World Cup Lowdown and My Predictions

I'll go through the groups A-H and give you my final group standing predictions.

Group A

Russia:

 

Hosts Russia will be looking to impress the home support when they kick off in Moscow next Thursday.

 

In terms of what they have to offer, I’ll have to dig pretty deep. Generally, the squad is pretty experienced, but with an ageing side, pace and fitness may act as a hindrance to Stanislav Cherchisov’s side.

 

They are missing key man Alexander Kokorin and will have to rely on either Fyodor Smolov or Artyom Dzyuba for their goals.

 

However, stats are on their side as only 1 host nation has ever failed to progress through to the 2nd round. (Can you guess who they were?)

 

Saudi Arabia:

 

This could be a tough tournament for Saudi Arabia.

 

Historically, they have been poor at the World Cup, winning just 2 out of 13 games.

 

This year they do have a goal scorer in the shape of Mohammad Al-Sahlawi. The Al-Nassr striker has bagged 28 goals in 39 games for his country and he’ll be key to anything successful that they do.

 

To me, a relative unknown, I can’t see them progressing.

 

Egypt:

 

I think a lot of people want Egypt to do well this year.

 

IF Mohammed Salah is fit, then they might have a chance of causing an upset. They are solid at the back, conceding just 18 goals in their previous 32 games, so it looks like their gaffer has them set up well.

 

Unfortunately, with the stats against them, and the possibility of a partially fit talisman. It looks like a step too far for the Egyptians.

 

Uruguay:

 

Uruguay have enough firepower to blow this group away.

 

Progression in 1st place must be an absolute minimum requirement for Oscar Tabarez. They just have too much in all areas of the park compared to the other teams in the group.

 

With 92 international goals between them, Suarez and Cavani will be the main men in the group stages.

 

Group A Prediction:

 

1-   Uruguay

2-   Russia

3-   Egypt

4-   Saudi Arabia

 

Group B

 

Portugal:

 

Off the back of a solid but shock win at the Euros, the Portuguese team will be going into this tournament high on confidence.

 

They topped a fairly easy group in qualifying and have an abundance of talent going forward.

 

The only slight worry would be that they haven’t got a preferred centre-back pairing with Pepe playing alongside one of Bruno Alves, Jose Fonte and more recently Ruben Dias.

 

Should have plenty to progress.

 

Spain:

 

Yet again, Spain have one of the strongest sides in the competition.

 

Their back 4 is perfect, with Carvahal and Ramos together, then Pique and Alba, it forms a partnership who play together, week in, week out.

 

In midfield, they have plenty of options, so much flair and creativity. But they also have a bit of steel. Sergio Busquets is the best in the business at what he does, and a solid performance from him is pivotal to how Spain play.

 

Although Diego Costa has been in good form for his club; sometimes he has struggled to transfer this into his performances with the national side.

 

Will definitely get through the group.

 

Morocco:

 

It’ll be a big upset if Morocco go through, but they do have a bit about them.

 

Their defence solid enough, with Mehdi Benatia of Juve, Romain Saiss of Wolves and Achraf Hakimi, Real Madrid hot prospect.

 

In midfield, they have the ability to create chances, Yohan Belhanda, Hakim Ziyech and Nordin Amrabat are all very capable players. The question is; once they create the chances, who is there to put it in the net?

 

If Morocco didn’t have Spain and Portugal in their group, I would have given them a shot at the next round.

 

Iran:

 

Iran have failed to qualify for the 2nd round of the World Cup at every attempt and it doesn’t seem like that will change when they go to Russia.

 

Defensive frailties will be exposed by each of the teams in Group B. As we’ve seen in previous tournaments, defence is key to progression.

 

They do have some attacking threat Reza Ghochannejad (One of the best names in football) and Sardar Azmoun, who has scored 23 goals in 32 caps.

 

I can see Iran being comfortably beaten in all 3 games.

 

Group B Prediction

 

1-   Spain

2-   Portugal

3-   Morocco

4-   Iran

 

 

Group C

 

France:

 

The French will be looking to make up for disappointing the nation at Euro 2016.

 

They could have the best strength in depth in the competition with back up in pretty much every area on the pitch.

