Quote from: FanEagle on October 21, 2022, 07:44:23 PM

Quote from: Boristhecat on October 21, 2022, 02:56:57 PM

I don't think that the Netherlands are so weak that they don't have a chance at all for the title. This is a short tournament and the result will be somewhat random. And in any case, it is better to lose in the final or semi-final than in the 1/8. Therefore, the Netherlands will be as motivated as possible. By the way, surprisingly, underdogs almost never become world champions, unlike the European Championship, where, for example, Greece, unexpectedly for everyone, became the champion, although the average strength of teams is higher at the European Championship than at the World Cup.

I am not sure, they are not looking like they are good enough to beat the best teams one on one when the time comes. Everyone agrees that the four of Argentina/Brazil/England/France are the teams to beat this year, they are really good, and I feel like even if Netherlands match up with one of them and somehow managed to beat them, will they be able to do it to all of them?

Depends on the drawing a bit as well, what if those teams lose to some easier team by being unlucky and Netherlands end up facing easier opponents because they draw lucky and other games work better for them? In that case it would be quite possible for them to win, but it's unlikely to say the least.

You correctly noted that the draw will mean a lot and it is not at all necessary to beat all the strong teams one by one. Maybe they will destroy each other themselves. Or there is another good example - UCL last year. Real in each round of the playoffs met with the strongest team (at least which was the favorite relative to Real), and Liverpool met only with weaker opponents. As a result, Real won, but in such a short-lived tournament as the World Cup, it is possible that one team will reach the final exhausted, while the other will be relatively fresh and full of strength. With such an imbalance, the Netherlands could easily become champions.