Cafu Tips Brazil To End 20-Year World Cup Drought In Qatar

It has been 20 years since Brazil lifted football's biggest prize in Korea/Japan 2002 with Cafu as captain, defeating Germany 2-0 in the final thanks to a brace from Ronaldo.

Since then Brazil have been knocked out in the quarterfinals in three of the last four tournaments and their sole appearance in the semi-finals ended in an embarrassing 7-1 defeat to Germany on home soil in 2014.

But Cafu feels Brazil are now well equipped to end two decades of hurt when they make the trip to Qatar.

"It's a great opportunity to break Europe's dominance. It's the perfect time for Brazil to break the curse and win the title," he told AFP.

"Argentina and the Selecao are the two favourites. On the one hand, Brazil is coming off a very good season with great performances, on the other hand, Argentina also has a very good team. These two countries have great potential to win the World Cup.

"The fact that Brazil has not won the title for twenty years, it affects the fans a little bit and takes away a little credibility from the national team. But this year I think Brazil is back.

"With Neymar fit, we have a very good chance of winning the World Cup, because he is a player who really makes the difference on the pitch. We pin our hopes on his talent, but he doesn't play alone.

"By playing well, by being motivated, I'm sure he will motivate the other players and make them feel that they are important so that they can win."

Brazil will first have to negotiate a group involving Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon in their quest to land a sixth World Cup title.