Why commentators would want Iceland, Croatia and Serbia eliminated earlier in World Cup

World Cup trophy. [Photo/Courtesy]

With just three days to the maiden whistle marking the first match in Russia 2018 World, several things are happening for sure.

All roads are leading to Russia as some may say but reasons may be varied. A football season coming handy with investment opportunities as well as huge moments of entertainment.

Pundits must be sharpening their tongues, getting familiar with the rules and dynamics of the game. Some are locked up in contract negotiation or approaches for seamless and fruitful punditry.

But one iceberg awaits them. It could be a problem they can least think about. Getting the names of the players right is a core ingredient of punditry.

Adding the accent into the pronunciation is getting everything spot on, swinging it to the right direction. Anyway, one wonders whether commentators will enjoy pronouncing names of players from countries like Iceland. Or will they adopt pseudo names for them?

This is the team selected to represent Iceland in the World Cup:

Iceland squad

Goalkeepers: Hannes Thor Halldorsson (Randers FC), Runar Alex Runarsson (FC Nordsjælland), Frederik Schram (FC Roskilde).

Defenders: Kari Arnason (Aberdeen), Ari Freyr Skulason (K.S.C. Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen), Birkir Mar Saevarsson (Hammarby), Sverrir Ingi Ingason (FC Rostov), Hordur Magnusson (Bristol City), Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson (Maccabi Haifa), Ragnar Sigurdsson (FC Rostov).

Midfielders: Johann Berg Gudmundsson (Burnley), Birkir Bjarnason (Aston Villa), Arnor Ingvi Traustason (Malmo FF), Emil Hallfredsson (Udinese), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton), Olafur Ingi Skulason (Kardemir Karabukspor), Rurik Gislason (FC Nurnberg), Samuel Fridjonsson (Valerenga), Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff City).

Forwards: Alfred Finnbogason (FC Augsburg), Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson (FC Rostov), Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (Reading), Albert Gudmundsson (PSV Eindhoven).

 They are the kind of names that end with the suffix “son” and quite appealing to those who are into poetry. However, they would be unfriendly to pronounce given their lengthy syllables.

Croatian players present another test to the pundits. Although with a different musicality.

Croatia squad

Goalkeepers: Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Lovre Kalinic (Gent), Dominik Livakovic (Dinamo Zagreb)

Defenders: Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Domagoj Vida (Besiktas), Ivan Strinic (Sampdoria), Dejan Lovren (Liverpool), Sime Vrsaljko (Atletico Madrid), Josip Pivaric (Dynamo Kiev), Tin Jedvaj (Bayer Leverkusen), Duje Caleta-Car (Red Bull Salzburg)

Midfielders: Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid), Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter Milan), Filip Bradaric (Rijeka)

Forwards: Mario Mandzukic (Juventus), Ivan Perisic (Inter Milan), Nikola Kalinic (AC Milan), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Marko Pjaca (Schalke), Ante Rebic (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Croatians albeit have shorter names with shorter syllables, some names such as “Vrsaljko” and “Pjaca” may just be too cumbersome for the tongue, especially for those who have no idea how they should be read in native context.

Serbia squad

 Serbia is another team with “ic” suffix. Atleast many people know Matic, Ivanovic and much more. But there is no secret that it could be another tough test for the commentators.

Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Partizan Belgrade), Predrag Rajkovic (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Marko Dmitrovic (Eibar).

Defenders: Aleksandar Kolarov (AS Roma), Branislav Ivanovic (Zenit St. Petersburg), Dusko Tosic (Guangzhou R&F), Antonio Rukavina (Villarreal), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Milan Rodic (Red Star Belgrade), Uros Spajic (Krasnodar), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina).

Midfielders: Nemanja Matic (Manchester United), Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Marko Grujic (Liverpool), Adem Ljajic (Torino), Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Filip Kostic (Hamburg SV), Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica), Nemanja Radonjic (Red Star Belgrade).

Strikers: Aleksandar Mitrovic (Newcastle United), Aleksandar Prijovic (PAOK Salonika), Luka Jovic (Benfica).

Obviously, who else would want such a team to continue giving him or her pronunciation nightmares? Perhaps the earlier they exit the tournament the 'happier' the commentators will be.