Three days before the start of the world football champion, the Sport correspondent talks about an interesting, very strong quartet B, in which the national teams will perform England, Iran, USA and Wales.
England
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Latest participation in the World Cup: 2018; - —
Best result in the World Cup: champion (1966).
The England team arrived at the World Cup in the status of one of the favorites. Foggy Albion traditionally require only the first place from the «lions». High expectations are supported by memories of good results at the European Championships and World Cups. Under Gareth Southgate, the English got into the top four teams of the World Cup in Russia and took second place at last year's Euro.
After an embarrassing loss to Italy at his native Wembley, Southgate reconfigured the team. The England team went through a whirlwind of opponents in the qualifying tournament: the Lions did not suffer a single defeat and conceded only three goals in ten games. — from the curse of the home championship. The founders of football won the World Cup in 1966, and for 56 years they have not been able to repeat the success outside the United Kingdom. Ahead of the British every chance to improve for the lost final of EURO 2020 and take the main sports trophy in another country.
Failure to complete this task will be regarded as a failure.
Iran
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Last World Cup participation: 2018; - —
World Cup best result: group stage (1978, 1998, 2006, 2014, 2018).
A team from the Middle East becomes a regular participant in the world championship. Iranians will perform at the third tournament in a row. A stable entry into the final stage was the result of the work of Carlos Queiroz: the Portuguese specialist was an assistant to the legendary Alex Ferguson at Manchester United for several years, after working with the master he changed several jobs and finally settled in the Iranian national team in 2011.
One of the key decisions of the coach was to attract European players with Iranian roots to the national team. In addition to inviting talented personnel from Europe, Iran also invites European specialists to work. The Croatian Dragan Skocic led the team to the World Championship, however, Queiroz will again coach the Asians at the World Championship.
The Iranians have an advantage over formidable rivals in the death group. It's about the weather conditions in the Middle East: Queiroz's team is no stranger to a dry climate. Their most formidable “jokers” are the duet of forwards Serdar Azmun – Mehdi Taremi. The first is known in Russia for his performances for Rubin, Rostov and Zenit, while the second remains the leading scorer of Porto.
USA
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Last WCH participation: 2014; - —
Best WCH result: Third place (1930).< /li>
The American team could miss the World Cup due to uneven performance in the qualifying rounds of CONCACAF. Under Gregg Belhalter, the team got into the top three teams and outstripped Costa Rica only because of the better goal difference.The main stars of the States play in the best teams in Europe. Midfielder Christian Pulisic is known for playing for Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, young talent Giovanni Reina conquers the stands of Signal Iduna Park (the home arena of the same Borussia), and Serginho Dest is trying to gain a foothold in Milan. The team is counting on hardworking Chris Richards from Crystal Palace and Cameron Carter-Wickers from Celtic, Weston McKenny from Juventus and Tyler Adams from Leeds. It is noteworthy that the age range of players is 22-24 years. The head coach of the national team Belhalter relies on young age and bright attacking football.
The team from the New World has been continuously participating in the World Championships since 1986. The series was interrupted 32 years later — the Americans did not qualify for the tournament in Russia. Now one of the youngest teams is coming to Qatar. The new generation of players is able to bring a lot of surprises in the group and cause trouble for more eminent opponents. England should be especially tense: the US team did not lose to her in face-to-face meetings either in 2010 or in 2014.
Wales
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Last World Cup participation: 1958; - —
Best World Cup result: 1/4 finals (1958).
For the Wales national team performance at the World Cup will be the second in history. The debut of the Welsh took place back in 1958. At that tournament in Sweden, the team made a splash, sensationally reaching the quarterfinals and losing to the future winners of the Brazilians.
The path to the 2022 World Cup was thorny for Gareth Bale and company. Wales lost the first line in the qualifying group to the Belgians and hit the joints in the spring. Bale's double made it possible to defeat uncompromising Austria in the semi-finals of the tournament, while Andriy Yarmolenko's own goal decided the outcome of the final match against Ukraine. The Manchester United legend has been suspended from the national team after attacking two women. In April 2021, the preparation for the qualifying round was entrusted to Rob Page. It was to him, after getting to the tournament, that Giggs left the post of head coach, citing litigation. In Wales, they expect their boys to win over their neighbors from England and support a coach who faces a prison term… Finally, the World Cup in Qatar may be the last for Bale, Aaron Ramsey and other creators of bronze performance at EURO 2016.
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