Although
the World Cup is long gone and with it have gone the teams, the games, and the
hype that surrounded the tournament, it has still left a legacy, and some teams
are trying to use that as motivation to improve. With friendlies approaching
and World Cup results lingering, the England national team is making major
improvements. Leaving the tournament at just the group stage last summer,
England was definitely at a low point when it came to the national team.
However, more recently, the team have been looking to do better by playing
aggressively and making other teams struggle to beat them. Winning what could
be eight straight games after playing Italy next week, England has obviously
stepped their game up. Captain Wayne Rooney believes that this is because of
the work of the players and their ability to keep the ball and win it back. "You want teams to look at England
and think, 'we know we have a tough game, it is going to physically hard
against them, we are going to have to defend and we are going to have to be
good on the ball to keep the ball'.” Rooney said when discussing the
work the team has put in (ESPN). The team is trying, and succeeding, to make a
move towards becoming a feared team.
England is not the only team trying
to improve post-World Cup, and if any team has a lot to prove following the
tournament, it’s Brazil. After losing 7-1 against Germany in the semi-finals
last summer, Brazil was probably at the lowest point in their national team
history. Now, with Dunga at the reigns, the team seems to be swinging back into
shape. Just following the World Cup, Brazil has beaten teams such as Argentina
and France, and the new system seems to be working. For one, team captain
Neymar has been fulfilling that role much better, formulating an attack that seems
to score goals to no end. Also, Dunga has arranged a strong back as well, one
that has only conceded two goals since he took charge. Obviously, despite being
controversial at first, the idea to bring in Dunga has proven to be successful.
This shows that although the World Cup has long since ended, many national
teams are still using it as a reason to improve and grow.
