The AFC team ushered in a highlight moment.
Australia (note: Australia officially joined the AFC in 2006), Japan and South Korea advanced by 16, setting a new record for the AFC team in the World Cup. The AFC is also second only to UEFA, with eight teams promoted, which is undoubtedly an exciting news for Asian football. Previously, at most two AFC Champions League teams advanced to the knockout stage, in 2002 and 20 10, respectively, and Japan and South Korea advanced.
There are six AFC teams participating in this World Cup, which is also the largest in history. Except for Qatar, the host country, the other five teams all performed brilliantly, and even Saudi Arabia and Iran, which were eliminated, had impressive highlights. Saudi Arabia beat Argentina 2-/kloc-0 in the first round of the group stage, which sounded the horn of the AFC Champions League group stage; Iran, on the other hand, stubbornly defeated Wales and defended the team's honor in internal and external troubles.
The promotion of the three AFC Champions League teams did not go smoothly. Australia lost to defending champion France in the first game 1:4 and was almost cornered. The Kangaroo Corps then made steady progress, and even Tunisia and Denmark advanced. The Japanese team is full of twists and turns. In the first game, the powerful German team was defeated by 2: 1, and the average Costa Rica team was defeated by 0: 1. In the last game, another popular Spanish team was defeated by 2: 1, and DeUEX qualified from the "group of death". South Korea is also a rescue team, with the first two games 1 draw 1 negative, ranking third in the group. In the last game, with the winner, the powerful Portuguese team was reversed by 2:/kloc-0.
Which "dark horse" team is sexy enough?
The three advanced AFC Champions League teams are undoubtedly the "dark horse" teams in this World Cup in terms of strength. They all entered the first half of the knockout stage and are about to face a more severe test. Before the World Cup began, the Japanese team set the goal of reaching at least the quarter-finals. At that time, some fans thought they were boasting, but in the group stage, they actually defeated the enemy and advanced to the first place in the group, becoming a well-deserved "big dark horse". If they beat the last runner-up Croatia in the final of 1/8, their dream will come true. For the other two AFC Champions League teams, the situation is not very optimistic. Australia faces Argentina, South Korea faces Brazil, and the "South American duo" are all popular teams to win the championship. It takes a miracle to beat them and advance.
Senegal, the African champion, advanced to the second place in Group A, which is a normal result. Their African brother Morocco, together with Croatia and Belgium, won the first place in the group with a record of 2 wins 1, which was a complete surprise. Morocco became another "big dark horse" in the group stage. This Moroccan team has a good performance on both offensive and defensive ends, and its main lineup has basically played in five major leagues in Europe, such as Chelsea striker Ziye, Bayern defender Mazravi, Paris Saint-Germain winger Ashraf, Seville double star Ennes Li and Bunu. They will play against the young Spanish team in the final of 1/8. If we can go further, the "dark horse" will be more colorful.
Who is the champion?
Among the favourites to win the championship, except Germany and Belgium, Brazil, Argentina, France, England, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain all advanced smoothly. Among them, Brazil, Argentina and the Netherlands are in the upper half, while France, England, Portugal and Spain are in the lower half. Teams in the upper and lower half will only meet in the third and fourth finals.
The "South American duo" in the upper half will compete in the semi-finals if they can advance smoothly. The winner will enter the finals, and the loser will enter the third or fourth finals. At present, Brazil, which has the highest voice to win the championship, has lost a grade after midfielder Neymar missed due to injury. If Neymar can't return from injury in time, the prospect of winning the championship is not clear enough. Argentina, which has Messi, has just experienced the joys and sorrows of the group stage, unloaded 36 unbeaten psychological burdens, further improved its vigilance, or will become more brave in the Vietnam War.
In the second half, if France and England both win the final of 1/8, they will meet in the final of 1/4, and the winner will enter the semi-final. The situation in Spain and Portugal is similar. These four teams all have the strength to win the championship, but there are also various problems: although the French team has a solid foundation and a superstar Mbappé, it is full of wounded soldiers and its combat effectiveness is affected to some extent; The England team has a well-organized lineup and excellent offensive and defensive skills, but the curse of "pulling the crotch in key games" looms; Spain, which pays attention to the transmission and control system, won 7-0 in the first round of the group stage, and was later tied by Germany and reversed by Japan, which exposed the huge defects of the team; Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, has experienced ups and downs in the group stage, and it takes some luck to win the championship.
It is worth mentioning that no team can score 9 points in the group stage. And in the final round, Brazil, France, Spain and Portugal all lost unexpectedly because they rotated their lineups for the knockout round. At the same time, it also shows that the world football level is getting closer and closer. Any team that wants to win the World Cup needs to go all out, and it will be punished if it is careless.