Since the Dream Team stunned the world to claim gold in Atlanta 25 years ago, this football-crazy nation has not had it so good
Since the turn of the millennium, only one World Cup has been won by a country from outside Europe – the 2002 edition, in which Brazil reigned supreme.
In fact, of the five tournaments in the 2000s, three have been all-European affairs. This pattern confirms the sense that Uefa nations have never been more dominant on the world stage, and the dynamics of global geopolitics do not suggest a reversal of this trend any time soon.