2014 World Cup: How Bad Will Neymar and Brazil Be in Their Home Tournament?

Thanks to construction delays and endless bureaucratic red tape, Brazil is facing a well-publicised struggle to get stadiums ready for the 2014 World Cup.

The host nation's preparations for the 20th edition of the biggest tournament in football do not seem to be going well off the field—and they appear to be having similar troubles on it.

In April, the Canarinha slipped down to 19th place in the FIFA World Rankings, below the likes of Ecuador, Switzerland and Belgium. Before 2011, the traditional powerhouse of world football had never fallen below sixth place, and spent the majority of the years since the rankings began in the top slot.

Of course, the FIFA Rankings often fail to reflect the true ability of the listed teams, and Brazil's unprecedented drop is skewed by the fact that they haven't played a competitive game since July 2011 (friendlies are given much less weighting in the rankings).

This lack of competitive action, however, may have had an adverse effect on the Selecao as they prepare to host their first World Cup since 1950. In recent friendlies they have thumped sides like China and Iraq, but when the standard of opposition has been—such as their bouts with Argentina or England—they have faltered.

Brazil's last competitive win against a top side was a 2009 win over Italy in the Confederations Cup.

Since then, they have exited both the World Cup and the Copa America at the quarterfinal stage—not the kind of tournament progression expected of a team who are among the favorites in every competition they play.

After a disappointing year in 2012, coach Mano Menezes was relieved of his duties and replaced with Luiz Felipe Scolari, the man who spearheaded their success at the 2002 World Cup. The appointment, however, has been viewed by many in Brazil as a desperate attempt to recreate the magic of the past.

"Scolari's time has passed," said a fan interviewed by The Independent. "We've got no chance against Spain or Germany or even Argentina."

Judging by Big Phil's record since resuming managerial duties with the national team—one win, one loss and four draws—this might be an accurate assessment.

Put simply, Brazil have lacked their typical flair in recent matches. Against an average England side at Wembley and the Maracana, they did not look like a team gearing up to lift the World Cup next summer.

In a 2-2 draw with Chile last month, Brazil were so bad they were booed off the pitch.

With the likes of Oscar, Dani Alves, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Neymar in their ranks, there is definitely no shortage of world-beating talent. Yet their lack of cohesion and confidence when playing together in yellow shirts is obvious.

"We're scared of the big teams now," says the Brazil fan in the aforementioned Independent article, before stressing that Barcelona superstar Neymar cannot take the weight of the world on his shoulders. "It's too much pressure," the fan says, perhaps aware that Neymar has already looked anonymous in several high profile Brazil matches.

Of course, this feature has taken a rather downbeat view of the situation, and there are many reasons to believe Brazil will defy their recent form and go on to win the "hexacampeao" (their unprecedented sixth World Cup victory) on home soil.

The bookmakers are placing them as favourites. They will have a jubilant carnival atmosphere of encouragement on their side. And in every World Cup held in the Americas, a South American team has always triumphed.

However, if Brazil don't buck their ideas up and start fulfilling their potential, the successful South American team next summer might just be their fierce rivals Argentina.