Brazil and Germany, the two most successful teams in World Cup history, are experiencing a decline that seems to have no brakes. Canarinha, five-time champions, said goodbye to North America 2026 in the round of 16, something that had not happened since Italia 1990. Since then, the team had reached at least the quarterfinals in seven consecutive editions, with two titles included (1994 and 2002).
For the first time in its history, Brazil has six World Cups without lifting the trophy. The sixth star looks increasingly distant.
Germany: from the semi-final to oblivion
The Mannschaft, four-time champions, were eliminated in the round of 32 against Paraguay. It is the third consecutive edition in which Germany does not surpass the eighth; in Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022 he did not even pass the group stage.
The contrast is brutal: between 2002 and 2014 the Germans played in the semifinals in four World Cups in a row. Today, they don’t even secure a ticket to the round of 16. Although this is not their longest drought without a title – between 1990 and 2014 they spent five tournaments – achieving the fifth star seems like a distant feat.
The bottom has not yet arrived
Neither Brazil nor Germany have hit rock bottom: both continue to qualify for the World Cups. But its decline is evident. Italy, for example, has already missed the last three editions. History shows that powers can cease to be powers if failures accumulate.
