Italy
Italy's failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup is the loudest sensation of the entire qualifying stage. Of course, it is difficult to take first place in a group with Spain, but in the playoffs the Italians were quite capable of defeating Sweden. However, one missed goal in two matches was enough to miss the tournament.
Holland
The Dutch have already missed Euro 2016, having managed not to even make it into the top 24 teams in Europe. The nightmare continued at the qualifying stage for the 2018 World Cup: the Orange took third place in the group, behind the French and Swedes. Thus, the world will not see Holland at major tournaments for at least six years.
Wales
The failure of the Welsh to qualify for the World Cup would not have come as a surprise to anyone if not for the successful performance of Chris Coleman's team at the previous European Championship, where Wales reached the semi-finals, and eliminated one of the favorites - the Belgian team - from the road. But in qualifying, the Welsh did not even reach the joints, taking third place behind the Serbs and Irish.
Chile
The best team in South America, which won two continental tournaments in a row, will not come to Russia. Everyone really liked her at the Confederations Cup in our country, her fans were expected here again, but the Chilean national team did not qualify even for the fifth “play-off” place. A resounding failure for Vidal, Sanchez and their partners.
On the same night that the Chileans were eliminated, the US team also suffered disaster. The Americans looked quite cheerful at the last World Cup, even when they lost to stronger teams, which is why the USA’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup is also a loss. A sensation occurred in the last round, when the Americans lost to outsider Trinidad and Tobago, and competitors Honduras and Panama managed to win and overtake the United States.
Ivory Coast
Now the “elephants” no longer look as powerful as before, although at the previous World Cup this team was of little use - it never left the group, even with a decent composition. Now Toure or Drogba are no longer in it, but Gervinho and Doumbia could well decorate the World Cup. But the last match, in which they could only win, Côte d’Ivoire failed, losing at home to the Moroccans.
Algeria
The failures of the strong Algerian team surprise time after time - they looked ridiculous at the African Cup, and in the qualification for the 2018 World Cup they lost their chances of qualifying long before the end of the qualifying tournament. We won’t see the same guys who threw us out of the last World Cup in Russia. Although it could have been more fun with Brahimi, Mahrez and Slimani.
Uzbekistan
Many of us supported the Uzbekistan team in qualifying, but they failed to please us. The last step was again not enough for the Uzbeks. In the last round of the group, it was necessary to beat South Korea in order to get to the World Cup directly, but Uzbekistan also barely held on to a 0:0 draw. So again, “not this time.”
On the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, Brazil beat Paraguay, waited for Uruguay's unexpected defeat from Peru and became the first team in the world to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
A year ago it was difficult to imagine this. Brazil Dunga began the qualifying tournament with two victories in 6 matches (2 wins - 3 draws - 1 loss), and then it was not at all about getting to the World Cup early.
However, in the summer after the failure at the America's Cup, Dunga was fired. The 55-year-old Tite, who recently won the championship with Palmeiras, was put in charge of Brazil, and...
And within a year, 2-3-1 in the table turned into 10-3-1:
3:0 over Ecuador, 2:1 with Colombia, 5:0 with Bolivia, 2:0 with Venezuela, 3:0 with Argentina, 2:0 with Peru, 4:1 away to Uruguay and today's 3:0 over Paraguay – 8 victories in a row for the team, which was already starting to be laughed at: it is based on people from the Chinese championship (no, not the Hulk - Renato Augusto and Paulinho).
Who also still hopes for something, was not at all simple. The guests even created the first chance of the match, played tough, but towards the end of the first half they missed the combination of Coutinho and Paulinho, after which the Liverpool star opened the scoring.
In the second half, Neymar earned a penalty, did not convert it, but then still scored from the game:
When everything became clear, Marcelo scored the third goal.
At that time, Brazil did not yet know that they would secure participation in the World Cup not in 5 months (the next matches were only at the end of August), but in an hour and a half.
Uruguay unexpectedly lost to Peru, which means that the Argentines (11 points behind) and the Uruguayans (10), who still have a match with each other, will not be able to beat Brazil together in the remaining 4 rounds.
This means that the 2018 World Cup will not be complete without Brazil, the only team to participate in every World Cup in history.
“My main joy is giving joy to people,” Tite said after the game. “The joy on the faces of loved ones, the happiness of the players, the happiness of a small child - sharing joy is definitely my main pleasure.”
Russia, Brazil... 30 unknowns left.
The US Soccer Federation, whose national team will not be at the World Cup next year, decided to organize its own tournament, where other relegated teams, in particular Chile, Italy, the Netherlands and Ghana, will play. All these teams are losers, but each has its own reason for failure.
Netherlands national team
Reason for failure: generational change
Just recently, the Dutch national team was one of the strongest in Europe and played in the World Cup finals. Then Wesley Sneijder was spectacular, Robin van Persie scored a lot, and there were also Kuyt, van Bronkhorst and van Bommel. All that was left of that orange team was a gray, very gray shadow. Arjen Robben tried to do the work for everyone, but alone he couldn’t cope with the mission of getting the Dutch to at least second place. Now he has finished his career in the national team, and the Dutch national team now risks missing out on a third major tournament in a row in 2020. Although Titov’s colleague believes that she just needs a new coach.
