Germany

Germany have one of the strongest records of any side at the World Cup finals; 7 appearances in the final itself winning 3 and losing 4. The Germans are traditionally ruthlessly efficient, rarely falling to lesser teams; they have failed to make at least the quarter finals of the World Cup only once in their history - that way back in 1938 - a remarkable record for a team that has played in all but 2 finals.
Germany have made few friends in their history, with most of the footballing world turning against them in 1982 after they played out a mutually convenient 1-0 win over Austria with neither side making any attempt to attack after the Germans scored early. In recent years the German national team has suffered from a dearth of talent coming through, with the final appearance (amazingly the first and only occasion Brazil and Germany have met competitively) in 2002 being largely due to an favourable passage through the knockout stages.
2006 signalled a rebirth in German football, as they played some of the best attacking football in the tournament on their own soil, beating favourites Argentina in the quarter finals before losing narrowly to a more robust Italian side in the semi finals.