Brazil are the team with the most red cards in World Cup history. They have picked up 11, one more than Argentina and two more than Uruguay.

for their fourth straight World Cup by beating Northern Ireland in a playoff via a controversial penalty. They have made it out of their group in two of the previous three and that will be the minimum aim this time around.

are no longer unexpected World Cup participants. Russia 2018 is set to be their 11th edition of the event, and the fourth one in succession. Vladimir Petkovic, an impressive manager in many respects who curiously has three different nationalities (Croatian, Bosnian and Swiss) led them to the finals.

The road to Russia was not easy for the Swiss. They won nine out of their 10 matches, but they were still relegated to second place in their group qualifying-rounds for having a worse goal difference than Portugal.

Switzerland fans have now become quite demanding, and they booed their team when they saw qualification at risk during the return leg against the Irish in Basel. That is the problem with getting used to playing major tournaments. Brazil apppear out of reach in the group but with Costa Rica and Serbia as easier rivals, making the round of 16 is a realistic aspiration for the Swiss. Players like Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Breel Embolo and Admir Mehmedi come together in a side where the team is more important than any individual. Petkovic is pressing on with a plan that consolidated under Ottmar Hitzfeld and keeps delivering good results. FINISHED second in CONCACAF qualifying, with the highlight being a 4-0 victory over the United States. Will be hard pushed to match their 2014 performance, when they beat Italy, Uruguay and Greece before losing to Holland on penalties.

for a first major tournament since the 2010 World Cup was not enough to save manager Slavoljub Muslin from the sack. Finished top of a group featuring the Republic of Ireland and Wales. in Brazil can forget what happened on July 8, 2014 in Belo Horizonte’s Mineirao stadium. That was “their” World Cup, and they had reached the semifinals and were awaiting their moment of glory. Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany, however, in the worst chapter of their World Cup history. Now, almost four years later, they stand a chance to make amends and there is only one way to do it: lifting a trophy they have not managed to win since 2002. Brazil are the only team who have played all 20 World Cups, winning five. They were the first side to qualify for Russia 2018 after the hosts, and they qualified in top form, with a team that seems to have it all: experience, a solid defence, strength, midfield creativity and a world-class star named Neymar. The whole country feared for the worst on Feb 25 when the Paris Saint-Germain striker left the pitch in tears and on a stretcher during a game against Olympique Marseille: Neymar had broken a bone in his right foot. But, it was a relief for Brazilian fans when the world most expensive football ran out as a sub against Croatia in a warm-up match and scored the opening goal. Apart from Neymar, they do have other top players, including Gabriel Jesus, Philippe Coutinho, Marcelo and Carlos Casemiro. However, Brazil would clearly be a lesser team without their star at the top of his game, at the level he was showing when he got injured. Brazil’s manager Tite has made one thing clear, that is he will pick his players with the team’s interests in mind. “I like to talk about merit, but there is a limit to merit, and that is the needs of the team. “What I mean by this is that I will soon be unfair: someone who deserves to be called into the squad will not be,” he said. Neymar is, at 26, Brazil’s undisputed leader, the man w h o ma k e s a l l the difference. He wants to rise to Cristiano Ronaldo’s and Lionel Messi’s level, and t here i s no better springboard than at the World Cup. His fitness in Russia will be crucial for Brazil’s aspirations. He can get back to speculation about his club for next season after the tournament. Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, better known as “Tite,” has been Brazil’s manager since 2016, when he replaced Carlos Dunga after the team’s resounding failure at the Copa America Centenario. Tite quickly revived a side that seemed to be in dramatic decline and gave Neymar the support needed to thrive. All Tite has to do now is to win the World Cup.