Germany, Brazil Struggle in Opening World Cup Matches

 

Germany and Brazil joined the list of top teams struggling to win their opening matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in Russia.

一些顶级球队在2018年俄罗斯世界杯足球赛上都难以取得开门红，德国和巴西也加入了这个名单之中。

Defending World Cup champion Germany suffered a 1-0 loss to Mexico on Sunday. Just a few hours later, Brazil was held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland. In addition, top-ranked Argentina tied 1-1 with Iceland on Saturday. And Spain and Portugal played to a 3-3 draw on Friday.

周日，卫冕冠军德国队以0：1输给了墨西哥队。几小时之后，巴西队被瑞士队1：1逼平。此外，世界排名靠前的阿根廷队周六与冰岛队1：1战平。周五，西班牙和葡萄牙打出了3：3的平局。

Sunday’s Germany-Mexico game was historic: It was the first time Germany has been defeated in a World Cup opening match in 36 years. The four-time winners have reached at least the semi-finals at every World Cup since 2002.

周日德国与墨西哥的比赛创造了历史，这是德国36年来首次在世界杯首场比赛中落败。自2002年以来，这支4次夺冠的球队在每届世界杯上都至少打入了半决赛。

This year, Germany entered the World Cup as one of the favorites to win the tournament. But if they are to do so, Germany cannot lose or tie when they play Sweden and South Korea in their remaining group games.

今年，德国队作为最被看好夺冠的球队闯入世界杯。但是如果想要实现这个目标，德国队在小组赛剩余比赛中对阵瑞典队和韩国队时就必须要赢下比赛。

Also on Sunday, Brazil failed to win their opening match against Switzerland. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

同样是在周日，巴西队未能赢得他们对阵瑞士队的首场比赛。比赛以1：1的平局结束。

Brazil is second in the most recent FIFA World Rankings. The team had been ready to begin this year’s World Cup with a win after its exit in the last World Cup in 2014. That year, Brazil lost 7-1 to Germany in the semifinals. Then they were defeated 3-0 against the Netherlands in the match for third place.

巴西在国际足联最新的世界排名中位居第二。在2014年世界杯出局之后，这支球队准备以一场胜利开始今年的世界杯比赛。2014年，巴西在半决赛中以1：7输给了德国队。然后在季军争夺战中3：0击败了荷兰队。

The Brazilian team coach, who is commonly known only as Tite, spoke to reporters about Sunday’s game against Switzerland. He said he would not make excuses for the poor result. “There was a lot of pressure and anxiety on the players and that translated into the finishes that were not precise. We had 20 finishes but we should have made the goalkeeper work harder,” he said.

巴西队教练蒂特跟记者谈到了周日与瑞士队的比赛。他说，他不会为糟糕的比赛结果找借口。他说：“球员们有很大压力和焦虑，导致技术动作不太准确。我们有20脚射门，但是我们应该给对方门将更大压力。”

Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic also spoke about the game. He said he was proud of his team’s performance. He added, “The first 40 minutes were tough for us, and at halftime I told the players to stay cool and press forward. They did, and it worked.”

瑞士队教练佩特科维奇也谈到了这场比赛。他说，他为自己球队的表现感到自豪。他补充说：“前四十分钟对我们来说非常艰难。中场休息时我让球员们保持冷静并向前推进。他们做到了，而且很有效。”

Germany will next play on June 23 against Sweden. Their final group game will be June 27 against South Korea.

德国队接下来将在6月23日对阵瑞典队。他们小组赛最后一场比赛将在6月27日对阵韩国。

Brazil will play against Costa Rica on Friday. Their final group game will also be June 27 against Serbia.

巴西将在周五对阵哥斯达黎加队。他们小组赛最后一场比赛也将在6月27日对阵塞尔维亚队。

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what might happen; a feeling of wanting to do something very much

draw – n. the final result of a game, contest, etc., that does not have a winner

haunt(ed) – v. to keep coming back to the mind of someone, especially in a way that makes the person sad or upset

precise – adj. very accurate and exact