Former head coach of KyivDynamo » Alexander Khatskevich expressed his opinion on the 2022 World Cup.
Alexander KhatskevichBiggest impression?
The French are quite powerful in the tournament. The Spaniards started strong, but the draw with the Germans, the loss to the Japanese, the relegation from Morocco with their old-school football became a disappointment.
We have specialists in Ukraine who enjoy the number of assists, but if you look, the teams that rely on vertical football look the most preferable at the World Cup.
The second World Cup showed that the Spaniards with old-school football can't show anything. Even the Germans showed football that was fun, but they couldn't find the balance.
Belgium also disappointed: football of the same plan, with ball control, but as practice has shown, such football no longer takes place at the World Cup.
Big difference between African and Asian teams. The same Qatar with Spanish style. Football players do not correspond to the level of such football. That they participated in the Asian league, the America's Cup. The World Cup by Qatar was a complete failure.
As for personalities, Giroud did not deliver a single shot on goal four years ago, and now he plays a leading role. Messi is very serious. Brazil has a crazy attacking group, so these teams deservedly made it to the quarterfinals.
Grid
England - France looks like the brightest sign in 1/4. England has an impressive selection of players in this World Cup both in terms of age and skill. The French are still stable in such games. Recent tournaments show that the team is balanced, but the English can cause problems with reaching the semi-finals.
Croatia is a working team, knows how to defend, endure. The pressure will be strong enough for defense. Brazilians are individually stronger. It will be very difficult for the Croats to drag the Brazilians into extra-times.
The Netherlands today is not a team that is ready to fight for high places. This team has peaked. Van Gaal realizes that he doesn't have such strong players on hand right now, playing with three CBs.
We saw Portugal with and without Ronaldo. Slightly different teams in terms of aggression in attack. I don’t think that Ronaldo from Morocco will play from the first minutes. If earlier he pulled the team up, now it's the other way around.
Individually, he can solve the episode, the amount of work does not give, pressure does not create, but he needs to deliver the ball. The requirements for attackers today are different. Ronaldo is not ready for this kind of work.
If Morocco acts like this on the defensive, they will have a chance. The game with Spain showed that they know how to play for the result. They will not play number one with the Portuguese and will not. Morocco in the game with Spain showed what other African teams lack - patience. Everything will depend on how the team recovers.
The emotional background of both teams is quite high, because playing without the ball is quite energy-consuming. For this championship, the absence of large moves is a big plus.
Forecast for the final:
Brazil - France.
