The championship for dummies: in a nutshell about the 2018 World Cup

The championship for dummies: in a nutshell about the 2018 World Cup

We understand all this mundial together with the resident of Comedy Club on TNT Andrey Skorokhod.

If you slept in a cryo-chamber for the last 10 years, I remind you: already on June 14, the World Cup starts in Russia. I’m sure many of your friends have already made a lot of money on this event by renting out their shabby apartments near the subway for crazy money. Well, all you have to do is cry, read this column and make sense of the whole mundial.

Everything you need to know

So, the World Cup is 11 cities where matches will be held, 32 teams, 8 groups. The competition itself consists of two stages: group and playoffs. Two teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs. The winner will receive the FIFA World Cup.

Does Russia have a chance at this?

The Russian national team has already set a record this year by not winning any of the eight friendly matches before the World Cup. This has never happened in the history of soccer. We are already among the record holders, so we have nothing to aspire to. But still we continue to shout “Russia, forward!” and in the meantime we’re looking at who else we can cheer for at this championship. For convenience, let’s put hashtags.

#ALWAYSFAVORITES

Teams whose fans expect to stay in Russia right up to the final, and who will view any defeat as a national tragedy.

• Germany. BMW, Mercedes and Audi in one bottle: fast, reliable, never stops. Four-time and reigning world champion. Winner of the Confederations Cup, which was held in Russia last year. The bookies’ favorite. And mine!

• Brazil. These guys really wanted to win the last championship, which was held in their country, but it didn’t work out. They’ve only gotten stronger since then. And yes, they will have 222 million euros on the field, and that’s just Neymar alone. By the way, they have a lot of cool million euros playing in defense and midfield too.
• Argentina. Four years ago, it stopped one step away from victory and is determined to take revenge. And Lionel Messi is also playing for them. Just think of those words: LIONEL MESSI!
• Spain. First of all, it’s beautiful. Secondly, just five years ago, there was no stronger team. Thirdly, there is a possibility that in the 1/8 finals rivals “Red Fury” will be the players of the Russian national team. And here if their Spaniards pass, then they will have every chance.

#POCTIFAFAWORITES

It is more difficult here, because soccer is too unpredictable game. Although these teams can also realistically claim the championship.

• Portugal. Two years ago nobody expected anything from them, but they took and won the European Championship. Plus Cristiano Ronaldo plays for this team. Think about those words: Cristiano Ronaldo.

• France. By the way, it was the Portuguese who beat them in the final of the European Championship. The French have a very powerful squad, and they may well reach the final.
• Belgium. Why not Belgium?

#PROSTO-BEAUTIFUL

They probably won’t make it far, but it’s a pleasure to watch them play or their fans.

• England. It’s simple here. Soccer is England, England is soccer. In theory, they should show something interesting.
• Iceland. This team fell in love with all the fans at the last European Championship. So get ready to clap your hands and menacingly shout “Oooh”!

Very soon we will get into popular soccer terms together with Comedy Club resident Andrey Averin. Follow the continuation of our column #ChampionshipForDummies. Every week there will be something new: simply and with humor on “Championship”.