Ronaldo always seems to find a way to win. This group may be no different.
Group B Predicted Order of Finish: Portugal Spain, Morocco, Iran
The decision by La Furia Roja to fire Julen Lopetegui the day before the World Cup, essentially because it leaked that he was going to assume command at Real Madrid, will either be remembered forever as a stroke of genius that kept a team packed full of Barcelona and Real Madrid stars briefly, albeit uneasily, united, or an unmitigated disaster that sealed Spain’s fate before the tournament even began.
I’ll tell you this much. While I am filled with man-crush adulation at the Pique comparison of Steve Fisher taking the reins at Michigan just before the NCAA Tournament in 1989 and leading the Wolverines to the national championship, that scenario is the exception, not the rule.
This reminded me of something that would happen to an uber-talented France team. Les Bleus are notorious for infighting and locker room melodrama impacting performance at big international tournaments- who could forget the most recent incident, where Karim Benzema blackmailed Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, sparking a police investigation and Benzema’s being brought up on charges.
These things don’t happen, at least recently, with Spain.
Spain has the talent to weather that drama, the usual Barca-Real chemistry issues and a potentially unfit Dani Carvajal , but the draw is less friendly.
There’s no question about Spain’s talent, a last hurrah for some of their stars blended with youthful vigor and with Sergio Busquets, a capable deep-lying playmaker. They are, as ever, a team happily defying contemporary conceptions about winning international football, as most sides have gone to more athletic and rangy versions of the traditional number six instead. They open with their toughest game- giving them no time to settle, and plenty of time to unravel if things go poorly against their rivals on the Iberian Penninsula.
Portugal are the reigning European champions, which isn’t always the best thing to be at the World Cup. Further, the Portuguese aren’t tactically ambitious, they prefer to defend and wait for Ronaldo to do something magical, and with 15 goals in qualifying and a European championship, it’s a compelling if incredibly safe way to go about proceedings. But it could be too tentative against Spain, and if placed under immense pressure, there aging center back pairing of Bruno Alves and Pepe aren’t mobile and will crack. They are battle-tested vets, but ones with too many miles on the tread.
Despite those concerns, I like Portugal to win the group. Ronaldo finds a way to win things, like the last three Champions League titles and a EURO. He’ll weather this tricky group too.
Morocco interest me more than Iran, who I fear are outclassed.
The Atlas Lions were the first country from Africa to reach the Round of 16, and after a 20-year hiatus, are back in the World Cup, with a resolute defense and a talented group of attacking midfielders.
They are genuinely fun to watch under the watchful eye of their manager, Herve Renard, who has won the Africa Cup of Nations Twice. They don’t have much at forward, but Younes Belhanda can be a chance-creating force when he’s given space and time, and he plays at an elite level in Turkey for Galatasaray. Amine Harat is a phenom at Schalke who could be one of the tournament’s breakout stars under 21, and the Ajax winger Hakim Ziyech is a sublime passer and lethal when he cuts in on his left foot.
If Morocco can find a goal or two- and they have going 2-0-1 in their tuneup matches while only conceding once, they could surprise and advance.
Neil W. Blackmon co-founded The Yanks Are Coming. Follow him on Twitter @nwblackmon.