Chapter 188 Preparing for the World Cup
Four years of reincarnation, and it's time for the World Cup to kick off again. This time, the World Cup moved to the South American continent and came to Brazil, known as the football kingdom. Thirty-two teams will fight fiercely in Brazil for the supreme honor in the football world.
32 teams are divided into eight groups. In Group A, Brazil is the host. Because they do not need to participate in the qualifiers, their FIFA ranking once fell to the worst 22nd place in history, but this does not prevent them from becoming the favorite to win the championship.
In last year's Confederations Cup, although Brazil lost to Degan's led Belgium and won the runner-up, they defeated Italy 4-2 in the group stage and Uruguay 2:1 in the semi-finals. In the final, they only lost to Belgium by one goal.
At present, the Brazilian team's leading star is undoubtedly the talented striker Neymar, who transferred to Barcelona last year. The young star known as "Pele's successor" transferred to Barcelona in La Liga for 57 million euros last year and had a very good performance last season.
In addition to Neymar, the Brazilian team also has Hulk, Oscar, Alves and Thiago. Silva, Lucas, David. Luis, Marcelo and other well-known stars in European football are the most indispensable for Brazil, the football kingdom.
Of course, you can't forget Kaka. After the transfer to Tottenham Hotspur last season, Kaka also showed a strong rebound momentum. His offensive partner and Degan became the most terrible combination in European football last season. In the end, he also moved Scolari with his excellent performance and at the last moment I took the last bus of the World Cup.
In the previous two World Cups, although Brazil failed to finally win the championship trophy, they were the only team that participated in all 19 World Cups. This time, they participated in the 20th World Cup as the host, and also fought at home. Before the game began, their call for the championship was already very High.
In Group A, Brazil's biggest opponent will be Croatia from Europe. Since winning the World Cup for the first time in 1998, Croatia will play in the World Cup for the fourth time.
At present, this Croatia can also be called a group of stars. The midfielder has the brain of Tottenham Hotsage, and the old captain Srner is a natural leader. In addition, there are Kranica, the forward line, Bayern's Mandukić, Wolfsburg's Orić, Everton's Yeravić, and West Ham United's Petri Qi are all famous figures in European football.
In Group A, another team that has the right to qualify is Mexico, the football hegemon in Central and North America. The 2014 World Cup in Brazil will be the 15th time for Mexico to participate in the World Cup. In previous competitions, they have only missed five times.
Former Barcelona star Marcos is still the captain of Mexico, but the team's number one star is Hernandez, nicknamed "Little Pea" for Manchester United. In addition, the former Barcelona striker, Giovani dos Santos, who plays for Villarreal, has performed well this season and is now playing for Valencia. The road demon knife Guardado is also a player that should not be underestimated.
The last team in Group A is Cameroon from the African continent. This trip to Brazil will be Cameroon's 7th World Cup finals. They are also the team that has participated in the World Cup finals the most in Africa.
Cameroon can also be said to be full of stars. Eto Obao is still the captain of the team. This legendary superstar who participated in the 1998 World Cup is, if not the only player, has participated in the 1998 World Cup in France at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In addition to Eto'ao, the Cameroon midfielder has Barcelona star Alexander. Song, with Seville's central defender Mbia on the defensive line, is a well-known star in world football.
Group B is the first group of death in this World Cup, gathering the Netherlands, the runner-up team of the last World Cup, Spain, the uncrowned king who has enjoyed a reputation in world football in recent years, South American giant Chile, and Australia, which is also not to be underestimated.
Although Australia is not favored by people, and some people even regard them as the cannon fodder of Group B, if they underestimate Australia, they are doomed to pay a price. This World Cup in Brazil will be the fourth time for Australian kangaroos to participate in the World Cup finals. Since they joined the Asian Football Confederation, twice in a row Smooth breakthrough from the qualifiers.
The veteran Cahill, who currently plays for the New York Red Bulls, is still in the team. He is undoubtedly the top star of the Australian team. Center Kennedy is now playing for Japan's Nagoya Whale Eight and is well-known in Asia.
