Since it inception, only eight teams have ever won the Fifa World Cup inclusive of the original Jules Rimet Trophy that began in 1930.There have been 21 editions and come Thursday the jouney to the 22 nd one begins in Russia.
Seven games of which four are knock out ones for the victor test the sheer physical strength,depth, mental toughness and resilience to the maximum amongst the global stage with billions watching.Its not an easy task and only one mighty team will be kept standing in the end. These are my final four to make semis.
So who are the favourites ? Surprise surprise , the list is by no means a novel one.Defending champions Germany are the no.1 ranked team in the world according to the latest Fifa rankings and they have a boastful record when it comes to the FIFA World Cup finals. Champions on four occasions, they are almost in every World Cup pundit’s list to win it all.
The last time they were knocked before entering the knock out stage was 1978. Joachim Louw has had the luxury of a huge talent pool at his display again with Marco Reus and Manuel Neuer ‘s availability in premiere tournament finally. Joshua Kimmich and Mats Hummels are ever reliable alongside the shooting prowess of Thomas Muller and Timo Werner. Muller is only six shy of Miroslav Klose s all time record of sixteen goals set in Brazil four years ago. I do think they will miss Leroy Sane though, the English Premiership ‘s young player of the year who has been an important weapon in Manchester City’s strong league championship run.
The team which needs no introduction to FIFA World Cup finals is Brazil. They are the betting favourites come the opening kickoff and have made it to every tournament since the World Cup ever began.Rejuvenated under the coaching skills of Tite, the likes of Neymar, Coutinho, Firminho, Gabriel Jesus, Paulinho, Willian, Casemiro and Fernandinho are destined to perform well barring any major injury such as the one Neymar suffered when they hosted four years ago.Their attack might be the best with notable household names but its their watertight defence which is sparking the debate on them sealing a sixth World Cup.The Canarinho will fly high in Russia.
In 2010, Spain won the World Cup for the first time sandwiched in between their two Euro wins.For years they have dominated on the world level courtesy of their huge domestic league attracting star players and a wealth of youth talent blossoming in it . Real Madrid completing a three peat of the the Champions League last month provide the bulk of the Spanish national team this year but there are others in the mix.David de Gea is amongst the top goal keepers in the world let alone the English premier league and Diego Costa alongside David Silva prove that it’s not a Real – Barca showcase for the La Roja. They have sacked their coach Julen Lopetugui on the eve of the tourney soon after his appointment for Real Madrid.That is poor timing indeed considering he was undefeated in his reign and comes as a mini crisis. Spain still will have the depth to launch into the last four.
France were knocked off by Germany in Brazil at the quarter final stage however two years later they exacted revenge in the Euros although losing at home to Portugal in the final. In recent years they have definitely improved on their talent and star European players such as Antoine Griezmann and Paul Pogba . They have new talent at the world stage as well with Nabil Fekir, Ousmoane Dembele, Ngolo Kante and Kylian Mbappe and Thomas Lamar. This will be a tough French squad although replicating 1998’s World Cup success is home will still require a bit more for Didier Deschamps ‘s “Le Blues “.
Those are my locks for the semis. Its not a World Cup if Argentina are not included in the top picks to win and by no means they are “dark horses” yet but still they are not a polished squad having struggled to qualify.Come Cup time, they are a different kettle of fish. Lionel Messi continues his quest for a cup win having won the “Golden Ball” last time and coming ever so close to glory. Not having Italy and Holland makes it slightly easier to predict this time around although their absence will surely be felt around world cup circles by their millions of die hard fans.
So on July 15 , there will be a victor.It might not be a new one ! Who will hold the Fifa World Cup in Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium. We are far from finding it as of now as the cup is ready to become underway but there is a good hunch that one of the biggies will have enough bottle to nail it. Its a cup that the world wants but only a few can hold it, still !
Sportsfan Says 