Last Tuesday signaled the close of the European qualifying group stage, and provides us with an opportunity to reflect upon the movers and shakers of World Cup qualifying.
England’s campaign saw them eventually match expectations to qualify as leaders of their group; nonetheless there have been numerous examples across the competition of high-flying underdogs. Whilst the likes of Brazil, Germany, Spain and Argentina represent obvious favourites at next year’s tournament, the qualifying rounds have presented us with a few potential dark horses.
Belgium – Winners of European Group A (Won 8, Drew 2, Lost 0)
Top Scorer: Keyin De Bruyne – 4 goals. Key Players: Defence – Vincent Kompany; Midfield – Kevin De Bruyne; Attack – Romelu Lukaku
It is perhaps unfair to label Belgium as a dark horse for Brazil. They currently sit in fifth in the FIFA world rankings, which sees them seeded for the finals ahead of the likes of France, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and of course, England.
Their rise to stardom has been astronomic – in 2006 the country found itself ranked lower than ever before in 71st. Back then, the squad featured only a sole Premier League player – Emile Mpenza, and even he was very much on the fringes of the Manchester City team.
12 Premier League players now grace the squad, including two of the division’s most potent strikers: Christian Benteke and Lukaku. An undefeated qualifying campaign in which they conceded a mere four goals, keeping six clean sheets seems to indicate that they won’t be defensive pushovers either.
The weight of expectation for Belgium’s golden generation is certainly increasing, and the World Cup in Brazil provides the first opportunity for them to showcase their obvious talent.
Colombia – 2nd place in ‘CONMEBOL’ (Won 9, Drew 3, Lost 4)
Top Scorer: Radamel Falcao – 9 goals. Key Players: Defence – Mario Yepes; Midfield – Fredy Guarin; Attack – Radamel Falcao
The trajectory of the Colombian national team is arguably similar to that of Belgium. 2014 represents their first qualification since 1998, whilst their current world ranking of fourth is representative of a team playing at its peak.
Looking at the squad on paper, many would see Colombia’s strike force as the driving force behind the team. Falcao’s summer switch to newly promoted French side AS Monaco raised a few eyebrows across Europe; nonetheless there are few more complete strikers in world football, whilst the lesser known Teófilo Gutiérrez, who plays for Argentinian giants River Plate, has proved almost equally efficient for his national side.
Creativity often flows from Monaco winger James Rodriguez, whose link up play with Falcao could prove vital. However, much like Belgium, it’s perhaps Colombia’s defensive record that proved most impressive, as their tally of 13 goals conceded was the most effective in South American qualifying.
The climate for a Brazilian World Cup may give Colombia an edge over their European rivals, as will their seeding. All of this presents Colombian fans with the very real possibility that their team could escape the group stage of the finals for only the second time in their history, the last being in 1990.
Chile – 3rd place in ‘CONMEBOL’ (Won 9, Drew 1, Lost 6)
Top Scorers: Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas – 5 goals. Key Players: Defence – Gary Medel; Midfield – Arturo Vidal; Attack – Alexis Sanchez
The battle for qualification in South America was tinged with a sense of opportunity – due to Brazil’s automatic qualification, there was in essence an extra spot up for grabs amongst the nations.
Few grasped that opportunity in such a manner as Chile, who played some beautifully adventurous attacking football throughout their campaign. Their style came at a cost however as Chile conceded 25 goals in qualifying, significantly more than any of the other South American automatic qualifiers.
They attack with fluidity almost comparable to the total football of old, and it’s a system that manages to extract the quality from their talented forward line. Barcelona’s Alexis Sanchez has arguably been a victim of his own promise, as his talent has at times failed to shine through – most notably at club level.
Nonetheless, it seems that under coach Jorge Sampaoli, he is starting to exhibit the qualities that will make him a vital figure come 2014. In Arturo Vidal, Chile possess one of the best all round box-to-box midfielders in the world, and if he, along with the ever-tenacious Gary Medel, can organize the defensive side of the team, Chile just might upset the odds at the World Cup.
Bosnia and Herzegovina – Winners of European Group G (Won 8, Drew 1, Lost 1)
Top Scorer: Edin Dzeko – 10 goals. Key Players: Defence – Asmir Begovic; Midfield – Miralem Pjanic; Attack – Edin Dzeko
Whilst Bosnia may have been neck and neck with Greece for superiority in their group, they showed glimpses throughout qualifying of their vast superiority over their opponents.
They topped Group G with a goal difference of 24, 16 more than rivals Greece, whilst in strikers Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic, they boast two of the four highest goal scorers in European qualifying. Midfielder pair Miralem Pjanic and Zvjezdan Misimovic also chipped in with a combined eight goals whilst also dictating most of Bosnia’s creative play.
Whilst there has been some evidence of weakness across the back four, in Asmir Begovic Bosnia can claim they have one of the best keepers in the Premier League, and arguably Europe too. The draw was arguably favourable to Bosnia, with only Greece and Slovakia providing real challenges, nonetheless they qualified with relative comfort, exhibiting some ruthless displays in the process such as the 1-8 demolition of Liechtenstein.
The fitness and form of talisman Dzeko will undoubtedly be key to any success they find in Brazil, but the whole group is undoubtedly ready to fight for success.
Will Cafferky, Sports Team
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