At 0:00 Beijing time on November 21, the World Cup in Qatar will be whistled. This is the first time that the World Cup has been held in the Middle East, the first time it has been held in the winter of the Northern Hemisphere, this is the most expensive World Cup in history, it is the World Cup where alcoholic beverages are banned in all competition venues, it is the first World Cup to use semi-automatic offside recognition technology, and it is also the first World Cup in which female referees appear...
What will 32 teams and 831 players do in 23 matchdays and 64 matches? Not every team has the strength to hit the Gold Cup, but there are many teams that have the potential to play spoilers.
France's Kylian Mbappe after a match on September 25. Denmark beat France in the UEFA Nations League. Xinhua News Agency
After the World Cup group draw came out, France coach Deschamps said: "There must be respect for Denmark. "This is by no means modesty. Denmark is currently ranked 10th in the world, one place above world champions Germany. Although France won the last World Cup, the group stage and Denmark did not divide the winner. In this year's UEFA Nations League group stage, Denmark beat France twice. Especially in the second leg in September, Denmark once left France exhausted at half-time. The Danish team currently retains the squad from last year's European Championship. If they can continue their good form for nearly a year, it is not impossible to surpass the all-time best record of the quarter-finals in Qatar.
14 November 2021 World Qualifiers: Portugal defeated Serbia, Serbian players celebrate victory after the match. Xinhua News Agency
Serbia, led by former Chinese Super League manager Stojkovic, has exceeded expectations in the past year: the World Qualifiers beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal group leader to advance directly to the main stage, and successfully promoted to the A level in the UEFA Nations League. The team that won the 2015 World Junior Championships such as Milinkovic, Rajkovic, Wilikovic, and Max Šmović are all in the year of fighting, plus the younger Vlahovic, Jovic and experienced S. Mitrovic and Tadić, the Balkan Eagles who played together in this World Cup are quite dark horses. Unfortunately, a wave of injuries has now swept Serbia's midfield, casting a shadow over their World Cup prospects.
Senegalese fans at the 2018 World Cup in Russia build momentum ahead of the match. Xinhua News Agency
In the prediction of who can emerge and create unpopularity, it is a common argument that African power is expected to erupt. Senegal, the new African champions, are undoubtedly the most sought after, but the retirement of striker Thigh Mane has dampened Africa's best hopes. However, Senegal's group is only "single-strong" by the Netherlands, and the chances of qualifying are not small. In addition, although Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon and Ghana do not have the absolute strength to break through from the group, they are in a group with both opportunities and challenges, playing a spoiler, creating some trouble for the seeded team to qualify, or simply pulling one or two teams upset.
Asian teams generally had bad luck this time. Iran is drawn in Group B, where England are located, and shoulders the hopes of breaking through the all-Asian group. In terms of strength, Iran has Asia's strongest striker group composed of Azmoun, Jahanbakhsh and Taremi. In addition, the confidence of the Iranian team comes from the favorable location. This is the first time the World Cup has come to the Middle East, and Iran's trip to the host country may be the shortest of any team.
On July 2, 2018, the fifth quarterfinals of the World Cup in Russia, the Japanese team was eliminated, and the Japanese team fans were after the match. Xinhua News Agency
The Japanese team is divided into the "death group" of Spain and Germany, and although it is difficult to achieve the goal of the eight finals that will not change, it is not impossible to create some trouble for the two finalists.
It is almost impossible for South Korea, which are in the same group as Uruguay and Portugal, to replicate the glory of the semi-finals 20 years ago, and it is not expected to achieve another group breakthrough after the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but the Taiji Tiger, who has always been known for its tenacity, may bring a lot of trouble to the two teams in this group aiming for the Hercules Cup.
Nandu reporter Tao Xinlei Intern Wu Junjie Zhou Yajing