With the World Cup getting underway, all 48 teams will have some level of pressure to perform. Even the lowest-ranked teams will feel the weight of the occasion. Some will deal with it better than others, whereas some will simply wilt.
Yet, some teams will have extraordinary levels of pressure upon them. It’s not just those who are expected to win, but those who, for various reasons, have arrived at this point with questions to answer.
Below, we pick out five teams who will be under serious pressure to deliver in the coming days and weeks:
England
The team that tends to feel pressure more so than any other at World Cups. On paper, once again, England can point to a squad and first XI good enough to beat anyone. Indeed, the XI of players left at home could probably make a good fist of things in the tournament. Yet, once again, the pressure is heaped upon the coach, Thomas Tuchel, and many are questioning his methods before a ball has been kicked. You get the impression that England, third favorites with DraftKings’ World Cup betting at the time of writing, will be a momentum team. Start well, and they’ll flourish. Don’t, and things could fall apart.
USA
The tournament co-hosts have been bang average under Mauricio Pochettino, but it’s not quite clear what success would look like at this World Cup. The knockout stages are the minimum requirement, but the USMNT will need to get off to a good start in the group stage, lest more concerns about Pochettino’s tenure be debated. Home advantage might have the opposite impact, and plenty of host nations, including Japan and Korea in 2022, have relished the pressure, but the US fans will want this to be the best-ever World Cup performance by the national team. The signs haven’t been good so far.
Brazil
There is always a unique kind of pressure on the team that has won the World Cup more than any other. Yet, if we are honest about it, Brazil have not performed well at a World Cup since 2002. In Carlo Ancelotti, Brazil have a manager that could lead them to glory, but there is already bickering among the fans, including on the issue of where – or if – Neymar should play in the team. A lot of questions remain about Brazil’s midfield, and the system that Ancelotti has them playing. The jury is out.
Morocco
A bit of a leftfield pick here. Morocco are considered underdogs, but they are also the team that everyone has picked as dark horses. That in itself brings additional pressure, not least due to Morocco’s performance in 2022 when they became the first African team to make the semi-finals of the competition. If anything, the North Africans are stronger now, but nobody will be taking them lightly. Personally, we think they will go well again, but the element of surprise is gone, and we’ll have to see what the Moroccan players do when they are expected to win.
France
We will finish with the team now considered favorites by most soccer pundits. Indeed, many think that the only thing that can beat France is France itself, i.e., if there is a lack of cohesion in the team, or ructions caused by big egos. Nonetheless, the weight of expectation is huge for the 2018 winners, and that could play into the hands of France’s opponents. The disasters of the 2002 and 2010 French World Cup campaigns are still fresh in the memory of the fans.