2018 World Cup: Group A Tactical Preview

Group A consists of CONMEBOL runners-up (Uruguay), CAF Group B winners (Egypt), AFC Group B runners-up (Saudi Arabia) and hosts Russia. Led by strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, Uruguay look like favourites to top a tricky group.

Egypt, led by an in-form Mohamed Salah, should qualify ahead of hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia, but Salah’s injury concerns have left them in a quandary whether to start their talisman against Uruguay on June 15th.

Russia, the host nation, will get all the support of the fans but the lack of quality players means the hosts could crash out in the group stages. Saudi Arabia, perhaps the weakest team in the group, are no pushovers themselves but getting past the group stage seems a bridge too far for them.

Schedule:

14th June: Russia vs Saudi Arabia

15th June: Egypt vs Uruguay

19th June: Russia vs Egypt

20th June: Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia

25th June: Saudi Arabia vs Egypt

25th June: Uruguay vs Russia

URUGUAY

How they qualified

Uruguay did incredibly well to finish 2nd in CONMEBOL qualifiers, finishing ahead of tournament favorites Argentina and dark-horses Colombia. PSG’s Edinson Cavani finished as the top scorer with 10 goals, while his striking partner and Barcelona hitman Luis Suarez bagged 5 goals. Uruguay are two-time winners of the World Cup, although their last triumph was way back in 1950.

Tactics & Formation

Under coach Oscar Tabarez, who is in his second stint as Uruguay manager, the team plays a 4-4-2 system. They have a solid and experienced backline led by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and Atletico Madrid center-backs Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez. The midfield will be led by Inter Milan’s Matias Vecino who can unlock the best of defences.

Juventus’s Rodrigo Bentancur could play wide right but pushes high up in attack, while the left midfielder tucks in, with either Suarez or Cavani peeling to the left to give the team a 4-3-3 formation while attacking.

Uruguay have a direct style of attack, using the long-range passing abilities of Godin to pick out the full-backs on the overlap or exploit Cavani and Suarez’s ability to break behind the defensive line.

Players to Watch out for

Luis Suarez: The talisman of the team, fresh from another brilliant season with Barcelona, Suarez will look to repeat his 2010 heroics. Uruguay’s all-time top scorer, the onus will be on both Suarez and Cavani to unsettle opposition defences.

Diego Godin: While Uruguay have the attacking prowess to trouble opposing defenses, they also have some good defenders of their own. An exemplary captain, Diego Godin, along with club-mate Jose Gimenez will be tasked with organizing the backline.

Lucas Torreira: Torreira has had an outstanding season in a young, dynamic Sampdoria midfield and can create chances with his astute passing and tough tackling.

Verdict

Uruguay’s combination of explosive firepower and gnarled toughness should see them comfortably into the knock-out stages. Group Winners.

Squad

Head coach: Oscar Tabarez

Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Silva (Vasco da Gama), Martin Campana (Independiente).

Defenders: Diego Godin, Jose Maria Gimenez (both Atletico Madrid), Sebastian Coates (Sporting Lisbon), Maximiliano Pereira (Porto), Gaston Silva (Independiente), Martin Caceres (Lazio), Guillermo Varela (Penarol).

Midfielders: Nahitan Nandez (Boca Juniors), Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria), Matias Vecino (Inter Milan), Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus), Carlos Sanchez (Monterrey), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (Cruzeiro), Diego Laxalt (Genoa), Cristian Rodriguez (Penarol), Jonathan Urretaviscaya (Monterrey).

Forwards: Cristhian Stuani (Girona), Maximiliano Gomez (Celta Vigo), Edinson Cavani (Paris St-Germain), Luis Suarez (Barcelona).

EGYPT

How they qualified

Egypt topped a 4-team group consisting of themselves, Uganda, Ghana and Congo. They won 4 of their 6 games, losing only to Uganda. Incidentally, Egypt were Africa’s first-ever representative in a World Cup when they qualified for Italia ’34. This will be Egypt’s 3rd appearance on the biggest stage having done so in 1934 and 1990 previously. The African team’s charge will be led by Premier League golden boot winner, Mohamed Salah, who topped the scoring charts for Egypt with 5 goals.

