Despite Japan, Enrique’s Spain remains the favorite at Qatar 2022

“World dialogues” will accompany every day of Qatar 2022. A daily dialogue between football and humor between Fulvio Paglialunga and Giuseppe Pastore on the topics of the day, or perhaps not, of the first winter World Cup in history.

Joseph – The one we saw written last night is not a good football page. Maximum sympathy for the courageous Japan who manages to score 6 points against Spain and Germany and lose from Costa Rica, but Spain’s second half authorizes the worst suspicions about Luis Enrique’s boys. They made their calculations, they chose the (apparently) more comfortable half of the draw, away from Brazil in the quarterfinals and with Morocco instead of Croatia, and they eliminated Germany. All legal. Luis Enrique will have far fewer arguments to carry on his seductive philosophy. What do you think about it?

Fulvius – That the one who took it the worst, in my opinion, is Luis Enrique himself, who didn’t want to lose it and generally never wants to lose. But I have to tell you that the bad thoughts didn’t have much time to stabilize during the big mess that happened. At one point there were Costa Rica and Japan in the round of 16, the standings changed constantly, in the end there was a surprise. But it could have been a cataclysm, because even if you do your calculations, you can’t always count on football.

Joseph – Yes, the two games have definitely gotten out of hand since Japan’s draw forward. In any case, Germany comes out playing great football and pays for the 10 minutes of madness in the first game: a disconcerting elimination because it goes against the idea of ​​Germany that we have had for 50 years. Spain remain serious favorites for the title, even more because she will have a softer eighth and a quarter-final than the ones she would have faced first in the group: in my opinion tonight’s match has no technical or tactical value. Japan celebrates a truly daring eighth and could embarrass a still fluctuating Croatia, which shines more in defense than in attack.

Fulvius – But I wouldn’t abandon Japan like this, to Spain’s calculations. A bit for that sympathy that was born when we were little and Japanese football was a cartoon, but also because I’m convinced it has numbers and, above all, a coach who guesses all the changes. He had done it against Germany and also yesterday. Then we’ll see, maybe as they didn’t know how to handle the opening success they can’t even with this, but they deserved it, so far. Spain on the other hand remains strong and yes they now have an easy schedule. Let’s say he had a few minutes of fear that could serve more than a victory. Like when a mother waves her slipper: if she doesn’t throw it at you, you understand anyway.

Joseph – I don’t know how to take Germany: they generally played well, at times even very well, like in the second half against Germany and for 70 minutes against Japan, but they went home almost inexplicably. I don’t even know what to reproach Flick with, other than the absurd blackout in the initial match: the defense wasn’t up to par, but the battery of halfbacks and attacking midfielders was top notch. It had to be closed first with Japan, yes, but I find it one of the most disconcerting eliminations of the first phase, in a World Cup in which Australia and Poland are going ahead…

Fulvius – But eight years ago, when Germany won in Brazil, we celebrated the German model, and we have to ask ourselves why it fell apart in two World Cups. I have the feeling that it is a bit like an image of European football: being convinced that the name is still enough, while the other realities, which were once the random protagonists of a few matches, are now consolidating. Because, for example, Japan comes first in this group, but what for me is the real surprise is Costa Rica, who were in the running almost until the end despite the 7-0 win on the first day. And that in a World Cup we remember well, moreover.

Joseph – In the meantime, the first phase ends tonight, which means that we have already reached 75% of the matches in the World Cup. Brazil-Cameroon is above all interesting to understand if the green-gold reserves will prove to be as impenetrable as the owners: zero shots on goal conceded against Serbia and Switzerland, and the comparison between the Seleçao defense against the super-men Messi, Mbappé, etc. is one of the themes more appetizing than the second phase. I will more willingly watch Serbia-Switzerland, a 2018 rematch with the Serbs who can’t help but be Serbian even this time, between laziness, indolence and gossip of the worst kind to self-sabotage them on the eve.

Fulvius – Not yet having opponents able to stop him, it seems that for Brazil at the moment the worst enemy is the air conditioning: at least, listening to Antony, who missed some training sessions because he fell ill due to the cooling system of the stadiums. Which would recall the genius of a World Cup where it’s so hot. But oh well, let’s talk about the games that are played, albeit in a cool place. Sure, Brazil will do well to play the reserves as France has already done, but Cameroon, who made a big mess with Onana, don’t seem able to take advantage. Especially since Switzerland has the advantage. Here, the match to watch today, in this group, is Serbia-Switzerland. But I’m not sure I can give up on Brazil.

