World Cup: National Team threads

[HajdukSplit]

Serbia will finally announce their squad tomorrow, even better the press conference will be held at a gas station (for sponsorship reasons)

 

[Power Man]

Imagine the media shitstorm in France if Rabiot was of North African descent.
"He doesn't feel French"

 

[HajdukSplit]

Serbia name a 27-man provisional squad; Nastastic makes the squad for now but he is currently injured and a decision will be made by May 26 whether he will go to Russia or not. The most notable absences are probably Ljubomir Fejsa (Benfica) and Dusan Basta (Lazio). Especially Basta, who despite not playing much for Lazio, is a right back and on this provisional squad there is only one natural right back (however Nikola Milenkovic could play there). Milan Rodic and Luka Jovic are uncapped newcomers while N. Milenkovic is a rising prospect as well

Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Partizan Belgrade), Marko Dmitrovic (Eibar), Predrag Rajkovic (Maccabi Tel-Aviv), Aleksandar Jovanovic (Aarhus)

Defenders: Antonio Rukavina (Villarreal), Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Milan Rodic (Red Star Belgrade), Branislav Ivanovic (Zenit St. Petersburg), Uros Spajic (Anderlecht), Matija Nastasic (Schalke 04), Dusko Tosic (Guangzhou R&F), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina)

Midfielders: Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace), Nemanja Matic (Manchester United), Marko Grujic (Cardiff City), Adem Ljajic (Torino), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Mijat Gacinovic (Eintracht Frankfurt), Filip Kostic (Hamburg), Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica), Nemanja Radonjic (Red Star Belgrade), Nemanja Maksimovic (Valencia)

Forwards: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham), Aleksandar Prijovic (PAOK), Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt)

 

[Havre]

Can't agree that Belgium is in that first tier. Good enough to win yes, but player for player I would agree they are in that second tier.

I don't like their options defensively on the left side. Carrasco, Vertonghen or Lukaku are all average alternatives at best. Vertonghen being an excellent CD of course.

Dembele is excellent when he is playing well, but also quite average when he isn't. Witsel never became the player I thought he would. Love Tielemans as a talent. Haven't seen him play for Monaco so maybe he makes that midfield stronger than I think it is. Up front it is potentially excellent, but it requires Lukaku playing well/better.

These tournaments tend to have a life on their own. Good players all of a sudden become excellent for that set of games (the same way Kane looked bang on average 2 years ago - just opposite). All of a sudden Witsel plays like a world class CM for 5 games - not impossible.

 

[YNWA14]

England’s biggest issue in the 2000’s was trying to fit Scholes, Gerrard, and Lampard into one midfield and it was just never going to work. They didn’t compliment each other well enough to fit in one midfield and no one had the balls to drop one of the three.

Yep, take one of those out (probably Lampard) and replace him with Carrick?

 

[The Abusement Park]

Yep, take one of those out (probably Lampard) and replace him with Carrick?

In my biased opinion absolutely. If you picked 2 of Scholes/Gerrard/Lampard and put Carrick behind them that does a world of difference. While those 3 were obviously the best and slightly different in play styles, there were still all similar enough where there was no way they could coexist in one midfield. But putting someone like Carrick behind 2 of those 3 would’ve, maybe not won them a World Cup, but I think would’ve gotten them to a final.

 

[Evilo]

Tielemans has been up and downs with Monaco.

 

[N o o d l e s]

I'll probably end up dead wrong and it will look embarrassing, but I don't see why so many people are picking Spain to win the World Cup. They have a very solid roster, as usual, but this isn't even close to the best Spain team we have seen.

 

[Havre]

They can win without “being close” to the best Spanish team. At their best that team was as dominant as I have ever seen a national team be.

 

[The Abusement Park]

I'll probably end up dead wrong and it will look embarrassing, but I don't see why so many people are picking Spain to win the World Cup. They have a very solid roster, as usual, but this isn't even close to the best Spain team we have seen.

They’re midfield straight stacked tbf. It’s definitely not the best Spain team we’ve seen but I feel like some other big countries aren’t rolling out teams as good as usual. France on paper has the best team pretty obviously imo, Germany’s team is the most balanced, Brazil seems pretty top heavy. Just seems like there’s more questions this year with some of the top teams than usual imo.

