DOHA – For Brazil to go 20 years without lifting a World Cup seems like an aberration. A glitch in the matrix.

Success in football, though, like it often is in sport, is cyclical.

And after riding out an unhappy two decades, the Selecao head to Qatar as the world’s top-ranked team, and they look set for a return to glory.

The record five-time champions have endured dark moments in their football history, and risen from the ashes each time.

The shame of the “Maracanzo” – a 2-1 upset by Uruguay in the 1950 final on home soil – preceded their first World Cup triumph eight years later, sparked by a teenaged Pele. He would go on to lift the Cup two more times, in 1962 and 1970. Then came the first barren spell.

The rise of Diego Maradona’s Argentina and West Germany meant Brazil had to wait 24 years before Bebeto and Romario ushered in another era of success, when they reached three straight finals from 1994 to 2002. Two wins, over Italy and Germany, bookended a shock defeat in 1998 by hosts France. What followed was the second long wait.

Consecutive underwhelming quarter-final exits meant the 2014 edition, which Brazil hosted, was seen as an opportunity for a coveted reboot. Instead, the nation re-lived the pain that came 64 years’ prior with the ignominy of another huge embarrassment, slumping 7-1 to Germany in a fateful semi-final dubbed the “Mineirazo”.

Brazil took eight years to get over the Maracanzo. And it has now been eight years since the Mineirazo humiliation in Belo Horizonte.

The Brazilian squad head to Qatar hungry to prove a point, and they well could.

They set a new record for most points in the South American qualifiers, keeping 13 clean sheets in 17 games while scoring an average of 2.5 goals per game.

In the past six years under head coach Tite, they have lost only two competitive games. They were pipped 2-1 by Belgium in the 2018 World Cup quarter-finals and lost 1-0 to Argentina in the 2021 Copa America final.

Tite has often preached balance in building his team and seems to have found just that, in playing style and also squad composition.

The experience of defenders Thiago Silva and Marquinhos, and midfield general Casemiro, who have over 200 caps between them, provides a base for a clutch of exciting young attacking talents. Real Madrid duo Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo, Manchester United’s flamboyant winger Antony, and surprise call-up Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal are all aged 22 or younger.

Providing the guidance to these young guns is another seasoned head – the technically gifted but often infuriating Neymar.

However, the 30-year-old, who has a reputation for petulance and play-acting, appears to have matured and discovered a new attitude. He reported for pre-season at French club Paris Saint-Germain a week earlier than expected, and has been rewarded with an excellent output of 15 goals and 11 assists in 19 games this term.

He also has 75 goals for his country, only two behind the top goal-getter Pele, and will likely set a record in Qatar or soon thereafter.

“He is flying,” said Tite of his star man. “It is the fruit of all the preparation he has put in.”

The 61-year-old coach himself is a low-key but hugely important figure in Brazil’s current tilt.

While the team crumbled in 2014, Tite was on a year-long sabbatical, during which he read books about leadership, psychology and tactics. He visited clubs like Arsenal and Real Madrid, where he met the great Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, whom he admires.

Already a successful coach in his own right then – with two Brazilian domestic titles, a Copa Libertadores and Fifa Club World Cup wins between 2011 and 2015 – Tite’s journey of self-discovery appears to have reinvigorated him. The stars later aligned for him to take Brazil’s top job in 2016.

Crucially, he has also helped Brazil’s players rediscover the fire of playing for the national team and what it means to wear the famous yellow shirt. Videos circulated on social media recently of Antony and defender Alex Telles weeping, overjoyed at news of being called up to the World Cup squad.

Success has eluded them on football’s biggest stage recently but their pedigree remains, and Brazil are football’s conquistadors.

They were the first nation to win a World Cup outside their home continent (Sweden 1958), the first to win a World Cup outside Europe and South America (Mexico ’70), and the first to win a World Cup in Asia (Korea and Japan 2002). Who else is better equipped to win the first World Cup in the Middle East?

France

The defending champions hobble into Qatar with key men ruled out injured, or not at full fitness.

Starting defenders in Russia Raphael Varane (hamstring) and Lucas Hernandez (adductor) have hardly played in recent weeks as they race against time to make a full recovery.

Les Bleus’ central midfield trio from 2018 are all gone. N’Golo Kante (hamstring) and Paul Pogba (knee) are injured, while Blaise Matuidi is 35 and his powers have waned.

