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Four long years of waiting will come to an end in six short days when the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the biggest soccer event in the world, finally commences.
The World Cup kicks off on Thursday, June 14th, at 11am. The host, Russia, will take on Saudi Arabia, who haven’t seen World Cup action since 2006.
As usual, the teams are separated equally into eight groups. Here are my predictions for the preliminary group stage, which will run from June 14th to June 28th:
Group A:
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Egypt
Uruguay
We start with Group A, which admittedly isn’t a very strong group. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Russia have all had historically weak soccer teams, and nothing’s changed this year. Together, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Russia have a combined 12 World Cup appearances, compared to Uruguay’s 13. Uruguay’s experience and world-class attacking line (led by Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani) should give them enough to comfortably finish first in Group A.
Predicting the team that will finish second in Group A is not as simple, but it should be either Russia or Egypt. Russia, the host, are a physical,gritty team that doesn’t have much technical ability, while Egypt, who aren’t very talented either, will be relying solely on Mohamed Salah, the “Egyptian Messi.” I predict Russia will clinch second place in this group, as I don’t believe that Mohamed Salah will be able to produce at the same level with his Egyptian teammates as he was this past season with Liverpool.
Winner: Uruguay
Runner-up: Russia
Player to watch: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Group B:
Portugal
Spain
Morocco
Iran
Group B is a definite step up from Group A in terms of talent and depth. Both Portugal and Spain have strong chances of making it far in this tournament, so neither should have trouble finishing one and two. The two other teams, Morocco and Iran, pose no threat to the two European powerhouses.
In terms of who will finish first, I believe that Spain has the better chance. They have a robust mixture of experienced players (Sergio Ramos, Sergio Busquets) and younger players (Isco, Marcos Asensio) who will offer lively injections into the squad. This Spain team won’t look much different from other years––they’ll comfortably dominate in possession and play tiki-taka––and should have no trouble beating Portugal if they play well. Portugal is captained by arguably the world’s best player in Cristiano Ronaldo, who, if I may add, is desperately in need of a World Cup to cement his position as one of the top three players of all-time. However, Ronaldo’s squad is simply not as deep and talented as Spain’s, which is why I have the 2010 World Cup winners finishing first and Portugal following them out of Group B.
Winner: Spain
Runner-up: Portugal
Player to watch: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Group C:
France
Australia
Peru
Denmark
This is a tricky group to predict to say the least. While France top this group as clear favorites, Denmark, Peru, and Australia all have a decent chance of advancing. Denmark are a relatively inexperienced side (only three of their players will have played in a World Cup before), but they are in the talented hands of Christian Eriksen, a gifted attacking midfielder who has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best. Australia will be guided by Aaron Mooy, the Huddersfield Town midfielder who played a key role in keeping his squad in the Premier League for another season. Peru will be lead by their captain Paolo Guerrero, a well-oiled goal scoring machine who will come out flying in what will most likely be his last World Cup.
While the race for second place will be interesting, Denmark have the best shot of finishing second due to their exciting youth talent, which neither Australia nor Peru can parallel.
Winner: France
Runner-up: Denmark
Player to watch: Christian Eriksen (Tottenham)
Group D:
Argentina
Iceland
Croatia
Nigeria
An exciting Iceland squad who is fresh off a good showing at the European Championship in 2016 coupled with the G.O.A.T. in Lionel Messi should make Group D exciting to say the least. Argentina look to be clear favorites of this group, locked and loaded with ammunition at every position––they have a strong defense, midfield, and attack, which is something that no other teams in this group can content with.
The rest of the group should have an interesting fight for second place, but I see Nigeria––that’s right, Nigeria––coming out of this one as runner-up. They are the hottest team in this group right now, which makes sense considering all of their youthful talent, who’s making a big impact on some of Europe’s biggest club teams. Victor Moses and Alex Iwobi are two of these key players for Nigeria, who both play for top dogs in the Premier League in Arsenal and Chelsea. Their lively youth paired with fresh new jerseys make Nigeria a force to be reckoned with.
Winner: Argentina
Runner-up: Nigeria
Player to watch: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Group E:
Brazil
Switzerland
Costa Rica
Serbia
Six-time World Cup-champion (the most successful World Cup team in history) Brazil should have no problem winning this group, equipped with some of the world’s best, including Neymar and Casemiro.
For second place, it should be an absolute dogfight, but I see Switzerland as having the best chance to advance alongside the beach boys from Brazil. Switzerland proved its ability in the 2016 European Championship, advancing out of their tough group and into the knockout stage. Additionally, this Swiss side has one of the more experienced teams, including winger Xherdan Shaqiri and fullback Stephan Lichtsteiner. Costa Rica and Serbia are fun teams to watch but won’t be able to enjoy much success due to their relative lack of experience.
Winner: Brazil
Runner-up: Switzerland
Player to watch: Neymar Jr. (PSG)
Group F:
Germany
Mexico
Sweden
South Korea
Group F is undoubtedly the easiest group to predict. Germany will comfortably finish first with Mexico finishing second. Germany, the reigning World Cup champions, return many players from the squad that won the 2014 World Cup. Included in this list is Mats Hummels, Thomas Mueller, and Toni Kroos (who is coming fresh off of a Champions League win). Manuel Neuer has also returned just in time from a season-long injury, giving German fans extra confidence in their defense.
In terms of second place, Mexico has the best shot. They are a disciplined team that plays with burning passion and incredible energy. This year, they are lead by striker Javier Hernandez and midfielder Hector Herrera.
A Sweden side without Zlatan Ibrahimovic has no chance of advancing, and South Korea doesn’t have a shot either.
Winner: Germany
Runner-up: Mexico
Player to watch: Javier Hernandez (West Ham United)
Group G:
Belgium
Panama
Tunisia
England
Belgium, Belgium, Belgium… they have waited years and years, and finally their squad is not only talented enough but experienced enough to make a run in this World Cup.After a quarterfinal defeat four years ago, Belgium fans were quick to say that 2018 would be their year, and now we’re here, ready to witness Belgium’s last––and best––chance at glory. Their squad has no holes, includes some of the world’s best, and has zero excuse not to make it to at least the semifinals. According to Manchester United/Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, the European side is better than Premier League powerhouse Manchester United, and I concur. Hazard, de Bruyne, Courtois, Kompany, Mertens… the list just goes on and on. A first-place finish is expected from Belgium.
Second place should be comfortably locked up by England, who have a very young and talented team. Players that are key to the squad, such as Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard, should impress this World Cup but are still too young to take the team further than the quarterfinal.
Winner: Belgium
Runner-up: England
Player to watch: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
Group H:
Poland
Senegal
Colombia
Japan
Rounding off my group stage predictions is Group H, which is potentially the weakest group. An explanation for the frailty of this group lies in Poland, who were considered a top-eight seed by FIFA six months ago––a crazy decision, don’t get me started. Colombia should win this group comfortably, as many of their starters play for some of the biggest teams in Europe.
Despite my criticism of Poland, they should have an easy time prevailing over Senegal, who will make their first World Cup experience since 2002, and Japan, who have shown over the past few decades that they are incapable of doing much in an international soccer tournament. Colombia and Poland will both sneak through, but neither team will have a good chance advancing in the knockout rounds.
Winner: Colombia
Runner-up: Poland
Player to watch: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
A round of 16, round of 8, semifinals, and finals prediction will follow. Stay tuned.
(Stats via cbs.com, fifa.com, si.com)
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