That's pared us down to:
Brazil 1958, Brazil 1962, Brazil 1970, Spain 2010, Germany 2014
Brazil 1962. Won away from home, without Pele, which counts for a lot. Garrincha would have been suspended from the final in this day and age; instead this tournament is remembered as his finest hour. The European contenders weren't a vintage lot, but even so Spain gave them a massive fright, despite Helenio Herrera struggling to work out what was his strongest team. Brazil would likely have won the competition had it been played in Europe. Several of their key players were arguably past their peak, though and, well as Amarildo played, he was no Pele.
Germany 2014. On paper it looks so impressive: France, Brazil and Argentina dispatched in their final three games. None of those opponents were at their peak, however, and there were struggles against Ghana and Algeria while Low fumbled through deciding his best team. They were unquestionably the deserving winners of a tournament that lost momentum following a thrilling first stage. Neuer-Hummels-Kroos is an awful lot of quality down the spine . Then you have Lahm and Muller.
Spain 2010. The best team, and deserving winners. But this was the time that Fernando Torres was metamorphosing into Zombie Torres, to the detriment of Spain's attack. There were plenty of close shaves against opponents en route. Holland had the chance to put them away in the final (albeit they should have played with most of the game for 10 men had a referee been in charge. Lucky for the Dutch that passing buffoon Howard Webb was handed the whistle). Still, I think Spain 2010 boasted more talent than the Germans four years later - only the left flank pair were not top drawer in my book.
Brazil 1970. Won every game. Only failed to score three goals once - and that against the holders, who were also arguably their greatest rivals. They showed patience to win that encounter, just as they survived the shock of going one down to Uruguay in the semis and gifting Italy an equaliser in the final. Italy, who fielded Facchetti, Mazzola and Riva, were hardly makeweights. For character and tactics, this Brazil was strong enough to withstand a dubious keeper and average defence. Would they have won in Europe? Most likely, although the cooler climate would have allowed Europeans to tax Gerson and Rivelino's lack of pace more thoroughly. A team worthy of its place in the Pantheon.
Brazil 1958. Drew 0-0 in the group stage to beat an England team whose selectors had compounded the losses caused by Munich with some daft choices. Tom Finney was injured, too. However, key parts were not yet in place - Djalma Santos, Zito, Garrincha and some 17 year old whose name escapes me. Their 1-0 win over a Wales team missing John Charles in the quarters involved a fortunate deflection (following a lovely piece of skill by Pele) however they'd displaced Vava with Jose Altafini after Vava hurt himself scoring completing his double against Lev Yashin.
Vava returned for the semi-finals, and Brazil put five past a France team that contained Piantoni, Kopa and Fontaine, even though Fontaine had equalised Didi's early goal. In the final, trailing hosts Sweden early on made no difference - they scored another five. Sweden's forward line included Hamrin, Gren, Liedholm and Skoglund - every one of whom either had been or was about to be a huge star in Serie A.
If Brazil shot their way to glory in the final two games, they didn't concede a single goal in their first four, even though they were feeling their way to their best eleven. Gilmar was a great goalkeeper, Nilton Santos a legendary left back. Djalma Santos, another great, was introduced for the final to face Skoglund. Consider the depth too - Altafini would go on to be one of Serie A's most prolific scorers, and Dino, who Zito replaced in the lineup, was part of Milan's 1963 European Cup winning lineup. While they didn't confront European football in its most glittering manifestation, I'd offer them as an outfit that was strong from front to back, blessed with all kinds of threat.
I rate Didi above Gerson, Garrincha over Jairzinho. Vava and Tostao were very different players of roughly equal standing. Meanwhile, although Rivelino was more talented than Zagalo, the latter was a more modern player, who gave a team better balance. Who knows what damage they'd have inflicted playing in South America.
Mind, it's a pity that Argentinian politics denied us sight of a team that could have included Di Stefano and Omar Sivori. Instead, Di Stefano was playing for a Spain that failed to qualify past Scotland, despite his having Kubala, Luis Suarez and Gento for a supporting cast. Still, none of that was Brazil's fault. I've listed my nominees (taking account of the competition they faced) in reverse order, with Brazil 58 at the zenith.