From hero to loser – one step. Or even less – a failed match. In the selection below – very often brilliant personalities and teams, which, for various reasons, at the end of the group stage of the World Cup in Qatar, ended up with a broken trough.
Gareth Bale (Wales)
We all remember how the Wales team got to the World Cup. We should have been in their place. And, for some reason, it seems that the Ukrainian team would have performed at least as well as Bale and company.
Wales in Qatar is not remembered at all. From the word “absolutely”. The only positive moment is a draw with the Americans (1:1), which, however, did not affect their prospects in any way – Page’s team took the last place in the group. And its leader – Gareth Bale – failed to “slam the door” at the last Mundial for himself.
DENMARK team
“Europe’s outlet”: this was the Danish team at the recent European Championship. There the Danes fell in love with the whole continent. And not only because of the heartbreaking story with Eriksen, but also because of his brilliant game. Then, at Euro 2020, it seemed that the current Danish international could repeat the success of 1992, when the Vikings became champions of the continent.
This hypothesis could also be confirmed by the Danes’ qualifying tournament for the 2022 World Cup, when they scored 30 goals, having won nine wins in ten meetings.
But in Qatar all that Danish splendor has faded – just one point from three games and the last place in the group. It’s a fail, for sure.
Karim BENZEMA (France)
What is bad luck and how to deal with it. In a particular situation, it turns out that in no way. On the eve of the World Cup, the leader of the French national team Benzema was very cautious: he was preparing to play the last World Cup for himself (the Real Madrid striker will turn 35 in the winter). But he was not saved: he was healed of one wound, he received another.
Although Deschamps has left Benzema on the squad for the national team, he will hardly play in Qatar: he won’t have time to recover. However, they say that this fact did not upset Karim’s partners in the national team. According to rumors, the situation in the dressing room of the “tricolors” would have improved significantly due to the absence of Benzema.
Neymar (Brazil)
The leader of the Brazilian national team is out of action again. And again – due to injury. And again, with tears in my eyes. In the first round match – against the Serbian national team – Neymar injured his leg. And he did not take part in the two remaining matches of the group stage. The injury, even if it turned out to be not very serious, the doctors and the technical staff decided to save the player. And the footballer himself promises to come back even stronger soon.
Well let’s see.
National of MEXICO
Mexicans are a traditional participant in group tournaments of world championships. And the traditional hard nut. Until now, in this century, the Mexican national team has regularly passed the group stage and reached the playoffs. True, she did not go further than the first round, but still …
However, the pleasant tradition for the Aztecs at the 2022 World Cup was interrupted. Despite the victory in the last round – over Saudi Arabia – Martino’s units conquered the final third place. And he forced to go home early. And he is looking for a new mentor: Martino has resigned.
BELGIUM national team
Now we can say in the affirmative: the 2018 World Cup has become the swan song of the “golden generation” of Belgian football. Four years ago, the Belgian team took third place at the World Cup. Now he has completed his trip to the World Cup in Qatar ingloriously, without even breaking the group stage barrier.
They started talking about problems in the once powerful and level-headed squad at Euro 2020, where Hazard, De Bruyne and company all retired on the outskirts of the semi-finals. Since then the situation has not improved. In fact, it got worse. There is no worthy replacement for aging leaders. And the leaders themselves – either they don’t pull, or they are not in good shape. In general, the worst expectations have been confirmed: Belgium really needs fresh blood and a restart.
GERMANY team
Rearranging the terms does not change the sum. At the 2018 World Cup, the German national team under the leadership of Loew ingloriously ended its path to defending the title, taking off after the group stage. History repeated itself at the 2022 World Cup, where the Bundesteam, led by Flick, suffered the same fate.
The Germans seemed to have learned from previous failures. But it just seemed. The German national team is still “raw”, there is no necessary balance between veterans and young players: the first can no longer, the others still. In general, everything is difficult. You can’t understand it without grappa.