The Dutch will not come to the World Cup. And it's not about the players
The character of the Dutch is to blame for everything.
Wales national team
Reason for failure: Bale's injuries
Selection for the World Cup began back in September 2016, when the Real Madrid leader was not tormented by injuries (this has happened). Bale missed just one match out of the first eight, and his team were confident in their group. Gareth single-handedly defeated the Moldovans, and also saved the Welsh in matches against Georgia and Serbia. The trouble is that he watched the last, decisive game with his neighbors from Ireland from the stands. The Welsh lost only one match out of 10, but this was enough to take only third place in the group.
5 players who can replace Bale at Real Madrid
Club President Perez is already calling London and Paris.
Slovakia national team
Reason for failure: tricky regulations
The Slovak team showed their best - in a group with the British, who looked very good throughout the selection, it would be too presumptuous to count on first place. Hamshik and company positioned themselves immediately behind the British, but did not get a chance to continue the fight. The fact is that the Slovakian team with 18 points became the worst second team in the European selection and did not get into the play-offs.
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Italy national team
Reason for failure: tyranny of the coach
The Italians were able to get into the joints, but there they were ingloriously eliminated by the Swedes. Many were waiting for Buffon and Veratti in Russia - after all, several generations of football fans find it difficult to imagine the World Cup without the “Squadra Azzurra”. But the new coach of the team was Giampiero Ventura, and neither the players nor the fans understood him. The logical conclusion to his failure is a shameful resignation. It is surprising that the managers of the Italian Football Federation did not sack the coach before the cut-offs. But a very high-quality trolling of the Italian IKEA Twitter went down in history: “Gianpiero will forgive us for losing his bench. We'll give him a new one."
Uzbekistan national team
Reason for failure: dull game
The Uzbeks played the second round of the Asian selection flawlessly: only one defeat with seven victories. The team also started the next stage well, but at some point it stopped looking like itself. The Uzbeks managed to lose to the Syrian national team - a team in whose country there is a terrible war. In the decisive match with the unmotivated South Koreans, they also could not do anything and eventually lost to the Syrians on goal difference, finishing only in fourth place.
Team USA
Reason for failure: defeat from an outsider
A similar story happened with the Americans. We are accustomed to the fact that the United States is one of the leaders of the North American confederation. But this year, compared to other CONCACAF teams, they looked downright weak. Think about it: the worst qualifying team, Trinidad and Tobago, beat the Americans after a streak of five losses in a row. In addition, the US team played a draw with Panama and Honduras. As a result, the Americans let all their ideological rivals pass ahead, and they themselves took penultimate place in the group, depriving them of the right to play at least in intercontinental play-offs. But the Panamanians came out directly!
The Panama Canal separated the USA from Russia: how the Americans were left without the World Cup
Fantastic outcome of qualifying in the CONCACAF zone - an own goal by the goalkeeper, a phantom goal and a Panamanian miracle: you just have to see it!
Chile national team
Reason for failure: alcohol
The South American selection is probably the toughest among all confederations. There are 10 really strong teams, and only five can get to the World Cup. As a result, the Chilean national team, which we had come to love during the Confederations Cup, flew past the World Cup. Although, in addition to the incomparable fans, we will also miss the Chilean stars - Vidal, Sanchez, Bravo. Everyone in the country was so disappointed by the failure that they immediately began to look for those to blame. For example, the wife of goalkeeper Bravo accused other players of the Chilean national team of violating the regime - they say that Vidal and other players came to training with fumes. Or is there another reason?
How the Chilean national team's slander deprived them of the 2018 World Cup. Or is it not just that?
There are two versions of why the top team missed the chance to come to Russia next summer at the last moment.
Cameroon national team
Reason for failure: constant scandals
Another national team participating in the Confederations Cup flew past the World Cup and will not come to Russia again. In fact, Cameroonian football players are almost the main scandals in all of Africa. Remember how they asked for crazy bonuses after the World Cup in 2014? Then, by the way, it turned out that instead of preparing for the World Cup, Eto’o and other stars called Brazilian prostitutes. The African Cup of Nations, which was victorious for Cameroon, also began with a scandal - the then leaders of the national team from top European clubs refused to participate in the important tournament due to the fact that it was held at an inconvenient time. The team was able to win without Matip and Chupo-Moting, and went to the Confederations Cup without them, but it turned out that it would be difficult for them to compete without the stars with Nigeria and Zambia in qualifying for the World Cup. Coach Hugo Broos, who became a hero for the Cameroonians last year, could only take third place in his group.
32 national teams will take part in the 2018 World Cup. 23 participants of the World Cup have already been decided. Let's remember those who have already secured a ticket to the World Cup, and also let's see who still has a chance to do so.
Europe
Who's coming out?
