Road to Russia - Contenders, Dark Horses and Failures
The World Cup is almost here! and with the biggest
sporting tournament in the world drawing the attention of global fans, there is
going to be speculation and prophesizing about what is going to happen during
the competition and the fallout after all the drama is complete. WFC has
compiled a brief analysis of who we believe will be the Contenders, Dark Horses
and failures in Russia should each nation have a full and healthy compliment of players at their disposal. Of course this is all speculation until we witness what
occurs between the June 14 kick-off opening match when hosts Russia play Saudi
Arabia, and the final whistle of the final on July 15 at the Luzhniki stadium
in Moscow.
So here we go,
The
Contenders:
Spain
Perennial contenders in the last decade, Spain head
into Russia as one of the main favourites. A perfect qualifying campaign that
only saw them drop 2 points with a draw against Italy (1-1) in Turin shows the
calibre that the Spanish national side has revitalised in the squad since they
were unceremoniously knocked out of the 2014 World Cup after a string of
embarrassing results. The ushering in of a new guard of scintillating playing
talent has given La Furia Roja their mojo back. Drawn in group B with Portugal,
Morocco and Iran it is very hard to see how Spain won’t finish top of the group
and cruise into the knockout stage with a fairly easy round of 16 game awaiting
them from group A – any one of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Uruguay who they
should push aside and advance to the final 8. With the added advantage of
tremendous squad depth, Spain can rotate out top tier players to be given rest
while bringing in another player any national team would envy. Across the
midfield, Spain possibly has the best options of all national teams – Thiago,
Andreas Iniesta, David Silva and Sergio Busquets are all expected to be
starters, however the likes of Marco Asensio, Saul, Isco and Koke as a backup
four would totally dominate most opposition midfields themselves.
WFC Predicted Best Line-up:
Brazil
Shaking off the ghosts of the 2014 World Cup on home
soil will always be a struggle, however Brazil have become a new form of a
powerhouse in the 2018 qualifying campaign. A more solid defensive structure
and consistency of movement, rather than a get-rich-or-die-trying mentality has
propelled Brazil to the pinnacle of the World Cup title odds. Breezing through
the CONMEBOL qualifying – capturing a ticket to Russia in record timing and
finishing 10 points ahead of second placed Uruguay gave Brazil time to
experiment and work on combination play that could be seen once Russia 2018
begins. The emergence of new talent and the resurrection of past heroes
believed to be finished has provided Brazil with a greater depth of talent to
rely on. This was vastly lacking in 2014, where the whole nation was riding a
wave of emotion on the abilities of Neymar. This time around, coach Titè has
injected players like Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino and Coutinho, while others
like Fernandinho, Paulinho and Willian have found a new lease on life after
being bit-part players in the past. The spread of the scorning workload away
from Neymar, with Gabriel Jesus playing the striker role to perfection allows
the aforementioned Neymar a higher ability to do what he does best, and
terrorise defences with trickery and mazy runs down the wing. With this
attacking flair and a defence that boasts talent and experience, Brazil very
well could win it all.
WFC Predicted Best Line-up:
France
The talent in the French squad is awe inspiring,
however lacking a cutting edge that other teams have in the elite bracket of
nations. Nevertheless, France have to be considered a true contender for the
World Cup title in 2018 as the explosive young talent possessed in the squad
could take-off and light up the tournament en-route to the trophy. Strong
across the backline, ridiculously skilful in the midfield and dynamic up top,
France have the weapons to beat most teams in the world, but coach Didier
Deschamps has himself questioned the metal capacity that has plagued Les Bleus
time and time again. The pressure of expectation will be the key factor in this
World Cup campaign, with the qualifying stage showing the cracks, as dropping
points against Belarus, Sweden and Luxembourg almost came back to bite.
However, topping the qualifying group gave France automatic qualification and a
much needed sigh of relief. The elevation of young talent in the qualifying
campaign could be a massive positive for the national team going forward. The
likes of Kylian Mbappè, Thomas Lemar and
Ousmane Dembèlè have all starred for their respective club teams but hadn’t
provided significant contributions to the national side as of yet. The
confidence they all gained in qualifying with the trust placed on them will
allow a dynamic addition to assist current nailed on starters such as Paul
Pogba, Antoine Griezmann and N’Golo Kantè
WFC Predicted Best Line-up:
Germany
The expert and tactical machine of the German side
has the potential to keep rolling on through Russia 2018 and claim another
title – being the first nation since Brazil in 1962 to go back-to-back. Embarrassing
the Confederations Cup in 2017, by sending a B squad, with little national team
experience and completely dominating the tournament and claiming the title,
will strike fear into every nation as to what the Germans can produce in
Russia. Drawn in a relatively easy group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, it is hard to see anything else but a German whitewash in the group stage, much
like their qualifying campaign was. In qualifying Germany went 10 wins from 10
while taking until the 5th match to concede a goal. This defensive
prowess has been built on club partnerships being brought to the national side.
With Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich) locking up the centre of
defence and Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich) as a back-up or slotting into a
right back position, team chemistry immediately comes to the squad. This added
advantage doesn’t exist in most national sides – with the only possible
exception being Spain. The German midfield and forwards are so technical and
powerful that they are impossible to handle at times. Any team that can drop
Marco Reus, Leroy Sanè and Sami Khedira with no drop off in dominance is
something special. This depth of talent is what has propelled them to glory in
the past and what could very well propel them again in June and July this year.
