FCHP World Cup Preview

With not long to go now until the World Cup Kicks off, the Footballs Coming Homepage will look at the runners and riders at this years competition, and give some tips for who to look out for.

Favourites

The usual suspects:

Brazil are firm favourites. They have the added incentive of playing at a home tournament, and this generation of players have a taste for international glory after beating Spain 3-0 in the final of the 2013 Confederations Cup. Phil Scolari has done a magnificent job since returning to manage his home nation. He will be hoping that he can repeat the success of his first spell in charge, which saw him lift the world Cup in 2002. Their 23 man squad has quality in every position, and Scolari will have decisions to make throughout the team. In particular; Dante, Luiz and Thiago Silva at CB, and Paulinho, Fernandinho, Luis Gustavo and Ramires competing for one or two defensive midfield roles.

One to watch: Neymar with the Confederations Cup

Argentina are in a good side of the draw and can avoid most of the big guns until the latter rounds, although any team having to chose between Aguero, Palacio, Higuain and Lavezzi, to partner Messi upfront would be contenders – regardless of what side of the draw they are in. A lot of the focus is on Messi going into the tournament, who, by his own incredible standards, hasn’t had what he would consider a great season; scoring only 41 goals in 44 appearances. He has never really consistently put in the performances for Argentina that we are used to seeing for Barcelona, and was often marked out of games in Diego Maradona’s Argentina team in the 2010 World Cup.

One to watch: Many believe Messi needs a big performance at a World Cup to truly be considered the greatest of all time.

Spain are perhaps not the firm favourites we are used to them being, but write them off at your peril. They are the holders, and will not give up their trophy without a fight. There are a lot of familiar faces in the squad, and this is likely to be the last World Cup for and number of the 23. They want to go out with a bang by retaining the World Cup, having also picked up a couple of European Championships along the way.

One to watch: Spain scored an early victory against Brazil, securing the services of Diego Costa who could have played for either nation. With an over reliance on midfield to score goals, Costa will certainly act as a focal point for Spain’s attacks.

FCHP Tips

Watch out for these teams:

There are some obvious teams to write about here (Germany, Italy, Holland.. even England!), here are some teams you might not have considered.

France have an exciting team, and a harmony in the squad that has been missing from recent campaigns. Deschamps, who captained France to their 1998 World Cup Victory, has not been afraid to leave big name players (such as Nasri) out of the squad in favour of a stronger team mentality. They destroyed Jamaica in their final warm up game, a match which really showed the depth of their squad.

Deschamps 1998

This isn’t the strongest squad Portugal have had in recent years, but realistically this is Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup at the peak of his powers. He is in a similar boat to Messi, where many feel he needs to taste international glory before being considered one of the best ever.

Belgium undeniably have one of the strongest squads in the tournament. There is depth throughout the team, with Mignolet or Courtois in goal, Kompany leading from the back, Hazard (x2) supplying Benteke and Lakaku upfront. They are in the same side of the draw as Argentina, but I expect them to have a good run until the two nations meet. This will be a great learning curve for a lot of these players, look out for them in the 2016 Euro’s.

A taxi driver told me this week to stick a bet on Chile reaching the last four. They are not a team I know much about and so hadn’t really given them much thought. With Vidal and Sanchez they have two of the worlds best players in their positions, but before they can be talked about as one of  the top four teams in the tournament they need to negotiate their way out of a group including Spain and Netherlands. We know from the England vs Chile match this season that they are no pushovers, and the conditions favour the South American teams.

Could this be the tournament for an African team to make a big impact? The Ivory Coast have a very strong squad, and the heat of Brazil is not likely to prove a problem. Any team boasting Yaya Toure and Drogba should be feared, and with an impressive supporting cast including inform Gervinho and Kalou, as well as familiar faces such as Bony, Tiote, Aurier and Kolo Toure – there is experience and quality throughout the squad.

Golden Boot

Ignoring Messi and Neymar, the following players might fancy their chances of coming away with the golden boot:

Benzema looks to have continued his club form in the warm up games for France. He could have scored many more against Jamaica, but left the field with 2 to his name and an assist. He has shown early signs of forming a good partnership with Giroud.

Expect Ronaldo to drag Portugal deep into the tournament. This might be the last World Cup where he can really impose himself on the tournament, so I expect big performances.

His time?

Drogba Doesn’t seem to age. In the games I have seen him in this season, he is still making a nuisance of himself and popping up with goals.

One to watch:

Di Maria, who could be one of the players of the tournament. He has had an excellent season with Madrid and will not be in the limelight; Di Maria might find space with the opposition focussed on Messi and Aguero.

 

I hope that has got you in the mood for what promises to be an excellent Tournament. I can not wait!