From the Old World, the winners of nine qualifying groups went directly to the World Championship. The eight best second-place teams (determined without taking into account the matches against the last-place teams in each six) will determine four more participants in the final tournament in the playoffs. There are 13 vouchers in total.
What do we have?
Victories in nine qualifying groups were won by: Belgium, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Iceland, Serbia, France and Portugal.
Among the teams that took second place, Slovakia turned out to be the worst. will wait for the draw, which will determine the couples who will compete for 4 more tickets to the World Cup.
Access to the World Cup: Belgium, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, Iceland, Serbia, France, Portugal.
Keep your chances: Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Denmark, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Greece.
Africa
Who's coming out?
The winners of five qualifying groups, each with four teams, receive tickets to the final tournament of the 2018 World Cup.
What do we have?
Africa has decided on two of the five participants. For the round before the selection was completed, Egypt and Nigeria guaranteed tickets.
Tunisia has excellent chances to qualify for the World Cup. The North African country is first in its group, three points ahead of DR Congo, and in the final round will meet Libya, which has only 3 points and last place in the table.
Morocco is one point ahead of Cote d'Ivoire, and in the last round the teams meet each other on the territory of the latter. Gabon and Mali lost their chances in this quartet.
There is an interesting situation in Group D, where all teams have a chance to qualify for the World Cup. Senegal are first and have two matches against South Africa, who are last. If South Africa wins two, they will qualify for the World Cup. Senegal will need one win in two matches to become the best in the group. Burkina Faso and Cape Verde can become first only if they themselves win the head-to-head confrontation, and Senegal draws once and loses big the second time.
Access to the World Cup: Egypt, Nigeria.
Keep your chances: Tunisia, DR Congo, Morocco, Ivory Coast, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, South Africa.
Asia
Who's coming out?
Direct tickets to the 2018 World Cup are awarded to the teams that take first and second places in the two final groups of the qualifying tournament. The third teams play playoffs for the right to play in intercontinental play-offs against a team from CONCACAF.
What do we have?
In Group A, the first two places remained with Iran and Korea. Japan and Saudi Arabia won Group B.
Syria and Australia came third. In a full-time two-game confrontation, they snatched victory in the extra time of the second match and will now meet with the representative of North America.
Access to the World Cup: Iran, South Korea, Japan, Saudi Arabia.
Keep your chances: Australia.
North America
Who's coming out?
From CONCACAF, the first three teams of the final qualifying tournament will directly qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and the fourth team will compete for a ticket to the World Cup with a representative from Asia.
What do we have?
The Mexican national team became the first to book a trip to Russia. One round before the end of the selection process, Costa Rica joined.
On the final day, the USA had the best chances (12 points versus 10 for Panama and Honduras, as well as the best goal difference), but the Americans managed to lose to outsiders Trinidad and Tobago, while Panama beat Costa Rica to qualify for the World Cup , and Honduras - Mexico, winning a ticket to intercontinental junctions.
Access to the World Cup: Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama.
Keep your chances: Honduras.
Oceania
Who's coming out?
The only confederation that does not have a guaranteed representative in the final tournament of the World Cup. The winner of the local qualifying gets the right to play in the intercontinental playoffs.
What do we have?
Team New Zealand is the best team in Oceania. After Australia moved to Asia, victory in the local selection became mandatory for New Zealanders, and defeat would be regarded as a disaster.
However, it will be very difficult to qualify for the World Cup; there will be a meeting with Peru in the playoffs.
Access to the World Cup: -
Keep your chances: New Zealand
South America
Who's coming out?
Ten participants are competing for four direct tickets to the World Cup, and the fifth will play in the intercontinental play-offs.
What do we have?
The incredible intrigue continued until the last round. The Argentines, Chileans or Colombians could miss the World Cup. The Chilean national team was unlucky.
Brazil knew for a long time that they would get to the World Cup, but still defeated Chile in the last round. This defeat dropped Alexis Sanchez's team to sixth place.
Uruguay retained second place, the Argentines were third, Colombia was fourth, and Peru will play against New Zealand.
Access to the World Cup: Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia.
Keep your chances: Peru.
Bottom line
To the World Cup four participants Europe has not yet delegated three, Africa has not yet delegated three. The last two will be determined through an intercontinental playoff.
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The qualifying tournament for the 2018 FIFA World Cup has ended on almost all continents. Taking into account the host country, 23 teams have already received trips to Russia. The final list of teams will be formed in a month, when the last three participants from Africa are determined, play-offs will take place in Europe (eight teams are vying for four spots: Switzerland, Italy, Denmark, Croatia, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Greece and Ireland, the draw will take place on October 17) , as well as intercontinental matches: Australia will play Honduras, and Peru will play New Zealand.
TASS represents teams that can already prepare for the World Championships in Russia.
Team Germany
The German team performed in the qualifying tournament, as befits world champions, winning all ten matches and setting a record for goals scored (43). The German national team never failed in the qualifying rounds of the World and European Championships, not going for economic reasons to the first World Championship in 1930 in Uruguay, and also in 1950 to Brazil - due to the removal of the national federation after World War II.