Tactics & Formation

Egypt, managed by Argentine coach Hector Cuper, play a solid 4-2-3-1 system, deploying two defensive midfielders, Mohamed Elneny and Tarek Hamed. The defence is marshalled by West Brom’s tough-tackling defender, Ahmed Hegazi. Usually, it is Elneny who gets the license to join the attack as the full-backs push up.

The Argentine manager likes his team to press hard whenever possible, before falling back to a 4-4-2, with number 10 Abdallah Said pushing up alongside the striker. The main aim is to feed Salah whose trickery and finishing provide the cutting edge.

But this Egypt side is far from a one-man team as Braga centre-forward Ahmed Hassan Kouka, with his physical edge brings the midfield into play with neat flick-ons and lay-offs. Stoke’s Ramadan Sobhi provides width from the left, often cutting inside to create an overload in the centre.

Players to Watch out for

Mohamed Salah: The star player of the team, much will depend on the fitness of the Liverpool winger. Having injured his shoulder during the Champions League final, Salah might miss out on the first game against Uruguay on July 15th.

Mohamed Elneny: A bit-part player at Arsenal, Elneny is the main man for the Pharaohs. Still only 25 years old, the midfielder has already accumulated more than 50 caps for Egypt.

Essam El-Hadary: Captain of the team, at 45 years of age, El-Hadary could become the World Cup’s oldest ever player. The 157-cap goalkeeper currently plies his trade in Saudi Arabia.

Verdict

Egypt have got a bunch of good players at their peak, yet their dependence on talisman Salah is huge. A fit and firing Salah would have surely eased Egypt past the group stage, but weaker competition and strong team bonding should still see them through ahead of Russia and Saudi Arabia. Prediction: Group runners-up.

Squad

Head coach: Héctor Cúper

Goalkeepers: Essam El Hadary (Al Taawoun), Mohamed El-Shennawy, Sherif Ekramy (both Al Ahly).

Defenders: Ahmed Fathi, Saad Samir, Ayman Ashraf (all Al Ahly), Mahmoud Hamdy (Zamalek), Mohamed Abdel-Shafy (Al Fateh), Ahmed Hegazi (West Brom), Ali Gabr (Zamalek), Ahmed Elmohamady (Aston Villa), Omar Gaber (Los Angeles FC).

Midfielders: Tarek Hamed, (Zamalek), Abdallah Said (Al Ahli), Sam Morsy (Wigan Athletic), Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City), Mahmoud Hassan (Kasimpasa).

Forwards: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Marwan Mohsen (Al Ahly), Shikabala (Zamalek), Amr Warda (Atromitos), Mahmoud Kahraba (Al Ittihad).

RUSSIA

How they qualified

Russia qualified automatically as tournament hosts. Their recent records in major tournaments have been abysmal, failing to get past the group stages since the 2008 Euros, when they made it all the way to the semis before losing to eventual champions Spain.

The squad, in general, lacks the quality that the 2008 team possessed. Led by goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, most of the defence from that 2008 team have retired while injury problems have continued to haunt their ace midfielder Alan Dzagoev. The strikers do not inspire much confidence either with only Fyodor Smolov and Artem Dyzuba scoring more than 10 international goals.

Tactics & Formation

In general, Russia tend to play with a back three, allowing the wing backs to push forward while one midfielder drops off to provide cover. For creativity, Stanislav Cherchesov’s men depend on Dzagoev, who has the license to roam, linking attacking play and making late runs into the box to provide a goalscoring threat.

The Russians also like to go long, down the wide spaces with striker Smolov chasing down everything. As a result, Russia can look disjointed in possession while defending. If Dzagoev has an off day, Russia will bank on their highly rated midfielder Aleksandr Golovin.

Players to Watch out for

Alan Dzagoev: Having been sidelined with injury for most of the 2017/18 season, Russian fans breathed a sigh of relief when Dzagoev was named in the squad for the World Cup. The playmaker, who can play anywhere behind the striker, has scored 9 times for Russia in 56 outings so far.

Fedor Smolov: The squad’s top scorer with 12 goals in 31 games, Smolov will look to bring the Russian midfield into play more often than not. The 28-year-old striker enjoyed a decent season with Krasnodar scoring 14 goals in 22 league games.

Denis Cheryshev: One of the rare players plying his trade outside Russia, Cheryshev made his return to the International fold after a gap of two years. A former Real Madrid graduate, Cheryshev will look to terrorize defences on the wing.