The most favored team in Group B is the Netherlands, the runner-up team of the last World Cup. The "Orange Army" has the title of "Uncrowned King". They have reached the World Cup final three times in history, but none of them have won the championship. In this competition, the Netherlands will participate in the World Cup finals for the 10th time. I don't know if they can be in Brazil. There is a breakthrough.
Manchester United striker Van Persie will be the leader of the Netherlands at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He scored 11 goals in the qualifiers and is the player with the most goals in the qualifiers. Bayern winger, "Brother" Robben will still let the Netherlands fly, and Van der Fart and Sneijder will also play a certain role in the midfield. Among the new players, Roma's post-90s midfielder Strootman is worth paying attention, and Feyenoord winger Janmat is now the main force in the Dutch right-back position.
The head coach of the Dutch team is Van Gaal, a famous coach of a generation. This is the second time he has coached the Dutch national team. The last time he coached the Netherlands team missed the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, and then after class, Van Gaal led the Dutch team to perform strongly in the qualifiers and reached the World Cup final two rounds two rounds ahead of schedule. .
In Group B, the biggest opponent of the Dutch team's competition group is Spain, which seems to be more suitable for the title of uncrowned king than them. In the last World Cup, Spain lost to Belgium in the semi-finals. Two years ago, they met Belgium again on a narrow road and suffered a result. .
But the Spanish's gorgeous football style does not seem to be ignored by people. Although there is no champion to prove itself, Spain's style of play has been respected all over the world.
The current Spanish team can be said to be full of stars, and many of the world's top players may not even be able to enter the starting lineup. In the goalkeeper position, captain Casillas can't play the main force in Real Madrid, but in the national team, Guardiola still regards him as the first choice in the competition, and Valdes and Reina perform very well. . On the back line, the central defender partner composed of Pike and Ramos is very stable. The left back is Barcelona defender Alba, with strong attack power and right back is a weak link. Aveloa is now unable to play the main force in Real Madrid.
Where the midfielder Spain is ahead of the other national teams, the Barcelona triangle of Iniesta, Harvey and Busquets will continue to play a role, Real Madrid's midfielder Harvey. Alonso suffered from injuries, but his strength is beyond doubt. Fabregas can play as a striker or a midfielder.
On the forward line, Silva of Manchester City, Pedro of Barcelona, Navas of Manchester City, Mata of Chelsea can play winger or second striker, and the center position is Negredo, Torres, Villa, Soldado, Lorent, and naturalized Atletico Brazilian striker Diego. Costa, they will all fight for the main position.
The last team in Group B is from South America. This can be said to be Chile, which is the 9th time they will participate in the World Cup finals.
Chile's star is Alex. Sanchez, who currently plays for Barcelona in La Liga, showed strong personal ability at the 2010 World Cup. In addition, the Chilean midfielder has Juventus player Vidal.
Although Group C is not as star-shining as other groups, the four teams are close in strength and there is hope for them. Among them, Japan is the first team to win the top 32 seats in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
At present, Japanese football is unparalleled in Asia, even in the middle of the world. There are also many stars in the team. Shinji Kagawa, who plays for Manchester United, has excellent skills, but he plays less time at Manchester United, which affects his status in the national team. Honda Keisuke is now playing for AC Milan and defender Yuyou all play for Inter Milan. In addition, Japan has many players who play the main force in the Bundesliga, and many European players will also ensure their strong competitiveness on the World Cup stage.
The head coach of the Japanese team is Italian Zacheroni, and he has a high reputation in international football. In the 10 years before coaching the Japanese team, he coached AC Milan, Lazio, Inter Milan, Turin and Juventus.
In 2010, he succeeded Takeshi Okada as the head coach of the Japanese team, and then led the team to win the 2011 Asian Cup in Qatar. Zacheroni is also confident to create Japan's best record on the World Cup stage.
The weakest in Group C is the Greek team, which created a myth in 2004. This World Cup will be their second World Cup final. In the last World Cup, they lost to Belgium, which finally won the championship in the play-offs. This time in the European qualifiers, although the group There are many strong enemies, but they still appear in advance.