In the qualifying round, 21 players scored goals for the German national team, and the most productive were Thomas Müller and Sandro Wagner. The leaders of the German national team are well known - defenders Joshua Kimmich, Mats Hummels and Antonio Rüdiger, midfielders Julian Draxler, Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, and striker Thomas Müller.
The head coach of the German national team is 57-year-old Joachim Löw, who has led the team since 2006. Under his leadership, the Germans won the World Cup and the Confederations Cup, reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008, and were considered the main favorites for the upcoming tournament in Russia.
Achievements: in 1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014, the FRG/Germany teams became world champions, eight more times the team was in the top three. In 1972, 1980 and 1996, Bundesteam won the European Championship, being the most titled team on the continent. Last summer, the German national team became the winner of the Confederations Cup, defeating the Chileans in the final in St. Petersburg - 1:0. At this tournament, the German national team actually acted as an experimental squad, however, these players did not allow anyone to doubt the class of the team.
Brazil national team
The Brazilians did not have the best start in the qualifying round, but in the summer of 2016 the team was taken over by one of the most successful local specialists, Tite - and the pentacampeons won nine victories in a row, becoming the first team to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. The turning point was the defeat in November 2016 Argentines in Belo Horizonte - 3:0.
Tite, 58, won the Copa Libertadores and the Club World Cup with Corinthians in 2012, and won the Copa Sudamericana with Internacional in 2008. The main team of the Brazilian national team includes one of the best football players in the world, Neymar, as well as stars of European clubs: goalkeeper Alison, defenders Marcelo, Marquinhos, Miranda, Daniel Alves, midfielders Casemiro, Philippe Coutinho and Paulinho, as well as forward Gabriel Jesus. Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Paulinho were the most successful Brazilians in the qualifying tournament with six goals.
Achievements: the most titled team on the planet won the World Championship five times: in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002. Brazilians have won the Copa America eight times, and in 2016, on home fields, they won the Olympic football tournament for the first time in history.
Portugal national team
The European champions with great difficulty became the winners of Group B, only in the final match defeating the Swiss team with a score of 2:0 and ahead of their rival thanks to a better goal difference.
The current generation of Portuguese football players is associated primarily with Cristiano Ronaldo, who updated all local records, scoring 15 goals in the qualifying tournament and losing in this indicator only to Pole Robert Lewandowski. However, another forward of the Portuguese national team, Andre Silva, also played an important role in the qualifying round, scoring nine times, including in the decisive match with the Swiss. Fernando Santos' team again acted confidently in defense, conceding only four goals - central defenders Pepe and Rui Fonte, despite their considerable age by football standards (34 and 33 years old, respectively), continue to perform very reliably. In general, the Portuguese national team has a fairly old composition, and from the younger generation it is worth highlighting, in addition to Andre Silva, midfielder Joao Mario and forward Bernardo Silva.
The head coach of the Portuguese is also experienced - 63-year-old Fernando Santos, who won the national championship with Porto back in 1999.
Achievements: the Portuguese team has once again shown its ability to play the most important matches, which largely allowed it to win Euro 2016 in France for the first time in its history.
Argentina national team
The possible failure of the Argentines and Lionel Messi to qualify for the World Cup was the main topic of discussion in world football in early October. The Argentines had a terrible qualifying tournament - largely due to serious problems in the national federation, which for a long time could not elect a president.
Due to confusion in the summer of 2016, Gerardo Martino left the national team, and under the leadership of Edgardo Bauza, it began to constantly lose points, eventually finding itself outside the top four teams in the South American qualifying group. Jorge Sampaoli, who had previously successfully worked with the Chilean national team, was appointed to save the two-time world champions. However, under him, the national team was struck by a draw: at home, the Argentines failed to beat their opponents from Venezuela and Peru, and before the final match in Quito against the Ecuadorian team, the choice was simple - only victory, otherwise for the first time since 1970, the Argentines would have been without the World Cup. And at the most important moment, the one for whom the whole country had been praying in recent days spoke his word. Messi scored a hat-trick, and the Argentines finished third in the group, earning a ticket to the final tournament.
But in any case, the Argentine team must improve, first of all, in attack. Possessing a whole scattering of stars in attack - Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Paolo Dybala, as well as Mauro Icardi, whom Sampaoli began to attract to the squad - the Argentines scored only 19 goals in 18 qualifying matches; Only the outsider from Bolivia has less. Messi has scored seven goals. Sampaoli has seriously updated the squad, where only defender Javier Mascherano and midfielder Angel Di Maria remain from the usual stars. There are many strong Argentine football players in Europe, but there are no more stars capable of leading the team to the World Cup final again, as happened in 2014.
Achievements: The Argentines have played in the World Cup finals five times, winning two (1978, 1986) and losing twice (1930, 1990, 2014).
Belgium national team
The Red Devils were the first in Europe to qualify for the final tournament, confidently winning Group H. The current generation of Belgian football players is one of the strongest in the history of the team.
