2018 FIFA World Cup - Group A - Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
06-10-2018
, 02:47 PM
Teams:
Russia
The hosts dodged a tough group as they were seeded in Pot 1 for the Group Stage draw. They will try to achieve a better result at the World Ccp than last year's Confederations Cup, where they were knocked out in the Group Stage after winning against New Zealand but losing to both Portugal and Mexico. As hosts, they did not need to play qualifying matches, and instead played many friendlies against tough opponents - it's questionable if the choice of opponents was the correct one, as they haven't won a match since a 4-2 victory against South Korea in October. Since then, they had draws against Iran, Spain and Turkey while losing to Argentina, Brazil, France and Austria. Not much to build confidence for the final tournament.
21 of the 23 squad members play in the Russian league, and goalie Igor Akinfeev still isn't famous for his flawless goalkeeping (he ended a run of 43 CL games without a clean sheet back in November). THeir most prolific goal scorer Alensandr Kokorin tore his ACL in March and will miss the tournament.
Prediction: In the end, it will most likely be a battle for 2nd place in the group against Egypt. If they make it through the group, Spain or Portugal will most likely end their run if Putin doesn't meddle in the tournament too much.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the big underdog of the group. They qualified by finishing second behind Japan and ahead of Australia in the final round of AFC Group B. Their top-scorer, Mohamed Al-Sahlawi, matched Lewandowski's 16 goals during the campaign - although Saudi Arabia played 18 matches to Poland's 10.
Besides Russia, they were the lowest-ranked team in the tournament at the time of the draw. Their squad reads like a who-is-who of "Who?" with just three players playing in Spain, the rest of the squad earning their oil-bucks in the Saudi domestic league. Their recent results include two 2-0 wins against Algeria and Greece, plus three losses against Italy (1-2) and Peru (0-3) and Germany (1-2).
Prediction: Saudi Arabia is probably a lot better than in 2002 (where they lost 0-8 to Germany in their opening match) but it likely isn't enough to survive the group.
Egypt
Egypt qualified for their first World Cup since 1990 by winning their group against Uganda, Ghana and Congo. In their penultimate match against Congo, Egypt needed a win to advance to Russia with one match to go. 1-1, and a penalty call in the 94th minute:
The hope of an entire football-fanatic nation now rests on one man's shoulders: Mohamed Salah, a.k.a. Egyptian Messi. And that could be a big problem, as his shoulder was injured in the Champions League Final due to scumbag Ramos being scum. He is part of the squad, but it is unclear whether he will be fit in time for the first group match.
He scored five of the eight goals in Egypt's qualifying campaign, and without him, it will be very tough to overcome Russia for second place in the group. Their three recent Salah-less friendlies ended in draws - 1-1 against Kuwait and 0-0 against Colombia, plus a 0-3 loss against Belgium. Another record that will be broken: At age 45, captain and goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadary will be the oldest active player ever at the World Cup.
Prediction: Realistically, without a 100% fit Salah Egypt will probably get knocked out in the group stage. My wish is that they finish 2nd in the group and Salah knocks out both Ramos and Spain in the Round of 16.
Uruguay
Finally, the group favorite coming in from Pot 2. Uruguay qualified by finishing 2nd in the very close CONMEBOL round-robin. With two world-class attackers in Suarez and Cavani, and Diego Godin as captain and defensive leader, Uruguay should have no trouble advancing from Group A. Unless Suarez decides to randomly bite a Russian player to absorb some potential PEDs.
Recent results also point to a good form, with wins against Czech Republic (2-0), Wales (1-0) and Uzbekistan (3-0).
Prediction: Group win and a tough Round of 16 match against Portugal with the match being decided on penalties.
Matches (all times CEST / UTC+2)
Odds
Russia
The hosts dodged a tough group as they were seeded in Pot 1 for the Group Stage draw. They will try to achieve a better result at the World Ccp than last year's Confederations Cup, where they were knocked out in the Group Stage after winning against New Zealand but losing to both Portugal and Mexico. As hosts, they did not need to play qualifying matches, and instead played many friendlies against tough opponents - it's questionable if the choice of opponents was the correct one, as they haven't won a match since a 4-2 victory against South Korea in October. Since then, they had draws against Iran, Spain and Turkey while losing to Argentina, Brazil, France and Austria. Not much to build confidence for the final tournament.
