Cover News Reporter Yan Lei Intern Sun Yuanhang
On the evening of November 23, Beijing time, the Qatar World Cup will start its fourth matchday. Germany, Spain, Belgium and Croatia will start their first match, four European powerhouses, these four teams have achieved brilliant results in recent World Cups: Spain was the winner of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa; Germany lifted the Gold Cup in Brazil in 2014; Croatia and Belgium finished second and third in the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
In addition, after Saudi Arabia's victory over Argentina, whether Japan can become the second team in Asia to win is also one of the highlights.
Group F: Morocco vs Croatia
Time: November 23, 18:00
Venue: Bay Stadium
Modric
As the runner-up of the last World Cup, the dark horse story of the "Plaid Legion" is still fresh in mind.
This World Cup, Croatia started again, but the lineup has also changed from the previous World Cup. The first is naturally the captain and soul of the team, Modric, with his outstanding performance in the 2018 World Cup, Modric won the Golden Ball Award that year, breaking Messi's decade-long Golden Ball monopoly.
But four years later, Modric is 37 years old this year, and although the "Magic Flute" is still an absolute workhorse in Real Madrid and maintains a good competitive condition, it is difficult to lead the team to repeat the glory of four years ago. His partner Rakitic has retired, and teammates Mandzukic and Čol Luca have retired to become members of the Croatian coaching team. However, Croatia remains a good contender for a place in the group.
North African powerhouse Morocco is known to Chinese fans because "football is pure there". The team's forward line is worth watching, with Ziyech playing for Chelsea at the heart of the attack, scoring an impressive world wave in a warm-up match on 18 November. The team's defensive core, Ashraf, is also a famous guard with a knife. But the withdrawal of pre-World Cup midfield core Amin Ali due to injury was a factor of instability for the team.
Group E: Germany VS Japan
Match time: November 23, 21:00
Venue: Khalifa International Stadium
Sane
The Germanic Chariot debuted against Japan and was the most watched race of the day.
At the 2018 World Cup, the defending champion Germany was eliminated in the group stage, one of the biggest upsets of the tournament. In this World Cup, Frick took over the coaching of Löw, and as the former Bayern Munich manager, Bayern's players were also corrected in this World Cup.
Gnabry and Sane are the main strikers of the German team, Kimmich and Gretzka are also regular partners in the midfield, and Musiala is a strong contender for the best young player in this World Cup. Neuer's goalkeeper starting position is unbeatable for many years. Whether Thomas Müller's World Cup goals can continue to expand is also one of the highlights of the German team.
The talented striker Mukoko, who has been in the spotlight since five years ago, has already participated in the first World Cup at the age of 18 and may become the leader of the German team's attacking line in the future. In addition, Frick learned the lessons of the later years of Löw's management and used center forward Phil Kruger, in the warm-up game against Oman on November 17, it was Phil Kruger who set the tone to help Germany win hard, perhaps this World Cup, his forward fulcrum role, is an indispensable offensive weapon for the German team.
Saudi Arabia's victory over Argentina has taken the world's attention, and Japan will represent Asia today. Japan's squad is undoubtedly stronger than Saudi Arabia's, with a lineup dominated by players who play in Europe: Takumi Minamino, Junya Ito, Kaoru Mikasa, Kenei Kubo and other players; There are also main players of the Bundesliga Premier League team such as Daichi Kamata and Kenhiro Tomiyasu in the midfield, and their performance is worth looking forward to.
Before the World Cup, Japan coach Hoichi Mori also shouted the goal of advancing to the quarterfinals, and Japan's strength should not be underestimated.
Group E: Spain vs Costa Rica
Competition time: November 24, 00:00
Venue: Ahmed Ben Ali Stadium
Morata
Since Luis Enrique took over the "Bullfighting Legion", Spain has basically completed the upgrade, except for Busquets, Alba, Azpilicueta and several veterans, other positions have basically used young players.
On the front line, Olmo, Ferran Torres, etc., who have already had major experience in the European Cup, joined Ansu Fathi and Nico Williams this time; The midfield is likely to use the current Barcelona starting line-up, the combination of Pedri, Garvey twin Gabu Skocs; The defender is most likely Eric Garcia's partner Laporta. At last year's European Championship, the lack of full numbers of Enrique's matches was criticized by the outside world, but in the end, the young Spain reached the final four, and in the World Cup, the further update of Spain was also optimistic about the outside world, and their performance deserves further attention.
Costa Rica, the Bull Army's first opponent, was ranked by sports bodies as the bottom 32 team, but Saudi Arabia's overthrow of Argentina has proved that there are no weak teams in the World Cup. However, for the group that coexisted in West Germany, it was quite difficult to qualify.
Group F: Belgium VS Canada
Match time: November 24th 3:00
Venue: Lai Yang Stadium
Adjara
"European Red Devils" Belgium, relying on the "golden generation", achieved the best third place in the team's history in the last World Cup, but this World Cup may be the last performance of the "golden generation".
On the front line, Hazard, the core of the "golden generation", has become the "Burger King" in the mouths of fans in recent years, and Lukaku has also lost his peak spirituality after repeated tosses and turns at the club. The only ones who really maintain their world-class competitive form are De Bruyne and Courtois, both of whom are absolute team thighs at the club. Belgium lost 2-1 in a friendly match against Egypt on 18 November, and the form remains to be seen, but Belgium remain in a good position to compare the overall strength of the group.
Canada, which has reached the World Cup for the first time in 36 years, is a civilian team, with most players playing in Major League Leagues and Europe's second-tier leagues. The superstar of this poor squad is Alfonso Davies, who plays for Bayern, and his position in the national team is higher up front and closer to the opponent's goal than at the club.
Canada coach Herman said before the World Cup that to find the X factor to create something special, Canada also has the possibility of becoming a Group F X factor.
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