Tournament Preview: In case of the "dark horse" Spain team needs explosion-proof cold war Switzerland and Portugal face challenges

(Qatar World Cup) Tournament Preview: In case of the "dark horse" Spain team needs explosion-proof cold war Switzerland and Portugal face challenges

　　China News Agency, Beijing, December 5 (Reporter Wang Zumin) On the 6th local time, the Qatar World Cup will have the last two 1/8 finals.

Among them, the Spanish team, the favorite to win the championship, will test the quality of the "dark horse" of the Moroccan team; in the closest contest in the 1/8 finals, the Portuguese team led by Ronaldo will face a strong challenge from the Swiss team.

　　Morocco VS Spain (23:00 Beijing time on the 6th)

　　Morocco and Japan are the biggest "dark horses" in the group stage.

　　In the 2018 World Cup, Morocco, participating in the World Cup for the fifth time, was the first team to be eliminated from the group.

Therefore, although the world ranking of the Moroccan team, which is participating in the World Cup for the sixth time, has risen from the 40th place four years ago to the current 22nd place before this cup, it has not attracted enough attention from the outside world.

Because in the F group where it is located, there are the last runner-up Croatia and the world's second-ranked third-place Belgium team.

　　But in the group stage, Croatia drew 0:0 and Belgium lost 0:2, pushing Morocco, which was not expected before the game, to the "C position" of the group.

In the end, the Moroccan team qualified first in the group with 2 wins and 1 tie, the last runner-up came second, and the last third runner-up was eliminated early.

　　At present, most of the players in the Moroccan team play in the five major leagues, led by Paris Saint-Germain defender Ashraf, Bayern defender Mazraoui, Chelsea midfielder Ziyech, La Liga Sevilla striker Ennesri, etc. The position and strength are balanced, and it has the ability to "wrestle arms" with the world's top teams.

　　After the humiliation of being eliminated from the group in the 2014 World Cup, the 2010 World Cup champion Spain began to rebuild and gradually recovered, reaching the last 16 of the last World Cup.

In last year's European Cup, the Spanish team reached the semi-finals, and then advanced to the final in the UEFA Nations League, becoming the favorite to win this cup.

　　In the first match of the group stage, the performance of the Spanish team exceeded the expectations of the outside world. They beat the biggest "dark horse" Costa Rica team in the 2014 World Cup by 7:0. The rise of a group of young players outlined the embryonic form of Spain's new "golden generation".

　　Unfortunately, the "Matador" drove high and low.

Subsequently, the Spanish team drew with the German team 0:0 and lost to the Japanese team 1:2. In the end, the Spanish team squeezed out the German team by virtue of the goal difference advantage, and the second place in the group advanced to the round of 16.

　　In the last World Cup, the Spanish team was in the same group as Morocco.

Facing the Morocco team that had already been eliminated early at that time, the Spanish team also failed to score all 3 points, and finally shook hands with their opponents 2:2.

　　Of course, the paper strength of the Spanish team is still above the Moroccan team.

However, comparing the performance of the two teams in the group stage, this campaign is considered to be the most likely upset in the 1/8 finals.

　　Portugal VS Switzerland (3:00 on the 7th, Beijing time)

　　This is a duel between "popular fried chicken" and "hermit expert".

　　Even if it is not the favorite to win the championship, just one Ronaldo will let the fans all over the world know Portugal.

However, the World Cup performance is not bad, the world ranking is not low, and even the Swiss team, which often plays the role of "giant killer" in various competitions, has a very low "presence" in international football due to the lack of big-name stars and low-key behavior.

　　In fact, in the past ten years, the performance of the Swiss team is not inferior to that of the Portuguese team.

In the previous three World Cups, both sides entered the round of 16 twice and stopped in the group stage once, so they were evenly matched.

Judging from the results of the competition in the past two years, the Swiss team is even better.

In last year's European Cup, the Portuguese team entered the top 16 and the Swiss team entered the top 8. In the world preliminaries, the Portuguese team missed the first place in the group and advanced through the play-offs. The Swiss team beat the Italian team and directly qualified as the top of the group.

　　In this cup group stage, both teams have two wins and one loss.

Portugal's offense is sharper, and Switzerland's defense is more stable.

Considering that Portugal's loss to the South Korean team was due to the rotation of the lineup after the early promotion, the Portuguese team's performance is relatively better.

　　At present, the Portuguese team ranks 9th in the world and the Swiss team 15th. There is not much difference between the two teams.

Among the 8 1/8 finals, this "European Derby" is undoubtedly the closest duel.

　　But judging from the current lineups of the two teams, the star-studded Portuguese team has an advantage.

The 37-year-old Ronaldo still maintains a good competitive state. Stars such as Silva, Fernandez, and Felix are entering the golden age of their careers.

The most famous "Crusaders" is "Swiss Messi" Shaqiri, but the former Liverpool star has declined and has switched to the American Professional Football League.

The 25-year-old Monaco striker Embolo has become the team's main scorer, but the "leadership" temperament is not enough.

　　Therefore, in this evenly matched contest with its own advantages and disadvantages, it is reasonable for whoever wins and who loses.

Portugal will face a bigger challenge than the other favorites to go further.

(Finish)