The Greek captain, the team's banner character, Karagunis, is still in the team and occupies the starting position. Although he is old, Karagunis performed very well in Fulham last season and is still the core of the Greek team's midfield.
On the Greek striker line, high striker Samaras will not be underestimated. The Celtics center has excellent skills, body and cooperation ability, and the young Genoa winger and offensive midfielder Fetfaziez is also worthy of attention.
The strongest in Group C is undoubtedly Colombia. This will be their fifth time to participate in the World Cup finals. With Brazil's host, Colombia only succumbed to Argentina in the qualifiers and advanced to the 2014 Brazil World Cup as the second in South America. Race circle.
At present, Colombia's leading star is Falco. Last summer, he transferred from La Liga Atletico Madrid to Ligue 1 Monaco for a transfer fee of 60 million euros. In addition, Colombia also has a young 40 million man, striker James. Rodriguez, who also plays for Monaco.
The head coach of Colombia is Argentine Peckermann, who led the Argentine national team to the 2006 World Cup, but as the favorite team to win the championship, Argentina finally lost to the host Germany in the quarter-finals.
The last team in Group C is the African elephant C d'Ivoire, which has risen strongly in recent years and has become a powerful force in African football. Under the leadership of European superstars such as Drogba and Toure brothers, IIvoire has entered the World Cup finals for the third time in a row and the third time in history.
Although it is not as strong as South America, Europe and other giants, the names of the stars in Cote d'Ivoire are resounding, especially their central axis. On the forward line, "Warcraft" Drogba is old and strong. After leaving Shanghai Shenhua and returning to the European arena, he continues to maintain a good state in Galatasaray. He is still the captain of the team and has Manchester City's Yaya in the midfield. Toure, he is fully capable of competing for the first midfielder in the Premier League, Colo. Although Toure is old, his experience is still there.
Group D is the second group of death of this World Cup. Among them, the most favored is Italy, which advanced to the 2014 Brazil World Cup final two rounds ahead of schedule. Although it did poorly in the World Cup in South Africa and even failed to appear in the group, in any case, in the field of the World Cup in Brazil, this team was ignored. The winning team that has won the World Cup four times will pay the price.
Buffon, Pirlo and De Rossi are the only players in the Italian national team who won the cup in Germany in 2006. Italy has now replenished a lot of young blood, but goalkeeper Buffon and midfielder Pirlo are still the core players of the team, and on the offensive line, AC Milan striker Balotelly is the absolute fire point of this team.
The head coach of Italy is still Degan's mentor Prandelli. After he began to coach Florence in 2005, he began his own legendary experience. Under his rule, Florence played ** beautiful sexy football, which dominated European football for three years. In 2010 After Li's defeat in South Africa, Prandelli took over the national team. After that, in the 2012 European Cup, Prandelli led the team all the way to the final, but in the end, he was defeated by Belgium led by Degan and won the runner-up. In the 2013 Brazilian Confederations Cup, Prandelli also led the team to the third place.
In Group D, Italy's strongest competitor is England, which is their 14th time to enter the World Cup finals.
England's current lineup is still based on the players of several giants in the Premier League, such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea. Although Tottenham has been very strong in the last two seasons, there are too few English players in the team, and only Lennon has been selected for this World Cup.
England's core is now Rooney from Manchester United. So far, he has scored 38 goals for England in various competitions. Rooney's performance will also directly affect England's prospects in the Brazil World Cup.
In addition to Rooney, this England also includes Lampard and Ashley from Chelsea. Cole and other old ministers, as well as Gerard and Sturridge from Liverpool, the performance of several new stars Townson, Barkley, Lallana and Wilshell are also very much to look forward to.
Another team that cannot be ignored in Group D is Uruguay, which has won the World Cup twice in history. This trip to Brazil will be their 12th time to participate in the World Cup finals.
Uruguay has shown a strong rise and recovery in recent years, and their main stars in this World Cup will be Suarez and Cavani.
Cavani currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1. His transfer fee from Naples to Paris is as high as 63 million euros. Suarez plays for Liverpool, a veteran giant in the Premier League, which is an important scoring tool for the Red Army's front line.
