European teams have gradually gathered significant momentum as this World Cup has progressed, though their sluggish start initially caught attention, with seven of the first ten European nations failing to secure a victory in their opening group matches.
The high temperatures in North America were a subject of discussion before the tournament began, as several squads—among them England—chose to train in warmer locations to adapt prior to their first games.
However, hardly any coaches placed blame on the climate for their underwhelming beginnings.
Following Belgium’s opening draw against Egypt, manager Rudi Garcia stated: “Whether it is 10 degrees or 30 degrees, we should have performed better,” while Switzerland coach Murat Yakin highlighted his team’s lack of cutting edge rather than the weather after a 1-1 stalemate with Qatar.
Yet eventually, European sides truly found their rhythm, and by the close of the group phase, they had recorded 17 wins, 12 draws, and 7 losses against teams from outside Europe.
During the knockout rounds, several European countries also stood out when overcoming challenging circumstances.
Considerable attention was paid to England’s demanding journey to the Azteca to take on Mexico in the round of 16, where they had to cope with high altitude and a fiercely partisan atmosphere, but they managed both to deliver one of their most determined and resilient performances in order to advance.
“This has shown we have a team capable of winning the World Cup,” former England striker Wayne Rooney remarked to a sports broadcaster after that victory.
“The belief this will give to these players is huge.”
Elsewhere, France navigated Paraguay’s gamesmanship to reach the quarter-finals, while Belgium coped with a weight of home expectation to comfortably defeat co-hosts USA in their last-16 encounter. They will now meet European champions Spain for a spot in the semi-finals.
“It was encouraging signs from Belgium,” former England defender Matt Upson said on a television network.
“They are going to need to be good against what is a brilliant Spanish midfield.”
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