WFC Predicted Best Line-up:
The
Dark Horse Bolters:
Poland
Having a strong qualifying campaign is always a good
sign of things to come, and Poland were just that, having won 8 of 10 games.
Star forward Robert Lewandowski scored 16 times in the 10 games to lead all
UEFA scorers across European qualifying. Despite this, Poland aren’t just
reliant on Lewandowski scoring a bag of goals every game. During the 10 games
the Poles had 9 different goal scorers in total. For a team not considered as a
top tier nation, Poland sit 10th in the FIFA rankings and possess
a host of players playing at top European clubs. Historically, Poland has
been very good in World Cup campaigns, having finished in 3rd place
on 2 occasions, in 1974 and 1982 from 6 appearances. Not having tasted World Cup
participation since 2006, this could be the year that Poland re-announce
themselves. Being seeded into a group that plays into their favour (group H –
Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan), where they should come in 1st
place, makes for a likely round of 16 meeting with England, which they should
also win. This places them in the last 8 of the tournament, where if things
play out to expectation a face-off against rivals Germany will occur. This
would be a tough ask for Poland, but anything could happen at that stage of the
World Cup and for all we know, a much unconsidered Polish side could be in the
semi-finals.
WFC Predicted Best Line-up:
Egypt
Dominating Africa and AFCON hasn’t transferred over
into World Cup success in the past. With Egypt only narrowly booking a ticket
to Russia on the back of a Mo Salah penalty, they have been given a breath of
life when the group stage draw was announced. Drawn in group A with Russia,
Saudi Arabia and Uruguay, Egypt will be salivating at getting into the round of
16 and even possibly topping their group. A lot is riding on the opening
fixture against Uruguay on June 15th. A win here could be instrumental.
In qualifying, many critics slammed coach Hector Cuper for playing with a very
defensive orientated set-up, but at the World Cup stage this could play into
the Egyptians favour as other nations struggle to breakdown the defence and
they can hit on the counter attack. Having Mo Salah hitting peak form heading into
the tournament that is rivalling the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel
Messi’s production is a major boost to the aspirations that Egypt have, but any
drop-off may be fatal. Should Egypt top their group, a likely meeting with
Portugal in the round of 16 will be on the cards. The two teams recently met in
a friendly and it took a Ronaldo brace after the 90th minute (91st
and 94th) to get Portugal over the line (2-1). In this game Portugal
played horribly and Egypt could win the next meeting which will be more desirable
as a final 8 spot will be the reward.
WFC Predicted Best Line-up:
The
Failures:
Portugal
The Ronaldo factor is always a headache when attempting
to predict what Portugal will be capable of in a major tournament. Undeniably
sensational in qualifying, Portugal won 9 out of their 10 matches at a scoring
average of 3 goals per game. All this has come off the back of a devastating
Euro 2016 run which saw them crowned as champions – beating hosts France in the
final. This has thrust Portugal into becoming heavy favourites to win the World
Cup, with a final 4 spot the very least expected. Being drawn in group B it
should be a simple task to get out of and advance past the group stage. Yet, group
A has possibly the easiest pickings of the tournament with 2 teams clearly head
and shoulders in front to advance, in which Portugal will face one of in the
Round of 16. Although Portugal have high levels of talent, it is their squad
depth that will be tested in Russia. With rivals Spain also in group B it is
hard to see Portugal finishing first. Settling for a second placed spot gives
the Selecao das Quinas a much harder run to the later stages of the tournament,
with a second round meeting against either Egypt or Uruguay. This will be a tough
test, which could see Ronaldo, his teammates and Portugal crash out early.
WFC Predicted Best Line-up:
Colombia
Getting to the quarter-finals in Brazil in 2014 was
a large improvement for Colombia from past World Cup campaigns that saw them
miss qualification in 2002, 2006 and 2010. However, the Russia 2018
qualification was seemingly doomed to fail, with the side putting in countless
inconsistent performances and dropping points in unlikely situations, none more
evident than their 2-1 loss at home to Paraguay on the penultimate day of
qualification after being up 1-0 in the 89th minute. However, results played into Colombia's favour in CONMEBOL qualifying and they booked a ticket to the big dance of 2018. This
inconsistency though lead to 45 players being utilised in the qualifying campaign by
coach Josè Pekerman who struggled to find a decent formula for attack and
defence, with Colombia only managing to score 21 total goals, even with the
likes of Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez, Carlos Bacca, Juan Cuadrado and Luis
Muriel at his disposal. All this trouble in qualifying could lead-on into the
group stage of the World Cup proper, where Colombia has been drawn in an immensely
tricky group H along with Poland, Japan and Senegal. With Polands dominance in
attack and defensive prowess they should finish top of the group, only leaving
a second placed spot up for grabs. Colombia’s inability to score consistently
could prove a thorn in their side against notoriously resolute defenders Japan and a powerful and athletic Senegal.
There is a high probability that the Columbians could be packing their bags for
a flight home before the Round of 16 begins. Let’s hope that this doesn’t occur
as the World Cup majorly benefits from the South American countries flair and
skill, but the signs are there that a group stage exit could become a reality.
WFC Predicted Best Line-up:
There you have it! Our analysis and speculation as to who
will be the main contenders, the dark horse bolters and the failures of Russia 2018,
but surprises are what makes football so enjoyable
So,
What will the World Cup throw at us this time round?
As we all anticipate for Russia 2018 to begin on
June 14th stayed tuned into WFC over our social media accounts for
more previews, predictions and team news to get everyone prepared for the
memories and history that awaits us.
@WFC_LS_Potzi
@WFC_Seb
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