 

[les Habs]

Spain definitely has a very good side, but they also have a couple of holes. Up top they don't have a proven performer for them. Costa is a proven player of course, but he's not really done it for Spain. I can see the calls for Morata since they don't have a lot of great options and he has experience, but I don't think he was by any means a sure-fire inclusion here. Aspas could be the wild card here. The other hole I see for Spain is out wide. I can only assume that Asensio starts. They have backs that can get forward, especially Alba as he's done this season for Barça after Neymar's departure left a void on that side, but I still think they could have used another solid wide option. I am very surprised Alonso didn't make it. I think he's quite versatile and offers quite a bit. After that it's a really solid looking side though. A co-worker, a Madridista, asked if I had seen the side. I hadn't and asked about a couple of players. I was quite surprised at some of the snubs, but seeing the side it could go either way. IMO Bartra is and has been Spain's third best CB for years now and he should be there. I was also curious Sergi Roberto didn't make considering he's such a good utility player, but I can see him not making it.

 

[cgf]

I'll probably end up dead wrong and it will look embarrassing, but I don't see why so many people are picking Spain to win the World Cup. They have a very solid roster, as usual, but this isn't even close to the best Spain team we have seen.

Ours is the only midfield that can challenge theirs for possession, and they have an excellent coach. They have some questions in attack, but with that midfield and Asensio on one wing they should still put any defense at this tourney under strain. Throw in their good form and I don’t expect any potential lack of width to hold them back from reaching the semis...if not more.

 

[Evilo]

Denmark coach saying all the right things. Keep it going idiot, France will be tremendously motived to kick your ass.

 

[N o o d l e s]

Ours is the only midfield that can challenge theirs for possession, and they have an excellent coach. They have some questions in attack, but with that midfield and Asensio on one wing they should still put any defense at this tourney under strain. Throw in their good form and I don’t expect any potential lack of width to hold them back from reaching the semis...if not more.

In my bracket (that I did super quickly...) I actually have them losing to Germany in the semis. Before that, there isn't really a team that I can see which would threaten them. I just don't know if they beat, potentially, Germany and France/Brazil in back to back games.

 

[cgf]

In my bracket (that I did super quickly...) I actually have them losing to Germany in the semis. Before that, there isn't really a team that I can see which would threaten them. I just don't know if they beat, potentially, Germany and France/Brazil in back to back games.

I’m german and I blame Jogi for costing us the Euros...and so the chance to match Spain’s back-to-back-to-back titles this summer...and think we’re the deserved favorites heading into this tourney, so have Spain going out to us in the semis as well.

But as a german fan there's been 3 teams who’s talent pool has worried me most heading into this tourney; Brazil, France & Spain; and the Spaniards are the only ones who didn’t leave behind their best midfielder (Rabiot & Fabinho) and are on a great run of a form since their coaching change. So they’re actually our cup rival who most worry me most...especially stylistically.

 

[YNWA14]

As has been mentioned I think by LITN (maybe it was cgf) I don't see why Brazil wouldn't try and field a 4-2-3-1 with Firmino in the CAM, Jesus ahead of him and Neymar/Coutinho on the wings. Then you can play a midfield of Fernandinho/Casemiro since they didn't bring Fabinho and have other players as late game subs to try and introduce a different look. But I guess it always seems to easy to speculate from a message board.

 

[Havre]

Idiot? Is anything of what Hareide said wrong? Not exactly that controversial to say that France as a team aren´t as good as their individual players should suggest.

Classic Hareide. He wants to breed confidence among his players. Not sure if it is possible to make the opposition more motivated than they really are for a World Cup match anyway.

Not a big fan of Hareide in general, but he is hardly an idiot when it comes to playing the media.

 

[Evilo]

Idiot? Is anything of what Hareide said wrong? Not exactly that controversial to say that France as a team aren´t as good as their individual players should suggest.

Classic Hareide. He wants to breed confidence among his players. Not sure if it is possible to make the opposition more motivated than they really are for a World Cup match anyway.

Not a big fan of Hareide in general, but he is hardly an idiot when it comes to playing the media.

Saying kante isn't a leader? That Pogba is more interested in his haircut? And so on and so on...?
That's totally embarrassing.

