The curse of the World Cup winners

Spain were knocked out of the group stage in 2014.

In football history, only eight different teams have won the World Cup. Of the eight teams, Brazil are the only side to have defended their crown, with the Selecao claiming back-to-back victories in 1958 and 1962.

Four of the past five winners have suffered humiliating exits in recent years. Germany were the most recent winners who suffered the embarrassment of exiting the tournament after the group stage.

France in 2002, Italy in 2010, and Spain in 2014 - all suffered similar fates in their defense of football's most coveted prize. With the first winter World Cup kicking off in less than two months, fans wonder what the curse is and if the defending champions, France, will fall victim to it.

The World Cup winners curse

Germany were knocked out in the group stage of the last edition.

The curse is a myth that surfaced in its recent editions following the exit of holders in the group stage. It kicked off with France in 2002. Les Bleus came into the 2002 edition off the back of winning the European Championship in 2000 and the World Cup in 1998.

However, they performed well below expectations, failing to score a single goal and qualifying from a group featuring Denmark, Uruguay and Senegal. Their 1-0 loss to Senegal was a shock to fans around the world. Italy, winners of the 2006 World Cup, suffered a similar fate to France in the 2010 edition of South Africa. The Azzurri finished bottom of their group, having failed to win a single game in their World Cup defense.

In the 2014 edition, defending champions Spain were on the back of winning two consecutive European Championship victories and a World Cup success. They were only bested at the time by Brazil in the 2013 Confederations Cup final. A humbling 1-5 loss to The Netherlands and a 0-2 defeat to Chile ensured the end of the road for one of the greatest sides in football history.

Germany were also victims of the curse in 2018. A shock defeat to Mexico on the opening day and a disappointing defeat to South Korea in their final group game ensured Joachim Low’s men had a tournament to forget.

Of the past five winners, only Brazil have made it past their group stage, with the 2002 Champions going as far as the quarter-finals in 2006.

What has gone wrong for those teams?

Italy were kocked out of the group stage in 2010 and hasn't qualifed since.

Four years is a long time for new players to come into the limelight or veterans to fade away. The World Cup-winning coaches' biggest dilemma is sticking with their winning side, favoring a new generation of players and finding the balance between the two.

It is easy to see why winning managers stuck with their winning formula and opted to keep their old heads rather than favor the upcoming talent. This backfired for Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018. Both sides had enough quality in their national pool to replace old heads but their managers opted to stick with their winning formula.

There is also added pressure and more attention on retaining the World Cup than winning it. The added attention makes their opposition wary of them and more determined to get victory from them.

Can defending World Cup Champions France break the curse?

Mbappe in action for France.

The current champions have massive quality and depth in their national pool, including some of the most exciting prospects in world football. On paper, Les Bleus have the quality to qualify out of their group with Australia, Denmark and Tunisia on their way. Karim Benzema’s return to the side only improved the quality and made this French side almost as good as the last.

However, this is only on paper. The world Champions failed to qualify for the final stages of the UEFA Nations League after finishing third with only one victory to their name. Their performance at Euro 2020 last summer wasn’t encouraging either. They won only one game in the competition and crashed out in the round of 16 on penalties against Switzerland after squandering a 3-1 lead.

Surely if they want to stand a chance of making it out of their group, France have to improve their performances. If they fail to do so, Didier Deschamps' men might just be another victim of the World Cup winners' curse and bow out in the group stage.