Candidates. France, Brazil, Argentina… lead a ranking of favorites that Spain or Portugal want to join
The World Cup in Qatar is already here. The football planet will stop next November 20 to see an appointment with the usual host of stars, including Leo Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Mbappé, Neymar or Kevin De Bruyne. They are the proper names of a championship in which football is more equal than ever thanks to globalization, but where there are still favourites, with the names almost always on the front line on their way to the world title. Despite ups and downs, teams like France, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, England or Belgium are on everyone’s lips as possible candidates for the sceptre. You should always count on them, but they are not the only ones.
It is not usual for there to be major surprises in winning the title during a World Cup, but in Russia it was seen that Croatia was one step away from glory. They’ve earned it in their own right to go the other way from teams hoping to sneak into the favourites. Modric will lead a group that has not made any major changes. They also want to return to the top Spain and Portugal. La Roja continues its search for identity at the hands of Luis Enrique and has already shown in the Eurocup that it can compete in the meantime, while the Portuguese country plans to extort Cristiano Ronaldo to the last straw and a good mix to do with the He has a tremendous amount of talent in attack. If the favorites are lost, the second unit will not hesitate to step forward and write a golden page.
Qatar 2022 is Leo Messi’s last chance to climb the final step he needs to become the greatest player of all time. The Argentine star has been preparing for this moment all his life and coming to the event at the age of 35 is ready to make history. He is having a great moment at PSG and this time he arrives with a group of footballers among whom a winning gene has sprung up, as it hasn’t been in Argentina for a long time. La Albiceleste won the Copa América last year and convinced himself that a third World Cup is possible. To achieve this, Leo Scaloni will have the bloc that ended the bad fate that lasted two decades, a solid group back and that retains the talent of Messi, Lautaro Martínez, Dybala, Di María, Julián Álvarez and his company.
20 years. That’s the time since Brazil last won the title in Korea and Japan in 2002. The ‘canarinha’ returns to the Asian continent with the idea of repeating that feat and, as on that occasion, does so with an unparalleled offensive arsenal. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Juninho or Denilson are now Neymar, Gabriel Jesús, Vinicius, Raphinha, Rodrygo or Antony. As many as nine forwards have named Tite in a list that highlights the winning gene of Dani Alves as he goes in search of the one title missing from his sizable record. Brazil’s strength in Qatar will again be the unbalanced strength of their individualities and the experience they have on all lines thanks to experienced players like Casemiro, Marquinhos or Thiago Silva. It is a mature team that has all the ingredients to become a six-time champion.
Didier Deschamps keeps the group that became world champion four years ago, but has made adjustments because of unforeseen events. The main real name is Karim Benzema, who will return to the event eight years later and do so as the best player in the world. The Real Madrid footballer shares the lead with Kylian Mbappé and Antoine Griezmann. They are the untouchables in a group that has second swords like Nkunku or Dembélé and will be in the middle of the field where they will make an important revolution. Pogba and Kante have fallen out of the World Cup through injury, but the emergence of midfield talent at the hands of Tchouameni, Camavinga or Guendouzi makes up for those absences. The French have the poster of favorites because they have some of the best footballers in the tournament.
He is not one of the favorites in the FIFA rankings, as it is eleventh, but if this type of tournament has taught us anything, it is that Germany can never be ruled out. It may not have as many stars as the team that won the World Cup in Brazil and the machine may not be as well oiled as it used to be, but just listen to the catchy song designated for the date and the Hansi Flick boys are transformed. You only need to see the 27 out of a possible 30 points they drew in the qualifying phase to know they’re a candidate for something big. The great strength of the Germans will again be the value of the group, but they also have top footballers such as Kimmich, Müller and Gundogan, and young people who have broken through in recent years such as Havertz, Musiala or Adeyemi.
Rarely has England arrived in better circumstances to reissue the 1966 title than on this occasion. After more than 50 years of constant ups and downs, Gareth Southgate seems to have built a team with identity, one that knows what it’s playing for and has a significant amount of talent. The ‘Three Lions’ arrive at the rendezvous after staying at the gates of the final in 2018 and second in the Eurocup. That’s the poster of a team in which there are lightning fast performances month after month, in which Harry Kane leads a group that mixes veterans and youngsters perfectly and in which the newcomers ask for a step. Phil Foden is already a reference, Jude Bellingham claims to be one and others like Marcus Rashford, Reece James, Jack Grealish or Bukayo Saka are trying to step forward to restore glory to those who invented the rules of football.
Qatar 2022 is the time and the place for Belgium to finally take the best generation in its history to the next level. Roberto Martínez will try to improve on the third place at the World Cup in Russia and for that he will have at his disposal a group of footballers, including stars of the highest level who have competed with the best over the last decade and who will arrive at this event in full maturity . Courtois and De Bruyne are the indisputable references, but behind them are players who can revive old laurels like Hazard, Lukaku or Carrasco and others who are growing day by day in their respective clubs like Tielemans, who is no longer a promise to begin one of the team leaders.
Source: La Verdad
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