SW gets a FIFA forecast
By Wasita Cespedes
Photos courtesy of AFP
Did you know
The winner of the FIFA World Cup will receive a $35 million prize.
After four years of anticipation, football fans will be excited to be cheering for their favourite teams during the latest FIFA World Cup from June 12 to July 13. This year’s tournament is taking place in Brazil for the second time since 1950.
Post Today sports news assistant editor Premwadee Panthong (Nan), 35, has always been a fan of the Brazilian team, but she recognised that Brazil has had some budgetary problems as this year’s World Cup host.
“Brazil is a dominant country in football, but they have some budget issues, which means that this year’s tournament might not go as smoothly as expected,” Nan said. “There have been protesters that disagree with the government spending money on the World Cup while there are problems to be dealt with in the country.”
Nan believes that once the tournament is underway, the positive atmosphere will alleviate the anger of the protesters.
Student Weekly asked Nan to provide some insight into the five teams most likely to reach the finals or win the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
BRAZIL
As the host country for this year’s tournament, the Brazilian team players have the advantage of playing at home.
Strength: The players are fast and adroit. Their football skills are great.
Weakness: The team’s defensive game is not as strong as it could be.
Outstanding Player: FC Barcelona’s forward Neymar da Silva Santos Junior is known for his speed, dribbling and finishing skills. He is considered to be the current star of the team.
GERMANY
This three-time champion team is one of the most successful national teams in international competitions. The players’ teamwork is remarkable.
Strength: Germany is strong in offense as a team. They are great at teamwork and as individual stars.
Weakness: They sometimes overlook the defensive side.
Outstanding Player: Bastian Schweinsteiger from FC Bayern Munich was voted by German sports writers as the best player last year. He is also known as the “midfield mastermind.” Mesut Özil from Arsenal FC is also worth keeping an eye on. He is a great attacking midfielder.
SPAIN
Spain is ranked number one in the FIFA World Ranking team. Having won the last World Cup, they are the reigning World champions.
Strength: Their ball game is exceptional. They are excellent at stealing the ball. This team has been highly successful in the last five years.
Weakness: Spain may be past their peak. If they faced a good defensive team, they might have some trouble.
Outstanding Player: Striker Diego Costa is the star of the team. He has a gritty, physical quality, but he recently suffered a leg injury, and it’s not known if he will be able to play.
BELGIUM
The Belgium team may lack big tournament experience, but if they can handle the pressure, they might stand a good chance of winning.
Strength: In recent years, Belgium has been strongly improving their teamwork.
Weakness: They don’t have as much experience in big tournaments as other teams.
Outstanding Player: Chelsea player Eden Hazard has been doing well as a midfielder. He is known for his great technical ability.
ARGENTINA
Argentina is known for the skills of individual players. Their style is very fast, accurate and threatening.
Strength: A lot of players in the team have great form. Considering the players in the team, they should be able to work their way into the final round.
Weakness: The team depends too much on their centre forward, Lionel Messi, making them less successful at the national level.
Outstanding Player: Lionel Messi from FC Barcelona is an exceedingly talented forward, commonly ranked as the best player in the world. He can hinder opponents and be a big help to his team.
Vocabulary
- budgetary (adj): connected with the money that is available to a person, country, company, etc. and a plan of how it will be spent
dominant (adj): more powerful, important or noticeable than other things
alleviate (v): to make something less severe
adroit (adj): skilful and clever
offence (n): the members of a team whose main aim is to score goals
reign (v): to be the best or most important in a particular situation or area of skill
gritty (adj): showing great courage and determination to do something difficult
form (n): the fact that somebody or something is performing well
hinder (v): to make it difficult for somebody to do something or for something to happen
