The FIFA World
Cup 2018 in Russia is only just a few months away and with the teams drawn for the groups
stages and the recent international break we all can identify where each of the
32 teams stand going into the summer. Most of the big-name sides and usual
suspects have earned their place in the World Cup, with only the loss of big
names such as Italy, Netherlands and Chile.
5. SPAIN
The Spanish side will travel to Russia with a complete new
look side compared to their last world cup win back at the South Africa FIFA World Cup in 2010. Vicente del Bosque had his final days in charge after a disappointing
exit from Euro 2016, who on my opinion, served as manager too long at the
national side. Spain needed a change and so they decided to appoint Julen
Lopetegui as manager, so far not a huge difference has been seen but it is
early days and we will see exactly his qualities when the 2018 FIFA World Cup
arrives. The current defence of Spain looks to be pretty solid and national sides
are struggling to find away to penetrate their goal. Due to their history it is
really hard to completely right of Spain to win any world cup, the current squad
is very young and showcases a lot of promising talent so I believe Spain have a
very good chance this year compared to recent attempts.
4. ARGENTINA
The bones will be picked out of a qualifying campaign thatwas
close to disaster and required unsurprisingly the services of a masterclass Lionel
Messi in Ecuador, but in the end, Argentina made it and will automatically be named
as one of the favourites. It is to be pointing out that every nation bar Brazil
came close to missing out in an extraordinary Conmebol qualifying group; it
will also be a big concern, though, that the gap between Jorge Sampaoli’s team
and their bitterest rivals – whom they did defeat in a summer friendly – was so
big. They definitely have the individual talent to win the next FIFA World Cup – and, in
what might be his last World Cup, Messi has the mindset to deliver more magic.
3. FRANCE
France’s qualifying would have been nothing without the odd
scare as they experienced one of their most awkward groups but the main point
is that they still impressed and earned their place in the 2018 FIFA World
Cup. The reason I have them sitting in for 3rd place favourites is
the quality and potential that their squad consists of with talent such as Antoine
Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Ousmane Dembélé and Kylian Mbappé. The question is, is
that can Didier Deschamps get the best out of these to quality players? Despite
their obvious weaknesses, if the players named above are on their top game, they
deserve to be ranked as top favourites this summer.
2. BRAZIL
Brazil look refreshed under Tite and the light work they
made of the fiendish Conmebol qualifying procedure was extremely impressive. Tite
has openly stated they should be listed among the top contenders this summer;
it is hard to disagree and it is worth listening to Dani Alves when he says
Tite’s qualities are “very distant from all Brazilian coaches”. Neymar, Gabriel
Jesus, Casemiro, Philippe Coutinho and an eager Paulinho are among those advancing
from the transformation and perhaps a series of failures to lift the World Cup since
2002 will be finally be finished in the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
1. GERMANY
It is without a doubt that Germany was going to be on top of
the list for the favourite side to win the 2018 FIFA Word Cup as shown by
their recent form in competitions. German manager, Die Mannschaft guide Germany
to become the first European side to win the World Cup on South American turf
by beating both Brazil and Argentina. Given
their strong performance during the qualifiers, the fact they'll enter the
tournament as champions and with their historic, seemingly ingrained ability to
shoulder pressure and excel in big occasions, they are an obvious pick for the
top favourite to win the title again this year.
Who do you think will win the 2018 FIFA World Cup this summer? Please leave a comment below thank you.
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