World Gaming Magazine

48 WGM #59 2018/06 wgm8.com 伊朗国家队的整体进步，体现在他们是世界足坛仅次 于巴西之后，第二个拿到世界杯入场券的球队，当时他们 提前两轮就实现这一成就。而四年前，他们直到预选赛最 后一轮，才最终确定世界杯的决赛圈席位。 但是，伊朗在今年夏天的世界杯之旅将会异常艰难， 因为小组赛遭遇的对手中，包括强大的西班牙、葡萄牙及 摩洛哥。这个小国家需要有异常卓越的表现，才可能实现 历史上第一次晋级淘汰赛的突破。 其他亚洲球队在世界杯上的前景并不乐观。日本在预 选赛中拿到小组第一晋级决赛圈，所在的小组中有亚洲冠 军澳大利亚。但他们看起来远不是昔日亚洲强队的样子， 此前曾被传统对手韩国以4-1击败，又在友谊赛中和排名很 低的海地打成3-3平。 这样的表现导致教练哈利霍季奇在世界杯开赛前两个 月被解雇，取而代之的是前日本足协技术总监西野朗。想 要晋级淘汰赛可能很难，因为他们缺少适应新技战术打法 所需要的时间。 韩国阵容中拥有孙兴慜，但他们所在的小组中有强劲 对手德国和墨西哥。另外，热刺边锋在重大比赛中习惯性 隐形。 沙特阿拉伯被分在东道主俄罗斯的小组——有着主场 Jahanbakhshhasalsoimprovedmassivelysincejoining AZ Alkmaar in 2015, scoring 34 goals in 85 appearances for the Dutch team. His sublime performances this season saw him score 21 goals and add 12 assists, becoming the first Asian player ever to finish top goal scorer in a leading European league. The overall improvement in Iran is reflected in the fact that they were the second team in the world to seal qualification for the finals behind only Brazil, doing so with two games to spare. Four years ago, they only secured their birth on the final day. However, Iran’s journey this summer will be difficult as their tough group includes teams like Spain, Portugal and Morocco. It will take some extraordinary performances from this small nation to progress to the knockout stage for the first time in their history. The rest of the Asian teams’ hopes in the World Cup are not so bright. Japan topped its group, which included Asian champions Australia, to qualify for the World Cup finals but has looked far from the Asian power it once was since, having been blown away 4-1 by traditional rivals South Korea and drawn 3-3 with lowly Haiti in friendlies. Those performances resulted in coach Vahid Halilhodžić being sacked just two months out from the World Cup, replaced by Japan Football Association technical director Akira Nishino. Moving beyond the group 澳大利亚中场阿隆•穆伊 Australia's midfield star Aaron Mooy 世界杯特刊 World Cup Special