“It’s like a half-empty or half-full glass. If we looked at past championships, Uruguay would be the favorite, according to the current FIFA ranking, we will be the favorite. We must not forget Ghana and Korea either, they have very strong players, “said Portuguese coach Fernando Santos in a similar tone.
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There were, of course, coaches who were a little embarrassed by lot. “We don’t know anything about these rivals. At least not me, but I don’t think our analysts either, “said Dutch coach Louis van Gaal.” So they have a lot of work to do. Compared to the 2014 World Cup, when we got the toughest group with Spain, Chile and Australia, this is a more acceptable lot. even though we will play against the African champions. “
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So the lot decided …Photo: www.sofascore.com
“We have a strong group because we have Germany in it. But I don’t know much about the other rivals. To be honest, almost nothing. Now is the time to study them, “added Spanish coach Luis Enrique.
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“It will not be easy, but we have big plans. You can’t get a light group here, all participants are good. We want to go as far as possible, preferably to the finals, “German coach Hansi Flick responded to the community of Spain, Japan and a better team from the playoffs New Zealand – Costa Rica.
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True, a couple of coaches moaned. For example, the Spanish coach in the service of Belgium Roberto Martínez. “It’s a really tough lot. The Belgian national team is connected to Morocco, players like Fellaini and Chadli have Moroccan roots. Canada has a really good qualification and Croatia is a strong team, which we know well from the 2018 World Cup. They did not win silver for nothing. “
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Former excellent German footballer Lothar Matthäus during the draw of the World Cup 2022 in Doha.Photo: Hamad I Mohammed, Reuters
“It’s no glory. We’d rather avoid the French, because they are among the best teams in the world and they have great players,” said Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand, whose team will face not only France but also Tunisia and one team from tria UAE / Australia / Peru.
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The most confident of all, on the other hand, was the Argentine Lionel Scaloni. “We are good and we trust each other. We can’t complain, but we can’t be satisfied either. We know Mexico, Poland advanced to Sweden in the playoffs and Saudi Arabia succeeded. We respect all rivals, it’s a tough group. I tell people in our country to be calm down and enjoyed the World Cup, which we hope to finish in the finals. “
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