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Group A of the 2018 World Cup consists of the hosts Russia, Uruguay being nominated from South America, Egypt as the African qualifiers and Saudi Arabia qualifying from Asia. The first match of the World Cup will take place between Russia and Saudi Arabia, marking the beginning of the finals.
Despite looking like a group with no clear qualifiers (no offense to Uruguay), or precisely because of that, Group A poses a lot of interesting possibilities. No side in the group are clear pushovers, and no side is expected to win the World Cup easily - leaving us with a satisfactory approach to the game.
Most probable to go through to the RO16: Uruguay, literally any of the other 3.
Russia
The tournament's hosts qualified without having to go through any of the hassles like the other times, and now is the time for them to earn their badges. The build-up to the tournament focused a lot on construction issues and their notoriously violent fans, but now is the time for football.
Manager: Stanislav Cherchesov
Cherchesov was a goalkeeper who played for Russia (also back when it was called the Soviet Union) and managed Polish side - Legia Warsaw to the Ekstraklasa title in the 2015/16 season.
In 2016, Cherchesov was appointed as the coach of the Russian National team, seemingly with a target of reaching the semi-finals. Despite being the hosts, the odds of seeing Russia in the semi-finals is not very good, and it will be a big ask of them even coming out of the group stages.
Most of the players in the squad play within the country, and have the advantage of knowing the conditions well, but to what extent that advantage will compensate against sheer footballing quality remains to be seen.
A lot of Russian fans are upset with their coach's stubbornness when it comes to tactical decisions. Despite the exit of important players from the squad (after the Berezutski brothers quit playing for the team and their main CBs - Georgi Dzhikiya and Viktor Vasin suffering long-term injuries), he has persisted with playing 3 at the back and 2 wing backs.
Another issue is his personal issues with the players. Igor Denisov, whom most people consider to be the best defender in the team, will not be flying to Russia because of problems he had with Cherchesov during their time at Dynamo Moscow.
But Russia is not without quality. Their midfield boasts a lot of creativity, with Golovin and Zobnin 100% assured of a place in the starting XI. Kuzyaev (6 goals and 2 assists) and Erokhin (7 goals and 2 assists) have had quietly brilliant seasons at Zenit, and will be important to Russia's fortunes in the competition.
Their goalkeeper, Akinfeev, has over 100 caps for Russia and is considered a legend for the teams. He is usually reliable when he is at CSKA Moscow, and will hopefully carry over that form once more to the national side.
But the general consensus is that he is a little insecure when it comes to international competitions, and is a step below what a legendary keeper should be.
Russia has some very good (good, at the very least) strikers in Smolov and Aleksei Miranchuk who have scored more than 20 goals between them this season.
Player to watch out for: Aleksandr Golovin
Russia's most important player of the tournament has to be CSKA Moscow's Aleksandr Golovin.
The 22-year-old midfielder is one of the brightest prospects in world football at the moment and Arsenal fans will be happy to know that his playing style is very close to Tomas Rosicky. He is a brilliant dribbler and passer of the ball, while equally hard-working.
Very often you can see him trying to get the ball back, but it also leads to him getting a fair amount of deserved yellow cards. He is expected to be the future of the Russian national team, and this will be their right spotlight to showcase him to the world.
Saudi Arabia
At the outset, Saudi Arabia might look the weakest of the teams in the group, but nobody qualifies for the finals of the World Cup by a mere stroke of luck.
The Falcons qualified for the World Cup as runners of their respective group in the Asian qualifiers, behind Japan and ahead of Australia. Despite not beating Australia, they finished ahead of them by beating Japan 1-0 on the final match day.
Coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi
The Argentine was granted the job only in November 2017, well after qualification was confirmed. Argentine fans would remember him as the manager who denied them the Copa America Centenario in 2016, but he was sacked by Chile after they failed to qualify for the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia have changed their coach twice since the World Cup. Bert van Marwjik, who was responsible very much for Saudi Arabia's entry into the tournament was sacked in September 2017, after talks to renew his contract stalled.
The new manager - Edgardo Bauza, lasted only 4 matches. He tried experimental squads in the friendlies with fringe players, the FA didn't like it and promptly told him that it was over. They take no hostages, the Saudi FA.
Pizzi has the experience to manage a tournament of such big stakes, and believe it or not, Saudi has the quality around them to make life difficult for other teams.
Nawaf Al Abed, a player from Al-Hilal was the top-scorer of the final round of the Asian qualifiers with 5 goals scored. Mohammad Al-Sahlawi, who plays as a striker of Al-Nassr finished the qualification as the highest scorer with 16 goals to his name, alongside Robert Lewandowski from Poland.
Saudi Arabia will have no troubles about going forward in Russia, as they have enough talented players among them. It will be the defence that is the downside to the Saudi Arabian side.
Moreover, they are shorter on average than other teams in the WC and will find it doubly hard to defend set-pieces against more physical teams. Osama Hawsawi, their captain has over 100 caps for the national team and is the backbone of the team.
He might be prone to a few mistakes here and there, but his leadership and experience is vital to the team, especially on a stage as big as this.
Another problem with the team is that some of the more important players in the side have gone to La Liga, but have spent most of their time on the bench and without much-needed game time.
For example - Fahad Al Muwallad, scorer of the goal that sent Saudi Arabia to the World Cup, secured a loan move to Levante in 2018 and has played a mere 26 minutes for the club. Despite being renowned for pace and accuracy on the ball, nothing comes close to match practice and that will be what Saudi Arabia find lacking.
