World Cup 2018: the 7 teams of this edition to absolutely follow

From June 14 to July 15, Russia will host the 21st edition of the World Cup. While soccer fans are anxiously waiting to be able to support their favorite teams, but also to discover the new kings of the round ball, we offer you an overview of the teams to follow this summer. Favorites or surprise teams, the national selections that we are going to mention all have a card to play in this competition.

Germany and Brazil: the revenge?

Four years ago, the spectators had left on a simple observation : germany was then above the lot. More than the final, won by a score of 1-0 against Argentina, it was the previous match that had marked the spirits. In the semi-final, the Mannschaft faced Brazil , then the organizing country.

While the experts predicted a balanced match, or even a Brazilian victory in front of a public committed to the national cause, the Germans crushed, even humiliated, their counterparts. The score: 1-7, will remain as the highlight of the competition, associated with the image of the players of the Selecao crying.

Germany and Brazil will naturally be present in Russia, the Germans will try to retain their title, while the Brazilians will struggle to rebuild their honor and try to regain their place at the top of soccer, 16 years after their last coronation in the World Cup.

For this, the Selecao will have to rely on Neymar , just returned from a long injury contracted during the match of his club, PSG, against Marseille.

The return of the former winners

From 2008 to 2012, it is spain who led the dance on the world of soccer. Since then, it has become complicated for the Roja : eliminated in the first round of the 2014 World Cup, then in the eighth final of Euro 2016, the Spaniards gradually lost their privileged status. But lessons have been learned from these failures: since Euro 2016, the Spaniards have not lost a single match. Facing Argentina in a friendly match in March, they even showed themselves impressive with a 6-1 victory against the finalist of the 2014 edition. Will 2018 be the year of the return to the top for Spain?

France has only won the World Cup once: it was in 1998, just 20 years ago. A sign of fate? The French benefit from a generation of talented players who make the greatest European clubs happy: Pogba, Griezmann, N'golo Kanté or Mbappé. Having come within a whisker of a victory over Italy in 2006, the French selection wants to believe in its chances for this 2018 World Cup.

The next surprise team?

In 2014, no one was betting on Costa Rica . Never considered a great team, the Costa Rican selection had to get rid of a strong group, including England, Italy, as well as Luis Suarez's Uruguay. From the first match, the observers were amazed to see Costa Rica defeat Uruguay by the score of 3-1. The next match against Italy, should have turned to correction: las! The Costa Ricans win again, eliminating the 2006 World Champions in the first round. They will then manage to defeat Greece in the eighth final, before falling to the Netherlands at the end of a heroic match and a penalty shootout. Will Costa Rica manage to repeat such a feat?

Other teams could also play the role of "hair to scratch" in this World Cup: in the first row of the outsiders, stands Belgium . The Red Devils also reached the quarter-finals during the 2014 edition. Led by some of the best players in the Premier League, the English championship, the Belgians probably have their most talented generation this year, including Eden Hazard, Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.

Iceland is participating this year for the first time in a World Cup final phase. During the Euro 2016, the Icelanders had pleasantly surprised their fans: they had finished first in their group, also including the future Portuguese winner, before eliminating England in the eighth final. Finally eliminated by France during the quarter-finals, the Icelanders will try to do even better during the 2018 World Cup.