There are now less than two months to go until the World Cup in Qatar and, with very little international football to be played before the kick-off, the time for tinkering and fact-finding appears to be over for the tournament’s leading contenders.
Four-times winners Italy will be absent, having failed to qualify for a second successive World Cup, while history suggests an unlikely outsider could well emerge from the pack: few had Croatia down as finalists four years ago.
Nonetheless, the bookmakers’ markets are dominated by the usual suspects and here Standard Sport takes a look at how England’s chief rivals are shaping up.
Brazil
As at most of the tournaments since their 2002 triumph, Brazil look set to start as favourites - but with more substance to that status than in recent editions. There is a swagger back in the stride of the Selecao.
Neymar is resurgent at PSG but no longer shoulders the national team burden alone, with Raphinha, Vinicius Jr, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison among a ridiculous array of attacking options at Tite’s disposal, backed up by an experienced defence and midfield, as well as two of the world’s best goalkeepers. Frightening.
Argentina
With question marks around so many European nations, could the stage be set for a first South American triumph in 20 years?
Tuesday night’s win over Jamaica extended Argentina’s unbeaten run to 35 games, stretching back to July 2019 and including last summer’s Copa America triumph, where they beat Brazil in the Maracana in the final.
Head coach Lionel Scaloni appears to have brought balance and harmony to a squad that was a mess in Russia, while Lionel Messi has, like Neymar, started the season in vintage form in Paris ahead of what may be his last World Cup.
France
The defending champions still possess one of the most talented squads at the tournament, bolstered by the emergence of more young talent and the return of Karim Benzema since 2018.
However, all is not well. There is turmoil at the country’s FA, the Paul Pogba blackmail saga is a huge distraction, Kylian Mbappe is engaged in a row over image rights and key players such as N’Golo Kante have fitness problems.
That has translated to poor performances on the pitch: last week’s 2-0 win over Austria was France’s only victory in six Nations League games.
Germany
Like the French, Germany have won just one in six in the Nations League, albeit in perhaps a tougher group.
The optimism and upturn in results that greeted the start of the Hansi Flick era after Joachim Low’s long reign have faded into concern, particularly over a lack of firepower in lieu of a natural, top-class centre-forward.
Germany’s midfield and wide options remain plentiful, even if some - like Serge Gnabry - are out of form, but Flick still appears to be searching for his best combination at the back.
Spain
Another side whose chief limitation seems to be up-front is Spain, where the Alvaro Morata debate continues to rage.
Luis Enrique started the weekend’s defeat to Switzerland with a front-three of Ferran Torres, Pablo Sarabia and Marco Asensio, none of whom are strikers nor featuring regularly for their clubs.
This is a team, however, that outperformed expectations at Euro 2020 with a young squad. The fear still, is that even after that experience, this tournament may have come too soon for Pedri, Gavi & Co.
Netherlands
The only side unbeaten in the top tier of the Nations League, the Dutch finished their campaign with five wins and a draw ahead of their first World Cup since 2014.
After breezing out of a kind group at the Euros (they look to have another in Qatar), the Netherlands bombed in the last-16 against Czech Republic and must hope the returns of Virgil van Dijk, in defence, and Louis van Gaal, in the dugout, add some steel.
Memphis Depay’s lack of minutes for Barcelona is a major concern for Van Gaal, whose forward options are uninspiring.
Portugal
Portugal had to come through the play-offs to reach the tournament and will have been relieved that Italy’s disaster against North Macedonia spared them a heavyweight showdown.
The debate over Cristiano Ronaldo’s place in the side looks likely to dominate the narrative, particularly since the Manchester United forward appears reliant on Europa League minutes for his tournament prep.
Fernando Santos has faced similar criticism to Gareth Southgate for failing to get the best out of his attacking talent and must make better use of the likes of Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota and Joao Felix.
Belgium
Roberto Martinez has made efforts to refresh his squad since last summer’s Euros but is still heavily reliant on a number of his Golden Generation veterans in the starting XI.
Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are still regulars in defence, as is Axel Witsel in midfield.
Kevin de Bruyne remains at the peak of his powers and Eden Hazard is finally more involved at Real Madrid but Romelu Lukaku must rediscover form and fitness quickly when he returns from injury next month - which has not always been a given.