 

Up front, they have everything that’s needed; pace, power and most importantly, goals. Greizmann, Mbappe and the most handsome man in football, Olivier Giroud will cause havoc for defences.

 

At the back, they have potentially the strongest centre-back pairing of Varane and Umtiti, who have both been outstanding for their clubs this season.

Worryingly for France, consistency has been lacking in recent times.

 

Australia:

 

Managed to drag themselves through qualifying under Ange Postecoglou, in what should have been a fairly straightforward campaign.

 

It’s not looking likely for Australia this year; the new manager has had very little time to work with his new team. Their defence is weak, midfield is average and they are relying on 38-year-old Millwall striker Tim Cahill for goals.

 

Bottom of the group for me.

 

Peru:

 

Despite having very few household names, Peru are actually pretty good.

 

Ranked 11 in the world, they managed to beat Chile to the final South American playoff place to then see off New Zealand without much difficulty.

 

Victories over Croatia, Iceland and Scotland (They must be good) have put them in fine form going into the competition.

 

They also have a fairytale story in Paulo Guerrero. The popular veteran striker has returned from a ban just before the tournament (After testing positive for cocaine). A movie about Guerrero gained the biggest opening viewings of any other film in the country. Who doesn’t love a fairytale?

 

Denmark:

 

The Danes crushed any Irish dreams of a world cup appearance after a 5-1 thumping at the Aviva.

 

They’re not a bad team either. A strong spine starting with Simon Kj?r and Anders Christensen in defence, Lasse Sch?ne and Chrsitian Eriksen in Midfield then they have a choice of Kasper Dolberg (Wonderkid), Nicolai J?rgensen or Yussuf Poulsen to lead the attack.

 

However, almost everything rides on Eriksen being able to perform in every game. We’ve seen a couple of times this season that he can be marked out of the game.

 

Group C Prediction

 

1-   France

2-   Denmark

3-   Peru

4-   Australia

 

Group D

 

Argentina:

 

Argentina are always in with a shout when it comes to a major tournament.

 

I mean they do have the greatest player ever to walk the plane in Lionel Messi, so that gives them a slight advantage. But they also have a few other very talented players. Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Sergio Aguero would probably start for any other nation.

 

The conundrum (great word) that Sampaoli has is where to fit everyone in. He even tried a 2-3-5 formation at one point. Albeit, against Singapore.

 

They look good, but can they go the distance?

 

Iceland:

 

Now this one might hurt a few people as I know how much everyone loves Iceland. They did great at Euro 2016, we can give them a rousing Viking clap for that. But unfortunately, this year, I think they have nae chance.

 

The most important reason for why I think this, is due to the injury concerns of Gylfi Sigurdsson. If he isn’t playing or even is playing at 75%-80%, then it just isn’t going to work. Just like Egypt with Salah.

 

Team spirit could give them some hope, but it’s one step too far.

 

Croatia:

 

For some reason, I have a soft spot for Croatia, but I think they can do quite well. If they had won in the worst game of all time against Portugal at Euro 2016, I think they would have gone on to win it.

 

They have a stellar midfield, maybe 2 of the best right now; Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. The pair of them will run the show in the middle of the park and provide the forwards with what they need to finish teams off.

 

Up front they’ve got Mario Mandzukic, one of the unsung heroes at Juventus. He has the quality to score plenty of goals and the hold-up play to get his pals in on the action too.

 

Nigeria:

 

The Super Eagles showed that they’re no pushovers at Wembley the other day. They’re going to Russia with confidence after an undefeated qualifying campaign.

 

There is talent in the side, as well as experience.

 

New Brighton signing Leon Balogun looks strong at the back. Their midfield is powerful too. We’ll see Wilfred Ndidi and Ogenyi Onazi breaking up the play, while John Obi Mikel will create chances for the forwards.

 

In the forward line, there’s plenty to choose from. Victor Moses will be deployed further up the park than for his club. Powerhouse Odion Ighalo will look to find the net. They have back up in Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho.

 

Not a bad side!

 

Group D Predictions:

 

1-   Argentina

2-   Croatia

3-   Nigeria

4-   Iceland

 

Group E

 

Brazil:

 

There’s got to be a reason why Brazil are many people’s favourites to win the 2018 World Cup.

