* The match starts at 8pm London time today (2am tomorrow, Hanoi)

The period 1998-2006 recorded the remarkable stability of France and Brazil in world-class arenas.

Brazil encountered difficulties after the 1998 World Cup, but came back strongly by winning the 2002 World Cup in Japan – Korea, a tournament in which France exited right from the group stage.

There was a time, in the not too distant past, when Brazil and France were the leading forces in world football.

By the 2006 World Cup, France and Brazil were still the strongest teams in the world when entering the final round in Germany.

Standing in the ranks of Brazil and France at that time were bright stars, among the elite of world football.

That past is worlds apart from the present.

Talking about the quality of the team, both Brazil and France are currently much worse than their older generations.

Brazil (yellow shirt) has only won one of the last seven meetings with France and has not scored any goals in the last three matches against this European opponent.

Both of their performances have also fluctuated, explaining why they have fallen so far down the FIFA rankings.

France won two and lost all three remaining matches in the last five matches.

In the most recent friendly match, France dominated, but showed great limitations in finishing and had to pay the price when Luis Suarez scored the only goal to help Uruguay win 1-0 at Montevideo.

For today’s match, coach Scolari is likely to keep the same main squad as Brazil’s draw with England last week.

Scolari and Brazil are thirsty for victory to create psychological momentum for the upcoming 2013 Confederations Cup.

Brazil is very hungry to win this match to build momentum for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup – a rehearsal tournament for the World Cup in which they are the defending champions.