Not much speaks as clearly about the regional disparity in women’s soccer as much as Brazil’s record: utterly dominant in South America, they’ve won six of seven Copa America Feminina titles; in the World Cup–with the Americans and Europeans in the mix—they have no titles to their credit. Currently seventh in FIFA’s rankings, they’re unlikely to change that, or even repeat their best finish, runners-up in 2007. The problem is that Brazil’s team is, arguably, two players deep: After Cristiane and, especially, Marta, the drop-off is severe. As the game grows in soccer’s most passionate homeland, that problem will abate. But it’ll be too late for this unpredictable Canarinhas squad.

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Coach

Vadao’s resume is nothing short of prolific, covering seemingly every team in Brazil—including men’s club heavyweights Corinthians, Atletico Paranaense and Sao Paulo—and even a stint at the helm of then–J-League side Tokyo Verdy. As manager of Brazil’s women since April 2014, Vadao (a.k.a., Oswaldo Alvarez) has had a mixed record, making it hard to know if the man who guided superstars Rivaldo and Kaka through their early careers can guided Brazil’s female stars to glory.

Group E schedule

June 9: vs. South Korea in Montreal

June 13: vs. Spain in Montreal

June 17: vs. Costa Rica in Moncton

How they qualified

Given their Copa America Feminina record, it’s no surprise the Brazilians more or less breezed through qualifying. Scoring 22 goals and only conceding three, Brazil won five of their matches. If you’re inclined to be unkind, the blemishes on Brazil’s record could be worrisome: the loss against Argentina will hurt on a few levels—the South American Superclasico rivalry certainly extends to the women’s game—and the draw with relatively weak Colombia may hint at a dangerous lack of consistency.

Team strengths

Scoring. Put simply, a team with Marta and Cristiane leading the attack is going to put goals in the net. Defences beware.

Team weaknesses

Inconsistency. The Brazilians have an element of fragility in their game. Against teams that will appear in this World Cup they’ve stumbled to a record of four wins, seven draws and two losses since Vadao took over as manager. After a 4-0 thumping by Germany in their final warm-up, it’s hard to be too optimistic about the Canarinhas’ chances.

Player to watch

Is Marta the best female player of all time? You could make a solid argument she is—and at 29 years old, she’s got years left to make her case. Technically gifted almost beyond belief, she’s about as lethal a striker as has every played, with 119 goals in 137 club matches and 79 goals in 91 appearances for Brazil. That astounding strike rate—rightly—earned her the title FIFA World Player five times consecutively from 2006-2010. For the record, she was runner up in 2005, ’11, ’12 and ’14. As Marta goes, so goes Brazil, so opposition will focus their efforts on shutting her down. Good luck with that.

Burning question

Have they fallen off since 2011? Brazil’s respectable quarterfinal finish from four years ago is by no means guaranteed this time around. They’re in a tricky group where both South Korea and Spain could well surprise the South American champions. The good news? If Brazil can top Group E, they’ll likely get Sweden—who they beat 2-0 in the Algarve Cup in March.

World Cup history

1991 – Group stage

1995 – Group stage

1999 – Semifinals (3rd place)

2003 – Quarterfinals

2007 – Runners-up

2011 – Quarterfinals