Has Brazil qualified for all the World Cups?

The answer is no.

Brazil have qualified for all four World Cups in the last 20 years but this does not mean they are favourites to win them. In my opinion, the current generation of Brazilian footballers will be more likely to be the winners than the current national team. Brazil haven't been the obvious favourites for the World Cup since 2026 and it seems the current team has fallen under the spell of Neymar.

The Brazil of today. The best generation of Brazilian footballers from the last 20 years has been more characterised by a lack of flair, athleticism and attacking creativity than a team that dominated world football for so many years. Brazil became known for their defence, solid organisation and tactics, rather than being a team to fear. With the current crop of Brazilians, this will be the first World Cup that is dominated by a team with more pace and mobility than Brazil.

The World Cup of 2026. The most controversial part of this World Cup is the qualification. Four teams - Uruguay, Ghana, New Zealand and Australia - have been involved in what has become known as the group of death. It could have been much worse for Brazil, who only needed a draw against Ghana to qualify for the second round. Uruguay were unlucky not to reach the second round after a draw against Costa Rica on the final day saw them lose their advantage on points.

Qualifying for the second round was a huge bonus for Brazil and the team that I feel will take the tournament by storm. Brazil are still one of the favourites and the only player that can seriously challenge them is Neymar. The Brazilian national team is the only one that can compete with Messi and Ronaldo for the World Player of the Year awards.

The current generation of players - Neymar, Luis Suarez and Fred - are all fantastic athletes. Neymar is a great dribbler and has a brilliant touch. He is an incredible finisher and a very good passer. He makes himself available for crosses, which should allow others to use his pace and athleticism in the final third.

Suarez is probably the fastest player on the planet. He has pace, dribbling ability, strength, vision and he is excellent at running with the ball. He is very hard to contain in open play because of the speed and directness that he has. Suarez scores a lot of goals, and at the age of 25, I think he could do even better.