AuthorJeffEyesRimmer Here is Part 2 of our look at the World Cup groups (Part 1 is here). Germany go into the tournament as big favourites, can they go back to back? Will Belgium finally become a team and utilize the talent they have in their squad? Will England be able to make it out of their group this time? Groups E through to H are below: Group E – Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia This is a tricky group but one that you would expect Brazil to qualify from in reality. The Brazilians topped their qualifying, although it took a change of manager to get them all singing from the same hymn sheet. They got there in the end though and with the likes of Neymar (PSG) in the squad they should qualify with three wins here. I think it will be between the two European sides who take second place. Switzerland, with players like Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke) and Breel Embolo (Schalke) on paper have the stronger squad. They were really unlucky to end up in second place in the end (behind Portugal) as they only lost one game in the whole of qualifying. Serbia also looked strong in qualifying again only losing one game, a shock loss to Austria. However, on the balance of it I think Switzerland just tip the scales. Costa Rica upset the odds at the last World Cup but the squad has aged and the surprise factor is now gone. They still have some good players in the team like Giancarlo González (Bologna) and Celso Borges (Deportivo La Coruña) but I don’t think they will have enough quality to challenge the others in the group. Qualifiers: Brazil, Switzerland Group F – Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea On paper this seemed like a fine draw for Germany, however, I think it’s a lot trickier than it first appears. The current World Champions will have some stern tests against all the sides in this group; none will go down without a fight. South Korea will be looking to Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea) and Son Heung-min (Tottenham) to lead them out of the group but it is a side that is lacking some of the star names of old. They are a hardworking and tireless side, one that we have come to expect really, but I think they will struggle to break down the other sides in this group. Sweden goes into this World Cup buoyed having knocked out Italy during the playoffs and they thoroughly deserved it. They have the knowledge now that they can beat the bigger nations and this will give them belief. This being said though I have a sneaky suspicion that Mexico are going to take second spot. Mexico didn’t have the easiest of times during their qualifying campaign and fell over the line in the end. I think this might give them a bit of impetus to do well at this tournament. There are always a few teams that surprise and I’m going for Mexico to make it through the group this time out. Finally, onto the current World Champions Germany, who, like the French could send several squads to this tournament and all of them would challenge for the trophy. Put simply I see them again as the favourite for the World Cup. The last time a team went back to back World Cups was the great Brazil sides of 1958 and 1962. It’s very difficult for a side to do in the modern era but if a team could do it then this German side can. However, they were the favourites for the Euros last year and that didn’t go so well. They will need to guard against complacency and also work out a way of dealing with the favourites tag but with players like Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Mario Götze (Dortmund), Mats Hummels (Munich) and Manuel Neuer (Munich) they are more than capable of winning it again. Qualifiers: Germany, Mexico Group G – Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England Well I think most England fans will be content to have missed out on some of the more established teams from Europe and South America (my fellow Outcast included, check out the Podcast Episode 7 for his thoughts). England realistically should be aiming to top this group with three wins and although these types’ sides have proven to be difficult for England in the past they should have the quality to go through. The recent matches against Germany and France suggest England are on the right track and while unlikely to challenge those powerhouses in this World Cup they showed they have a game plan moving forward. It’s a chance for Harry Kane (Tottenham) to prove some of the doubters wrong too, I think he is one of the world’s best strikers but there seems to be a persistent question mark around him, a good World Cup will address that. Belgium will be the toughest test for England but the Red Devils are still not meeting expectations. This Belgium side is like a who’s who of top players with the likes of Romelu Lukaku (Man Utd), Kevin de Bruyne (Man City) and Eden Hazard (Chelsea) but they have not been able to translate their obvious individual ability into a good team. I have my doubts over Roberto Martínez being able to change that. They have also been beaten by Wales 3x times recently, so I can’t see England worrying too much. That being said they should have more than enough in the tank to beat both Panama and Tunisia. Panama are an ageing squad and really made it to this World Cup on the back of how appalling the USA was. That is not meant to deride their achievement of making it to the World Cup but I can’t see them making it beyond the group, the quality is just not there in comparison to the two European sides in the group. Tunisia will be a difficult side to break down and defend well, as evidenced by only conceding 4 goals in qualifiers. However, they are probably the weakest of the African qualifiers present at the World Cup and they don’t have any real stars to shout home about. This is a team that’s more than the sum of its parts though, the opposite of Belgium in a way and so shouldn’t be taken lightly. Again though, like Panama, I don’t think the quality is there to push the big European teams out. So I can’t look past England and Belgium, they should both have enough to see them through. Qualifiers: England, Belgium image: www.bbc.co.uk Group H – Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan This is a hard group to call for me, Poland were placed in with the top ranking sides in pot 1 and consequently were seen as one of the soft touches in pot 1. Japan won their qualifiers but stuttered home, Colombia flattered to deceive during their campaign and came in 4th and Senegal were pushed all the way by plucky Burkina Faso. So it’s an interesting group and one that any team could go through from I think. Poland comfortably qualified from their qualifying group, only losing once and drawing once from ten games. They scored an impressive 28 goals in those ten games as well and with players like Robert Lewandowski (Munich), Arkadiusz Milik (Napoli) and Grzegorz Krychowiak (West Brom) they are probably (on paper) the team to beat in this group. However, many teams would have been fine in getting Poland from pot 1, they are seen as beatable and that’s a concern for them. Colombia are a difficult team to pick, they picked up a good draw at home to Brazil back in September but then lost at home to Paraguay and only managed a draw to Peru after that. On paper they have a fantastic squad, plenty of quality throughout and had the third best defence in qualifying. They are certainly in with a chance to qualify from this group but I think they might just be pipped. It’s been a long time since the 2002 World Cup and the success that Japan had on home soil. They will be looking to Shinji Okazaki (Leicester) and Shinji Kagawa (Dortmund) to lead them to victory and I think they do have a chance in this group but they might just fall short of the quality needed against the likes of Poland and Colombia. They did top their group in qualifying and shouldn’t be seen as a soft touch but up against the other teams in this group I think they may struggle to contain them. Senegal are back at the World Cup and they have form in upsetting the odds and I actually think they might pull it off again and sneak into second place. They do have some really good players throughout their side, with Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli) in defence, Cheikhou Kouyaté (West Ham) and Idrissa Gueye (Everton) in midfield and Diafra Sakho (West Ham) and Mbaye Niang (Torino) upfront. It’s a good settled squad with youth and experience and I think they have enough to really cause some problems in this group. Qualifiers: Poland, Senegal ---------
That’s it, do you agree with our qualifiers? Let us know in the comments or on social media. |
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