The illusion for a World Cup has been simmering for four long years, a wait that feeds the hopes of both the great teams and the most modest ones, but that dream of a team and sometimes of an entire country can turn into a nightmare. , in some cases a national tragedy, in just a few days.
Once the first two days of the World Cup in Qatar are over, Brazil, Portugal and the current champion, France, are already breathing easy, their qualification for the round of 16 sealed. On the other hand, other national teams will face the last game of the group stage overwhelmed, with the need to win and even waiting for a favor from another team to access the playoffs.
Among all the teams that are in danger of being eliminated, the situation of the four-time world champion Germany and the two-time champion Argentina stand out. The two teams have been the victims in the great surprises of the tournament to date, with the Germans defeated by Japan (1-2) on the first day and the Argentines by Saudi Arabia (1-2).
The Germans are last in group E, with just one point after a defeat and a draw against Spain (1-1), and on Thursday they will have to beat Costa Rica and hope that 'the red one' does not fail against Japan. If Hansi Flick's men beat the Ticos, they will be in the round of 16 with a Spanish victory, but a draw by Luis Enrique's pupils will lead to a four-point tie between the Japanese and the Teutons.
In the latter case, Germany will be forced to take out the calculator, to look at the overall goal difference, which is the first tie-breaker. Before the game, the Germans start with a -1 in that section, while the Japanese have a balance of zero, with two goals for and two against. If they are still tied, the goals in favor will be taken into account and then the result in the direct confrontation, in this case in favor of the Asians.
Better placed is the Argentina of Leo Messi, who after the bump against the Saudis rose with a victory against Mexico (2-0) and to be in the second round they depend on themselves against Poland, leader with four points. The albiceleste is second in group C, with three points, and a win puts them in the playoffs, but a defeat eliminates them and a draw leaves them at the mercy of other results.
If Scaloni's team only adds one point against the team led by Lewandowski, they will be knocked out with a victory for Saudi Arabia against Mexico but they will go ahead if the 'Aztecs' and the Arabs tie. For their part, those of Tata Martino, last with one point, need to win and hope for a Polish victory. In the event that Poland and Argentina tie, the Mexicans will have to thrash Renard's players by four goals to improve the general goal average of the albiceleste.
Another double world champion like Uruguay, who still hasn't scored, will have to beat Ghana and hope that South Korea doesn't beat Portugal or that they win by fewer goals than the South Americans (Korea starts with a better overall goal balance than Uruguay). The charrúas, last in group H with one point, were unable to win their debut against the Koreans (0-0) and were too conservative in the defeat against Portugal (2-0), to which they reacted late, going to attack when they were behind on the scoreboard. The coach Diego Alonso opted for Luis Suárez in the debut against the Asians, but against the Portuguese he opted for Cavani as a starter to the detriment of the former Barcelona player, who played the last 20 minutes.
Belgium is also on the limit, third in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and a priori in the group of candidates to win in Qatar. The Belgians, third in group F with three points after losing the second game against Morocco (0-2), are forced to beat Croatia, current runner-up, while the Croatians are worth a draw.
In addition, the disagreements in the red devils' dressing room have been made public in recent hours with cross statements. "There is no chance of winning the World Cup, we are too old," said Kevin De Bruyne, to which 35-year-old Jan Vertonghen replied that they are also "too old" in attack. Belgium will be together with Argentina, Germany and Uruguay one of the great attractions of a last day of the group stage of the World Cup where the first favorites can be lowered.
