Brazil's greatest World Cup XI: Who makes the cut?

Pelé, obviously. Ronaldo too, and Jairzinho.

But after that, things start to get a little more complicated when it comes to picking an all-time best World Cup XI for Brazil. No country, after all, has enjoyed such a charmed relationship with the competition over the years.

The lovely folks at Unibet handed me the daunting task of boiling all that history down into one (vaguely tactically functional) side. The only rule was that each of the five title-winning teams had to be represented in the final draft.

See who made the cut here.

No Neymar, no problem? Philippe Coutinho set for new role as Brazil make do without their talisman

Playing without your talisman is always a tricky challenge, and, with the World Cup fast approaching, one Brazil coach Tite could have done without.

A winning formula is a delicate flower, and he would surely have preferred to use the upcoming friendlies against Russia and Germany – the last dates before his final squad announcement – to nurture rather than replant.

Yet there is also a feeling that this could be beneficial for Brazil in the long run. The issue of 'Neymardependência' has been present since the forward's Seleção debut in 2010 and its dangers were laid bare under Luiz Felipe Scolari. Neymar started every one of Felipão's first 27 games in charge; in the 28th, Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany.

Find out how the Seleção are planning for life without Neymar in my latest Unibet blog.