rename itself Zabril and deny that the World Cup ever happened.

Outside Prediction:

Switzerland for the semi's
Netherlands not to get out of the group
Brazil to lose to Mexico
Algeria to get out of their group

Ridiculous Prediction:

England to reach the semis
Brazil to not get out of the group
Australia to win their group (beyond ridiculous)

 

[Alastor]

The only thing Japan have over the other three in Group C is the coach. Ivory Coast always appear to fail to deliver because they were put in 2 group of deaths in the previous two world cups. Argentina and Netherlands in 2006, Brazil and Portugal in 2010 stood before them. They were never predicted to make it past the first round in those groups. Can't say much about their failure to win the African Cup the past few years with such a good squad though.

 

[Loveless]

The time for Ivory Coast to make an impact is gone. Through a combination of bad draws and bottling it, they've somehow contrived to win not a damn thing in the 8 years that they've supposedly been a force in. Even in this supposedly easy group, I wouldn't bet any money on them to get out of it.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Reus being out of the World Cup is a pretty significant blow to Germany's chances of winning it now. It was speculated that the lack of out-and-out strikers in their squad was due to their attacking midfielders, with Reus being highlighted in particular.

I fancy Brazil to at least get to the semi-finals but I don't see them replicating their brilliant Confederations Cup performance. When they went into the CC, expectations didn't seem to be that high that they would win it and seemed to enjoy being seen as the underdogs next to Spain. With the public unrest still continuing and possibly added pressure on them to win the tournament, I can see them buckling.

With Suarez unlikely to be 100%, Reus out of the tournament and Spain being largely the most boring team to watch, I fancy Argentina this year. They're pretty much the South American alternative of Holland, who I don't see getting into the Semis, but I think they'll fancy their chances against a Brazil team dogged by high expectations and an unsure Uruguay.

If England get out of the groups, I don't see them going out on penalties but rather on the end of a shellacking.

 

[Loveless]

Group A​

Brazil
The hosts, the most famous team on the planet, the favourites. Brazil expects and nothing but victory is acceptable to a country that still carries the scar of losing at home in 1950. They've waited 64 years to right that wrong and if they fail again, they'll never get over it.
It's a mark of desperation that they've turned to Phil Scolari, the man who delivered them the World Cup in 2002 but was sacked for not playing the "Brazillian way".
On paper the Brazil squad is littered with gifted players but, unusually, also with a significant ammount of steel and
physicality. They've also shown a willingness to work extremely hard, as seen when they harassed Spain to death during
last years Confederations Cup final.
If they have a problem, it's coming back to that unpopular style. Recent results have seen a trend where when Brazil have
used their physicality against European teams (essentially playing the Europeans at their own game) they've struggled to
break teams down.

Croatia
Croatia are something of an unknown going into this tournament. They are an aging team with an inexperienced manager and only a few top quality players amongst their squad but they're crafty, move the ball well and tend to get the most out of what they have.
The last thing they would have wanted though would be to open their tournament against the hosts, who will no doubt run those aging legs into the ground.

Mexico
What a strange team the Mexicans are. 2 years ago they won the Olympics in London, beating Brazil no less. They then followed that success with an utterly shambolic qualifying campaign in which they only reached the playoff because of the USA pulling a result out of nowhere against Panama. A new manager followed with a more attacking mindset and they walked through New Zealand in style to qualify. They are a team with talent but they're horribly inconsistent and they do not like playing European teams.

Cameroon
For a certain generation, Cameroon are everyone's default favourite African team but this is based more on history than current reality. This squad aren't a team of flair or charisma, they're well-drilled, athletic with a good mix of young and old, but lack the real talent or creativity to pose much threat. Failure to win their first game will prove instant death for them.

Summation
There are various ways this group can go, pretty much every one of them ends with Brazil getting to the last 16 and Mexico and Croatia playing off for the other spot. However! It's one of the mysteries of world football that Mexico have a history of upsetting Brazil and Brazil will not be at all pleased to see them in this group. Should Brazil fail to win against Croatia in the
opening game, Brazil Vs Mexico on June 17th could be a day that lives in infamy.

 

[Alastor]

Thoughts on the world cup theme this year. Why is Pitbull in almost everything these days?
Shakira's Waka Waka was bad in 2010 but at least it was catchy without being horribly irritating.
This year's song just doesn't do anything for me. The 'whoa' in the background just gets fking irritating after the first 15 seconds of it. Maybe it will grow on me during the tournament but I doubt it.

