Cup of shocks makes for thrilling viewing
IT’S been very interesting to see the big surprises served up in the early stages of this World Cup. Some teams that could actually go and win the tournament have been really disappointing from the off. Indeed, some big names are in trouble already and it’s going to be fascinating to see how they react.
Germany are really struggling. They’ve zero points from their opening game against Japan, a match that they had controlled completely before conceding twice. Next up, they play Spain on Sunday with Luis Enrique’s side having swept past Costa Rica 7-0 in their opener.
Then we’ve got Lionel Messi’s Argentina who were shocked 2-1 by Saudi Arabia in their first match. They face a tough test against Mexico tomorrow.
Denmark drew 0-0 with Tunisia and they play the holders France next tomorrow. I’ve seen pundits from all over the world saying Denmark could be an outsider for this World Cup.
That’s interesting for Denmark, being looked at as dark horses. That’s a position we have never been in before. But tomorrow against France is massive. Denmark could really be struggling after two games.
And Belgium may have got three points against Canada but it was not on merit. Canada deserved more than they got from the game. They did a lot of running and played the better football at times.
Kevin De Bruyne summed it up when he got the man-of-the-match award and he said: ‘Who? Me?’ He didn’t play particularly well.
This Belgium team maybe peaked four years ago and this is a last-chance saloon for their golden generation. But they will need to step up if they are to do anything in this competition.
So across the tournament so far we have seen signs that it is a very even World Cup. Yes, some sides do not possess that world-class quality but the rest are very close.
It has been a tournament of surprises but that’s the beauty of the World Cup. Unpredictability is a good thing and desperation too, when teams have to go for it and be on the front foot. That makes it interesting.
It’s always difficult to say who stands out as having potential to go far in the tournament from the opening games.
At France 1998 with Denmark, I remember when we played Saudi Arabia in our opening game we really struggled until we got the goal really late on in the match through Marc Rieper. That put all our nerves aside.
I do think England look like contenders. Before the tournament started, I didn’t have them as one of my three obvious choices but as one of the outside chances, definitely.
Of course, Iran were not world beaters but that’s down to the fact England played as well as they did on the day in winning 6-2.
England have so many talented and well-known players but what I really liked about them was Jude Bellingham. Right from the off, Bellingham ran the show.
When a team is able to put on the likes of Jack Grealish, Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden all from the bench, that shows you the strength in depth of this English squad.
The balance looked right. Gareth Southgate’s team look to have found their rhythm very quickly in Qatar and the fact so many players got on the scoresheet so early in the tournament is important as well.
It’s going to be a fascinating game when England play the USA tonight. It’s going to be a massive test. The USA don’t have the same quality individually as England but they are a formidable team.
Like Canada, they are really athletic and they can run hard for 90 minutes. They also have great physicality and they have players who can trouble the England rearguard, like Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic.
Would it count as a shock if USA beat England? I think a draw would be a tremendous result for the USA and they are certainly capable of that.
But I think with England’s quality they will get the better of them, although it will be a stern test as to what Southgate’s squad can achieve in Qatar.
I have to say I’ve been quite thrilled by the World Cup so far, on the pitch rather than off it. It’s unpredictable and that’s a good thing. A few teams have started really well but you never know what will happen next.
We have certainly seen some sensational victories and there will be more surprises along the way.
But despite the early shocks and some big teams struggling, I don’t think there will be a huge sensation who wins the tournament. In the end, I believe it will be a winner we have seen before.