One trend that is happening in this year’s World Cup, which seems to be surprising a lot of people, is that many of the favorites are finding it difficult to win games. I cite England’s 0-0 tie with Algeria, or Italy’s 1-1 tie with New Zealand (and eventually not even making the round of 16).
I think this is partially because countries are pumping money into athletic programs, but also due to Globalization. Better communication of techniques and coaching have leveled the pitch and you really need talent, not just training to excel now.
I’m not surprised because I see the same thing in hockey. 30 years ago, Canada and Russia competed against each other and other countries need not apply. Then 15 years ago, we saw the ascendency of Sweden, Finland, and the Czech. Now we’re seeing even more competition by former pushovers US and Switzerland. Canada still has a larger base of hockey-playing children to draw from, but the skill of the top 20-30 players from each country has narrowed considerably.
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