World Cup Watch - Young Guns II
Cesc Fabregas
Cesc has been a revelation for the gunners this season and more so in Europe, where he has been one of the top performers. At age 18, he is one of the youngest midfielders around and with injury to Xavi, he seems to have made his way to Spain coach Luis Aragones' plans too for the World Cup.
Cesc has proved he can perform at the highest level in Europe but it's an entirely different matter to take his good form into the World Cup. Spain has always been an underperforming side, the eternal underdogs and one of the fine teams who always seem to get knocked out in the quarters. Cesc is just one among a number of great talented players in Spain. Great speed and exceptional passing abilities makes him one of the emerging talents in the game. However, Cesc's relative inexperience at the national level would make Aragones to resist tempatation of fielding him in the starting XI.
Cesc is definitely a player to watch out for this WC and if he manages to keep Xavi out of the starting lineup, his performance will be even more keenly followed, none more so than the club keeping tabs on him - Real Madrid. But the biggest question is - Can he inspire Spain to achieve the long overdue glory that has eluded them so far?
One of the stars to watch out for, Ronaldo has been on song whenever he has played for Portugal, scoring goals at will in the WC qualifiers. He has matured a bit this season and under Sir Alex's guidance, has been trying to work on his physical side a bit more.
Portugal was unlucky to lose at home to Greece in the Euro Championships and breezed through their qualifiers easily topping their group. Ronaldo is likely to have stiff competition from Simao for a place in the starting XI but is likely to get the nod as he is equally adept in the air. He has to remain consistent in his play and the crosses he provides from the wing. Opposition teams are likely to get physical with him and his reputation as a diver although has come down, wouldn't help him one bit.
Portugal, being in an easy group, should qualify top of their group. However, making it past the 2nd round and quarters would be a tad difficult. Ronaldo is a key player for them and he needs to be at his best in creating goal-scoring opportunities for his team. He is definitely one of the youngsters to keep an eye on during the WC.
posted by Lucas @ 9:16 PM
5 Comments:
Valeron and Xavi are out. Still Baraja and Xabi Alonso can fill in their boots. I believe Baraja is also short of match fitness. Still they've Brazilian Senna. Even without Xavi, Cesc will find it difficult to find a starting place. Wingers will be the ones to watch out for. Sadly,Vicente is on the verge of KO. They need to start with in-form players like David Villa, Joaquin and Reyes rather than Torres rather than the rusted Nando, Raul, Luque and Etxeberria.
Another news...Spain could meet Brazil in the quarters thanks to coming thru play-offs. But on their day, Spain can be more than a handful for any champion team.
Portugal is another under-achiever.
Cristiano has been consistent for Portugal. But Scolari doesn't seem to have got the Brazilian magic working in Portugal. They defend well. 1-0 scorelines are common for Portugal.
Spain vs Brazil! that's something we haven't seen for a long time! But then, anything can happen in a WC. Latin American teams aren't supposed to play well in Europe...will that affect their performance?
portugal recently beat saudi arabia 3-0 in a friendly.they won 7-1 against russia and won 5-0 and 6-0 against luxembourg and liechtenstein.portugal scored the most goals in the world cup qualifiers (35) along with czech republic.
Are any of those teams in the elite group?Saudi is in WC. I'm not criticising Portugal. For their slick pass game, they should be scoring more goals against more accomplished teams. Look at Czech in Euro 04, they came from 2 goals behind to beat Holland and also attacked well in a dead rubber against Germany. Portugal, host nation status not withstanding were scrapping to 1-0 wins.
U need to do it on the bigger stage. Argentina fails too often like on the WC '02 finals whereas Scolari's Brazil came into '02 with no sort of form and still managed to put in an entertaining display. Thats what has been beating me. Talent abounds in Portugal team like Spain, language should pose no barrier and above all Portugal ought to out perform top teams.
Post a Comment
<< Home