Joseph – We will find Brazil later as well as Portugal: one of the few points of interest in today’s match is to find out if Cristiano Ronaldo will become the first man to score at the World Cup against both North and South Korea. Portugal continues to advance with the lights off, cleverly playing on the cliché of Ronaldo-addiction: to me it seems more the opposite, and that is that in this declining phase of his career it is Cristiano who desperately needs Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva , of Joao Felix, people who allow him both to run little and to concentrate exclusively on the penalty area, or rather with what has been pressing him the most since the dawn of time: scoring goals. In fact, he’s smiled again, and it doesn’t seem like a facade expression to me.

Fulvius – I, on the other hand, want to find out if Cristiano Ronaldo is capable of attributing himself some other goals. I found the discussion these days surreal about Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick, but it’s also significant of how Ronaldo is the head of the Portuguese national team. Just think that Bruno Fernandes himself said that perhaps the ball was touched, to pay homage to the king. But it is the same Bruno Fernandes who a few days earlier was the protagonist of a viral video in which he barely greets Ronaldo in the locker room, because they both play for Manchester United and there is bad weather there. It makes you smile that Cristiano Ronaldo, the almost bionic man, has been denied by a hyper-technological ball, which is a bit like the saying of the “purest that purges you”. In the other match I see Ghana well, and I want to pay particular attention to Kudus, who is a sort of national hero right now and even more so if they go through. However, should Ghana pass, I hope the coaching staff control themselves a bit: after the victory against South Korea they went to console Son who was in tears, but since they were there they took the opportunity to take a selfies. A kind of pain tourism.

Joseph – And then yesterday on his 70th birthday, Romelu Lukaku decides to pay homage to the wretched Egidio Calloni. I find that he has made a sportingly dramatic performance, with very few equals in the history of the World Cup, and the excuse of poor condition for those who fail at least three colossal goals into an empty net hold up little. It is clear that this generation had to end up like this, after all not very golden for Belgium, which in the end experienced its four-year supremacy in the FIFA ranking more as a mocking burden. Even today coach Martinez’s late and inconclusive choices, such as starting with Mertens or unleashing the perky Doku in the last quarter of an hour: the sinking of Belgium 2022 reminded me of the very sad Italy of South Africa 2010, also eliminated among the farts on Thursday afternoon.

Fulvius – I convinced myself that it was Lukaku’s cousin, maybe that he had never played football before yesterday. It’s amazing what he did wrong, but it’s amazing the whole World Cup in Belgium, that we’ve mocked enough but that he did a lot on his own. Were it not for the desperate ending that led to Lukaku’s mistakes, it was a dull team. Croatia controlled, despite the shock of a penalty disallowed for offside, possibly with a finger.

Joseph – Croatia was attacked by fear in the last half hour, like Poland yesterday, as well as Morocco who struggled to get past the halfway point today in the second half: the theme of psychological pressure is increasingly important to me especially in a World Cup , where young kids find themselves facing situations they’ve never experienced in their entire career. But they didn’t lose a single game, they were only distracted for five minutes against Canada and in general they had superior resources and incentives to Belgium. I would like to point out another excellent game by Gvardiol, currently the best defender of the tournament.

Fulvius – But Morocco have only conceded a goal in three games and they did it themselves. It doesn’t seem like a small fact to me and it seems to me a rather compact team. In short, in the group that was supposed to carry on the old talents of the past, we discovered someone new. Canada, on the other hand, had no expectations and finished without ever having had one. All in all consistent.

Joseph – On Morocco you hit an open door, it’s one of the best 5 teams in the first phase: harmonious, brilliant, clever, tactically prepared. Congratulations to his young coach Regragui also in the preparation for the match: I thought the “easy” match would have been the most complicated for a team with one step away from qualifying, especially in the first few minutes in which Canada expressed their best, instead they attacked with the vehemence of a great team. Very good.

Fulvius – Speaking of doors, the background is that of the stories, because at the beginning of the World Cup you spoke of the Ecuadorian Djorkaeff Reasco, who has that first name because his father was a big fan of Youri Djorkaeff. We can’t get him to leave Qatar without mentioning that the two Djorkaeffs met the other day. Youri, who was world champion with France the year before Reasco was born, wanted it. And they took a picture of themselves like that meme of the two Spider-Mans pointing at their other selves. I’ve been waiting for this moment since you wrote this.

Joseph – Who knows what it’s like to give your name to an obscure Ecuadorian striker.

Fulvius – We’ll find out when you find a striker named Shepherd.