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Although France had fulfilled all expectations and won the World Cup in Russia, it wasn’t a vintage tournament for the world’s foremost nations. The 2018 Mundial was more about the rise of the underdog (Croatia), bad-but-now-good nations (England, Belgium) and the plucky underdogs (Sweden, Japan, hosts Russia).
Argentina was a disgrace under former manager Jorge Sampaoli and should have exited the tournament earlier than they did. Brazil was purposeful and methodical but never really sparkled before being knocked out by the Belgians.
Portugal was a team comprising of Cristiano Ronaldo and 22 cones, the defending European champions did little of note. Luis Rubiales, Julen Lopetegui and Fernando Hierro were culpable in the farce that torpedoed Spain’s chances.
The less said about 2014 champions Germany, the better as Die Mannschaft were so poor, it was a wonder that the team was able to get any points at all.
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The UEFA Nations League (the qualifying tournament for Euro 2020) and the series of friendlies offer a chance for these nations to reset and start afresh. Here is a look at 5 nations which will be looking to press the reset button:
#5 Brazil
Tite’s Canarinho weren’t exactly poor in Russia but truth be told, they failed to sparkle as a unit. Pre-World Cup, the Brazilians had been seen as one of the favourites due to their sparkling form in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers.
The Brazilians had looked solid in defence and lethal in attack during the qualifiers. The trio of Philippe Coutinho, Neymar and Gabriel Jesus had scored for fun while the defence looked stronger than ever. With minimum fuss, they had sailed through the first and second round in Russia drawing with Switzerland dispatching Costa Rica, Serbia, and Mexico before coming unstuck against Belgium.
Tite has named a much-changed squad for the friendlies against the USA and El Salvador with Andreas Pereira (Manchester United), Richarlison (Everton), Paqueta (Gremio), Arthur (FC Barcelona) among the new kids expected to make debuts.
There are recalls for the likes of Alex Sandro, Dede, and Fabinho who did not make the Russia 2018 squad. With an eye on the Copa America next year, it’s expected that Tite will use these games to fine-tune his squad (and test new players) as he seeks the winning formula.
#4 Portugal
Simply put, apart from Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma’s clever goal against Morocco, Portugal’s World Cup campaign was forgettable in the extreme. Coach Fernando Santos had been bold and made changes to the Euro-winning team.
However, the inability of the other players to step up meant pressure was placed on the broad shoulders of Ronaldo a.k.a Captain Fantastic. The Juventus man duly delivered with four goals but this wasn’t enough and out they went against Uruguay in the 2nd round.
At his request, Ronaldo has been left out of the team to face Croatia (Friendly) and Scotland (UEFA Nations League). Instead, manager Santos has started looking towards the future for his rebuild project.
After playing for what seems an eternity, centre-backs Bruno Alves and Rui Fonte have been left out with young upstarts Ruben Dias (Benfica) expected to win his second cap. Old-but-hardly used pair Pedro Mendes (Montpellier) and Luis Neto (Zenit St. Petersburg) are also in the squad.
19-year-old Gedson Fernandes (Benfica) may get his first cap as well. 10 members of the Russia 2018 squad (including Ronaldo) have also been left out. It remains to be seen what the team’s makeup without its captain will look like.
Also Read: Portugal seeks a fresh start after World Cup exit
#3 Argentina
Just what Sampaoli was thinking before and during the World Cup, nobody will ever know. A ramshackle 23-man squad featuring star men and an assorted mix of average and poor players never got going.
Over-dependence on Lionel Messi, a failure to organize the defence, a porous midfield, confusing tactics, and abject goalies; these and more defined La Albiceleste’s campaign in Russia. Expectedly, Sampaoli was sacked and in his stead, former player Lionel Scaloni has been appointed on an interim basis.
The poverty of the Argentine Football Association and the reluctance of the country’s high powered coaches: Diego Simeone, Marcelo Bielsa, Mauricio Pochettino to work in such a chaotic and trouble-ridden setting means he may get the job full-time.
Like Ronaldo, Messi has asked to be left out of the forthcoming friendlies against Guatemala and Colombia (though his absence may be for the foreseeable future). Scaloni has been bold in his selection with Gabriel Mercado the only above-30 player named in the squad.
Real Sociedad’s Geronimo Rulli may finally get a long-overdue first cap while there is a recall for Mauro Icardi who was inexplicably dropped by the mad hatter that was Sampaoli. Defenders Alan Franco and Leonardo Di Placido, midfielders Santiago Ascacibar, Exequiel Palacios and forward Giovanni Simeone are among the potential debutants in the team.
With Scaloni looking to play a faster, more direct style, these friendlies will offer interesting viewing.
Also Read: Players that Argentina should learn to do without
#2 Germany
The terrible outing and the shameful Mesut Ozil affair have drawn out the pain of being the latest victim of the curse of the defending champions.
How Joachim Lowe has managed to keep his job while the likes of Fernando Hierro, Sampaoli and Jose Pekerman (Colombia) have resigned/been sacked is baffling. For a while after the 2014 World Cup win, Nationalmannschaft had looked staid, slow and lacked freshness and vigour.
The semi-final appearance at Euro 2016 added gloss to what was a pedestrian tournament. All these flaws were laid bare at the World Cup. Deserved defeats to Mexico and South Korea and a last-gasp win over Sweden saw the team exit the group stages with heads bent in shame.
A sea change in attitude and personnel was expected after that debacle. However, these changes may be a while in coming. There are very few new faces in the team that will face world champions France (UEFA Nations League) and Peru (friendly).
Manchester City’s Leroy Sane will make a return after being controversially dropped from the World Cup team. Timo Kehrer, Nico Schulz, and Bayer Leverkusen wunderkind Kai Havertz are the potential debutants in the squad.
It still, however, contains way too many of the under-performing World Cup stars (especially the Bayern Munich contingent). There has been little in the way of the “severe changes in personnel" that German FA (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel had promised.
The match against a very confident Les Bleus team is a tough test for a team as fragile as the Germans, a negative result could send them down the proverbial rabbit hole.
Also Read: Underperforming German players who should be dropped
#1 Spain
After the failure of the last three tournaments (World Cups, 2014, 2018 and Euro 2016), it seems the final chapter of the Golden Generation has finally been closed. The appointment of Luis Enrique as the new manager is a signal that La Furia Roja is ready to finally modify the tiki-taka style and play a faster, more direct style.
Enrique’s repudiation of the Barcelona template of possession-heavy football was one of the reasons he was never really loved by Barcelonistas while he managed the club. This faster, more-risky style he favoured is likely to be the new template for the team.
With the likes of Andres Iniesta, David Silva and Gerard Pique announcing their departure from the fold, now seems the perfect time for new, younger talent to be blooded. The squad named for the UEFA Nations League games against England and Croatia features a good mix of the new, the old and the returning.
Javi Martinez and Raul Albiol are two prominent old heads that have made a return to the fold. Goalie Pau Lopez, left-back Jose Gaya, and midfielder Dani Ceballos are the debutants that may earn their first stripes.
The non-inclusion of Jordi Alba (he clashed with Enrique during their days at Barca) has expectedly drawn comments. However, the manager has always been a strong-willed character and will not back down. England and Croatia represent big tests for new-look Spain and it will be fascinating to see how they go about it.
Also Read: How the Luis Enrique revolution may unfold
