The French in 2002, Italy in 2010, Spain in 2014 and Germany in 2018 all followed their stuttering starts as champions by bombing out in the group stage.
Australia kick off their World Cup on Friday against Chile, tournament dark horses that new coach Ange Postecoglou actually wants to emulate in his reinvention of the Socceroo squad.
It also showed that a side placed 102nd in the FIFA World Rankings can thwart a team placed 77 places above them. And India did keep the mighty Aussies out for 50 minutes before a fatal error saw the Blue Tigers punished after all the good work.
World Cup sidelights: All the fun news from Brazil right here...
Tim Cahill and Brett Holman scored second half goals to give Australia a 2-1 victory over Serbia Wednesday but the victory was not enough to stop the Socceroos from going out of the tournament. Serbia, who beat Germany 1-0 in their last match, lost their chances of advancing and finished bottom of Group D.
Australia stunned the United Arab Emirates with two goals in the first 14 minutes to reach a second successive Asian Cup final, where they will meet South Korea.
Australia made the worst possible start to the defence of their Asian Cup crown on Sunday as Graham Arnold's Socceroos were handed a 1-0 defeat by unfancied Jordan.
Argentina skipper Lionel Messi has said that "in principle" last year's World Cup would be his fifth and final appearance.
Gayle posted pictures on social media of visiting stadiums in Australia shortly after touch down.
Australia shook off a nervous start and an early goal before trampling over Kuwait 4-1 to kick off their home Asian Cup football tournament in emphatic style in Melbourne on Friday.
Qatar returns to the spotlight on Friday little more than a year after the first World Cup held in the Arab world when the relocated and delayed 2023 Asian Cup gets underway amid a seismic shift in football's global order.
The 30-year-old Middlesbrough forward was named captain of the Socceroos by coach Guus Hiddink
The Netherlands beat Australia 3-2 in a sensational World Cup Group B match featuring stunning goals and non-stop action on Wednesday. The 2010 runners-up made it two wins out of two following their opening demolition of Spain.
Australia made light of their advancing years and the early dismissal of striker Harry Kewell to produce a gallant fight for World Cup survival on Saturday as they held Ghana to an often dramatic 1-1 draw.
Germany began their quest for a fourth World Cup in devastating style Sunday with a thumping 4-0 victory over Australia in their opening Group D match.
Argentina and Australia have only two full days to rest, a factor Argentine manager Lionel Scaloni called 'madness'.
The South Koreans, meanwhile, secured their first win in Group B as Paulo Bento's side saw off Lebanon in Suwon.
Australia have concerns over security at next year's World Cup finals in Brazil because of the civil unrest in the South American country, Football Federation Australia chief David Gallop said on Tuesday.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter has apologised to Australian fans over the dubious penalty that knocked the Socceroos out of the World Cup in Germany.
Denmark levelled seven minutes later, with Christensen making up for the deflection by blasting a powerful header past distraught French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
Striker Antoine Griezmann lashed home the historic spot kick in the 58th minute but Australia hit back with a penalty of their own when Samuel Umtiti inexplicably handled the ball in the box four minutes later.
"It wasn't easy to collect these four points, only one of the games we played was not on the expected level and that was when we played versus Australia."
Gulf nations want Australia out of Asia, says AFC chief
Argentina captain Lionel Messi and coach Lionel Scaloni predicted a tough but beautiful encounter with the Netherlands when the sides meet in Friday's World Cup quarter-final.
Tim Cahill would love nothing better than to join the select company of Pele, Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose by finding the net in a fourth World Cup over the next few weeks but first the Australian actually needs to get on the pitch.
'The boss (coach Graham Arnold) said it perfectly after the game: we enjoy, we celebrate with the fans, with friends and family in the stands, but the result will mean nothing if we don't get a result against Denmark.'
France are looking to beat the Socceroos just like they did to kick off their 2018 journey in Russia.
Chile got the victory they needed if they are to have any chance of progressing from a daunting Group B when they held off a strong Australian fightback to emerge 3-1 winners in another open and entertaining World Cup clash on Friday.
"Let's wait for the result of the match and we will see later. We are people who bear responsibility and hopefully I will be able to answer your question after the match." said Kadri.
Substitute Lukas Podolski grabbed an 81st-minute equaliser to rescue a 2-2 draw for 2014 World Cup winners Germany in an entertaining friendly.
Tottenham Hotspur have appointed former Celtic coach Ange Postecoglou as their new manager on a four-year contract.
The Australians increased the pressure throughout the second half and it eventually paid off when Hrustic volleyed towards goal following Aaron Mooy's corner and the deflection off Salmeen proved decisive.
A stunning Andre Carrillo volley gave Peru their first World Cup goal in 36 years before captain Paolo Guerrero grabbed a second as the Andean nation condemned Australia to a 2-0 defeat in Sochi on Tuesday and an early exit from Russia.
The man wearing an Indian team jersey went down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend who was wearing a Socceroos jersey.
Brett Holman struck four minutes into injury-time to spare Australian blushes and give an undisciplined Socceroos a 2-1 victory over trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand in a World Cup warm-up on Monday.
Qatar no playground for playmakers as defenders clamp down
