Previous Articles of The Tour Group B
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This article takes a look at the situation in Group C
Argentina, Mexico and Saudi Arabia in Group C all qualified directly through the qualifiers of their continents, and only Poland qualified for the World Cup through the play-offs.
All four teams competed in the final stage of the last World Cup. Among them, Mexico and Argentina broke through from the group to the knockout round, but in the first round of the knockout round, they all encountered strong opponents, and argentina was eliminated by the current champion France in the first round of knockout, missing the top 8; Mexico lost to Brazil to stop the first round of knockout rounds.
Let's take a look at the core players of the C team and the road to promotion.
1. Saudi Arabia, german turn total value of 29.38 million euros, the latest world ranking 53
Head: Salem Davasari
The 30-year-old Davasari, who is 173 cm tall, plays as a right winger on the field, can also play as a left winger or center forward, currently has a german turnaround price of 2.8 million euros, and wears the Saudi no. 10 shirt in the World Preliminary Round, which is one of the attacking cores of the Saudi team.
Davasari made his career with Saudi giants Riyadh Crescent and made 29 appearances for the team in the 21/22 season, including 25 starts, scoring 12 goals and 6 assists to help the team win the league title (former Manchester United player and Chinese Super League star Ighalo currently plays for the team and is the Golden Boot of the 21/22 league season).
It is worth mentioning that Davasari has a brief experience in Europe, in January 2018, Davasari joined Villarreal of La Liga on loan from Riyadh Crescent, only once on the bench in La Liga for half a year, and did not get the opportunity to stay, returning to Riyadh Crescent in June of the same year. Davasaari currently makes a total of 290 appearances for Riyadh Crescent, scoring 69 goals and 50 assists, helping the team to 15 trophies, including two AFC Champions League titles.
Davasari has the agility of a West Asian player and a good ability to hold the ball, and the speed is also more prominent, which is the current Saudi team's offensive weapon on the right side.
Path to Advancement:
Saudi Arabia in the World Cup Asian Qualifiers in the round of 12 Group B group stage 7 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss accumulated 23 points, pressure Japan and Australia to win the first direct promotion in the group, facing Australia's one win and one draw to remain unbeaten, squeezing Australia into the intercontinental play-offs, is the team with the fewest losses in the entire round of 12, the only loss was the away loss to Japan.
Davasari made 13 appearances in qualifying, starting all of them and playing all over the game, scoring seven goals and joining teammate SheikhRi as the team's top scorer.
As the second-lowest-paid team in the round of 32 of this World Cup (only higher than the host Qatar) and the current second-lowest team in the world (only higher than Ghana, which ranks 60th), Saudi Arabia is indeed the weakest team in the group in terms of paper strength. However, in the World Cup qualifier stage against Japan and Australia team is not a loss, but played well, although there are almost no players in Europe, but the overall strength is relatively average, there are also West Asian team speed advantages and flexible foot technology, the physical fitness of the players is not bad, and most of the main players in the team play in Riyadh Crescent, the tacit understanding on the field also has an advantage.
Another point that cannot be overlooked is that Saudi Arabia, which borders the territory of Qatar, the host of the World Cup, is the closest participating country to the host country in this World Cup, and occupies a clear home advantage from the perspective of climate and fan support. It is worth noting that Saudi Arabia's current head coach Renard has dual citizenship of both France and Poland, and the match against Poland can also be described as a hometown.
Other key players:
Saleh Sheikhri (Striker, Riyadh Crescent), Fahd Mwarad (Striker, Jeddah United), Mohammed Kanu (Midfielder, Riyadh Crescent), Mohammed Black (Defender, Riyadh Crescent), Yasser Shahrani (Defender, Riyadh Crescent)
2. The Polish team, with a total value of 304 million euros, is ranked 26th in the world in the latest place
Head card: Lewandowski
At present, the 33-year-old Levan is 185 cm tall and plays as a center forward, and the latest value of de transfer is still as high as 45 million euros, which is the first value in the Polish team and the top three forwards on the ability list of many players. Levan has also recently been close to joining La Liga amid rumors of a transfer with Barca.
Levan made a total of 46 appearances for Bayern Munich in the 21/22 season, scoring 50 goals and assisting six times, and was the top scorer in the five leagues in the 21/22 season, helping Bayern win the Bundesliga title and the German Super Cup, as well as the Bundesliga Golden Boot. Levan debuted in the youth academy of Polish giants Legia Warsaw, landed at Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga in the summer of 2010, and Lewan, who became famous at Dortmund, moved to Bayern on a free transfer in the summer of 2014.
In his eight years at Bayern, he made 375 appearances for the team, scoring a staggering 344 goals and 74 assists, and is currently ranked second in Bayern's all-time top scorer list. He helped Bayern to complete eight consecutive Bundesliga titles, 1 UEFA Champions League title, won a total of 23 trophies for Bayern and Borussia Dortmund, and won the World Footballer of the Year twice in 2020 and 2021, and the Polish Player of the Year 10 times.
