Former head coach of Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukrainian national team Leonid Buryak shared his expectations from the 2022 World Cup starting today in Qatar.
Leonid Buryak— Who is the favorite? Who will play with whom in the final, and who will win? And in the match for third place?
- There are many favorites. If we take the last World Cup as an example, then Germany did not leave the group. There are about ten competitors - Brazil, Germany, France, Croatia and others. That is why this World Cup is interesting.
The only thing is that holding the 2022 World Cup in winter is a novelty. In many countries, the championships were interrupted; holding the almond in the winter runs counter to coaching and club interests. How it will pass, how it will all look - I don't know. But everyone is in the same conditions. The only plus is that all the stadiums are nearby, you will not need to make any long flights.
I will root for Croatia, Argentina, Germany and, probably, the Poles. I think that Brazil and France will be the favorites, but I would like Argentina to win. Argentines are South American Germans, skilled and professional football players.
- Who will be the main disappointment among teams and players?
- I would not and cannot talk about players: this is all physiology, everyone can have their own problems. Portugal and Ronaldo? When a footballer needs to finish and they let him out for three minutes, but he has a name, it's Ronaldo... If you don't want to let him out in three minutes, undress him, then it's easy...
Yes, this happens to a football player after an injury: he is released for a few minutes so that he leaves, so that he feels, but if they do it on purpose, they push him into a microscandal or with some problems under the contract that the person does not want to go out, but in there is a clause in the contract that he will be fined. From what Ronaldo writes, this is a conflict with the coach, but the club is wrong that he brought all this rubbish to the press.
Ronaldo is not a boy. This is a solid football player who has won a lot in his life, scored a lot and there are 1-2 such people in the world. I take the position of Ronaldo, I just feel sorry for him. In three minutes, he is simply undressed to be dipped in this...
- Who will be the discovery among the teams and players?
— There can be many discoveries, as there are many young players. At one time, both Platini, and Messi, and Neymar played poorly at the world championships. I sympathize with Croats and Poles, I am especially interested in how Lewandowski will show himself against this background.
— Who will be the top scorer of the 2022 World Cup?
- There will be those who are already well-known to us - Mbappe and Lewandowski. Defenders will not become top scorers, of course. Everything here will depend on tactics, any coach will be able to limit the striker with his tactics, and he will no longer be as scoring as he could be. The coach is primarily interested in the result, and not the performance of a particular striker.
— Who will be the best player of the tournament?
- One player stands apart - this is Messi. But there are many others - how Mbappe will prove himself, Lewandowski.
Andrey Shevchenko
