Oleg Kuznetsov: "The match between the Netherlands and Argentina is intriguing, but the favorites of the 2022 World Cup are diff

The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has reached the finish line. On December 9-10, the quarterfinal matches of the tournament will take place, in which the eight best teams of the current World Cup will determine the quartet of contenders for the world crown. Impressions from the previous stages of the 2022 World Cup and forecasts of future matches in an interview Footboom Oleg Kuznetsov, the legendary football player of Dynamo Kyiv, a participant in the World and European Championships, shared his opinion.

- Most of the matches of this World Cup were intriguing and ended quite logically. The least meaningful was the frankly disappointing match-opening of the World Cup between the national teams of Qatar and Ecuador. But in the future, the 2022 World Cup gave us enough cool matches.

The opening of the tournament for me was the Asian teams - Japan and Korea, and the disappointment - the national teams of Germany and Spain. Interestingly, the same Koreans included only one really cool performer - Hong Min Son, but due to the well-coordinated team play and character, especially in the second halves of each of their meetings at the 2022 World Cup, take their toll.

— Can you name the players who have already become the discovery of this world championship?

— I was struck by Jude Bellingham, who demonstrates such great football at a young age. With his direct participation, all the attacks of the England team are built, and in general - almost the entire game of the national team. By the way, while football is disappointing in the performance of Harry Kane, who can give the England team much more. Perhaps already in the quarterfinals we will see the real Kane.

— What was the biggest sensation of the 2022 World Cup group stage for you?

- Departure of the national teams of Belgium and Germany. Apparently, not a very good atmosphere in the team affected the game of the Belgian team. The media wrote about it, and it was noticeable on the field. A significant disadvantage for Belgium was the absence of Romelu Lukaku, who, due to injury, managed to return only in the last match of the group stage. Kevin De Bruyne alone could not pull out this Belgian team.

As for the Germans, their game is affected by the change of generations. But in general, the German national team, it would seem, did everything right, was well prepared tactically and physically. I think the Germans at the 2022 World Cup lacked a real scorer, such as Jurgen Klinsmann and Miroslav Klose.

There was also a team at this World Cup that even irritated me. This is the Uruguayan team. Some kind of meeting of 35-year-old veterans who are no longer capable of anything. Cavani, Suarez, Godin - they were all taken to the 2022 World Cup, as I understand it, for big names. Hence the result...

The national team of Morocco became a plus-sign sensation for me, it will be very interesting to watch its confrontation with Portugal. I also liked the teams of Senegal and Saudi Arabia.

— What are your impressions of the 1/8 finals matches?

- From the very beginning, I did not consider the Spanish national team a favorite. Her tactics are no longer successful. In addition, there are a lot of young people in the Spaniards, so they will be able to count on something at the next major tournaments. Morocco in 1/8 confirmed that it has one of the best defensive lines in the World Cup. Frankly lucky Croatia. I was rooting for a very nice Japanese team, but, unfortunately, the Japanese brought the matter to a penalty and dropped out of the further struggle.

— Which quarter-final pair of the 2022 World Cup is the most interesting for you?

- Of course, the Netherlands - Argentina. The Dutch played hard in general, although their successful promotion in the tournament looked like a cakewalk from the outside. The tactics of the van Gaal team can bring results in the future, we'll see. But I consider Argentina to be the favorite of this fight.

— Because Messi is there?

- Including. By the way, speaking of superstars at the 2022 World Cup, Messi does not disappoint like Ronaldo. Lionel had many chances to score throughout each of the matches, he creates - both for himself and, most importantly, for Argentina. Many attacks of the Argentines are developed with the direct participation of Messi.

Argentina national team adds to the game from match to match. This strategy brings success to the World Cup. I would like to note that such teams as the Netherlands, Brazil, France and England managed to significantly save their strength in the previous stages of the tournament. For them, this is very good, this is a springboard for a successful performance at the 2022 World Cup.

— Which team do you consider to be the number one favorite for the World Cup in Qatar?

— Brazil. The game of the Brazilian team is the most powerful at the 2022 World Cup and is balanced in all lines. The main competitor of the Brazilians will be the French team. These teams have enough leaders and young talents who came to the tournament in great shape.

Oleg Semenchenko