 

[Loveless]

Group B
​

Spain
European champions in 2008, World Champions in 2010, European champions in 2012. No team in the 80+ years of international competition has won 4 straight national tournaments and that may be why some are discounting them for number 4, because it's an unbelievable feat.
It probably didn't help that they were so completely outplayed in the Confed final against Brazil last year but you have to keep in mind that wasn't a major tournament and Spain are quite beatable in friendlies. Tournament football is a different matter though and when they turn up, you can't beat what you can't touch.
Italy found that out 2 years ago, Spain had unconvincingly grinded their way to the Euro final, only to blow away the Italians in one of the most 1-sided finals you'll ever see.

Netherlands
What happens when you put a tempremental coach in charge of a tempremental team, then force them to play their first game in the heat against a team that will keep them getting hold of the ball? Sit back and watch the fireworks, because I expect they're going to blow up in spectacular style.
On the face of it, this is a good Netherlands side but they're certainly not the team that reached the final 4 years ago and unlikely to get anywhere near that stage again. Infact, if they can't band together as a squad by the time they play Chile, they'll be going home at the first stage.

Chile
"We're going to score more than you" seem's to be the philosophy of Chile. They know they're not outstanding defensively so they play to their strengths and attack in numbers bordering on reckless, but they're also extremely hard working and will swarm all over the pitch when they don't have the ball. How this will stand up in a tropical tournament is another matter but in recent individual games they've been highly impressive.

Australia
Are fucked.

That enough? No? Ok then. Australia would struggle in any other group during this World Cup, but in this group they're way out of their depth and that becomes clear when you look at their squad.
While the other Group B teams are selecting from the biggest clubs in Europe and include multiple Champions League winners, Australia's squad is mainly made up of home-based players with additions from the mighty Swindon Town & Crystal Palace. Fucked sums them up.

Summation
Much like Group A, this is a 3-way shootout for the top 2 places, one of which will almost certainly go to Spain and leave Netherlands & Chile to fight it out. It won't much matter who as Brazil likely await the winner in the Last 16.

 

[Dragon Chief]

I have been routing for Germany to win the cup from day one and it's not going to change this year. I'm confident they will do fairly well, like in the previous cups and think they have a good chance of taking the entire thing.

I'm also supporting England but who knows how far they'll get after their poor performance last cup.

 

[harrythem]

Looking at the world cup I can't really see any stand-out squads...this tournament, quality wise, could go down the same route as 2002 and be won by a really dire team that gets a big slice of luck along the way...

The big 2 South American teams could easily be the final but that involves Messi to actually turn up at a world cup & Aguero to actually be fit because the Argentine defence is rather shocking and could easily see them getting done over by a well organised outfit.

Brazil, meh, Neymar isn't anywhere near the level he's made out to be and the rest of the squad looks shaky as well.

Could see ze germans stealing it or even Belgium if we're going for a Euro team...Spains squad seems to be on the decline so I can't see them picking up another trophy.

However, if England get through the group, DESPITE having Glenn Johnson on the pitch, then we're going to win it! COME ON ENGLAND!!

 

[MCMG]

Scotland didn't quality (surprise, surprise) so I have no-one to properly support. I'd actually be ok with England winning and I reckon it would be something amazing to witness in my lifetime. Other than that I just want a good tournament.

The winner is difficult to predict. There are an obvious four. I fancied Germany until Reus got injured. Without a natural striker (other than 36 year old Klose) he was incredibly important and I have doubts if the rest can carry the load. Brazil have talented defenders, midfielders and Neymar surely must deliver. Argentina's attack is ridiculously good. Messi, Aguero, Di Maria is scary and they can outscore anyone. The defence, however, isn't that impressive. Spain probably have the most talented squad but I'm not sure if they can deliver again. Many teams have figured out how to play against teams who like possession and Spain are set up for exactly that.

The others: Portugal, Netherlands, England, France, Italy, Uruguay, Belgium are all relative outsiders but it's not completely incomprehensible they do it.

I'll be boring and say Brazil will win. It's their destiny and I'm sure Neymar will step-up after a disappointing season. Plus, they have the best centre-back as well as the most expensive in the world.

 

[braveh]

Why do you feel the need to insult the only sport that doesn't feature commercial breaks in the middle of the game?


I like Germany's squad. It's a couple of teams, Brazil, Spain, Germany, France...that are good enough to win the tournament but a lot of it will boil down to which team has the hotter striker(s)....who gets into that zone and score on every goal scoring oppurtunity

 

[Reflection]

I'm supporting Uruguay; the reason is that I want a team out of the usual to win it this time. We've seen France, Brazil, Italy and Spain win the last four world cups, I hope it won't be one of them again. The last time, I was supporting Paraguay; they reached the quarterfinals and then lost to Spain in a very intense and closely-fought match. Netherlands had also beaten one of the favourites- Brazil. Its cool to see the underdogs coming on top.

