France is the crystal favorite for the first place in group C, but it has to be careful - because it is threatened by Denmark, Peru and Australia, each in its own way, because coach Didier Deschamps, it seems, has not yet sorted out some things in his ranks.
FRANCE - SUPERTEAM WITH QUESTIONNAIRES
Before almost every major competition, the French national football team is followed by controversies, accusations of racism, players' dissatisfaction with the selection of the coach...
Didier Deshan previously disowned Karim Benzema, that case was closed (he was not even at the Euros two years ago), but a part of the public criticizes him for not taking Antonio Martial and Alexandre Lacazette to the World Cup, and there is no Kingsley Coman or even Dimitri Pajea, who is not 100 percent fit.
The fact that Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot refused to be on the reserve list of players competing for the World Cup shows how "hot" the atmosphere is around the national team.
"I deserve a better relationship," Rabio said.
Deschan's reply arrived:
"He made a big mistake, the consequences of which he probably does not understand".
Even without Rabiot, however, the "tricolors" have players for great things (there are Antoine Griezmann, Paul Pogba, Ngolo Kante, Blaise Matuidi, Olivier Giroud, Kylian Mbappe, Nabil Fekir, Floran Tovan...), but the question is whether they have and a team that is ready to go all the way.
Dešan missed a great chance to win the European crown at home in 2016 (he lost to Portugal in the final), so many believe that the World Cup in Russia is his last chance to convince the leaders of the Confederation that he deserves to stay on the bench.
France participated in the World Cup 14 times, it was Dešan who was the captain when it won the only world title in 1998. She also played in the final in 2006, which she lost to Italy, she was third in Mexico in 1986...
France is in a group with Australia (the first opponent on June 16), Peru and Denmark and is the favorite to advance from the first position to the round of XNUMX.
"Everything would be easier if we opened the tournament with a win," said Dešan.
The French have many stars in the team, but Griezmann has emerged as the biggest, behind whom another fantastic season in Atlético Madrid was seasoned with a trophy in the Europa League.
Griezmann, a potential reinforcement of Barcelona, was both the best player and the best scorer of Euro 2016, while he registered four goals and assists in the World Cup qualifiers.
DENMARK - RED-WHITE "DYNAMITES" THREATEN THE FRENCH AS WELL
The Danes are at the World Cup after eight years and the elimination by the Netherlands in the round of 2010 of the World Cup in South Africa in XNUMX.
They weren't there four years ago in Brazil, and it looked like they wouldn't be in Russia either when Fatos Bećiraj, assisted by Stevan Jovetić, brought Montenegro a big victory in Copenhagen in October 2016, in a head-to-head clash for 2nd place (1: 0).
When it thickened, however, the only true star in the Danish team shone - Christian Eriksen in October 2017 decided the duel in Podgorica (1:0) and brought the Danes a barrage, and then in the playoffs he destroyed Ireland in Dublin with a hat trick (5:1 ) and sent his national team to the World Cup.
The Danes have a very solid team, in which Tottenham's star Erkisen jumps out, but in which there are several other players who can score a goal at any moment - Tomas Dijelny (Werder), Pjone Sisto (Celta), Jusuf Poulsen (Leipzig), Andreas Kornelius ( Atalanta).
There was also Niklas Bendtner, the popular Lord, the best scorer of this selection, now a striker in Rosenborg, but he was somewhat surprisingly not on the list of travelers to Russia.
The Danes "borrowed" a coach from their neighbor - Norwegian Age Harejde took over the selection after the unsuccessful qualification for Euro 2016, from the hands of Morten Olsen, the longest-serving Danish coach in history.
The Danish national team has a team that is capable of advancing to the second round, ahead of Peru and Australia, and that does not want to move even to the French.
Hareid's words about the "tricolor" are on the very border between self-confidence and arrogance:
"I saw the French team, it's nothing special. They don't have a leader, like Zidane used to be, they don't play as a team. Pogba? I watched him dye his hair blue and white against Manchester City, maybe he dyed it red against us - white," said Harejde.