 

[cgf]

Sometimes I wish I got to actually coach some of these teams. I've been looking at the way Russia has played lately, and they could've been genuinely interesting even without any host-nation-shenanigans if a more courageous manager had been teaching them how to play an extremely fluid pressing & possession game with a best 11 looking something like:

Smolov - Kokorin
Naibullin* - Miranchuk - Golovin - Smolnikov
Dzagoev
Dzhikiya** - Neustadter - Fernandes
​

FW/W: Dzyuba | Poloz | Cheryshev* | Chalov
WB: Tashaev* | Schennikov*
MF: Zobnin | Erokhin | Oblyakov | Miranchuk
CB: Kudryashov** | Granat | Kutepov
​

I know that any russians who see this hypothetical lineup will think I'm crazy to play Fernandes in the back three, especially since there wouldn't be a pure CB in the trio if Dzhikiya couldn't claim the LCB spot from Kudryashov. But that team would be very mobile and skilled; if the coach had ingrained the needed cohesion over the past two years I would love to see how that team could play.

Dzagoev is still a hugely talented midfielder, despite him never taking that final step into the truly elite tier. Alan pulling the strings behind the young & dynamic Aleksey Miranchuk & Golovin could be a lot of fun...especially with Kokorin & Smolov in such good form...provided the team was free to push forward without exposing themselves to counters too badly. Which, having the mobile Fernandes & Dzhikiya flanking the positionally intelligent Neustadter, should significantly help with. In particular because that back trio could consistently build & cycle with the midfielders.

As has been mentioned I think by LITN (maybe it was cgf) I don't see why Brazil wouldn't try and field a 4-2-3-1 with Firmino in the CAM, Jesus ahead of him and Neymar/Coutinho on the wings. Then you can play a midfield of Fernandinho/Casemiro since they didn't bring Fabinho and have other players as late game subs to try and introduce a different look. But I guess it always seems to easy to speculate from a message board.

I wouldn't quite call any of them CAMs or Wings since Neymar would be free to drift around where he wanted and Coutinho/Firmino would have to move around to cover for him, so it would be an entirely fluid trio behind Jesus... but yeah, I just don't understand why Brazil haven't been able to find their rhythm in a shape that has those four attackers in a fluid block ahead of the backline & double pivot.

 

[Havre]

Clearly Pogba doesn’t care about his hair.

Having lived in France it is quite clear words are interpreted differently there than in Denmark.

He is speaking to his players. To the Danish fans. You can’t say it doesn’t work. Quite a feature considering the Danes generally aren’t all that impressed by the “moutain goats” from further north.

Harmless and quite clever. Nothing to be that sensitive about.

 

[Evilo]

Clever? All it'll do is fire up Pogba and co.

If you think that's clever, fine. I think it's particularly stupid.
There's no different way to interpret what he said. When he says Pogba is only interested in his hair cut (which you summed up weirdly enough as "clearly he doesn't care about it"), it doesn't mean anything else really. Same with saying Kante isn't a leader.

Dumb, dumb, dumb. Denmark doesn't need to undermine and fire up the opponents. They're a good team.

 

[Moncherry]

Idiot? Is anything of what Hareide said wrong? Not exactly that controversial to say that France as a team aren´t as good as their individual players should suggest.

Classic Hareide. He wants to breed confidence among his players. Not sure if it is possible to make the opposition more motivated than they really are for a World Cup match anyway.

Not a big fan of Hareide in general, but he is hardly an idiot when it comes to playing the media.

How does insulting other teams publicly breed confidence? It's a tactless measure.

 

[Havre]

Of course there are different way of interpreting words. It is quite dumb dumb dumb to think otherwise.

That is my point. For a Dane or Norwegian that isn´t much of an insult - if any at all. Being honest, open and direct is just the way one communicates. If he said that about the Swedish team they probably wouldn´t like it, but no-one or at least most wouldn´t care that much. Especially since it was said to a Danish paper - he wouldn´t have said the same to a French journalist (most likely at least). See - words can be interpreted differently.

You should see what Scandinavians say about each other. I remember when Norway and Denmark played qualifying games against each other.... you would be shocked shocked shocked how stupid and tactless these Scandinavians are (that might be true of course - if interpreted that way).

 

[Venkman]

In my biased opinion absolutely. If you picked 2 of Scholes/Gerrard/Lampard and put Carrick behind them that does a world of difference. While those 3 were obviously the best and slightly different in play styles, there were still all similar enough where there was no way they could coexist in one midfield. But putting someone like Carrick behind 2 of those 3 would’ve, maybe not won them a World Cup, but I think would’ve gotten them to a final.

They probably could've all played in a diamond midfield. Scholes used to pick the ball up from defenders and use his passing range, for United anyway.

-------Lampard
Hargreaves Gerrard
--------Scholes

 

[spintheblackcircle]