Verdict

Russia have talent in midfield, but a disjointed defence, an error-prone goalkeeper and a lack of real firepower could see them struggle to emerge from the group. Yet nothing can be asserted before the teams actually line-up on the field. The team will enjoy wonderful fan support which could turn out to be inspiring. Prediction: Group-stage exit.

Squad

Head coach: Stanislav Cherchesov

Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Club Brugge), Andrey Lunev (Zenit St Petersburg).

Defenders: Vladimir Granat, Fedor Kudryashov (both Rubin Kazan), Ilya Kutepov (Spartak Moscow), Andrey Semenov (Akhmat Grozny), Sergei Ignashevich, Mario Fernandes (both CSKA Moscow), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit St Petersburg).

Midfielders: Yuri Gazinskiy (Krasnodar), Aleksandr Golovin, Alan Dzagoev (both CSKA Moscow), Aleksandr Erokhin, Yuri Zhirkov, Daler Kuzyaev (all Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Zobnin, Alexsandr Samedov (both Spartak Moscow), Anton Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Denis Cheryshev (Villarreal).

Forwards: Artem Dzyuba (Arsenal Tula), Aleksey Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Fedor Smolov (Krasnodar).

SAUDI ARABIA

How they qualified

Saudi Arabia qualified for Russia 2018 by finishing as runners-up in Group B of AFC’s third round, a home and away round robin format that saw Juan Antonio Pizzi’s Green Eagles secure automatic qualification ahead of favourites Australia. Mohammad Al-Sahlawi was the joint top scorer in World Cup qualification with 16 goals. Overall, this will be Saudi Arabia’s 5th appearance in a World Cup, their last one coming back in 2006.

Tactics & Formation

Saudi Arabia are captained by the vastly experienced Osama Hawsawi, while Taisir Al-Jassim pulls the strings from a deeper role in midfield. The side generally line up in a sort of 4-3-3, with one midfielder dropping to screen while Al-Jassim collects the ball from defence to initiate the attacks.

The Saudi Arabians mostly sit back, looking to absorb the pressure and once they get the ball, fast counter attacks are initiated by hitting long passes down the line towards the wide forwards, Salem Al-Dawsari and Yahya Al-Sheri. Both wingers are capable of switching positions in-game, which can pose problems for teams.

Players to Watch out for

Salem Al-Dawsari: A rapid winger who can be a tricky customer for the opposition. Al-Dawsari masterminds Saudi Arabia’s game plan of playing on the counter as his pace and trickery can cause real damage.

Osama Hawsawi: A vastly experienced central defender and the leader of the team, Hawsawi has represented his nation 134 times. His ability to organize the defence will be pivotal for Saudi Arabia to soak all the pressure and start the counter-attacks.

Mohammad Al-Sahlawi: Top scorer during qualification with 16 goals, Sahlawi often adds the finishing touch to the rapid counter-attacks. A poacher in the box, Al-Sahlawi has a good International record having scored 28 times in just 39 international games.

Verdict

Possibly the weakest team of Group A, Saudi Arabia are no pushovers as seen recently from their 2-0 friendly win over Greece. The Asian team’s greatest strength lies in their fast-counter attacks and can be one of the stories of the World Cup. However, better teams in the group mean they would probably have to leave Russia empty-handed. Prediction: Group-stage Exit.

Squad

Head coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi

Goalkeepers: Mohammed Alowais, Yasser Almosailem (both Al Ahli), Abdullah Almuaiouf (Al Hilal).

Defenders: Mansoor Alharbi (Al Ahli), Yasser Alshahrani, Mohammed Alburyak (both Al Hilal), Motaz Hawsawi (Al Ahli), Osama Hawsawi (Al Hilal), Omar Othman (Al Nassr), Ali Albulayhi (Al Hilal).

Midfielders: Abdullah Alkhaibari (Al Shabab), Abdulmalek Alkhaibri, Abdullah Otayf (both Al Hilal), Taiseer Aljassam, Hussain Almoqahwi (both Al Ahli), Salman Alfaraj, Mohamed Kanno (both Al Hilal), Hatan Bahbir (Al Shabab), Salem Aldawsari (Al Hilal), Yahia Alshehri (Al Nassr).

Forwards: Mohammed Alsahlawi (Al Nassr), Muhannad Asiri (Al Ahli), Fahad Almuwallad (Al Ittihad).