Player to watch out for: It was supposed to be Nawaf Al Abed, but he has been struggling with an injury and has been left out of the final squad. After him, it has to be Fahad Al Muwallad.
He is absolutely pacey and is often subbed in against tired legs to have a greater impact, and it usually works. Despite not playing enough, he still looks good on the ball and scored in Saudi Arabia's friendly against Ukraine.
Egypt
A year ago, not many would have cared about this time, but the arrival of Mohamed Salah has changed things all of a sudden.
Egypt have been one of the most talked about teams on the planet thanks to Salah, but guess what? There have to be 10 thankless souls around him if this has to work. Egypt have quite a good pool of players to make that possible.
Egypt qualified as the winners of their respective Asian qualifier group, with Salah scoring 5 goals in the last stage and scoring the winner against Congo that ensured that they would qualify to the finals as the winner of their group.
Coach: Hector Cuper
The former Valencia and Internazionale manager was handed control of the side in March 2015, and it has all been glory after glory for the Pharoahs. After guiding them to the final of the AFCON in 2017, he has led them to their first World Cup in 30 years.
Considering all this, one would assume that Cuper is considered as a cult hero in Egypt. Surprisingly not.
Cuper is one of the most defensive coaches in the world and that is no exaggeration. He plays a type of football that might make even Mourinho shrug. Notorious for being fond of beautiful football, it is only natural that the nation of Egypt hates him.
Despite getting the qualification, there were calls to boot him out and bring in a new coach with a flair for the extravagant. Sane heads prevailed though, as the FA decided that results were much more important.
Their entire tactics consists of playing with 10 men behind the ball and hoofing the ball up-field for Salah to do whatever he pleases with it. While it has been successful so far, the continued success remains a concern.
Their defense, however, is well organized. At the centre of it is West Brom's Hegazi who has had a wonderful season in the PL despite West Brom getting relegated. Also useful as an option in set-pieces, he will be vital for Egypt. Once Egypt gets a lead, there is absolutely no way they will be coming forward, and that's where Hegazi earns his money.
A major concern for Egypt might be their over-dependence on Salah. They have no clear forward capable of sharing the duties along with him, and Cuper prefers to play a solid No.9 at the front.
Koka is the one most expected to start, but he has been far from impressive with the national team. The best possible way for Egypt is to use Salah to drag the defenders away, and hope that one of their forwards comes good. But the chances of that happening aren't very good.
Player to watch out for: Mohamed Salah
Well, it is impossible to ignore the elephant in the room. The man who put Egypt in the footballing maps has one more job to do this season, and that will be to guide his country past the group stages.
After Ramos' tackle on him that ensured that he will never again in his life be granted a VISA to Egypt, the entire nation is praying for Salah's speedy recovery. The Egyptian FA has assured fans that Salah will be fit by the time and at the worst will only miss one game in the group stage, it might be the difference between leaving after 3 games and getting one more.
A fully-fit Salah adds a whole new dimension to the team, and to the group in general. Egypt with him is more capable of springing a surprise than Egypt without him.
Uruguay
The strongest team on paper from this group, Uruguay are expected to top the group and sail through to the RO16.
Uruguay qualified as the runners-up from the CONMEBOL qualifiers, only behind Brazil and ahead of the likes of Argentina, Colombia and Chile. While nowhere near Brazil's domination, it was still a strong performance from the South American side and are expected by most bookies to reach the semi-finals (9/1 odds).
Coach: Oscar Washington Tabarez
Unlike the other teams in the group, Uruguay actually like their coach and his tactics go hand-in-hand with what the fans want and what his players are capable of. The players respect him, they respect each other and Uruguay is a well-rounded team because of it.
This is Tabarez's second stint with the national team and has been one long road that led to the finals. After his appointment in 2006, after Uruguay had become of a shadow of its former self, Tabarez established what is called - "Proceso de Institucionalización de Selecciones y la Formación de sus Fútbolistas".
Translated to English, it means - "Process of institutionalization of selections and the training of their football players". It stabilised how the national team selection worked in all levels of youth as well as senior football, and it is beautiful to see how Uruguay have grown since then.
Remember Uruguay's 2010 freak run? This year's team might be even better, as they bring in a good combination of youth and experience. Besides, having Suarez and Cavani partner up-front should be illegal for obvious reasons.
Edinson Cavani was the top-scorer in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, and this might just be his tournament. Suarez, as lethal as he usually is, has had a mixed season at Barcelona and for the national team, he plays second fiddle to Cavani.
If you thought their strike force was a bit too much, you should be happy to note that their defence is just as good. As Godin and Gimenez as CBs, they have one of the best defences in world football at the moment.
The midfield might not be as famous as the other positions, but it is rich in youth and contains several promising youngsters. In Georgian De Arrescaeta, they have a No.10 who is one of Cruzeiro's most important players and a wonder-kid expected to match, if not surpass, Diego Forlan.
He is young. He is skilled. He has great vision. He is a joy to watch when his game is on point. Besides, he has two of the best strikers in world football in front of him. What's so hard?
Player to watch out for: Edinson Cavani
A case could be made for Luis Suarez, but Cavani is way better with the national team. To add to that his red-hot form with Paris Saint Germain this season, Cavani has a great chance of finishing the tournament as the highest-scorer and winning the Golden Boot.