Recognized as the weakest team in Group D is Costa Rica, which will participate in the World Cup finals for the fourth time. Currently playing for the offensive midfielder Brian of Fulham in the Premier League. Ruiz is the biggest star of the Costa Rican team.
Group E may become the most suspenseless group in this year's World Cup in Brazil, with four teams with distinct strengths and weaknesses. Among them, Switzerland will compete in the 10th World Cup finals. In the qualifiers, Switzerland has always maintained a strong posture. Their opponents are Slovenia, Albania, Norway and Iceland Cyprus has failed to pose a threat to this young team.
At present, although there are not many stars in the team, every player is absolutely powerful. The former young Barnetta, Sendros, Inle and Benalio are now at the golden age of their career, and another group of new stars led by Shachiri, born in 91, continue to keep the team Hold young vitality.
The strongest team in the group is undoubtedly the French team. This will be their 14th World Cup. Despite the twists and turns, people still have high expectations for the Gallic rooster.
At present, the biggest star of the French team is New European footballer Ribery. Unfortunately, before the start of the World Cup, Scar Assassins withdrew from the French team due to injury. However, without Ribery, the starlight of this team is still dazzling. Loris of Tottenham, Costelny of Arsenal and Gee Stars such as Lu, Evra of Manchester United, Pogba of Juve, Benzema of Real Madrid and Nasri and Clichy of Manchester City will be a strong guarantee for France to achieve good results in next year's World Cup in Brazil.
In addition, the most anticipated thing is that the one who led the French team to the World Cup will be the captain Deschamps, who helped France win the World Cup in 1998. In his career, Deschamps left a very brilliant experience in Marseille and Juventus, but as captain, he helped the French team win in 1998. The World Cup championship is the highlight of his career.
After becoming the coach, although Deschamp's coaching results also had a highlight moment, in general, it was still unsatisfactory. Although it brought France into the finals of the World Cup in Brazil, the process was really difficult to be satisfactory. However, even so, Deschamps still hopes to lead France to achieve good results in Brazil, and helping France win the cup as a coach is also a dream buried in his heart.
Another competitive team in Group E is Ecuador from South America. Ecuadorian football has made a big leap after entering the 21st century, which will be their third and third time in history to participate in the World Cup finals.
At present, Ecuador's most famous star is Valencia, a winger who plays for Manchester United. Although they are not as numerous as the French team, their strength lies in their whole.
The recognized cannon fodder in the group is Honduras, which will be their third time to participate in the World Cup finals. In the last World Cup, they failed to qualify from the group stage, but their previous record did not affect their ambitions. In this World Cup, their goal is to qualify in the group.
Although Honduras is not a well-known star, there are also some players worth paying attention to, left-back Emilio. Isagire played for the Celtics in the Scottish Premier League and became the best player in the Scottish Premier League for two consecutive years. He will lead the defense of Honduras, in addition to Wilson, a midfield defender who participated in the last World Cup. Palacios plays for Stoke City in the Premier League and is the leading star of Stoke City.
Group F is also polarized, among which the most eye-catching is Argentina, the winner of the two World Cup. Argentina has entered the World Cup finals for the 16th time. With Brazil as the host, Argentina qualified from the Brazil World Cup qualifiers in South America two rounds ahead of schedule, and Won the first place in South America.
The Argentine team has Messi, one of the best football stars today. Messi, who currently plays for La Liga Barcelona, has won four consecutive Golden Globe Awards with his achievements in the club, but he participated in the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, but only scored one goal. The team stopped in the quarterfinals twice. This time, Messi hopes to lead Argentina to win the World Cup, but this challenge is unprecedentedly difficult.
Messi's helpers have excellent strikers such as Aguero, Higuain, Ravitch and Di Maria, and excellent defensive players such as Mascherano and Zabaleta, but other positions appear weak, which casts the prospects of Argentina.
After missing the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Iran entered the 2014 World Cup finals, and they will participate in the World Cup finals for the fourth time.