21 of the 23 squad members play in the Russian league, and goalie Igor Akinfeev still isn't famous for his flawless goalkeeping (he ended a run of 43 CL games without a clean sheet back in November). THeir most prolific goal scorer Alensandr Kokorin tore his ACL in March and will miss the tournament.
Prediction: In the end, it will most likely be a battle for 2nd place in the group against Egypt. If they make it through the group, Spain or Portugal will most likely end their run if Putin doesn't meddle in the tournament too much.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the big underdog of the group. They qualified by finishing second behind Japan and ahead of Australia in the final round of AFC Group B. Their top-scorer, Mohamed Al-Sahlawi, matched Lewandowski's 16 goals during the campaign - although Saudi Arabia played 18 matches to Poland's 10.
Besides Russia, they were the lowest-ranked team in the tournament at the time of the draw. Their squad reads like a who-is-who of "Who?" with just three players playing in Spain, the rest of the squad earning their oil-bucks in the Saudi domestic league. Their recent results include two 2-0 wins against Algeria and Greece, plus three losses against Italy (1-2) and Peru (0-3) and Germany (1-2).
Prediction: Saudi Arabia is probably a lot better than in 2002 (where they lost 0-8 to Germany in their opening match) but it likely isn't enough to survive the group.
Egypt
Egypt qualified for their first World Cup since 1990 by winning their group against Uganda, Ghana and Congo. In their penultimate match against Congo, Egypt needed a win to advance to Russia with one match to go. 1-1, and a penalty call in the 94th minute:
The hope of an entire football-fanatic nation now rests on one man's shoulders: Mohamed Salah, a.k.a. Egyptian Messi. And that could be a big problem, as his shoulder was injured in the Champions League Final due to scumbag Ramos being scum. He is part of the squad, but it is unclear whether he will be fit in time for the first group match.
He scored five of the eight goals in Egypt's qualifying campaign, and without him, it will be very tough to overcome Russia for second place in the group. Their three recent Salah-less friendlies ended in draws - 1-1 against Kuwait and 0-0 against Colombia, plus a 0-3 loss against Belgium. Another record that will be broken: At age 45, captain and goalkeeper Essam Al-Hadary will be the oldest active player ever at the World Cup.
Prediction: Realistically, without a 100% fit Salah Egypt will probably get knocked out in the group stage. My wish is that they finish 2nd in the group and Salah knocks out both Ramos and Spain in the Round of 16.
Uruguay
Finally, the group favorite coming in from Pot 2. Uruguay qualified by finishing 2nd in the very close CONMEBOL round-robin. With two world-class attackers in Suarez and Cavani, and Diego Godin as captain and defensive leader, Uruguay should have no trouble advancing from Group A. Unless Suarez decides to randomly bite a Russian player to absorb some potential PEDs.
Recent results also point to a good form, with wins against Czech Republic (2-0), Wales (1-0) and Uzbekistan (3-0).
Prediction: Group win and a tough Round of 16 match against Portugal with the match being decided on penalties.
Matches (all times CEST / UTC+2)
| June 14, 17:00 | Russia v Saudi Arabia |
| June 15, 14:00 | Egypt v Uruguay |
| June 19, 20:00 | Russia v Egypt |
| June 20, 17:00 | Uruguay v Saudi Arabia |
| June 25, 16:00 | Uruguay v Russia |
| June 25, 16:00 | Saudi Arabia v Egypt |
Odds
| Uruguay | Russia | Egypt | Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To qualify: | 1.20 | 1.42 | 2.75 | 12.00 |
| To win the group: | 1.91 | 2.95 | 8.00 | 51.00 |
| To win the tournament: | 34.00 | 51.00 | 251.00 | 5001.00 |
06-14-2018
, 10:51 AM
