Russia 2018; the winner is................

Russia 2018 World Cup will be the showpiece of the best soccer players. I don't expect big surprise, given the hectic season which most Players have gone through,even though most of the big leagues' were decided as far back as mid-January. Today, not a few players are nursing injuries. Brazil's Neymar and Argentina's Sergio Aguero are the biggest casualties. Others, such as Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, are tired due to their roles Real Madrid and Barcelona. They play close to 60 matches seasonally and with World Cup's seven fixtures, it wouldn't come as a surprise if they don't give their best in Russia. Will they recover on time to make the difference? A World Cup without Ronaldo and Messi is a commercial disaster for FIFA and a kill-joy for football faithful.

The past eight World Cup winners; Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Italy, Uruguay, England, Spain, and France look good to win the diadem, except for the Italians who are absent- no thanks to their seeming ageing players. These countries have mastered the act of qualifying for the Mundial by developing on the gains of the previous editions for the present squads. Indeed, the big eight World Cup winners (without Italy) have at least 70 per cent of those who were in Brazil four years ago, unlike others who have radically restructured their teams from the coaching crew to the players.