At present, there are two players in the Iranian team who play for La Liga Osasuna. They are midfielders Nekonan and Shujae, and the two most anticipated players in Iran. Their performance will also be directly related to the final fate of Iran.
Another of the biggest attraction in Group F is the Bosnia and Herzegovina team. When they qualified from the World Cup qualifiers, fans rushed to the streets to celebrate and set off fireworks to illuminate the night. This is Bosnia and Herzegovina. After that, he participated in the World Cup finals for the first time.
In 1992, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was dissolved, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence, and the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Association became independent. However, due to the war, it was not until 1996 that the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Association was accepted by FIFA and UEFA in 1998. In the 1994 World Cup qualifiers and the 1996 European Cup qualifiers, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Football Association has not yet become a member of FIFA and UEFA, and has not participated in the competition. Since then, Bosnia and Herzegovina has participated in the 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cup qualifiers, but failed to qualify. In 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012 European Cup qualifiers, Bosnia and Herzegovina also failed to qualify. The 2014 World Cup will be the first time for Bosnia and Herzegovina to participate in the World Series.
At present, the star of Bosnia and Herzegovina is Dzeko, who plays for Manchester City, Ibišević of Stuttgart, the midfielder Pijanić of Rome, Misimovic of the Chinese League, and Spasic of the Chinese League. Although the goalkeeper has a famous goal in the Premier League and Bergevich of Stoke City is his first appearance in the World Series, the performance of the Bosnia and Herzegovina is definitely worth looking forward to.
The last team in Group F is Nigeria, which will also be their fifth time to participate in the World Cup, but now the African Eagles seem to have lost their spirit when they won the championship at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
At present, Nigeria's leading star is midfielder Mikkel, who plays for Premier League Chelsea. On the front line, Nigeria has young Liverpool striker Moses, in addition to Obina of the Moscow Lokomos, who plays for Ame Obi of Newcastle in the Premier League. He is now the goalkeeper of Lille and is also Niger. Leah captain Enyama participated in the 2002 World Cup between South Korea and Japan as a substitute, and he shined in the group stage at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Group G has the most highlights of this World Cup and is also the most veritable group of death in this World Cup. Of course, the most favored is the re-emerging German chariot. The fast and efficient technical style of play has made the current German team completely change people's traditional view of German football, young and full The dynamic lineup also makes German chariot fans all over the world. The real test for the German team to easily qualify for the qualifiers will be in Brazil, and for them, whether they can hold the Hercules Cup is the ultimate goal.
Bayern goalkeeper Neuer continues the fine tradition of German goalkeepers. After Kahn and Lemann, Neuer is the most trusted guardian of Germany. Ram, the core of the defense, plays a very key leadership role as the captain of the team, and he is also one of the starting points of the team's attack. The all-round Ram can also make a guest appearance in the back. , also has a wonderful performance. Midfielder Schweinsteger is undoubtedly the most dominant conductor of the team, and he is also one of the pillar players of the German team, who also plays in the midfield at Bayern. Germany's front-court attack combination is full of talented attacking players. Arsenal's Ozil, Bayern's Mueller, Götzer, Cross and other players make the German team more technical and aggressive.
In thegroup, Germany's biggest competitor is Portugal, which is their sixth time to enter the World Cup finals.
Kimuro is undoubtedly the leading star of Portugal. Kimuro, who currently plays for Real Madrid, has always been regarded as one of the best players in football today. He won the World Footballer of the Year and the Golden Globe Award in 2008.
In other positions, Portugal is also full of stars. Midfielders Mutinio and Merelles are both offensive and defensive players, and Pepe and Bruno are also on the defensive line. Alves and other tough players, and strange soldiers like Coentran on the sidelines, Portugal absolutely has the strength to qualify in the group stage and can even go further.
The U.S. team will play the role of a strange soldier in Group G, which will be the 10th time for the Baird Eagle to participate in the World Cup final. Since 1990, the United States has never missed a World Cup. Baseball, American football, ice hockey and basketball are mainstream sports, and football is getting stronger and stronger. In the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifiers, the United States won the first place in Central North America and the Caribbean and successfully advanced to the World Cup finals.
