Artem Sokolov, exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza
VK continues to discuss the teams of the World Cup in Brazil. Now it is the turn of Group H with Russia, Belgium, Algeria, and South Korea.
Belgium
The main favorite of Group H. Belgium is able to become one of the discoveries of the Cup. The team includes many talented players. Hazard, Lukaku, Courtois, Mertenes, Witsel, Dembélé, Defour, and their partners are key players in their clubs. Belgium is ambitious. One of the main problems could be the tension connected with the great expectations of the team. It is unclear whether the team can show its best playing in such conditions. Moreover, in a certain way the squad is unbalanced. They have no defending wingers, only midfielders. However, it seems Belgium will go on to the play-offs, even though one of the youngest teams in the tournament lacks experience.
Algeria
This team is tough. The Bosnian head coach Vahid Halilhodžić has strong players. Leaders of the team play in decent European clubs. Algeria is a physically well-trained team. Their high spirit and ambitions make them one of the shadow favorites in the group. The main star is midfielder Sofiane Feghouli, who could play for France but chose Algeria. One of the main problems is the lack of experience in such major tournaments.
South Korea
The most experienced team of the group is South Korea. The Koreans are taking part in the World Cup for the eighth time. The main advantages of the team are functional readiness, high spirits and discipline. Hard-working Korea is able to exhaust any rival. The leader of the team is Son Heung-Min from Bayer Leverkusen. The weak points of the team are the squad and insufficient physical strength. The team has no deep rotation. At the same time, Korea has chances for the play-offs.
Russia
Russian football fans place their main hopes on the head coach of the team Capello. His teams are always disciplined and manageable. The Italian hates gung-ho attitudes. During the tournament don Fabio and his players restricted communication not only with the mass media, but also wives and friends. The squad is balanced. It makes us hope for the play-offs. Even Roman Shirokov’s injury, one of the key players of the team, shouldn’t be an obstacle to this.