 

Apart from an excellent defence, the best fullback in the world and a somewhat brilliant ‘keeper, they have some other assets.

 

Their midfield is like a creative brick wall. Casemiro, Fernandinho, Paulinho and Renato Augusto will break up and create all in one package.

 

Then, in attack they have more pace than you can shake a stick at. Neymar, Coutinho, Gabriel Jesus, Douglas Costa, Roberto Firminho and Willian.

 

Just like Argentina, they just have to find a way to make all of these players have an impact throughout the tournament.

 

Switzerland:

 

Switzerland may have been poor in the last major tournament, but they seem to have grown as a team since then.

 

Like many of the other teams in the competition, midfield is the strongest part of the team. Even Granit Xhaka has been playing well for his country, despite the strong criticism he has received when playing for Arsenal this season.

 

A pretty settled team, they have played with each other for a long time, with some younger players bled into the side.

 

Their only issue is up front as controversial character Seferovic will probably start up top, not the most prolific striker in the 32 nations.

 

Costa Rica:

 

An impressive run out in Brazil will give the South Americans hope. Unfortunately, I think they might struggle in Russia.

 

Costa Rica are set up to defend first and foremost. If they find themselves falling behind in games, it’s not likely that they’ve got the firepower that will get them back into matches.

 

On the other hand, they do have Bryan Ruiz, who could whip up a moment of magic at any time.

 

Serbia:

 

Serbia topped a fairly easy qualifying group, only losing 1match and scoring an average of 2 in each game in the process.

 

Just like their neighbours Croatia, they have an impressive midfield. Nemanja Matic, in demand Lazio man Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Luka Milivojevic are all big units in the centre of the park. They’ll be hard to get through and hard to win the ball back from.

 

They have an in-form striker in the form of Aleksandar Mitrovic, but it remains to be seen if he can hit this sort of form for his country

 

Group E Predictions

 

1-   Brazil

2-   Switzerland

3-   Serbia

4-   Costa Rica

 

Group F

 

Germany:

 

Yet again the Germans look very powerful. The champions are here to keep hold of their title.

 

They can play a 3 or 4 at the at the back, and be a brick wall either way.

 

Any midfield combination could easily match every other team in the tournament.

 

In attack, they have so many combinations, and could even afford to leave out Leroy Sane, one of the most in-form players in the Premier League this year.

 

One issue surrounds the fitness of Manuel Neur, but it’s not like they don’t have Marc Andre Ter Stegen as back up.

 

Winners of the best kit prize too – that green away kit is a belter!

 

Mexico:

 

Mexico have progressed to the knockout stage in the last 6 World Cup competitions and I can see them doing the same in Russia.

 

They will be very impressive going forward. Javier Hernandez has been an obvious threat for Mexico in past tournaments, his impressive goal record (Nearly 1 in 2) will stand him in good stead this year.

 

Youngster Hirving Lozano has managed to gain 27 caps by age 22 so he’ll be one to look out for as well.

 

On the other hand, the manager has struggled to find the right man to play the holding role in midfield. This will leave them susceptible to leaking goals on the counter.

 

Sweden:

 

I’m still pretty upset with Sweden. How could they be so cruel? Beating Italy in the Playoff, denying Gigi Buffon one last World Cup.

 

As a team, they’re pretty organised. Their manager tends to opt for the old Mike Basset “Four Four F*****g Two” system. And to an extent, it works. They concede very few goals, but they also don’t score many (with the exception of an 8-0 win over Luxembourg, does that count?).

 

If they can keep up performances like the ones against Italy, France and Holland, they can maybe do all right.

 

South Korea:

 

South Korea have only managed past the group stages twice in the last 8 attempts. Although, on one of those occasions, they managed the semi-finals.

 

Their qualifying campaign was less than impressive, only just pipping Syria to the final automatic qualification spot.

 

They have a couple of well-known names in Ki Sung-Yueng, Park Joo-Ho and of course Tottenham favourite Son Heung-Min. All 3 of these players need to be firing if South Korea are going to progress.

Group F Predictions

 

1-   Germany

2-   Mexico

3-   Sweden

4-   South Korea

 

Group G

 

Belgium:

 

The “Golden Generation” are living under a weight of expectation at the moment, and rightly so.

