2018 FIFA World Cup - Group E - Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
06-10-2018
, 02:59 PM
Teams:
Brazil
Four years ago, Brazil was the top favourite to win the title on home soil. Their start in the opening match was rusty, and over the course of the tournament, te team never seemed to kick into second gear, losing Neymar due to injury in the quarter-final. They edged Chile and Colombia in close, tense matches, and met Germany in the semi-final. The rest is history:
After the darkest hour of Brazilian football, Dunga followed Scolari as the manager of the team. After a promising start, things once again fell apart at the 2016 Copa America, where Brazil were knocked out in the group stage for the first time since 1987. Dunga was sacked, and Tite took over, leading the team through a near-flawless qualification campaign, where Brazil stood out as the first team to qualify for Russia besides the hosts themselves. With a 12-5-1 record and 44-11 goals, they had their best performance since the round-robin format was introduced.
Now, they are once again among the favourites for the title, with most bookies having them as top favourite ahead of Germany/France/Spain. Should both win their groups, Brazil and Germany would meet in the final - but if either of them only finishes runner-up, the 2014 rematch will already happen in the Round of 16 - will Brazil be mentally ready this time around, with the pressure of winning the World Cup on home soil off their shoulders?
Prediction: Brazil should easily win the group. If they don't meet Germany in the Round of 16, they will at least make it to the semi-final, with a potential match against France waiting for them.
Switzerland
The Swiss had a near perfect qualifying campaign, gathering 27 of 30 possible points - which was not good enough for the group win against Portugal, who edged them out on goal difference - so the Swiss had to go through the play-offs, where they beat Northern Ireland 1-0 on aggregate, to qualify for their 4th consecutive World Cup.
The squad is pretty experienced, with most players stationed in Germany and Italy. New Arsenal signing Stephan Lichtsteiner captaining the team and just earned his 100th cap against Japan. Their recent results suggest a good form, with a 1-0 against Greece, a 6-0 against fellow World Cup participants Panama, a 2-0 against Japan and a 1-1 draw in Spain.
Prediction: I personally think that Switzerland will probably finish 2nd in the group, and I'm not sure why Serbia is rated this highly by bookies.
Costa Rica
In 2014, Costa Rica was placed in the "Group of Death" with England, Italy and Uruguay. No one gave them a realistic chance to advance from this group, but in the end, Costa Rica won the group ahead of Uruguay, while England and Italy were sent home in shame. Costa Rica continued their surprise run by beating Greece on penalties in the Round of 16 before losing another penalty shoot-out to the Dutch in the quarter-final, earning Keylor Navas his transfer to Real Madrid a few months later.
This time around, the squad hasn't changed all that much compared to 2014 edition of the tournament, which means that the team will be experienced enough to hold up in another tough group where bookies give them little chance of advancing. They qualified by finishing runner-up in the HEX, a.k.a. the final round of CONMEBOL qualifying. Recent results were mixed, with wins against Scotland and Northern Ireland and losses to Tunisia and England.
Prediction: Bookies are once again writing off Costa Rica as the underdog of the group - I'm not sure if this will be more correct this time around, because on paper this group should be on par with the 2014 one. I would not be shocked to see Costa Rica advance to the Round of 16 here.
Serbia
Serbia's qualifying group was considered to be the most competitive - and it probably was. In the end, 21 points were enough for the Serbs to win the Group outright ahead of Ireland (19), Wales (17) and Austria (15).
The squad is a mix of mostly PL and Serie A players, with captain Branislav Ivanovic, formerly CHelsea, now playing for Zenit St. Petersburg. Based on cap numbers, the first XI is pretty experienced, but after that, it seems to be quickly falling off. A mix of experienced veterans and hungry talents could be a good one, but the recent form shows problems, with losses to Morocco and Chile and a win against Nigeria. Another problem could be the inexperience of head coach Mladen Krstajic, who took over the team in October in his first job as a manager.
Prediction: I don't rate Serbia as high as Switzerland, and don't see them advancing from the group here.
Matches (all times CEST / UTC+2)
Odds
Brazil
Four years ago, Brazil was the top favourite to win the title on home soil. Their start in the opening match was rusty, and over the course of the tournament, te team never seemed to kick into second gear, losing Neymar due to injury in the quarter-final. They edged Chile and Colombia in close, tense matches, and met Germany in the semi-final. The rest is history:
After the darkest hour of Brazilian football, Dunga followed Scolari as the manager of the team. After a promising start, things once again fell apart at the 2016 Copa America, where Brazil were knocked out in the group stage for the first time since 1987. Dunga was sacked, and Tite took over, leading the team through a near-flawless qualification campaign, where Brazil stood out as the first team to qualify for Russia besides the hosts themselves. With a 12-5-1 record and 44-11 goals, they had their best performance since the round-robin format was introduced.
