Generally speaking, half a month before the opening of the World Cup, each participating team will select some opponents to warm up in a targeted manner in order to better deal with the group opponents in the World Cup. Our national football team should also have an understanding of this. Before the World Cup in 2006, France chose to warm up the Chinese team in East Asia with South Korea in order to prepare for the group stage with South Korea.
However, this year's World Cup is very different. Since it was the first time in history to start in November, major European leagues are in progress, so the national team has no time to arrange warm-up matches. Therefore, the national team match day at the end of September is the last chance for the participating teams in the World Cup to warm up and prepare for the game. Europe has the European Union, so what about other continents? They can only find opponents around the world and play two friendly matches that are not reliable.
In fact, preparing for the World Cup is a long-term project. In the past year, every game played by the national team can map their status when they participate in the World Cup. Of course, choosing an opponent is also a science. If we take a closer look at the opponents in Brazil in the past year, we will find a detail - before we knew it, Brazil beat the potential opponents they encountered in the Qatar World Cup.
Let’s first look at whom Brazil may meet if it reaches the top 16.
First of all, it should be fine for the Brazilian group to advance, right? Of course, you have to say that Brazil will be upset by Switzerland, Serbia , Cameroon , and I have no choice. Because Brazil is in Group G, they will meet a team in Group H after they qualify in the group. It is highly likely that Brazil will win the top spot in the group, so what they have to face is the second place in Group H.
Speaking of this, we have to mention the characteristics of Group H. It can be said that Group H is recognized as the only death group in the Qatar World Cup. Although the strength of the four teams in the same group is high and low, to be honest, each team has the opportunity to advance and the possibility of elimination. But relatively speaking, Portugal, with a luxurious lineup, has the greatest hope of advancement. Therefore, Brazil may encounter opponents in the first round of the knockout round, namely South Korea, Ghana, , Uruguay, .
OK, let's see which teams Brazil has played in the past year.
first talked about the nearest opponent. On September 24, Brazil and Garner played a friendly match and won 3:0. This score reminds people of the 2006 World Cup quarterfinals, when Ronaldo scored his last goal in the World Cup. In this year's Qatar World Cup quarterfinals, there is still a possibility that Brazil will encounter Ghana again.
Looking forward, on June 2, Brazil started its Asian tour, and the first game against South Korea, they were fully fired and beat the opponent 5:1, letting Korean know the gap between themselves and the top team. In the Qatar World Cup, South Korea's chances of winning second in the group are actually not small.
Continue to look forward. On October 15, 2021, it was still the South American World Cup qualifiers at that time, Brazil defeated Uruguay 4:1 at home. Uruguay is also their potential opponent in the top 16.
In a year, Brazil has played more than a dozen games, including three special opponents, Uruguay, South Korea and Ghana. It can be said that if Brazil advances in the World Cup this year, the possibility of meeting one of them is almost 100%.
Finally, let’s talk about Portugal. In fact, Portugal may also win second place in the group, and may even be eliminated directly. Objectively speaking, Portugal is also a potential rival to Brazil's top 16. But in the past year, Brazil has not fought with Portugal. In fact, it is not just Portugal. Since March 2019, Brazil has not played against European teams for more than three years. In addition to the epidemic, it is probably the blame for the European League.
Of course, most neutral fans do not subjectively want Brazil and Portugal to meet too early. After all, Nemar or C Ronaldo leaves the World Cup too early, which is not something everyone wants to see.
