By Rohith Nair
MIAMI, June 18 (Reuters) - The opening group games at the World Cup have delivered a reality check to some of soccer's traditional powerhouses with a few surprise results suggesting that the established hierarchy may not be set in stone.
Some teams that entered the tournament among the favourites have found it difficult to impose themselves against opposition that are weaker on paper, producing a series of surprising draws and underwhelming performances in their group openers.
European
champions Spain failed to score against World Cup debutants Cape Verde while Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal were held 1-1 by the unheralded Democratic Republic of Congo, who were playing in the tournament for the first time in 52 years.
Meanwhile, Belgium drew with Egypt and France were frustrated for more than an hour by Senegal before skipper Kylian Mbappe took matters into his own hands.
The number of teams stumbling is growing and there is a sense that this edition may be less about the dominance of soccer's aristocracy and more about narrowing the gap between those at the top and everyone else.
"I do believe that the distance that separates the teams - when we look at the African teams, they're progressing, which is a good thing. We keep working on it," Senegal coach Pape Thiaw told reporters.
"Also the training of our coaches and head coaches, we've been working on that. We haven't seen an African team winning the World Cup and we did see that last time a team reached the semi-finals (Morocco in 2022)."
NEW FORMAT HAS NOT DILUTED COMPETITION
An expanded 48-team tournament was expected to dilute the competition but nations once dismissed as peripheral now arrive armed with players either developed in elite academies or sharpened in Europe's top leagues.
The technical and tactical disparities that once allowed favourites to coast through the group stage have largely disappeared.
Smaller nations are no longer content with merely surviving, they defend with structure and look to attack with purpose.
The challenge elite teams face is not in dominating possession but transforming it into meaningful chances. Against compact defensive blocks, they have looked short of ideas, circulating the ball without ever truly controlling the game.
Portugal completed 740 passes against Congo but managed just one shot on target.
Spain had 74% of possession in their 0-0 draw with Cape Verde but striker Mikel Oyarzabal became the first player on record since 1966 to fail to record a single touch in the first 30 minutes of a World Cup match.
'THAT'S HOW THEY PLAY'
"We knew it was a game that required patience. They sat back and they dropped back very quickly," Spain skipper Rodri said.
"We couldn't put it in. We created chances, but couldn't finish... That's how they play. They don't get past midfield."
Teams like Belgium are also caught between generations, with the greats who defined the previous decade on the wane while their successors are still establishing themselves.
Tournament football rarely offers the luxury of gradual transition and teams are expected to evolve and win simultaneously.
Most players who ply their trade in Europe have also arrived at the World Cup at the end of a long and gruelling season, walking into stadiums with stifling heat and humidity that slowly drain whatever reserves they had left.
A FIFPRO study said 56% of World Cup matches will be played at temperatures above 28 degrees Celsius (82.4 F), potentially leading to reduced distance coverage per game that could force teams to play with their foot off the gas in the earlier rounds.
But the heavyweights are by no means finished and history suggests they will recover while the new format also allows third-placed teams in the groups to advance.
"The World Cup is a tournament where these things happen," Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said.
"Argentina lost to Saudi Arabia and then went on to win the World Cup (in 2022). In 2010, Spain lost to Switzerland and then won the World Cup.
"Those weren't performances that looked like those of eventual champions, but that's part of the process."
(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Miami, Additional reporting by Amy Tennery in New YorkEditing by Toby Davis)