Now, they are once again among the favourites for the title, with most bookies having them as top favourite ahead of Germany/France/Spain. Should both win their groups, Brazil and Germany would meet in the final - but if either of them only finishes runner-up, the 2014 rematch will already happen in the Round of 16 - will Brazil be mentally ready this time around, with the pressure of winning the World Cup on home soil off their shoulders?
Prediction: Brazil should easily win the group. If they don't meet Germany in the Round of 16, they will at least make it to the semi-final, with a potential match against France waiting for them.
Switzerland
The Swiss had a near perfect qualifying campaign, gathering 27 of 30 possible points - which was not good enough for the group win against Portugal, who edged them out on goal difference - so the Swiss had to go through the play-offs, where they beat Northern Ireland 1-0 on aggregate, to qualify for their 4th consecutive World Cup.
The squad is pretty experienced, with most players stationed in Germany and Italy. New Arsenal signing Stephan Lichtsteiner captaining the team and just earned his 100th cap against Japan. Their recent results suggest a good form, with a 1-0 against Greece, a 6-0 against fellow World Cup participants Panama, a 2-0 against Japan and a 1-1 draw in Spain.
Prediction: I personally think that Switzerland will probably finish 2nd in the group, and I'm not sure why Serbia is rated this highly by bookies.
Costa Rica
In 2014, Costa Rica was placed in the "Group of Death" with England, Italy and Uruguay. No one gave them a realistic chance to advance from this group, but in the end, Costa Rica won the group ahead of Uruguay, while England and Italy were sent home in shame. Costa Rica continued their surprise run by beating Greece on penalties in the Round of 16 before losing another penalty shoot-out to the Dutch in the quarter-final, earning Keylor Navas his transfer to Real Madrid a few months later.
This time around, the squad hasn't changed all that much compared to 2014 edition of the tournament, which means that the team will be experienced enough to hold up in another tough group where bookies give them little chance of advancing. They qualified by finishing runner-up in the HEX, a.k.a. the final round of CONMEBOL qualifying. Recent results were mixed, with wins against Scotland and Northern Ireland and losses to Tunisia and England.
Prediction: Bookies are once again writing off Costa Rica as the underdog of the group - I'm not sure if this will be more correct this time around, because on paper this group should be on par with the 2014 one. I would not be shocked to see Costa Rica advance to the Round of 16 here.
Serbia
Serbia's qualifying group was considered to be the most competitive - and it probably was. In the end, 21 points were enough for the Serbs to win the Group outright ahead of Ireland (19), Wales (17) and Austria (15).
The squad is a mix of mostly PL and Serie A players, with captain Branislav Ivanovic, formerly CHelsea, now playing for Zenit St. Petersburg. Based on cap numbers, the first XI is pretty experienced, but after that, it seems to be quickly falling off. A mix of experienced veterans and hungry talents could be a good one, but the recent form shows problems, with losses to Morocco and Chile and a win against Nigeria. Another problem could be the inexperience of head coach Mladen Krstajic, who took over the team in October in his first job as a manager.
Prediction: I don't rate Serbia as high as Switzerland, and don't see them advancing from the group here.
Matches (all times CEST / UTC+2)
| June 17, 14:00 | Costa Rica v Serbia |
| June 17, 20:00 | Brazil v Switzerland |
| June 22, 14:00 | Brazil v Costa Rica |
| June 22, 20:00 | Serbia v Switzerland |
| June 27, 20:00 | Serbia v Brazil |
| June 27, 20:00 | Switzerland v Costa Rica |
Odds
| Brazil | Switzerland | Serbia | Costa Rica | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To qualify: | 1.12 | 2.10 | 2.30 | 5.50 |
| To win the group: | 1.36 | 8.50 | 9.00 | 23.00 |
| To win the tournament: | 5.50 | 151.00 | 201.00 | 751.00 |
06-13-2018
, 03:37 PM
06-17-2018
, 08:01 AM
06-17-2018
, 08:02 AM
Last edited by Schlitz mmmm; 06-17-2018 at 08:03 AM.
Reason: these 1st 2 minutes portend great things. me likey
06-17-2018
, 08:03 AM
06-17-2018
, 08:08 AM
06-17-2018
, 08:30 AM
