(Sports, international football) Preparing for the World Cup in Qatar: South American heroes are showing their strength, and the European powers have their own hidden worries

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 28 Title: Preparing for the World Cup in Qatar: South American Heroes Reveal Their Glory, and the European Powers Have Their Own Hidden Worries

Xinhua News Agency reporter Xiao Shiyao and Dong Yixing

On the 28th, the last international match window before the World Cup in Qatar ended all matches. Qatar's top 32 teams have all played in the past week, and it is time to examine the players and run in the squad for the upcoming World Cup in November.

Teams from the Americas, Asia and Africa organized warm-up matches, while European teams played in the Europa League. In the championship teams, the South American duo Brazil and Argentina showed excellent competitive form, while the European powers, including defending champions France, exposed certain problems. Asian teams played well overall in the warm-up matches, with the opportunity to play the role of "spoiler" in the World Cup.

South American Double: Winning the Championship is a Big Hit

As the countdown to the World Cup in Qatar enters the countdown, "Five-Star Brazil" has become the biggest favorite to win the championship at present. In the World Cup qualifiers, Brazil won 14 and drew 3 without a defeat. In two warm-up matches this week, Brazil easily defeated Ghana and Tunisia with a big score of 3:0 and 5:1.

Since August this year, Brazil's core Neymar has been on fire in all competitions, contributing goals and assists almost every game. In recent years, the "football kingdom" of talent explosion has emerged a large number of emerging stars such as Vinicius Junior, Rafinia, Militao, Anthony, Rodrigo and so on in European giants. Coupled with players at their peak such as Casemiro, Marchinhos and Alisson, as well as the aging Thiago Silva, Brazil have the world's top strength in every position.

Not long ago, when Vinicius caused controversy over dancing at the Real Madrid club, almost all the players in the Brazilian team, even Rafinha who played for Barcelona, firmly spoke out in support of their national team teammates and showed strong team cohesion. This united, age-structured Brazilian team with outstanding overall strength has a great chance to lift the Hercules Cup again in Asia after a gap of twenty years.

Although the overall strength is slightly inferior to the Brazilian team, the biggest reliance of the Argentine team is the brave Messi. Head coach Srockani resolutely developed tactics around Messi, and the midfield arranged for players such as DePaul and Paredes to actively fight to create the greatest free play space for Messi. After leading the team to the Copa America last year, Messi, who broke his heart and mind, played more and more freely in the national team.

In this week's warm-up matches, Argentina beat Honduras and Jamaica 3-0 twice, with Messi scoring four goals. For Messi, who has turned 35, this may be his last chance to impact the World Cup, and as long as Messi is there, the Argentine team has unlimited possibilities.

European Powers: Each Has Its Own Hidden Concerns

Compared with the South American duo, the major European teams have not been too good recently. The defending champion France suffered a wave of serious injuries, with many key players such as Benzema, Pogba and Kante unable to return due to injuries, while Conde and Meinho, two rising stars, were injured in the game. In two UEFA League games this week, France first beat Austria 2-0 and then lost 2-0 to Qatar World Cup rivals Denmark.

Plagued by player injuries and the decline in the strength of core players such as Griezmann, France has not performed well in 2022, with only 1 win, 2 draws and 3 losses in 6 games in the European League. If you want not to repeat the mistakes of the defending World Cup champions who have missed the group in recent years, there are many problems that head coach Deschamps needs to solve. But as long as the major players can recover in time and adjust to the World Cup in time, the "Gaul Rooster", which has the strongest forward combination of Benzema and Mbappe, is still a strong contender for the World Cup championship.

Since their regrettable defeat at home in last year's European Championship final, England have not been able to regain the rhythm of the game. In the six UEFA League games this year, England have not won a single game, and manager Southgate is facing overwhelming public doubts. Germany drew 1 and lost 1 in two UEFA League matches this week, and the "Germanic Chariot" without a strong center in the team exposed the lack of ability to attack the position battle.

Spain lost 1-2 to Switzerland in this week's match, followed by a 1-0 "shootout" of Portugal. The updated Spanish team as a whole is relatively young, and the lack of top stars who can play steadily in the team also makes the team's state fluctuate greatly. Portugal have good paper strength, but the recent form of captain Cro Ronaldo (Cristiano Ronaldo) is worrying. To make a difference in the World Cup, Portugal desperately need to retrieve that familiar Ronaldo.

In this week's UEFA League, Croatia, the runners-up of the last World Cup, performed well, beating Denmark and Austria successively. However, the main squad of the older "Grid Army" also needs the 37-year-old Modric to play the whole field continuously, and there are hidden worries about physical fitness. Belgium, the third place in the last World Cup, lost to the Netherlands in the game, and the main fronts Eden Hazard and Lukaku have continued to decline in form in recent years, but the team has always been difficult to make up its mind to "change blood", which is the biggest problem facing the "European Red Devils". The Netherlands, which returned to the World Cup, showed obvious "light heads and heavy feet" characteristics, with the world's top backline in the seat, but there were few talents on the front, and the attack mainly relied on set-pieces.

Asian Teams: Or Can "Spoil the Game"

Twenty years later, the World Cup is back in Asia again. Judging from the warm-up performance of Asian participating teams, Asian teams have the opportunity to create good results in this World Cup.

In the warm-up match, Iran defeated South American powerhouse Uruguay 1:0 and drew 1:1 with African champions Senegal; Japan won 2:0 against the United States and drew 0–0 with Ecuador; South Korea drew 2-2 with Costa Rica and beat Cameroon 1-0. Against the World Cup teams, Iran, Japan and South Korea all won 1 and drew 1 and remained unbeaten.

Although the three Asian teams are not too good to sign, Japan is divided into the "death group" of Spain and Germany, Iran will face England, the United States and Wales, and South Korea will face Uruguay and Portugal. However, from the perspective of warm-up performance, the Iranian team with a tough style of play and tenacious defense, the Japanese team showing first-class control ability and the South Korean team with top star Sun Xingmin all have the potential to become the "dark horse" of this World Cup.

In addition, Saudi Arabia drew with the United States and Ecuador respectively, and Australia beat New Zealand in two consecutive games. Hosts Qatar had a slightly worse record, losing 0:2 to Canada and drawing 2:2 with Chile. The three teams also have a certain ability to spoil.

Less than two months before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, due to the intensive schedule of the club, the participating teams have no chance to warm up before the World Cup. As the first World Cup to be held in the winter of the Northern Hemisphere, the preparation cycle for the World Cup in Qatar is very different from previous World Cups, which tests the team's ability to adjust in time and requires players to enter the state as soon as possible. We have reason to look forward to the arrival of a more variable and more unpredictable World Cup. (End)