Although there are not many famous stars in the U.S. team, the names of many players are well known, such as Donovan, Bradley, Dempsey, Howard, Oneu and Artidore are all well-known figures.
Ghana will also play the role of spoiler. This World Cup will be their third consecutive World Cup finals. Ghana's strength lies in their midfield. Chelsea star Essien has been famous for a long time. Although his age and injuries have made Essien useless, Montari and Prince. Boateng is a dominant midfielder in European football. In addition, there are Ayu, Asamoa and other good players. On the front line, Gian shined brilliantly in the 2010 World Cup.
Group H is probably the least suspenseful group in this World Cup. European Red Devils Belgium will undoubtedly win the championship of this competition. As the defending champion, they will participate in the 14th World Cup finals.
The current Belgian team is full of stars, which is not bad compared with traditional European giants such as England, Italy and France, and even has no more than the total value of players.
On the forward line, there are Degan, the world's recognized king of football, as well as "Little Warcraft" Lukaku, Chelsea's core Azar, and De Bruyne, Tottenham's midfielder Dembélé, and Fiorentina midfielder Fellaini, Manchester City captain Compani, Arsenal captain Vermmaren, and Tottenham Hotsback core. Vertongen, the goalkeeper has Chelsea on loan to Atletico'scourt.
In this World Cup, at the press conference before Belgium's departure, Degan, the captain of the most team, only said one sentence: "There is only one goal, win the championship! Defend the title!"
Obviously, Belgium with Degan has super competitiveness in this World Cup, and Belgium also ranks first in the odds of major gambling companies winning the championship.
Although it was the first time for head coach Francois to lead a team to the international competition, he also seemed confident: "Having Degan is Belgium's biggest support. There is nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, every coach who has coached Degan will have such an idea."
The only thing in Group H that can pose a threat to Belgium is Russia. People will not forget their excellent performance in previous competitions.
Current Russia, based on defense under the ** of Italian gold medal instructor Capello, goalkeeper Akinfeyev did not miss the qualifying match for a minute. The defense is led by Ignashevic of the Moscow Central Army, and Zenit's two midfielders Shirokov and Fayezulin form midfield partners. On the forward line, he has Korzakov who plays for Zenit.
The team coached by Capello should never be underestimated. Previously, he had excellent coaching results in AC Milan, Real Madrid, Roma and Juventus, but coaching the national team was not very successful. From 2008 to 2012, Capello coached England and was eliminated by Germany in the last 16 in the 2010 World Cup. After that, he qualified for the 2012 European Cup with an unbeaten result in the qualifiers. However, in February 2012, after the Football Federation disqualified Terry as captain, Capello felt himself The authority was interfered by the Football Federation and chose to resign. On July 26, 2012, Capello was appointed as the head coach of the Russian national team, replacing Edvokat.
Under the leadership of Capello, the Russian national team won the first place in the qualifier group with Portugal and directly advanced to the 2014 Brazil World Cup finals.
In Group H, South Korea will once again be in the same group as Belgium led by their son-in-law Degan after the 2010 World Cup. Although they hold the record of the number of Asian teams entering the World Cup finals, it is unlikely that they want to qualify.
At present, Park Ji-sung has retired from the South Korean national team, but the South Korean team still has many players who play in Europe. Forward Park Joo-young returned to Arsenal after his loan in Celta but could not play the main force. Chi Dong-won plays for Sunderland. Midfielder Kim Ho-kyung is the main force of Cardiff City. Playing for Sunderland and Sun Xingmin playing for Leverkusen, these players may become the biggest support for the South Korean team in this World Cup.
The last team in Group H is Algeria from North Africa, which will be their fourth time to participate in the World Cup finals. After a mediocre 2010 World Cup and a bad 2013 Africa Cup, Algeria performed strongly in the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifiers. , easily advanced to the World Cup in Brazil, but they still need enough luck to qualify in the group.
At present, 32 teams have gathered in the South American continent and are about to fight fiercely for Brazil, the world's recognized football kingdom. For the supreme World Cup, who can laugh to the end and who can finally return with reputation, people are waiting to see.