Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani may be waning but the rise of Darwin Núñez is perfectly timed for Uruguay, who have a habit of showcasing gladiatorial strikers at World Cups. Aliou Cissé has them superbly drilled but questions about creativity remain and they will hope Sadio Mané settles at Bayern Munich if that move goes through. They were unlucky to exit the group stage on the fair play tiebreaker in 2018 but will feel confident of a knockout spot this time. Photograph: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK/Shutterstock 11) SenegalĪfter winning the Africa Cup of Nations and squeaking past Egypt again to earn their spot, Senegal are on a high. Misery for Phil Foden and England as Hungary celebrate after scoring during their 4-0 win at Molineux. England remain favoured to reach the latter stages but a previously serene ship has begun listing dangerously. There was already unease after a narrow loss in Budapest and unremarkable draws against Germany and Italy that turned to outright revolt at Molineux and it is no way to set a tone five months out from Qatar. 10) EnglandĪs a disbelieving Gareth Southgate observed after the 4-0 home defeat to Hungary, the mood around those watching England has turned within a mere 11 days. Defeat by Switzerland last week was their first in the Nations League and after the disappointing last-16 exit to Uruguay in Russia, Fernando Santos and Cristiano Ronaldo will be keen to make amends in what could be a last major international tournament for both. 9) PortugalĪ star-studded squad has struggled to reach its potential since winning Euro 2016. Given they responded with a six-goal demolition of Poland it would be premature to write the obituaries but an ageing defence and spluttery attack do not feel, at this point, like potential winners in Qatar. 8) BelgiumĪn embarrassing 4-1 home defeat to the Netherlands this month laid bare an uncomfortable truth: that Belgium’s golden generation may have had their time. They stormed through the qualifiers, recently won away against Group D opponents France and, best of all, Eriksen is pulling the strings once again. Something needs to click in Qatar.Īlthough the emotion of Christian Eriksen’s collapse and recovery undoubtedly helped fuel their run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals, Denmark have proved without doubt that they are among the world’s top international teams. The world champions are struggling to convince despite the depth of talent at their disposal there is a reliance on Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappé for goals and the hangover from last summer’s Euro 2020 exit to Switzerland has not properly cleared. Two home defeats and two away draws were not the June results France wanted. Tuesday’s demolition of Italy suggested things are coming together after a run of draws and, as the adage goes, they cannot be written off. The transition between generations is being cleverly managed and they are producing the kind of slick football that largely went missing at Euro 2020. 5) Germanyīattered and broken last summer, Germany have quickly discovered a clear identity under Hansi Flick. Louis van Gaal, who led them to the semi-finals in Brazil that year, is back and will fancy his chances of a similar run with a youthful side that got the better of Wales with stoppage-time winners twice in the space of seven days. The eye-catching 4-1 win over Belgium in Brussels will have raised expectations among Oranje supporters as they prepare for their first World Cup since 2014. Photograph: Soccrates Images/Getty Images 4) Netherlands Gavi in action for Spain against Portugal in Seville this month.
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