Ballon d’Or winning-striker Karim Benzema (quadriceps) has made only one appearance for Real Madrid in the past month – a 27-minute cameo off the bench.

Defender Presnel Kimpembe and forward Christopher Nkunku were sent back home after picking up injuries days before the big kick-off.

France, though, can rely on Kylian Mbappe up front and his mercurial talent means they can score goals against any team.

Still, they will kick off their World Cup against Australia next Wednesday wary of the so-called “winner’s curse” that has seen three of the last four champions crash out at the group stage in their title defence.

They have won just one of their last six matches, but head coach Didier Deschamps said he was not worried by his side’s form. He told Reuters in October: “It’s perfectly normal for a team to go on slightly less successful runs, but France remain a really competitive force and are among the top teams in Europe and the world.”

Argentina

On paper, Argentina are one of the top favourites.

They are the most in-form national team in the world, on a 35-game unbeaten run, and last lost a game in July 2019.

They could set a new unbeaten record in international football if they avoid defeat in the group stage, where they face Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Poland in Group C.

Lionel Scaloni’s men also appear to have a newfound defensive solidity, having kept 16 clean sheets in their last 22 games since the start of the 2021 Copa America, which they won.

Oh, and they also have Lionel Messi, the most talented player of his generation.

Then again, they had Messi at the last four World Cups too and came close to winning only once, in 2014, when Germany beat them in the final.

But this is likely to be the 35-year-old’s last shot at a World Cup, and a last chance to emulate the late Diego Maradona, who led La Albiceleste to the 1986 title. That might be the extra incentive Messi and the team need to go one better than eight years ago.

Scaloni, who recently signed a contract extension that will take him through to the 2026 World Cup, said earlier in November: “I hope that people identify with this team. Whatever has to be in the World Cup (it will be), but we are going to leave every last drop of sweat (out there).”

England

It almost seemed like the football world was trolling England not too long ago.

The Three Lions? Favourites for the World Cup? Surely not.

That, however, was the startling suggestion made by a number of football pundits, from former England coach Fabio Capello to United States coach Gregg Berhalter, to former Australia star Tim Cahill. Even Messi tipped Gareth Southgate’s men to challenge for the title in Qatar.

The claim they could win their second World Cup – their only triumph was in 1966 – looks all the more foolish when you consider England are on a six-match winless run, which includes a 4-0 defeat by Hungary in June, their biggest loss on home soil in 94 years.

The fact remains, however, that in Harry Kane they have one of the best goalscorers in world football. And precocious midfielder Jude Bellingham, 19 and captain of German giants Borussia Dortmund, looks ready to explode on the big stage.

Former England striker Teddy Sheringham is one of those who believe, and the 56-year-old told The Straits Times recently: “Southgate has put everything in and he’s been in the job a long time (since 2016). The players know his philosophy and they know how they are meant to be playing, and they have carried them out on a regular basis for a while... It will not be easy, but we’re in a good place.”

Germany

The World Cup’s second-most successful side will bank on the Bayern Munich factor.

Head coach Hansi Flick took over from Joachim Low in 2021 after two trophy-laden seasons at Bayern, when they picked up two Bundesliga titles, a Champions League and Club World Cup.

The spine of Flick’s side in Qatar is made up of Bayern stars: goalkeeper Manuel Neuer will marshal the backline, Joshua Kimmich will run the midfield, and Thomas Muller will guide the way to goal.

Flick has plenty of experience at the international level, having previously served as Low’s assistant at the 2008 and 2012 European Championship, and 2010 and 2014 World Cup.

Lothar Matthaus, skipper of Germany’s winning side from 1990, told ST: “With Hansi Flick and the players, we have a good team spirit.

“And we have wonderful players, young players like (Jamal) Musiala. We have experienced players like (Ilkay) Gundogan, Muller, Kimmich and... I think we have a good chance to go far.”

Former shot-stopper Oliver Kahn, who won the Golden Ball award at the 2002 World Cup, cited Germany’s reputation for being a “tournament team” and said: “Germany’s results are not as good as they should be or could be in the last few games.

“But I think Germany are always in a favourite position because of the tradition... The important (games) are when the tournament starts. And from this point on, Germany are always there.”