FIFA World Cup: Preview

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Ethan Wang-So, Staff Writer

After the intense qualification rounds and the shocking eliminations, the matches for the group stages are finally decided. The World Cup draw for the 2018 World Cup took place at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Four pots of eight teams were drawn into eight groups of four teams. These four teams in each group will face each other once. The top two teams of each group will make it to the knockout stages. Although there was an absence of the many usual participants, such as the Netherlands and Italy, the groups still provide potential for an exciting tournament.

Group A

Group A will consist of Russia (the hosts), Uruguay, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. The opening match of the World Cup will be Russia playing against Saudi Arabia: the two worst teams in the tournament based on FIFA rankings. The biggest name in this group is undoubtedly Uruguay. They are the highest ranked team in this group. Uruguay has the highest chance of advancing to the group stages. Egypt is also expected to make the knockout stages as it is the second highest ranked team in this group. Players expected to perform well in this group include Luis Suarez (Uruguay) and Mohamed Salah (Egypt).

Group B

One of the key aspects of this group is the fact that Portugal and Spain will face each other in the group stages. Along with Spain and Portugal, Iran and Morocco join them. Morocco is expected to finish last, as it is the weakest team in the group, at least on paper. Portugal (#3) and Spain (#8) are expected to finish as the top two of the group. Iran is ranked 34th at the time of the draw and have almost no chance of qualifying for the round of 16. Key players in this group include Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Sergio Ramos (Spain), and Isco (Spain).

Group C

France was drawn into an ideal group. Peru, who is only ranked three spots behind France, is also likely to finish in the top two of the group. Denmark and Australia are solid teams, but neither seems to match the strengths and abilities of France and Peru. Stars in this group include Antoine Griezmann (France) and Paul Pogba (France).

Group D

Argentina is expected to dominate Group D while Croatia and Iceland are expected to be contenders for the second place spot. Nigeria is not expected to do well, but one can always hope the club is able to produce a solid performance. The 2018 World Cup will be the first time Iceland participates. This has made Iceland the favorites of the whole tournament. Croatia has a strong team as well with its last World Cup in 2014 at Brazil. Stars in the group include Mario Mandzukic (Croatia), Lionel Messi (Argentina), and Paulo Dybala (Argentina).

Group E

Another World Cup favorite is Brazil as it will be participating in Group E along with Switzerland, Costa Rica, and Serbia. Brazil was ranked #2 heading into the draws. It will be expected to finish at the top of the group as it has star players such as Neymar, Marcelo and David Luiz. Contenders for second place are Switzerland and Costa Rica. Switzerland is ranked much higher than Costa Rica, but Costa Rica has the capabilities of pulling off a miracle. Stars in this group include Granit Xhaka (Switzerland) and Marco Urena (Costa Rica).

Group F

In Group F, the previous World Cup winner, Germany, is also expected to dominate its respective group. Germany is ranked #1 in the FIFA rankings. Joining Germany are Mexico, Sweden, and South Korea. South Korea is especially unlucky as its ranking is much lower than its group contenders. Mexico is ranked 16th and Sweden is ranked 25th while South Korea is ranked 62nd. Mexico is more likely to finish 2nd. Without its star player, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sweden is still likely to put on a good performance as it still has excellent squad depth with Marcus Berg and Emil Forsberg. Mexico, however, is looking to have many strong players such as Dos Santos and Hector Herrera. The German stars in this group include Mesut Ozil and Jerome Boateng.

Group G

It seems as if everyone knows who will finish at the top of this group. Belgium is clearly the dominant team of this group as it is ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings. England is expected to finish 2nd as it is ranked 12th in the FIFA rankings. The teams joining them are Tunisia and Panama. Panama will be making its first World Cup appearance over the summer. Stars in this group include Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) and Harry Kane (England).

Group H

This group will showcase the skills of Poland, Colombia, Senegal, and Japan. Poland is ranked 6th in the FIFA rankings, while Colombia is 13th. Senegal (ranked 32nd) is likely to miss out on the knockout stages. Japan (ranked 44th) is also not expected to pull off a very dominant performance. Poland and Colombia have each shown very strong performances during the qualifying matches. It is very hard to imagine that these two teams could finish behind (very weak) African and Asian teams. Senegal has only made one appearance in the World Cup when it made it to the quarterfinals in 2002. Stars in this group include Robert Lewandowski (Poland) and James Rodriguez (Colombia).