Russia 2018; the winner is......................contd

The new look Spain side will comprise Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), David Silva (Manchester City), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Koke (Atlético Madrid), Isco (Real Madrid), Thiago (Bayern Munich) and Marco Asensio (Real Madrid). Álvaro Morata (Chelsea), Diego Costa (Atlético Madrid), Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid), Rodrigo (Valencia) and José Callejón (Napoli) complete the list.

Belgium, Argentines and Spain look alike in terms of their players’ club form. But club football is a different ball game. Most of the club coaches are top tacticians, with most of the players being internationals in their countries. Coaching may be Belgium’s Achilles hills. Their players include Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Michy Batshuayi (Borussia Dortmund), Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace) Mousa Dembélé (Tottenham Hotspur), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) and Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United). There are also Radja Nainggolan(Roma), Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham Hotspur), Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Divock Origi (VfL Wolfsburg) and Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang). What a squad! But where is a manager to show the team the way during matches.

England may make the desired impact at the Mundial during the 2022 edition when the products of their grassroots competitions, who are the world’s best in two age-grade competitions become stars. For now, the English would only ruffle feathers, especially as their domestic league is one of the best. But those who make the English Premier League tick are foreigners who would be playing for other countries. God help England when they play such countries.