 

All over the pitch they have world beaters. In defence they have Premier League and Champions League winners. In midfield they have Kevin De Bruyne, who can see a pass before the game has even started. Then we get to the forward line. Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and the small yet fantastic Dries Mertens all have the capability to destroy most defences.

 

Like France of old, there is sometimes tension in the camp. Roberto Martinez’s tactics were scrutinised by the media and by a couple of his own players in a recent friendly with Mexico.

 

Keep an eye out for one of Belgium’s most hopeful stars, Youri Tielemans.

 

Panama:

I’d be lying to you all if I told you that I knew much about Panama.

From what I’ve heard, a rough, hard working team is what you are going to see. They play Belgium in their opening game, so it’s going to be very difficult for them.

Can’t see them going past the groups.

 

PANAMA!

 

England:

 

Unbeaten in qualifying, there’s some quiet confidence coming escaping from this England team.

 

Performances have been far from convincing, but they have been winning games. As we know, that’s what football is all about!

 

They have youth and exuberance on their side as well as 2 of the best in the Premier League; Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane.

 

Questions will be asked of the goalkeepers and also which system suits the team best. Southgate seems to be opting for a 3 at the back with Kane alone up top, while many are crying out for Vardy or Rashford to accompany him up there.

 

Tunisia:

 

Tunisia are just 1 place behind England in the FIFA rankings. The first matchup is giving the English fans and media a slight bit of fear.

 

 They have the ability to cause some serious issues.

 

Wahbi Khazri, Sunderland loanee was in scintillating form for Rennes this season and will be a major driving force in anything good for Tunisia in the group stages.

 

However, they’re missing an important player in attacking midfielder Youssef Msakni.

 

Don’t worry England, you’re safe till the next round.

 

Group G Predictions:

 

1-   Belgium

2-   England

3-   Tunisia

4-   Panama

 

Group H

 

Poland:

I like Poland, they’re very good. Only 1 Defeat in qualifying with 28 goals scored, I think they’ll do well.

 

For starters, the have one of if not the best striker in the world, Robert Lewandowski. If the rest of the team can create some chances, which they regularly do, he’ll make sure the ball finds the back of the net.

 

Creativeness will come from Hull City’s Kamil Grosicky. He has the ability to beat 2 or 3 men at a time, getting into areas where he can supply Big Bobby L.

 

They do seem to leak goals but have brought in Southampton defender Jan Bednarek to shore up the defence. Kamil Glik has given some concern to the defence, his attempted overhead kick in training has resulted in a damaged shoulder, and the Monaco defender may be in doubt for the first game.

 

Senegal:

 

Football hipsters all over the world will be loving the prospect of Senegal.

 

There are players the whole way through the team that could cause a nuisance to their opponents.

 

In defence, they have monstrous central defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who will bully most attackers he will come up against. He’s also dangerous at set pieces, scoring 5 goals in Serie A last season.

 

Cheikou Kouyate and Idrissa Gueye will be there in midfield to block opposition advances and then set up attacks for the likes of Liverpool's Sadio Mane, Monaco’s Keita Balde or Diafra Sakho of Rennes.

 

Potential to do well in a tight group.

 

Colombia:

 

Yet again, Columbia look very strong. Probably a good dark horse.

 

If their main men Radamel Falcao and James Rodriguez can capture theire club for then they will be well on their way.

 

They have got quality in other areas of the pitch. Juan Cuadrado has pace, and can play in a variety of positions. In defence they have impressive Davinson Sanchez and veteran Christian Zapata.

 

It looks good for Columbia, but I think Poland are better.

 

Japan:

 

They topped their Qualification group by a single point over Saudi Arabia. Although, recently, they haven’t won a match since December 12th, 2017.

 

There are players in the squad that could be effective in Russia but the team have struggled to adapt to new tactics that have been deployed by their manager, Akira Nishino.

 

The 3 main names for Japan will be Keisuke Honda, Shinji’s Kagawa and Okazaki and also Maya Yoshida. If any of the 4 don’t perform then it’s goodbye Japan.

 

Too tight a group for Japan to go through.

 

Group H Predictions

 

1-   Poland

2-   Colombia

3-   Senegal

4-   Japan