This Cup runneth over with possibilities
This year’s World Cup is shaping up to be a very captivating affair. This isn’t because the football has been spectacular, because it hasn’t. It’s because this is the first time in years where the competition has so many potential winners.
Pre-tournament favourites Brazil and Germany are so far not living up to expectations, while the likes of France, Spain, Portugal, and Uruguay are struggling to stand out from the crowd, as well. This has culminated in a World Cup that could be the most competitive in recent memory. The 2014 tourney was about Germany’s dominance from start to finish, while 2010 was all about Spain’s collective brilliance.
This time, however, it would take a brave man to confidently bet on any one team to win it. There are no standouts among the pre-tournament favourites, no ‘team to beat.’ Instead, we have nine, maybe 10 teams that will all think that if things go their way, they can be flying home with the World Cup trophy in three weeks’ time.
Of these teams, Belgium is looking more and more like the team that others will want to avoid in the knockout stages, but their final group stage game against England will be their first real test of their tournament.
They were always expected to brush aside the likes of Panama and Tunisia, so the England game will be interesting to see how their system plays when facing a team with some quality of their own.
The signs are good, however, and they’ve shown how easily they can score goals thanks to their star-studded forward line.
Romelu Lukaku has now scored 17 in his last 11 internationals, while Eden Hazard has contributed a goal or assist 34 times in his last 32 international games.
Minor injuries to these two during the game against Tunisia will be a cause for concern for Roberto Martinez, but as Belgium is already guaranteed to qualify, it gives them the ability to rest players against England if need be.
Mexico has gone from barely mentioned pretournament, to being the darlings of the World Cup after they beat Germany in their first game then comprehensively beat a tough South Korean side. There isn’t a side that plays with the collective energy that they can emit for 90 minutes, and that is undoubtedly buoyed by their huge travelling support. That can have a huge effect on the motivation of the players, and for a team that relies so heavily on energy and passion, it will be a huge aid to them in the knockout stages.
They will be the true underdogs throughout this competition but, with the way they’re playing, don’t think any of the big teams would want to face them in the Round of 16.
The way the World Cup has gone so far, it is fool’s play to try and predict what will happen. No one could have envisioned how much Germany would struggle in its opening games, or how surprising Russia’s performances have been.
Argentina is another that has bitterly disappointed at the tournament. A team boasting the attacking power of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Paulo Dybala should not be so inept at creating and finishing chances, but its performances in the first two games were embarrassing and they find themselves out of the tournament as a result.
It is such unpredictability that makes this World Cup so captivating for any football fan. The absence of a true favourite is a breath of fresh air and adds a much needed degree of intrigue to a tournament that hasn’t produced too many games of true edge-of-your-seat excitement.
The excitement that comes with non-stop goals has been replaced with tense, cagey affairs where one goal can change the complexion of the entire group. This has allowed some teams to thrive — the likes of Mexico and Croatia — while others have clearly been impacted negatively by it. Almost like the pressure of not making a mistake has hindered teams’ ability to show any attacking flair. Germany and Argentina have been the two greatest culprits of this.
From a neutral perspective, though, this could turn out to be an excellent Word Cup that could see some unlikely teams make it far. Everyone loves an underdog story, and fans could be spoiled for choice on which one to support if things keep going as they are. Croatia and Mexico look like the two most likely to make a run, with Croatia really running under the radar so far. They swept aside Nigeria and Argentina with ease, and with Luka Modric stepping up in a big way, there’s no reason why they can’t keep putting in performances like they have done.
We might not be seeing goals galore at this World Cup, but the team dynamics are providing fans with plenty to talk about and, with so many potential upsets and underdog stories in the cards, Russia 2018 could be one of the most captivating football tournaments in recent memory.
David Lewis is a sportswriter from Manchester, U.K., with a focus on international and European club soccer.