Pete Song Chengliang
On the night of the 22nd Beijing time, the World Cup will usher in four major events.
Can Messi start his fifth World Cup journey with a single victory?
Can Denmark write a new fairy tale against North African powerhouse Tunisia?
Lewandowski's Poland challenge veteran Mexican, who will win the first time?
Can the defending champions break the curse of being out of the group in the face of Australia's test?
The views expressed in this article are personal.
Poster design by Bai Lang
Argentina vs Saudi Arabia
November 22 18 points
Argentina have been unbeaten in 36 games for three consecutive years, just one game short of equalling Italy's national team's 37-game unbeaten world record. The team has won all five games, scoring 19 goals and conceding 0.
Although Messi did not participate in the team's training before the game, Argentine media revealed that he will still start the game and partner Lautaro and Di Maria in the striker. Lisandro Martinez and Alvarez will be the backhand of manager Scaloni.
At the pre-match press conference, the 35-year-old Messi bluntly said that this was his last World Cup: "It is my last chance to achieve my great dreams." Despite a lot of speculation about his physical condition, Messi believes that his physical condition is very ideal, and he trains alone only to prevent injuries.
In a pre-match interview, Saudi coach Renard admitted that the team is easy to be overlooked, "We actually like this feeling of being forgotten, especially when people see us as the weakest team. ”
Saudi Arabia has won 1 win, 3 draws and 1 defeat in the last 5 games, scoring 3 goals and conceding 3 goals, and the team's defense has improved considerably. Like Qatar, all of the team's players are from the domestic league, and captain Faraj's return from injury is also a shot in the arm, and the team's offensive line relies more on center striker Shehri.
As a West Asian team, they also have a half-home advantage.
The two teams have met twice, Argentina 1 win and 1 draw. Although the Saudi defense is relatively stable, Argentina's current tactical play is still targeted, and Messi's attack is sharper. In order to take the initiative in the early stage, Argentina will also play full steam in the first game of the group.
Argentina can win at least 2 goals in this match.
Erickson overcomes a heart attack and returns to the ring.
Denmark VS Tunisia
November 22 21 points
Denmark have won 3 and lost 2 in their last 5 games, scoring 7 goals and conceding 4. With Eriksen returning from heart surgery, the team's central midfield strength has also recovered, and although the scoring ability of the strikers is not outstanding, Denmark's goal points are widely distributed.
Coach Yulemann admits the team is not favourites but has the strength to beat any team. Substitute goalkeeper Ronoff was injured, while striker Winde from Wolfsburg also had muscle problems.
Tunisia have won 4 and lost 1 in their last 5 games, scoring 9 goals and conceding 5 goals. The team beat Iran 2-0 in the last warm-up match before the match. The team is based on Ligue 1 players and is mainly defensive and counter-attacking, and the goal of this tournament is also to rewrite history by qualifying from the group.
Captain and attacker Musakni missed the last World Cup due to injury and should be available for the time despite some minor injuries. The core of midfielder Shiri who plays for FC Cologne in the Bundesliga will be wearing a mask due to a cheekbone injury.
The two teams have met twice in their history, Denmark has won both, but the most recent meeting dates back 20 years.
Denmark is unbeaten in World Cup history against African teams with 2 wins and 2 draws, while Tunisia has never beaten a European team in the World Cup, drawing 3 and losing 7.
Interestingly, Tunisia have not conceded a goal in only one of the 15 World Cup games they have played before.
In terms of team style, Denmark does not lack technology and strength, while Tunisia, despite its good technique, does not have a lot of experience overall.
Combined with the data, the probability of Tunisia upset is not large. This match is favored by Denmark.
Can Lewandowski lead Poland to qualify?
Mexico vs Poland
November 23 0 points
From the perspective of qualifying for Group C of the European Championship, Argentina should have the greatest hope, and the other place is Mexico and Poland to compete, and Saudi Arabia is not surprisingly at the bottom of the group.
In the first round of the group stage, Mexico and Poland spoke directly, and the winner was basically able to secure a qualifying spot, so although the attention of this match may not be very large, the importance is self-evident.
"Our first game against Poland could be a decisive one. Mexico boss Martino admitted: "Poland have a lot of good players who will wait for their chances and then burst out and we have to find ways to suppress them on the pitch. ”
Mexico's 26-man roster for this tournament is the biggest problem that the core players are too old, goalkeeper Ochoa is 37, midfielders Guardado and Herrera are 36 and 32 years old respectively, and main center Jimenez is 31 years old, during which time he has suffered from injuries at Wolves and is not in good form.
