Durban — The opportunity to lift a Fifa World Cup is and will always be a rare and honourable event, one that has on more than one occasion defined legacies throughout football folklore.
The road to a World Cup triumph is a gruelling experience often achieved by the greatest of sides over the years.
England, Belgium, Croatia and defending champions France reached the semi-final stage in the last edition and any one of those teams was capable of going all the way.
IOL Sport football writer Smiso Msomi gives us five teams that could impress and go far at the World Cup in Qatar.
Brazil
The South American giants are the most successful nation in the World Cup, having become the first country to lift the trophy three, four and five times.
Brazil is also the only country to have played at every World Cup to date, and since 1970 – and even during their worst year – they have always managed to reach the tournament's knock-out stages. Therefore nothing less is expected in this year's edition.
La Selecao go in at the top of the Fifa world rankings and are one of the teams tipped to walk away with it.
Argentina
Argentina captain Lionel Messi has all but confirmed this will be his last World Cup as he reaches the twilight years of his career.
The Albicelestes are the current holders of the Copa America title, having pipped Brazil to it, and they also hold a pedigree as one of the great World Cup teams with two titles to their name.
France
The defending champions are currently a hard team to call following a disastrous Uefa Nations League campaign that almost saw them relegated.
They are also missing core personnel in Ngolo Kante and Paul Pogba, who were instrumental in their triumph last time. However, the French do possess one of the best squads on the planet and are almost a shoo-in to go deep into the competition as well.
Portugal
Portugal captain and all-time top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo has expectedly occupied the headlines ahead of the World Cup.
In his recent controversial statements, he also said that if his nation were to win the World Cup, he would retire, a great incentive for the world-class group of players that surround him in the Portugal camp.
Seleção das Quinas possess a galaxy of stars who have the potential to blow any side away on the day.
The Dark Horse: Senegal
The current African champions, Senegal have been listed as one of the teams expected to bow out early after losing their inspirational captain Sadio Mane to injury.
However, even though Mane is a huge part of their offensive arsenal, the Lions of Teranga do possess a plethora of European-based players that have enough quality to cause problems for any team on the planet.
IOL Sport