The leaders of the current Belgium national team are goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, defenders Thomas Meunier and Jan Vertonghen, midfielders Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel, Kevin de Bruyne, forwards Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku. Lukaku, who plays for English Manchester United, became the team's top scorer in the qualifying tournament with 11 goals. Eden Hazard scored six goals, Mertens and Meunier scored five each. After the European Championship, where the Belgians were eliminated in the quarterfinals, Spaniard Roberto Martinez replaced Mark Wilmots as head coach.
Achievements: the best result of the Belgian team is fourth place at the World Championships in 1986. In 1980, the Belgians played in the final of the European Championship, and in 1972 they took third place.
Poland national team
The Polish national team made it to the final tournament of the World Cup for the first time since 2006. The current generation of Polish football players has many European stars, among them forward Robert Lewandowski stands out, who scored a record 16 goals in the qualifying round - out of 28 scored by the Polish national team. Thanks to the effective play of their leader, the Poles managed to get ahead of their competitors from Denmark by five points, although on September 1 they lost to them in Copenhagen with a score of 0:4. In addition to Lewandowski, who has not yet played at a World Cup, the Polish national team includes experienced defenders Lukasz Piszczek and Kamil Glik, midfielders Grzegorz Krychowiak, Piotr Zieliński, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Kamil Grosicki.
The head coach of the Polish national team is 59-year-old Adam Nawalka, who has been leading the team since 2013. He previously worked with many local clubs and even helped the Dutchman Leo Beenhakker in the national team in 2007–08.
Achievements: the main successes of the Poles occurred in the 70-80s of the last century - in 1974 and 1982 the team took third place at the world championships. At the same time, the Polish national team played for the first time at the European Championship only in 2008.
France team
The finalists of last year's European Championship managed to get into the final tournament only at the last moment, ahead of the teams of Sweden and the Netherlands. The team won several brilliant victories, but failed to beat the Luxembourg team on their home field, making their task more difficult.
The main star of the current French national team is striker Antoine Griezmann, who, together with forward Olivier Giroud, became the team's top scorer in the qualifying round. Griezmann and Giroud scored a goal each in the match with the Belarusian team on Tuesday, a victory in which guaranteed the “tricolor” first place in Group A. Traditionally, the French national team has a very powerful support zone, where Paul Pogba and Ngolo Kante play, and in addition to Griezmann, the attack and Giroud should note the young talents of Kilian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele, who last summer made high-profile moves to Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, respectively.
The captain of the French national team is 30-year-old goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and the team is coached by 48-year-old Didier Deschamps, a key midfielder of the 1998 world champions, who has been working with the national team since 2012.
Achievements: in 1998, at a home tournament, the French team became the world champion for the first time, and in 2006, Zinedine Zidane's generation almost repeated this success, losing in the final to the Italians only in a penalty shootout. The French won the European Championship in 1984 and 2000, and last year they almost scored a hat-trick, losing to their rivals from Portugal in the final.
Colombia national team
The Colombians also risked being left without the World Cup, although in 2014 they reached the quarterfinals. They completed the qualifying round with four matches without a win, but an away draw with their rivals from Peru (1:1) allowed them to remain in fourth place. The latest setbacks are primarily due to the poor form of James Rodriguez, but it was he who scored the most important goal in Lima.
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The Colombian national team retained the leaders who performed successfully at the World Cup in Brazil - goalkeeper David Ospina, midfielders Juan Cuadrado, Abel Aguilar, Carlos Sanchez, James Rodriguez are still in service. Forward Radamel Falcao Garcia has fully recovered, although James became the team's top scorer with six goals in the qualifying tournament. Among the leaders of the new wave, it is worth noting defenders Oscar Murillo and Frank Fabra, as well as midfielder Edwin Cardona and forward Duvan Zapata. The team is headed by Argentine specialist Jose Pekerman, who has worked with the Argentine youth team for a long time.
Achievements: the Colombian national team only took a leading role in South American football in the late 80s, when the generation led by Carlos Valderrama, Freddy Rincon and Faustino Asprilla shone. In 2001, a new team of Colombians won the America's Cup for the first time in history. The best performance at the World Championships was the quarterfinals in 2014.
Spain national team
After the unsuccessful World Cup 2014 and Euro 2016, the Spanish national team regained the taste of victory, and the traditional combination style of the “red fury” began to produce results again. In the qualifying tournament (Group G), the Spaniards beat their longtime rivals from Italy, taking revenge for their defeat in the 1/8 finals of the 2016 European Championship. On September 2, at the Santiago Bernabeu in Madrid, the Spanish national team played a brilliant match against the Italians, defeating their competitor with a score of 3: 0, - winning a trip to Russia was a done deal. In an away match with the Italians in the fall of 2016, the Spaniards lost their only points in the qualifying tournament (1:1), scoring 36 goals in ten matches and conceding three. Four Spanish players scored five times at once: Diego Costa, Isco, Alvaro Morata and David Silva.
