Group F
Germany (1)
Mexico (15)
Sweden (23)
South Korea (61)
Unlike
the past groups, group F is one that I have a personal investment in. Mexico is
the birthplace of my parents and where I get my food, traditions, and language.
Most of the time I have temporary bias when I support a team or player. At times
I enjoy watching Spain then get tired of them and watch Brazil and the same
goes with club teams. I enjoy watching football in general. But, Mexico is
different. It is a personal bias. Fans will understand when I speak of my team
it is with passion and emotion. However, as I went through academia and studied
sports I learned how to separate myself momentarily to critique the teams I support
in a more honest manner.
Germany
are not only clear favorites to win the group, but they are perceived to be
favorites to lift the world cup again. The German national side has quality all
around and what makes their dominance frightening or admirable is that plenty
of their younger players are already playing significant amount of minutes in
big clubs around Europe. The issue German coach, Joachim Low, will have is who
will have to leave out of his 23-man roster for the 2018 World Cup. That being
said, Germany is beatable. Die Mannschaft
lost to Brazil in a friendly 1-0. One could state that a friendly isn’t always
the best method to judge a team which can be the case. Germany did lose when it
mattered. They lost to France by a score of 2-0 in the semi-finals at the
Euros. This isn’t to diminish the German national team in anyway. They are
favorites to win the World Cup and justifiably so. I would just shed light to
those that are not aware that the mighty can fall.
Mexico
is a team that if you want to make a safe bet on getting out of the group stage
you will definitely earn that money back. The issue with Mexico is that after
the group stage one could double their gambling earnings by betting against
Mexico winning their round of 16 match. Since the 1994 World Cup Mexico has
been eliminated in the round of 16. That is six, SIX times! In Mexico there are
talks of superstition and a curse of the fifth game. However, even though I love
the stories I do not who heartedly believe in them. Mexico is a talented national
team where players have the speed and technical ability to match anyone of the
favorites, yet they do lack tactical discipline to beat the favorites. Mexico
will finish second in the group which means they will face the winners of group
E in the round of 16. Chances are that BRAZIL will win group E. So, is it really
a curse or just bad luck? Why not just finish first?
Sweden
in certain newspapers are perceived as finishing 2nd in the group.
Which is not unrealistic, the games still have to be played, but I don’t see Sweden
making much of a run this summer in Russia. They did beat Italy in a play-off to
earn a spot at the World Cup. But, that was an Italian side that was tactically
handicap due to their coach and a national team that has not been playing up to
its name for the past decade. Sweden has a chance to finish second, but to me
that chance is very minimal. The Swedes play compact, pragmatic, and disciplined
football. I don’t think they have the talent upfront to beat even the likes of
Mexico.
South
Korea is a team I wish was a lot better than they currently are. I want to
cheer for them simply because of Son Heung-min. He is the winger/forward who
plays for Tottenham Hotspurs in the English Premier league. I enjoy watching Son
play, but his supporting cast doesn’t have the quality to make a serious run to
finish second in the group.
For group
F Germany are the clear favorites to finish first with Mexico in second.
No comments:
Post a Comment