(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Muscat- The FIFA World Cup is in full swing in Russia and the first ten days have been full of surprises.
Argentina on the brink after losing to Croatia. Spain and Portugal playing an exciting 3-3 draw which was as good as the final match.From the region, Iran won its match against Morocco to keep its hopes alive for a knock-out berth.However, the four Arab nations in fray - Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco lost their first two group games to end their knock-out hopes.Fans and experts in the sultanate are waiting to see their favourites make it to the next level. While some are rooting for the past champions, others say this year could be the year of the dark horses.Ahmed al Kaabi, head, Communications Department, Oman Football Association and a well-known commentator feels the two teams to watch out for are France and Brazil. 'Incidentally, they faced off in the 1998 World Cup finals where France won3-0. I'm rooting for France and expecting European teams to do well.'All the European teams are at the top of their game. They are playing at a very high level and there's not much to choose between them.'Teams like France and Spain should be playing in the semifinals. All teams want to lay their hands on the trophy but very few have been able to do so all these years.'Hisham al Adwani, director, Omantel League, believes Brazil, Belgium and France could make it to the semifinals. 'I believe the dark horse could be Belgium this World Cup. However, I was supporting defending champions Germany even after its loss to Mexico.'Egyptian fan Mariam Mikhail who had high hopes on the team is shattered after its 1-3 loss to Russia. 'Mohamed Salah disappointed us with his performance against Russia in spite of scoring the only goal. This was our second defeat in a row,' Mariam said.Salim Humaid al Toqi, a football fan said, 'Logically the winner will be one of the nations with a strong team. May be Brazil, France, Portugal, Argentina or Spain. I speak for all Omanis when I say we'd like to see our team take part in the next World Cup.'
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