Under the leadership of Julen Lopetegui, who has worked with youth and youth teams for a long time, new leaders have emerged in the Spanish national team - first of all, Isco, who scored two goals in the home game with the Italians, as well as Morata and Marco Asensio. Although there are veterans in the ranks - defenders Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos and Jordi Alba, midfielders Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets. Goalkeeper David de Gea also performed brilliantly in the qualifying tournament.
Achievements: in 2008–12, the Spanish national team achieved a unique achievement, winning two European Championships in a row and becoming the strongest team in the world for the first time in 2010.
Mexico national team
The Mexicans became the first CONCACAF team to qualify for the World Cup. This happened in early September, three rounds before the end of the qualifying tournament. The Mexicans went through the decisive round without defeat, gaining four points each in key confrontations with the teams of the USA, Costa Rica and Panama.
Coach Juan Carlos Osorio took over the Mexican national team in October 2015, immediately following the team's CONCACAF Gold Cup victory. He was invited from the Brazilian Sao Paulo, although he had a disastrous experience in Mexico: under the leadership of the Colombian, Puebla lost seven of 11 matches in 2012.
The Mexican national team performed well at the Confederations Cup, not allowing the Russian national team into the playoffs (2:1 in the third match of the group stage), as well as having a brilliant match with Portugal (1:1). Next summer, approximately the same team with the same leaders will return to Russia: forwards Javier Hernandez, Hirving Lozano, Jesus Corona, as well as midfielders Carlos Vela and Andres Guardado. Also worth waiting for is 38-year-old defender Rafael Marquez, who announced his intention to retire from the national team after the World Cup in Russia. Márquez is the only footballer in history to captain his national team at four World Cups.
Achievements: Mexico has taken part in 15 World Championships - this is a record among teams that have never become world champions. At the same time, in the last six tournaments, the Mexican team left the group and lost in the 1/8 finals. In addition, the Mexicans have played in the opening matches of the World Cup more often than any other team - seven times. Mexico has won the CONCACAF Gold Cup 11 times.
England team
The England team traditionally performs strongly in qualifying tournaments, but often disappoints at crucial moments. In the 2018 World Cup qualifying round, the British won Group F, eight points ahead of their closest competitors from Slovakia. The English Lions conceded only three goals - this is the best result along with the Spanish team in all nine qualifying groups.
The leader of the current England team was striker Harry Kane, who scored five goals, including the winning one in the meeting with the Slovenes on October 5 (1:0), which led the English to the final tournament for the sixth time in a row. Kane also played at the disastrous Euro 2016 for himself and the team, where the British lost to the Icelanders in the 1/8 finals (1:2). The main goalkeeper of the England national team is Joe Hart, Kyle Walker, Gary Cahill, Phil Jones and Ryan Bertrand most often play in defense, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Eric Dier in midfield, and Kane, Raheem Sterling and Marcus Rashford in attack. The head coach of the England national team is 47-year-old Gareth Southgate, who played in the defense of the national team in the 90s and then headed the country's youth team.
Achievements: the founders of football were able to win the World Cup only once in history - on home fields in 1966, and the British never became the best in Europe, managing to break into the top four twice: in 1968 and 1996.
Uruguay national team
The Uruguay national team qualified for the third consecutive World Cup. The Uruguayans went through the qualifying round quite smoothly, although they received a ticket to Russia only on the last day, beating the Bolivian team with a score of 4:2. The team played very successfully on their home field, where they defeated the Colombians and Chileans (with the same score 3:0). Moreover, Luis Suarez, who was serving a suspension for biting Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, did not play in these matches, which took place back in 2015.
The current Uruguay national team has perhaps the strongest pair of forwards - Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez, who scored 15 goals between them in the qualifying round. The composition is very experienced, most of the leaders are 30 years old or even older. Fernando Muslera has remained the main goalkeeper for many years, with Martin Caceres, Diego Godin and the younger Jose Jimenez and Gaston Silva playing in defense. In midfield, the leaders are Carlos Sanchez, Ejidio Arevalo, Christian Rodriguez and Matias Vecino. However, in the last qualifying matches, Uruguayans head coach Oscar Tabares began to trust the youth more. 70-year-old Tabares is a legendary figure in Uruguay; he led the country’s national team at the 1990 World Cup, and has been working in it continuously since 2006, leading it to victory at the 2011 Copa America.
Achievements: the Uruguay national team is a two-time world champion (1930 and 1950); in 2010, the team took fourth place at the tournament in South Africa.
Costa Rica national team
The Costa Rica national team was one of the main discoveries of the previous World Cup. The Costa Ricans managed not only to get out of the “group of death” with England, Italy and Uruguay, but also to beat the Greeks to the 1/8 finals. The team was one step away from the semi-finals, losing to the Dutch in a penalty shootout.