I hope USA does well too. If they do, real football will expand more rapidly in the country and anyone that plays real football once will not go back to anal football. Basically the same reason why I root for USA in their very few cricket matches too.

 

[Loveless]

I had planned long-winded summations of groups C-H but I've been very busy, so here's the abridged version.

Group C
Colombia
Tactically solid and good at holding onto the ball but without Falcao they're clearly lacking a threat. The lack of tournament experience isn't in their favour either.

Greece
Mehhhhhhhhh. If this was the WWE, they'd be the divas. Defensively good, dull as hell going forward. They'll look to grind their way through the group with 1-0's, ruining everyone's tournament as they go.

Ivory Coast
They probably have the most talented squad from Africa but they're getting a bit old and they never ever perform when it comes to tournament football. Hopefully this time will be the exception, as this group needs livening up.

Japan
You'll probably never hear these words again but Japan might be the most interesting team in this group. They've always styled their game on Brazil & they have some good flair players. Physically though, they may struggle to impose themselves, especially in this group.

Group D
Uruguay
Arguably the most dangerous attack in this tournament. Suarez and Cavani have the talent to blow any team out of the water before they've even realised what hit them. The problems for Uruguay are all elsewhere. The midfield is workmanlike but hardly spectacular and their defence is a liability. Oh and Suarez is injured and they don't know when he'll be back.

Costa Rica
I have to admit that I don't know that much about them but when you're reliant on Bryan Ruiz, how good can you actually be? Recent friendly results suggest they're not going to pull off any surprises.

Italy
No-one really knows which Italy is going to turn up at this tournament. They turned up in shambles at 2006 only to win the whole thing, embarrassed themselves in 2010, somehow reached the final of Euro 2012.
Their form hasn't been great recently and they haven't won a game in 7 attempts since beating the Czech Republic in September 2013.

England
Oy! They are a team in transition as the "Golden Generation" are slowly filtering out of the squad and there are good young players coming through, but the manager lacks the balls to play them or drop those who are clearly out of form. If they click, a semi-final position is possible, if not they won't get out of the group.

More later

 

[WarroBODFan]

England until I die! Expectations are low this time, which honestly is a good thing for us. If we get to the Quarters, that's good. I hope we'll allow some of our younger players a chance to play on the big stage rather than go the usual route of just playing the more "experienced" players who've never really pulled it off in a major tournament anyway. Hodgson probably thinks bringing a Luke Shaw type to the tournament is edgy enough, but like Loveless, I get the feeling he'll still opt for the tried and tested line-up against Italy, and it'll bite us in the ass.

Either way, I enjoy the World Cup so much. I'm "that" guy who'll basically watch every single game of the tournament I get so into it. Ecuador V Honduras wooo! Seriously though, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I will. I just hope to see some great Football on the biggest stage. Also, I've joined the WZ Fantasy Football league, I'm WarroF1.

 

[A11oftheLights]

Even though the first few games have been played none of my predictions have changed

Who are you backing?
Australia, Belgium, mexico and maybe brazil as my realistic tip to win it all (I love Thiago Silva, the mans a beast)
How will your nation do?
Australia will be lucky to get a point, needed to beat Chile if we wanted any chance of getting out of the group
Who's going to win it?
Brazil but I think Belgium could be a chance their side is incredible and if hazard or lukaku get on a roll they could be impossible to stop, their also very good odds at the bookies so i'm waiting to see their first game before putting my money down.

Obvious Prediction:
Brazil cruise through the groups and go to the final undefeated

Outside Prediction:
Chile reach the final

Ridiculous Prediction:
England win it all, Australia get out of the group (the tiny optimist in me hopes and the dutch are cocky and we stun them and Spain just have a miserable tournament and lose all 3 games and we get through)

Dream Scenario:
Assuming Belgium arent going all the way I'd love a Brazil vs Argentina final
OR
Australia gets out of the group and plays brilliant pass and move counter attacking football that gets them through to the quarter finals and Ange Postecogleau is recognised as a brilliant manager internationally after well and truly proving domestically in Australia

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

So last night we witnessed what will probably be the game most recalled when this tournament is brought up; Brazil 1-7 Germany. To say it was a battering (or maybe you could say Germany Mullered them...no?) would be an understatement. This is Brazil's heaviest ever defeat at the World Cup and probably their darkest hour, surpassing even the Maracanazo of 1950. The Germans were brilliant, clinical, ruthless and all those other stereotypes and oft repeated clichés, and will play on Sunday against either Argentina or the Netherlands, but this is very much a Brazilian story.

