BY BEN MEMULETIWON
It is the season once again. The season when the eyes of the world will be glued to one country, Russia, and twelve stadia. The season when housewives temporarily lose their husbands to football. Today is the day the world has been waiting for. And for the next 32 days, soccer lovers around the globe will be treated to scintillating football, sublime skills, back-breaking goals and incredible saves by goalkeepers.
Today, the 21st edition of the world’s greatest football tournament kicks- off at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium with the match between the hosts and Saudi Arabia.
Who will succeed defending champions Germany? Or can the German overawe all and claim their fifth trophy, and become the first team to win back-to-back titles since Brazil in 1958 and 1962? All will be revealed on July 15 when the trophy is lifted into the azure sky.
Before that, four weeks of captivating football awaits soccer followers all over the world. So, let the games begin!
Call it football fever and the entire world is catching it. Men, women, young and old are in it. It is football’s Christmas.
But before the first kick of the ball, soccer pundits are unanimous in their prediction that Brazil looks good for sixth title. Others believe that defending champions, Germany, are unstoppable. But a large chunk of bookmakers do not lose sleep over France’ great form. So also is Argentina and perennial under-achievers, Spain. These are the top challengers. But there are always a few dark horses in the running for every tournament.
With 32 teams taking part, it can be difficult to predict a winner, but some teams are inevitably better equipped than others when it comes to quality of stars on parade and the pedigree of the coaches.
These facts are not cast in stone. Russia may be an exception as every major tournament is always a room for a dark horse to upset the established order. Some optimists even think it may be Nigeria or Egypt’s time. Or even Senegal.
Given the fact that they are the holders, and having recently won the Confederations Cup – with a second-string team, Germany are considered one of the favourites to win the World Cup. Joachim Low’s side are rated high to emerge triumphant in Moscow on July 15. They will have to overcome Mexico, Sweden and South Korea to get out of their group and into the knock-out stage. But Low’s men have consistently shown, over the years, that they have the nous to go deep into major tournaments.
However, the Germans have been overtaken in the odds by Brazil as favourites to win the tournament. Tite’s side finished comfortably top of the CONMEBOL qualification series, 10 points ahead of second-place Uruguay. It must be said that they have been handed a tough group to navigate first though. Serbia, Switzerland and Costa Rica are all hard-working and capable sides, therefore, Brazil will not be expected to breeze through to the knock-out stage. The ride may be bumpy.
After sacking their coach 24 hours to Wednesday’s kick-off, it is obvious that 2010 world champions, Spain, are not the same Furia Roja that dominated international football from 2008 to 2012. But with players such as Sergio Ramos, Isco and Andres Iniesta on call, they remain one of the most fearsome teams in the world.
They may have crashed out at the group stage in 2014, they look good to win in 2018. Spain have a fascinating group that will see them come up against Iberian rivals, Portugal, as well as Morocco and Iran, but they have enough ammunition in their arsenal to finish in the top two.
As well as Brazil, Germany and Spain, France are among the favourites to win the competition 20 years after their first and only triumph in 1998. It is not surprising to see Les Bleus so highly rated, considering that Didier Deschamps has an impressive pool of talent to draw from. This includes the likes of Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann.
For years now, pundits have observed that the only thing Lionel Messi needs to cement his status as the best player in football history is the World Cup. The Barcelona star was a beaten finalist in 2014 but the outlook does not look particularly good for 2018.
Argentina’s qualification campaign almost ended in disaster and they needed a moment of Messi magic in the last game to secure a place in the tournament.
They must first shove aside teams in Group D which include Nigeria, Croatia and Iceland.
European champions, Portugal, have not been given much of a chance by bookmakers but it would be foolish to disregard the Cristiano Ronaldo factor. The Real Madrid super star has finally rediscovered the kind of form that ensured a slew of accolades last season and he banged a remarkable 15 goals in qualification.
Fernando Santos’ team is peppered with talented youngsters such as Andre Silva and Joao Cancelo, but they boast one of the best players of all time in Ronaldo and that is significant.
Another outside bet for the 2018 World Cup is Belgium, whose ‘Golden Generation’ – including players like Kevind De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku – has now reached a level of maturity that should see them mount a serious challenge, something that is reflected in their price of 11/1.
The Red Devils reached the quarter-finals of the 2014 World Cup and were knocked out at the same stage at Euro 2016, but they have enough talents in their ranks to warrant a better display in Russia. On paper, they have been given a relatively straightforward group, with England, Panama and Tunisia to top, and they will be eager to show that they’re more than also-rans.
Over the years, England have had to contend with the pressure of expectation at successive World Cups, but that simply does not exist in 2018. In terms of star quality, Gareth Southgate’s side is a far cry from the ‘Golden Generation’ that fell short in the 2000s and, rated 16/1 to win, they are genuine underdogs in Russia.
As is customary, the Three Lions qualified for the tournament with ease and they have held their own in warm-up friendlies against Germany, Brazil, the Netherlands, Italy and Nigeria. With no weight of expectation to carry, England could well thrive.
Two-time world champions, Uruguay, are another team who can be considered underdogs (28/1) at the 2018 World Cup, but they have shown that they can mount a challenge for honours. As well as winning early editions, the Celeste have finished fourth on three occasions.
They finished second to Brazil in CONMEBOL qualifying – ahead of Argentina – and the fact that they possess some of the best strikers in world football in Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani is a massive boost.
Croatia finished third at the World Cup in France 10 years ago but they have failed to replicate the same level of success ever since. Crashing out at the group stage in 2002, 2006 and 2014, their status as potential challengers is also undermined by the fact that they needed to qualify via the play-offs after being pipped by Iceland in their group.
However, with Real Madrid’s Luka Modric and Barcelona’s Ivan Rakitic in their ranks, they boast the kind of talents other nations envy. Despite that, they are certainly underdogs and are considered a 33/1 bet to win.
Every four years, it seems that at least one team emerges from the blues to qualify for the knock-out stages, inflicting upsets along the way. Senegal knocked out title holders France in 2002, reaching the quarter-finals, and of the African teams involved, they are deemed the most likely to make their mark in Russia.
Seven-time Africa Cup of Nations winners, Egypt, are the most successful African nation, but they have failed to make an impact on the world stage. However, in 2018, they will have the star quality of Mohamed Salah, whose ability can help spur them on.
Out of 20 editions thus far, the World Cup has been won by tournament hosts on six occasions, but the 2018 hosts, Russia, are very much long-shots. They struggled at the Confederations Cup last year, going out at the group stage, and have not won any of their last five friendly games.
However, despite their dismal form, the weight of history dictates that they have a slight chance. They will be inspired by home support sufficiently to mount a challenge.
Denmark needed a play-off to qualify for the World Cup, but they have a talented squad that includes Tottenham star, Christian Eriksen, and will hope to reach the knock-out stage at least. They are 80/1 to go all the way.
Nigeria are competing in the World Cup for the sixth time in history but their chances are not rated highly. The fact that Nigeria parades the youngest team in the tournament may push them close to podium performance even if they fail to lay their hands on the golden diadem.