The Costa Ricans qualified for the World Cup in Russia by drawing with the Honduras team, equalizing the score in injury time and moving into second place. The leaders of the attack are Christian Bolaños and Marcos Ureña, who played for Kuban Krasnodar. Experienced Brian Ruiz and Johnny Acosta, remembered from the last World Cup, are still in the lineup. Head coach Oscar Ramirez joined the team's coaching staff after the World Cup. At first he was an assistant (he already worked in this position in 2006–08) of Paulo Wanchope, one of the most famous football players in the history of Costa Rican football, and then Ramirez became the main one.
Achievements: Costa Ricans played at the World Championships four times. They left the group not only in Brazil, but also in Italy in 1990. The Costa Rica national team is a three-time winner of the CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Iceland national team
After their successful performance at Euro 2016, the Icelanders were greeted at home as heroes, and what is most amazing is that the Icelandic team managed to pass through the copper pipes and get a ticket to the World Cup, also for the first time in its history. Iceland became the smallest country represented at the World Cup - its population is only 330 thousand inhabitants.
The Icelanders' Group I was quite even, and they managed to get ahead of competitors from Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey, scoring seven victories, although they scored only 16 goals in ten matches. The team's top scorer in the qualifying round was midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson, who plays for English Everton. The Icelanders have retained last year's squad, which includes defenders Ragnar Sigurdsson from Rubin and Sverrir Ingason from Rostov. The head coach of the Icelandic national team is 50-year-old Heimir Hallgrimsson, who at Euro 2016 worked in conjunction with the Swede Lars Lagerbäck, who took over the Norwegian team.
Achievements: The current generation of Icelandic football players has already made history by appearing in the final tournament of the European Championship for the first time a year ago. In France, the islanders reached the quarter finals, where they lost only to the hosts, albeit with a crushing score of 2:5.
Iran national team
The Iranian team showed the best result in the Asian qualifying zone; next year the team will come to its fifth World Cup and the second in a row.
The leader of the Iranian team's attacks is 22-year-old Rubin Kazan forward Serdar Azmoun, who scored 11 times in the qualifying tournament. Two more Iranian national team players are playing in Russia - Amkar midfielder Said Ezatollahi and Akhmat defender Milad Mohammadi. The Iranian team is quite young, but experienced.
The head coach of the Iranian national team, 64-year-old Carlos Queiroz, once headed the teams of Portugal, South Korea and South Africa, and in the 2003/04 season he was the head coach of Real Madrid. Queiroz has been working with the Iranian national team since 2011; in 2014, on the fields of Brazil, the team failed to leave the group, gaining only one point in three matches.
Achievements: the Iranian national team has never been able to overcome the preliminary stage of the World Championships, showing its best result in 1998, when it defeated the US team 2:1 in a historic match for Iranian football in Lyon, France. In addition, the Iranian national team won the Asian Cup three times.
Egypt national team
The Egyptian national team made it to the World Cup for the first time in 28 years. Arranging for a trip to Russia turned out to be extremely emotional: the decisive victory over the Congo team with a score of 2:1 was brought by a double by Mohamed Salah, and he scored the winning goal in stoppage time in the second half. The country widely celebrated the success of the national team: people poured into the streets with flags and songs, and President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered $83 thousand to be allocated to each player.
Argentine coach Hector Cooper led the Egyptians to historic success. He gained the reputation of a loser after he lost two Champions League finals in a row with the Spanish Valencia (2000, 2001). Nevertheless, Cooper was promoted to Inter Milan, but without achieving success there, he dropped out of the public eye for a decade and a half.
The Egyptian national team is a classic one-star team. Last summer, Salah moved from the Italian Roma to the English Liverpool and had a bright start to the season, adding speed to the Reds' already powerful attack. Salah may well be a contender for the title of African Player of the Year 2017. Also noteworthy is goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadari, who turns 45 on January 15. If he plays in Russia next summer, he will become the oldest goalkeeper in World Cup history.
Achievements: the Egyptian national team took part in the World Championships twice (1934, 1990), both times finishing in the group stage. In addition, he is a seven-time winner of the African Cup of Nations.
Serbia national team
The Serbian team became the winner of a very even Group D, scoring six wins in ten matches and ahead of competitors from Ireland, Wales and Austria.
The new generation of Serbian football players won the World Youth Championship in 2015, but for now their senior partners are playing in the national team. This is primarily the team captain Branislav Ivanovic from Zenit, another defender - Aleksandar Kolarov, the leaders of the center of the field - Nemanja Matic and Nemanja Gudel, as well as the team's top scorer (six goals in the qualifying round) Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serbs spent the qualifying round under the guidance of one of the most experienced and award-winning coaches in the country - Slavoljub Muslin, who only at the age of 63 got the opportunity to lead the main Serbian team. Muslin previously worked in eight countries, including Russia, where he coached Lokomotiv, Khimki, Krasnodar and Amkar, and his assistant is the famous former Belarusian defender Sergei Gurenko, who played for Lokomotiv for a long time.
Achievements: Serbian football players will compete at the World Cup for the second time - in 2010 the team failed to qualify from the group. Previously, teams from Yugoslavia, as well as Serbia and Montenegro had experience in world championships. In 1930 and 1962, the Yugoslav national team took fourth place, and the team's last success was reaching the quarter finals in 1990.
