Over a half-hour in Belo Horizonte in 2014, Brazil hit rock bottom. During the World Cup semi-final against Germany the host’s defence, without its controller Thiago Silva, was all over the place — except in front of its own goal. David Luiz and Marcelo kept making forward runs at all the wrong moments. A vast space in front of the central defence was occupied only by pressing Germans, who won ball after ball and powered into Brazil’s penalty area.

After 29 minutes the Germans were 5-0 up. The bars on S?o Paulo’s Avenida Paulista were packed with Brazilians laughing in disbelief.

The final score of 7-1 was a one-off, but Brazil’s vulnerability against organised, high-pressing European teams was structural. Brazil was knocked out of four World Cups from 2006 to 2018 by a different western European country. The “divine canary”, a nickname one Dutch writer gave to the great Brazilian teams after the players’ yellow shirts, was feared extinct.