The "Red and White Dynamites", as they call the Danish footballers, will play their first match at the World Cup against Australia on June 16 in Kazan. This is their fifth World Cup, and their greatest success was in France in 1998, when they reached the quarter-finals.
PERU - THE RETURN OF GUERERA AND THE VICTORY OF FOOTBALL
It was November 16, 2017, and tens of thousands of people occupied the streets of Lima, celebrating Peru's qualification for the World Cup, the first since the 1982 World Cup in Spain.
With the victory over New Zealand in the intercontinental playoff, "La Blankaroha" (red and white) became 36, the last selection to win a visa for Russia, and the authorities declared that day a new national holiday.
Not much has passed, only six months, the World Cup hasn't even started, and thousands of people dressed in national colors marched through the streets of Lima again, carrying banners and flags, shouting loud slogans.
The protest march ended at the legendary "Estadio Nacional", where the revolted crowd sent a message: "We want our captain at the World Cup".
What happened? The captain and symbol of the Peruvian national team, the man without whom the selection is not the same, Paolo Guerrero, was sentenced to 14 months because he tested positive for cocaine.
This affair in Peru was not only a football issue, but a national issue - the government and the country's president became involved in the case.
"This is a matter of honor for me and my family," said Guerrero, who drank a cup of coca leaf tea, a traditional drink in Chile, before the qualifier against Argentina.
The problem is that cocaine is obtained from that same leaf.
The ball was finally unwrapped on May 31, and many declared that day a great triumph for football - the Supreme Court of Switzerland decided to lift Guerrero's suspension and allow him to play in the World Cup.
The cheering crowd once again triumphantly walked the streets of Lima.
While Guerrero was under suspension, Jeferson Farfan, the 33-year-old forward of Lokomotiv Moscow, was presented on the FIFA website as the team's first star.
"It's great that Guerrero is with us, but this national team does not depend on individuals. We are a team - said the 22-year-old midfielder of Feyenoord, Renato Tapia.
The selection led by the Argentine Gareka, the popular "el tigre", now does not hide its goal - it wants to advance to the second stage. Ambitions are also supported by the place on the Fifa list - namely, the Peruvians are in a high 11th position.
AUSTRALIA - “KANGAROOS” DREAM OF 2006 REPLAY.
By qualifying for the World Cup in Russia, Australia confirmed its continuity, as this will be its fourth World Cup in a row. The "kangaroos" participated in the World Cup for the first time in 1974, and then they waited for 32 years, until the World Cup in Russia in 2006.
The elimination from Italy in the round of XNUMX (which later became champions) seemed to be an announcement that Australia was becoming the leading national team in Oceania...
"Then we had a generation that really knew its worth. Kewell, Cahill, Viduka, Bresciano, Schwarzer..., they were a guarantee of quality and experience, which are the first prerequisite for success in major competitions," said Guus Hiddink, who led Australia at the 2006 World Cup.
Australia is in group C with France, Peru and Denmark, there is certainly hope for the round of 38... Cahill, for example, is still there, he is the first star even though he is XNUMX years old, and next to him, Australia is led by Tom Rogić from Celtic, Hertin forward Matthew Lecky, experienced Mile Jedinak (Aston Villa)...
And now the coach is a Dutchman - Bert van Marwijk, who was the vice-champion at the World Cup in Brazil in 2010 with the "Tulips". Van Marwijk, interestingly, started the qualifiers on the bench of Saudi Arabia, he took over Australia in January and will leave immediately after the WC.
It is also known that he will be succeeded by 54-year-old Graham Arnold.
In the qualifiers, Australia was ranked third in Group B in Oceania, and reached the World Cup through a play-off with Honduras, the team that was fifth in South Africa.
Cahill scored 11 goals in the qualifiers, and this will be his fourth appearance at the World Cup. He scored over 50 percent of all the "kangaroos" goals at the world championships.
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