During a recent visit to Germany, Brazil legends Cafu and Lucio were accompanied by the FIFA Confederations Cup trophy, which will be up for grabs in Russia between 17 June and 2 July.

The two former world champions, who between them made more than 200 appearances for A Seleção and hoisted the Confederations Cup trophy aloft in 1997 and 2005/2009 respectively, took the opportunity to discuss Germany’s chances and share their thoughts on the tournament.

Looking ahead to Russia 2017, Lucio, who played in four editions of the Tournaments of Champions (2001, 2003, 2005 and 2009), said: “Germany have a young and hungry side, as we’ve come to expect from them, and they’ll be fighting for the title.” Recalling his memories from the tournament, he added: “The Confederations Cup was a landmark in my career. The semi-final against Germany in Nuremberg in 2005 and scoring against the USA in the 2009 final are experiences that stay with you.”

Cafu said: “The Germany squad is packed with an amazing amount of talent. They might be young but they’ve shown what they can do on the international stage and in the Bundesliga, and they’ll be looking to back that up now in the Confederations Cup. For many of them it will be their first major championship with their 'A' national team, which at same time means a great responsibility as they will be representing the current world champions.”

Lucio, who played for both Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen during his stellar career, looked back with fondness on his time in Germany. “I had eight incredible years here, and it was a time when German football came on leaps and bounds," he said. "They’ve been reaping the rewards of that development in the last few years.”

Die Mannschaft take on Australia in their opening match of the competition in Sochi on 19 June, and Cafu is expecting Germany to contribute to what he believes will be a high-class tournament in general: “As well as Germany’s young stars you’ve got players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and Chicharito , to name but a few, all of which means the fans can expect some top-quality football at the Confederations Cup. The match between Germany and Chile, for example, looks like it might be a cracker. They’re two teams who like to play attacking football.”