Continuation of 20-Year Cycle?

AFP PHOTO/FRANCK FIFE

Belgium\'s team players take part in a training session of Belgium\'s national football team at the Guchkovo Stadium in Dedovsk, outside Moscow, on July 8, 2018, ahead of their Russia 2018 World Cup semi-final football match against France.

The two upcoming semifinal matches at the 2018 World Cup present a unique phenomenon: The meetings will see two former world champions, France and England, each square off against a squad that has yet to win a World Cup, Croatia or Belgium. France, the 1998 champion, will face Belgium, while 1966 champion England will face Croatia.

All four teams will want to win the World Cup, for millions of reasons. Croatia? They wish to repeat their success of reaching the semifinals in the 1998 World Cup. At the time, Croatia’s first golden generation of football players, including Robert Prosinecki, Zvonimir Boban and Davor Suker, defeated Germany 3-0 in the quarterfinals. Croatia’s journey ended in the semifinals, when host France defeated them and later won the World Cup.

This year, with three strong defenders, namely Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and Ivan Rakitic, Croatia will pose a huge challenge for England. Perisic said playing for his country’s national team was a childhood dream of his. “I will give my best,” he vowed.

GETTY IMAGES/SHAUN BOTTERILL

Ivan Rakitic of Croatia celebrates scoring the winning penalty during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Quarter Final match between Russia and Croatia at Fisht Stadium on July 7, 2018 in Sochi, Russia.

Meanwhile, England has been waiting for a World Cup victory for 52 years. The last time the Three Lions won was in 1966. Under coach Gareth Southgate, England has ended its traumatic experience of losing in penalty shootouts. In the 1996 Euro Cup in England, Southgate failed on his penalty shot in front of thousands of fans at London’s Wembley Stadium. His failure led to the Three Lions’ 5-6 defeat to Germany in the semifinals. Southgate was widely lambasted by the public and the press for it.

The bitter memory from 22 years ago will surely boost Southgate’s determination to guide his squad to victory this year, as evident in the team winning against Colombia through a penalty shootout in the Round of 16. The Guardian wrote that, without superstars like Bobby Charlton and Paul Gascoigne at his disposal and without the advantage of playing on home turf, Southgate had proven himself with a bigger contribution to his team’s success than his predecessor.

REUTERS/SERGEI KARPUKHIN

France\'s goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and Florian Thauvin during training in France Training Camp, Istra, Russia, July 7, 2018.

Belgium has also been phenomenal. Under coach Roberto Martinez, Belgium is having another golden generation of football players after the era of Jan Ceulemans, Eric Gerets and Enzo Scifo in the 1980s. At the time, Ceulemans and his teammates reached the semifinals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where they were defeated by an Argentine squad that included Diego Maradona.

Martinez has proven himself to be a stern and no-nonsense coach. He did not include Radja Nainggolan in his line-up, as Radja’s skills were of no use in his strategy. He also daringly used uncommon formations, such as not putting attacking wingers in the match against Brazil. That tactic proved successful against the Samba team.

Lastly, France’s ambition is to win their second World Cup after 1998. They have defeated two Latin American teams in a row, namely Argentina in the Round of 16 and Uruguay in the quarterfinals. With shining stars like Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann in their team, it is not difficult for coach Didier Deschamps to whip “Les Bleus” into attacking its opponents.

Psychological conditions will determine everything in the semifinals. France will meet Belgium on Wednesday (11/7/2018) at 1 a.m. Jakarta time. Croatia will meet England 24 hours later.

REUTERS/DAVID GRAY

England\'s Harry Kane celebrates victory with his family in the stand after the match between England and Sweden in Samara Arena, Samara, Russia, July 7, 2018.

Belgium and Croatia may not be the favorites to win in the face of England and France. However, this may turn out to be an advantage for the teams of Martinez and Zlatko Dalic. If both teams can play without any burden, there may be a new world champion in Russia in 2018.

That would continue the 20-year cycle of new champions winning the World Cup. In 1958, Brazil won the World Cup for the first time. In 1978, it was Argentina’s turn. In 1998, it was France.

The emergence of a new world champion would add to the uniqueness of this year’s World Cup, in which favorite teams were eliminated before the semifinals, including Germany, Portugal, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. That seems to reaffirm that domination is never everlasting in football and that a team’s position as world champion is temporary. Even defending champion Germany faced defeat at the hands of South Korea.