Last night's performance was abominable from Brazil. Marcelo and David Luiz were exposed as poor (at best) without a leader beside them. Thiago Silva's stupid booking cost not only himself the opportunity to play in this match and re-write history, but arguably cost Brazil as his leadership was oh so dearly missed. And as for Neymar, he was long forgotten after the beating had begun. Not even he would've made an iota of difference. It had been said before hand that this was one of the worst Brazil teams of all times and they could possibly be the worst winners of this tournament. Of course now, they won't even be in the Final.

So really, on the grandest stage, on their grandest stage, Brazil were shown up. Humiliated. Embarrassed. I'm hearing noises now that Brazil's national game is in total disarray. The national game is wracked by debt and shockingly poor attendances (5,000 average attendances in stadiums that seat 55,000). The World Cup may be won by this rather terrific German side, or could be a first for the Dutch or the trifecta for Argentina, but I think it'll be remembered for the night that Brazilian football was not just defeated, but totally and utterly destroyed.

But what about you guys, what do you think about last night?

 

[Phoenix]

Honestly, I felt it was coming for a while. Brazil were definitely one of the weaker sides in this World Cup and I found their tactics to be questionable at times that you could feel the art of the game that Brazil was known for was gone for some time now. The only major thing that they had going for them is being on home turf and having some game changers, which is a thing you don't often associate with Brazil. Brazil is a team that a decade ago, you'd be crapping yourselves if you were playing against them because they had high class players in every section, from defence to attack. Everyone in the team could change the game, now it's just a handful, which shows the big problem with Brazil as a national side, they're not producing the quality they once had in all areas.

This year saw teams really showing up Brazil to the point that you wouldn't be talking about Brazil winning, but who was being a thorn in their side. By the time we were at the Quarter-Finals had arrived, I was guessing Brazil/Germany and Netherlands/Argentina being there and the point I was saying to friends is that I could not see Brazil besting the Germans to the final because Germany has the quality from defence to attack that Brazil once had. The Germans gave them a rightful lesson in football which should serve as a wakeup call that Brazil needs to go back to the drawing board and mature a squad that is full of quality from defence to attack because they were fortunate to reach the semis, and they got complacent, especially Silva for getting the most stupid yellow in the Colombia game.

Last night saw that Brazilian football is no longer feared, which will no doubt change the game on an international level for some time. If Germany do go all the way, they are going to be the side people will fear to face, especially with how they handled Brazil.

 

[Барбоса]

Brazil have reaped what they have sown in the decade since that last won the World Cup.

I remember there being murmurings about how unspectacular Scolari's style of play was in 2002, despite them winning the tournament. It was almost as if a large section of the Brazilian fans bought into the Great Lie - that they would rather see their team lose playing beautiful football than win ugly - and for long stretches since then they have tried to get away from the more structured, 'un-Brazilian' way of playing that Scolari dealt in.

Only someone in the Brazilian hierarchy realised that they could not win everything (and never had) on just attacking and turned back to Scolari. But it was too late and you might even wonder if Scolari himself was pressured into more attacking selections. Or maybe he just does not have the personnel.

No structure in the team whatsoever - attacking midfielders, fullbacks and centre halves, everything is about attack, which is naive - and I would almost say a reluctance to pick unfashionable players who would do the grunt work and cover for the flying fullbacks. A player like Lucas Leiva was sorely missed from the Brazil midfield - someone to foul Khedeira and Kroos before they got near the box or to simply track them, which no Brazilian midfielder did at all last night.

It was the worst display of defending I have ever seen from a professional team.

£50million for Luiz? At the time, I said he would have been expensive at £15million? After last night, it is looking more like £5. Get him out of the defence.

 

[Alastor]

The problem with Brazil is they have so much talent that could break into any other national team competing for very few spots. There is no foundation since they could literally randomly pick 23 players and still make a decent squad to compete. In the past they had the a few of the best talents to provide some semblence of continuity but in this squard only the GK, Silva and Neymar could be considered at that level.

Let's not forget Brazil did make it into the semis. Even if they were kicking their way into it. And they made the QF in the last world cup with arguably a weaker squad. The pressure probably got to them and they played with a lot less freedom than they did in last year's confed cup. They just broke down in the most alarming fashion in one match. They were struggling in previous rounds but were always fighting but somehow they gave up after 0-2 against Germany.

Brazil will always be among the favourites in any tournament due to their deep talent pool. It is just weird that at this one time they couldn't field a star except Neymar to score and create. The regression of so many of their bigger names stars in recent years is astonishing. Robinho, Pato, Adriano, Ronaldinho, Kaka have all had injuries or went missing that could have helped. Not to mention the defection of Costa to Spain. They might not help but I'm sure all of them can't be worse than what Hulk and Jo has contributed.