In South America, the football world championship is gaining momentum, which traditionally presents the fans with the “cream” of the national teams, destroys all predictions, reveals new talents and “buries” favorites. The second qualifying round has not yet ended - and many of them have already fallen in, and the underappreciated participants have shown rather sharp teeth.
One of the biggest dramas at the start of the tournament was the failure of the Spanish national team, which had previously taken two European championship titles and the 2010 World Cup in a row, and had ruined all their hopes in the current championship before the playoffs. Number one in the FIFA rankings, Red Fury could not resist the onslaught of the reckless Dutch and the desperately motivated Chileans. It is symbolic that the team ingloriously finished the tournament (the third match in the group can be called the official farewell of Fury Roja to the title) and surrendered the champion's powers on the day when King Juan Carlos II of Spain resigned from the throne - June 18, 2014.
The Portuguese national team instantly lost face in the tournament. In the opening match with the Germans, Cristiano Ronaldo and company played more offended boys than the hardened heirs of Eusebio and Luis Figo. The controversial penalty did not provoke the "Team of the Chosen", as the Portuguese national team is called, but made them literally "get sick". Ultimately, the starting motivation of the Pyrenees was ruined by the bully Pepe, who was sent off for unsportsmanlike behavior. Thus, Portugal immediately provided itself with a bunch of problems in the fight for the playoffs.
No less sadness for the fans is the prospect of going home too quickly for the players of England and Italy. In the face-to-face duel of the European teams, the Blue Squadron won, and the representatives of the Old World lost their meetings with Uruguay and Costa Rica. Paradoxically, only the brash Costa Ricans in this group secured their way into the playoffs, leaving the three leaders to figure out who is more worthy to keep them company.
Among the Europeans really claiming the championship are the national teams of Germany and, oddly enough, France and the Netherlands. The team, led by Joachim Loew, is like a winning machine. Strong character, tactical flexibility, confidence in their own invincibility and, most importantly, the spirit of unity - sometimes help the Germans more than the individual qualities of the players. The Dutch, on the other hand, sometimes resemble a dangerous razor - they are not afraid of anyone, they sweep away everything on the way to the goal of their rivals and shoot at them like from a cannon. However, there is a risk that the blade may become dull if Louis van Gaal's charges are wasted too quickly. Experts also expect brightness from France, which the team of Didier Deschamps, who tasted the sweetness of the world championship in 1998, is already successfully showing.