Lozano will take on the attacking line as he plays, and Ajax duos Jorge Sanchez and Alvarez in central midfield are of great importance, and they will determine the quality of Mexico's defense.
Heading into September, Mexico had mediocre warm-up matches, losing 0-1 against Paraguay, beating Peru 1-0 and losing 3-2 to Colombia. Mexico beat Iraq 4-0 in mid-November, losing 2-1 to Sweden in their most recent warm-up match, which can be seen as a rehearsal against Poland, with Lozano and Jimenez both coming off the bench in the second half, losing 2-1 in the first half.
Poland's last World Cup was a disappointment, with consecutive defeats to Senegal and Colombia out early, and rumours of infighting in the team.
Poland's squad has not changed much in this tournament, with Lewandowski leading the striker, and Milik and Piatek have also been in good form recently. Midfielders Krehoviak and Zielinski are also experienced players, and Mikhnevic integrated the team well after Paul Sousa's sudden change of ship ahead of the World Cup play-offs, leading the team to a 2-0 victory over Sweden to qualify for the World Cup.
Poland's UEFA Nations League results are mediocre, drawing 1 and losing 3 against the Netherlands and Belgium, which is a natural difference in strength, but their two consecutive wins against Wales also show that they are now playing more and more steadily against teams in the same class.
"As for the Mexican team, we have thoroughly analyzed them and they have a lot of good players with experience." Mikhnevic is very confident in his team.
Experienced goalkeeper Szczesny also expressed his determination to come out of the shadow of the defeat of the last World Cup, "There are several players who participated in the World Cup in Russia and I believe we all have the motivation and ambition to erase the shadow of the last World Cup. ”
Poland won 1-0 in the final minute of the warm-up match against Chile thanks to Piatek's kill, and Lewandowski did not play this game, so Poland may not want to take too many risks.
Mexico is a regular at the World Cup, and basically every tournament can at least complete the group qualification, on the contrary, Poland's image on the World Cup stage is undoubtedly much lower.
But in terms of statistics, Mexico, ranked 13th in the world, is only a tie with Poland, which is ranked 26th in the world.
Bullish Poland unbeaten this match.
France vs Australia
November 23 3 points
The defending champions face a more serious injury problem, the back line Kimpembe is withdrawn, Varane has not yet participated in the final pre-match practice, basically unable to participate in the first game, French media revealed that the central defender combination will be Yu Palmecano and Cornet.
Midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante are unavailable, Rabiot is expected to partner Chuameni, Griezmann is in the centre, strikers Nkunku and Benzema are also out of the World Cup, Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud are sure to start, and Koeman and Dembele are expected to compete for another start.
After Benzema retired from injury, Deschamps did not recruit any players: "I already have 25 players and I am sure they are all very strong enough to meet the challenges ahead. ”
Deschamps expects Mbappe to do well: "He's still very young and now he's more mature. Mbappe is different and he has the ability to decide the game at any moment. ”
The Australian squad is still dominated by players who play in Europe's second- and third-tier leagues, while taking into account players such as Matthew Leckie and McLaren from the home league, who are the main three forwards, and winger Martin Boyle is withdrawn from the squad due to a knee injury, and 21-year-old Melbourne City youngster Marco Tillio is shortlisted.
Boyle was an important player in Australia's frontcourt during the World Qualifiers, and his absence also had an impact on the team.
Alexander-Arnold's Australian formation is 4-3-3, with Souta, the core of the backline, finally able to return from a knee injury, and the combination of midfielders Mooy, Owen and Hrustic is very consistent.
The most frequently asked topic in Alexander-Arnold's pre-match press conference was the injury of the French team, "Of course injuries will have an impact, the French team is going through a more special phase and we have a lot of respect for this opponent. ”
Speaking about Mbappe, Arnold said: "We analyse the individual characteristics of some of the players. But our tactics will still be aimed at the opposing 11 players, not defensive tactics against one person. ”
The two teams were in a group at the last World Cup, each scoring a penalty, and Australian midfielder Besic swung an own goal in the final minute of the game and France narrowly won 2-1.
Optimistic that France can win, but not much.
Editor of this issue Zhou Xin