Levan has represented the national team in 3 European Championship matches and the last World Cup (the last World Cup Poland team was ranked at the bottom of the group stage with 1 win and 2 losses, Levan has not yet scored in the World Cup regular match), a total of 132 appearances for the national team, scored 76 goals, and is currently ranked first in Poland's historical goals list, ranking third in the European national top scorer list, second only to Ronaldo and Puskas, Levan is still the core and spiritual leader of the Polish team.
Path to Advancement:
Poland scored 20 points from 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses in the World Cup European Qualifier Group I, 6 points behind england at the top of the group, only 2 points ahead of Albania to finish second in the group, thrillingly qualifying for the play-offs, defeating Sweden in the play-offs and qualifying for the World Cup finals for two consecutive times. Levan made nine appearances in qualifying, all starting, scoring nine goals and four assists, ranking 3rd in the qualifiers' top scorer list, especially in the play-off final against Sweden to help the team seal the victory.
Poland has finished third twice in 1974 and 1982, and the third place is also the best world cup in Poland's history, and the last three competitions have failed to qualify from the group.
Compared with other traditional European teams, the strength of the other players is not at the star level, compared to other traditional European teams, except for Levan, Zelinski and goalkeeper Szczyny, the strength of the defensive squad is a question mark relative to the front court, conceding 11 goals in the world preliminary group stage, while the first England team in the group only conceded 3 goals, and Poland only conceded 1 goal less than the albanian team third in the group. As the second-most expensive team in Group C, how Poland can withstand the opponent's attack in the group stage in the case of strong offensive strength is one of the keys to whether Poland can break through in the group.
Whether Levan, who has already honored Grand Slams at club level, can score his World Cup debut and lead the team to make history, Levan vs Messi, these are the biggest highlights of Group C.
Other key players:
Zelinski (midfielder, Napoli), Szczesny (goalkeeper, Juventus), Modell (midfielder, Brighton), Bednarek (defender, Southampton), Kas (defender, Aston Villa), Piyantek (striker, Fiorentina)
3. Mexico, the total value of the German transfer is 92.7 million euros (many of the top five league players have not been selected for the latest national team roster, and the world cup participation value is expected to reach about 200 million euros), and the latest world ranking is 12th
Head card: Raul Jimenez
The 31-year-old Jimenez is 188cm tall and currently plays for Wolves in the Premier League, playing as a centre forward or a shadow striker. In the 21/22 season, there were 36 appearances for Wolves, including 30 starts, 6 goals and 5 assists, he was the top scorer and assist king of Wolves last season, and the current German turnaround price of 18 million euros is not the most expensive player in Mexico (the most expensive is Napoli striker Lozano, who is worth 30 million euros), but Jimenez's role and experience in the team are irreplaceable by other players.
Jimenez debuted in the youth academy of the Club americas in Mexico, came to Atletico Madrid in La Liga for 10.5 million euros in August 2014, transferred to The Portuguese Premier Club Benfica for more than twice the price of 22 million euros the following year, and sold Jimenez to Wolves for 38 million euros in July 2019. He made 146 appearances for Wolves in four years, scoring 54 goals and assisting 23 times. At the 2012 Olympic Games, Jimenez won the Olympic men's gold medal for the Mexican national Olympic team.
Jimenez's various abilities in the center position belong to the top of the Mexican team, height, body, shooting ability are at a good level, and he also has the good foot skills of The American players, which is one of the core of Mexico's attack.
Path to Advancement:
Mexico scored 28 points from 8 wins, 4 draws and 2 losses in the third stage of the World Cup North American Qualifiers, sharing the same points as Canada at the top of the table, ranking second directly with a goal difference disadvantage, 3 points ahead of the United States and Costa Rica, Jimenez represented the team in 9 appearances in the qualifiers, including 8 starts, scored 3 goals, and was also the player with the most goals in the team's qualifiers.
Mexico scored 17 goals in the third stage of the qualifiers, ranking 3rd of all teams in the third stage, conceding 8 goals, the 2nd fewest. Mexico showed a balanced offensive and defensive posture in the qualifiers, a total of 14 rounds of matches, there are 7 matches of clean sheet opponents, 5 of the 8 victories in the qualifiers only net 1 goal, it can be said that the road to promotion relies on tenacious defense, the offensive ability is slightly insufficient.
Mexico's squad is mainly composed of a small number of players who play in Europe and most of the players who play in Mexico's domestic league, and if you want to qualify for two consecutive World Cups or even further, in addition to continuing a good defense, you must also have more ways to score goals.
