I think the contenders for the 2018 World Cup are: Italy, Brazil, France, Spain, and Argentina. They're probably the top 5. Then we have: Belgium, Portugal, Germany, England, and Uruguay. They are all second tier teams and could also win it.
A stat that I like is the heatmap. According to Whoscored 31% of the time the game was played in Italy's third. Only 20% in Spain's third. 49% of the time it was in midfield. The shots on target were even but Spain had much more shots in general. https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1...tional-European-Championship-2020-Italy-Spain
I would maybe swap England with Argentina. Argentina is going well under Scaloni but they just don't have the top quality in all positions. England will only get better from now on. They have so much raw talent.
Yes, but shots off-target by definition cannot be transformed into goals. I think the shots on target are the most important stats and they were even, like you said. The exact same number for each team, showing that Spain had a lot of futile domination but where it counted, they weren't as dominant as people think.
Agreed for the most part but I can't comprehend why you're including Uruguay. They look old, unfocused, and short of ideas. And I don't agree with the poster who would not place Argentina as a top contender. Any team with Messi becomes a top contender.
Uruguay still have Suárez and Cavani as well as a very good defense. Also managed pretty well with good chemistry.
Also, Argentina doesn’t only have Messi. Don’t forget: Dybala, Aguero, Icardi, Luartaro Martinez, Bentancur, and probably a few others that I’m forgetting. All of those players except maybe Bentancur are world class.
Oh Yes, Gosh, I was confused between Bentancur and Pereyra who was another player that used to play at Juventus. Every news outlet was saying that Pereyra was Uruguayan but he was from Argentina. I was getting him and Bentancur confused which is why I made that mistake.