Brazil
Rank: 4
World Cup appearances: Best result: TOP SCORERS (QUALIFYING) N/A Did you know? Brazil is the only country or national team to qualify for every single World Cup competition since the inception of this tournament.
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With a passionate crowd behind them, a savvy coach and a settled team enjoying a sparkling run of form Brazil are hot favourites to lift a record sixth World Cup this July.
After their quarterfinal defeat to the Netherlands four years ago, coach Dunga was replaced by Mano Menezes who re-shaped the team and gave debuts to young, agile players.
In turn Menezes made way for old favourite Luiz Felipe Scolari and the man who guided Brazil to their fifth World Cup triumph in 2002 has since added both steel and guile to the undoubted flair in the squad.
The way they waltzed through the Confederations Cup last year, defeating Uruguay and Italy on the road to a drubbing of world champions Spain, was unforgettable and instilled a belief in the side missing for the best part of a decade.
Brazil have won seven games in a row and 13 of their last 14, and fans no longer wonder whether they can win the competition, they are expecting it.
That confidence is not misplaced, but it must be accompanied by humility if there is to be no repeat of 2006 when, delirious with the form of the Four Rs (Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho and Roberto Carlos), Brazil thought it would be a walk in the park. Instead they crashed out in the quarters to France.
Scolari has repeatedly and boldly declared Brazil will win the World Cup and the biggest bookmakers make them the favourites. The feeling at home is the tournament is theirs to lose.
Road to WC
Automatic qualification as hosts
STRENGTH
Flood of goals
They scored 25 goals in the last seven games, conceding only two despite their lack of depth upfront seeming bleak beyond Fred, players from every position contribute as goal scorers so a boring scoreline is highly unexpected from the samba men.
Confidence
With an incredible run of seven wins in a row and 13 out of their last 14, Brazil are going into this World Cup with a massive confidence boost. The world knows they are an indomitable force to be reckoned with, so do they.
WEAKNESS
History against them
No team has won the World Cup after lifting the Confederations Cup a year previously. Brazil won the dress rehearsal tournament in 2005 and 2009 but a year later suffered crushing disappointment.
Under pressure
The only other time Brazil hosted the World Cup was in 1950 when the home side lost out in the final match to Uruguay.
That defeat scarred the nation and the enormous pressure to finally lift the trophy at the Maracana could be an issue if the team start slowly in their opener against Croatia and anxious supporters get on their backs. So far, at least, the players do not appear overawed.
ONE TO WATCH
Neymar
Every time Brazil have lifted the World Cup the star of the show has been a forward, and Neymar will seek to keep up that tradition in June and July.
Neymar has more of a free role with the national side and his predatory instincts in front of goal will be vital if Brazil are to go all the way this time, especially with doubts over the reliability of centre forwards Fred and Jo.
It would be easy to view Neymar as the consummate individual. He frequently changes hairstyles, he has an obsession for 'selfies' and has a host of endorsement deals.
But he is a more mature player than many give him credit for and he is popular with, and respected by, his teammates.
Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari
The pressure to win the World Cup on home soil is enormous for Brazil but experienced coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has no qualms about shouldering the burden.
Scolari, 65, guided his country to their fifth triumph in the competition 12 years ago and has promised the fans more glory this time round. Scolari is also someone who knows how to play to a gallery and he has worked hard to get Brazil's often fickle fans - and their even more fickle media - behind the team.
Squad
Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Toronto FC/on loan from QPR), Jefferson (Botafogo), Victor (Atletico Mineiro)
Defenders: Marcelo (Real Madrid), Daniel Alves (Barcelona), Maicon (AS Roma), Maxwell & Thiago Silva (both Paris St-Germain), David Luiz (Chelsea), Dante (Bayern Munich), Henrique (Napoli)
Midfielders: Paulinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Ramires (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Oscar (Chelsea), Hernanes (Inter Milan), Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Fernandinho (Manchester City)
Forwards: Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk), Neymar (Barcelona), Fred (Fluminense), Jo (Atletico Mineiro), Hulk (Zenit St Petersburg)
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