Other key players:
Lozano (Striker, Napoli), Jesús Corona (Striker, Sevilla), Edsson Alvarez (Ajax), Ochoa (Goalkeeper, Mexico America), Ecto Herrera (Midfielder, Atletico Madrid), Eric Gutierrez (Midfielder, Eindhoven), Carlos Rodriguez (Mexican Blue Cross)
4. Argentina, germany is worth 627 million euros, the latest world ranking 3
Head card: Messi
Messi, who is now 35 years old, has made 34 appearances for Paris in 21/22, including 32 starts, contributing 11 goals and 14 assists, and is the second assister in Paris after Mbappe, helping the team win the Ligue 1 title.
Messi debuted in Argentina's Newell Old Boys Academy, came to the La Masia Academy in July 2000, joined the first team of Barca in the summer of 2005, and the following story will not be repeated. During his 21-year time at Barca, he made 778 appearances for the team, scoring 672 goals and assisting 303 times, and currently holds the record for the number of appearances and the highest number of goals in Barca's history.
Messi has won 35 trophies for Barca, including four Champions League titles and 10 La Liga titles. In terms of individual honors, he has won 7 Golden Ball Awards, 2 World Footballers of the Year, 3 UEFA Player of the Year, 6 European Golden Boot Awards, 1 World Cup Ballon d'Or, and the 2005 Golden Boy Award. Messi currently makes 162 appearances for the national team, scoring 86 goals, ranking first in the history of the Argentine national team in the number of appearances and goals scored.
Messi won one Copa America for the Argentine national team, one Olympic championship for the national Olympic team, and one U20 World Cup for the U20 youth team. In the case of a personal honor Grand Slam, the only thing missing is a World Cup winner, and I don't know if I can realize my dream of Qatar this winter.
Path to Advancement:
Argentina scored 39 points in the World Cup South American qualifiers with an unbeaten record of 11 wins and 6 draws, six points behind the equally unbeaten Brazil team, and directly advanced to the World Cup with the second place in the group, Messi made 15 appearances for Argentina in the qualifiers, including 14 starts, scored seven goals, no assists, and tied with Lautaro Martinez as the player with the most goals in the team's qualifiers.
Argentina scored 27 goals in the South American qualifiers, 13 more goals behind Brazil, conceded 8 goals, conceded 3 more goals than Brazil, 2 of the 6 draws 0-0, 3 1-1, in the case of a decent defense, the attack became a more prominent weakness, the fourth-place Ecuador team also scored 27 goals, and even the second-to-last Bolivia team scored 23 goals (Bolivia's highland advantage is also one of the factors for scoring more goals).
If Argentina's attack is still mostly dependent on the 35-year-old Messi, argentina will have a lot of difficulty in trying to win the third World Cup in team history.
Other key players:
Lautaro Martinez (striker, Inter Milan), Di Maria (striker, Paris Saint-Germain, close to transfer), Dybala (striker, Juventus, close to transfer), Christian Romero (defender, Tottenham), De Paulo (midfielder, Atletico Madrid), Damien Martinez (goalkeeper, Aston Villa)
Group C situation
The first favorite in the group C group is undoubtedly the Argentina team led by Messi, although the current Argentina team's midfield is slightly lacking, but from the performance in the qualifiers, the performance of the back line can still be expected, but the overall age of the attack line gathered by big names is older, the lack of Aguero type of forward players, in the match with Italy's European Super Cup, the highest player in the Argentine squad is 180cm Di Maria, Scaloni's team will be one of the hidden dangers if they can't open up the situation in the face of dense defense.
And Can Lautaro's club teammate, Joaquin Correa, who is 189cm tall, become a surprise soldier? If they want to go further, the Pampas Eagles need a more diverse approach to offense. The current world ranking of the No. 3 Argentina team is actually the gap between the strength of brazil, France, England and other top teams is still relatively obvious. The showdown between Argentina and Poland's former World Footballer of the Year in this panel is undoubtedly the biggest attraction.
The competition for the second place in the group will most likely be between Mexico and Poland, which is a style collision between North American football and Eastern European football.
Whether the Mexican team, which is good at foot and passing, can resist the Polish team's high-pitched hits, and whether Poland's big men can keep up with the fast and flexible Mexicans, this game is also very interesting, and it is expected to be full of watching. Judging from the strength of the team and the performance of the qualifiers, the Mexican team's lineup is richer and more integrated; Poland, on the other hand, relies on the performance of its stars. In addition to the direct matchup between the two teams, whether the two teams can take all three points against Saudi Arabia is also the key to qualifying for the group.
And the seemingly weakest Saudi team in the group, like Qatar, almost all the players play in the West Asian league, the lineup is very civilian, and they are very familiar with each other, and they are not inferior to the Japanese team and the tough Australian team in the qualifiers, and they also occupy a certain home advantage, will the Saudi players' advantage over the climate and environment become the X factor of Group C?
Group C fixtures
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(The above data statistics cut-off time 2022.6.28, if there is any deviation, please understand)