Team Japan
The Japanese national team has been a constant participant in the world championships since 1998. The Japanese took first place in the group, where home victories over the teams of Saudi Arabia and Australia were key.
In March 2015, the Japanese national team was led by the Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic, who worked for a long time with French clubs, and then with the teams of Cote d’Ivoire and Algeria, the latter of which qualified from the group at the 2014 World Cup. The top scorer of the Japanese team in the qualifying tournament is Keisuke Honda, who played for CSKA for a long time. The leading roles in the team are played by footballers playing in the German Bundesliga: Shinji Kagawa, Makoto Hasebe, Genke Haraguchi, as well as the national team's top scorer among the current players - English Leicester forward Shinji Okazaki.
Achievements: The Japanese have qualified from the group twice at the World Championships, including a home tournament in 2002. The Japanese team has won the Asian Cup four times.
Nigeria national team
The Nigerian national team is one of the most stable in Africa; it has missed only one world championship out of the last six. On the way to Russia, the “super eagles” in the qualifying group beat the current champions of Africa - the Cameroon team, as well as the Algerian team, which performed well at the World Championships in Brazil.
The head coach of the Nigerian national team is 64-year-old German Gernot Rohr. In the late 2000s, he moved to Africa, where he first coached the Tunisian club Etoile du Sahel, after which he worked with the national teams of Gabon, Niger and Burkina Faso. In August 2016 he led the Nigerian team.
Key figures of the current Nigerian national team: defender Uva Echiedzhile (Sivasspor, Turkey), midfielders Victor Moses (Chelsea, England), Ogeni Onazi (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Moises Simon (Gent, Belgium), team captain John Obi Mikel (Tianjin Teda, China), as well as forwards Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai, China) and a couple from English Leicester - Kelechi Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa, well known to Russian fans from playing for CSKA.
Achievements: the Nigerian national team reached the 1/8 finals at the World Championships three times (1994, 1998 and 2014); in 2002 and 2010 they failed to leave the group. Also, the Nigerian national team is a three-time winner of the African Cup of Nations and winner of the 1996 Olympic Games.
South Korean national team
The South Korean national team took second place in Group A, seven points behind the Iranian team, however, four wins in ten matches were enough for the South Koreans to win a ticket to Russia. The team will play at the World Championships for the ninth time in a row next summer.
Although the task was successfully completed, the performance of the South Korean national team in the country caused dissatisfaction. 15 points, for example, would have allowed them to take only fourth place in another group B, which would have left the team without the World Championship. The South Korean national team is led by a local specialist, 48-year-old Shin Tae-yong, who took over the team only in June. Shin Tae Yong replaced the German Uli Stielike, who was fired after two defeats: from the national teams of China and Qatar.
The current South Korean national team is made up of foreign players, most of whom play in China and Japan. The team leader is 25-year-old English Tottenham forward Son Heung-min, while in ten matches of the qualifying tournament, none of the South Korean football players scored more than two goals.
Immediately after the team reached the World Cup, a scandal occurred, as a result of which the head coach was replaced. Dutchman Bert Van Marwijk said he had broken off negotiations with the federation after some members of his coaching staff were fired. The team was taken over by 59-year-old Edgardo Bausa, under whose leadership the Argentine national team almost failed the qualifying tournament: out of eight matches, only three were won, two were drawn and three were lost.
There are no foreign players in the Saudi national team, with the exception of the 19-year-old midfielder of the Dutch Vitesse Mukhtar Ali, who played only one match. The top scorer in the qualifying tournament was forward Mohammad Ibrahim Al-Sahlawi, who scored 16 goals in 14 matches, including five goals in a 10-0 win over East Timor. The captain of the Saudi Arabian national team is 33-year-old defender Osama Hawsawi, who has over 120 caps for the national team.
Achievements: in its debut World Cup in 1994, the Saudi Arabian team reached the 1/8 finals; in the three subsequent tournaments the team did not leave the group. The Saudi Arabian national team is a three-time winner of the Asian Cup.
Panama national team
The Panama team is one of the main sensations of the qualifying tournament. Her first-ever entry into the tournament was made possible thanks to an unexpected set of circumstances. Firstly, the US team, which up to this point had not missed a single World Cup since 1990, sensationally lost to the Trinidad and Tobago team. And secondly, the victory for the Panamanians in the decisive match with Costa Rica was brought by a goal that did not exist: the ball, after being hit by striker Gabriel Torres, did not cross the goal line. The day after the historic victory was declared a holiday in Panama.
The team's top scorer in the qualifying tournament was the already mentioned Torres, who scored three goals. Panamanian players are not represented in leading championships; the maximum level for them is MLS, the leading league in the USA and Canada. The Panama national team has been coached since 2014 by 61-year-old Colombian Hernan Dario Gomez, who coached his national team twice. The second time he was forced to leave office was after he attacked a woman outside a pub in Bogota in 2011.
Achievements: The World Cup in Russia will be the main event in the history of Panamanian football.
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