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Group B of the 2018 FIFA World Cup comprises of European Champions Portugal, former World Cup champions Spain, Morocco and Iran as the Asian qualifiers. Neighbours and European heavyweights Portugal and Spain will battle it out to top the group on June 15, in the second game of the group.
While these two will be favourites to get out of the group and into the Round of 16, Morocco and Iran are no pushovers. If you think this is a straight-forward group, do so at your own peril. A lot of the games in this group will be close, and we are bound to see a minimum of 1 upset.
Most likely to go through to the RO16: Spain, Portugal (but don't be surprised if the other two qualify)
Portugal
Portugal come into the tournament as unlikely European champions and will love to show the world that the title was not a one-off result that went their way. The Euro 2016 was their statement that they were no longer solely dependent on Cristiano Ronaldo, but much more than that.
Portugal qualified for the WC as the toppers of their qualification group, snapping up 27 points out of a possible 30 - their only loss being a 2-0 defeat against Switzerland on the opening match-day.
Coach: Fernando Santos
The coach responsible for their victory in Europe, Santos has been praised as one of the best ever national team coaches for the Navigators. Portugal have a penchant to draw games with him and in a knock-out style tournament, it is a well-meaning tactic (think back to their Euro campaign if you disagree).
He has drilled the team defensively - something Portugal have usually lacked - and with the quality in attack that the Portuguese naturally have, Portugal looks destined for greatness this time around.
Rui Patricio, who has spent his entire club career at Sporting and has recently broken ties with them, was the unheralded hero of the Euros and is a solid keeper for the national team every time he dons their jersey. No worries there.
Their defence consists of 4 at the back. Usually, it is taken up by Pepe and Jose Fonte (who played most of the matches during their miracle run in France), but a lack of playing time at West Ham might see Bruno Alves partnering Pepe at times.
The full-back positions are taken up by Raphael Guerreiro (who plays as a midfielder at Borussia Dortmund but is an excellent left back for Portugal) on the left and Cedric Soares on the right. Barcelona's Nelson Semedo will be the back-up on the right, and you can imagine just how good Cedric is for the national team then.
The midfield is where things get interesting. Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches were surprisingly (well, not very) dropped from the squad which means that Sporting's William Carvalho and Monaco's Moutinho will play as the defending midfielders.
Despite not being as young as the other options, they are the anchor of the side and can be blindly trusted to deliver when necessary for the side. Also excellent presences in the dressing room, they are the engine on which the team runs.
Manchester City's Bernardo Silva should start for most teams as the creative midfielder, but it will be a toss-up between him and Sporting's Bruno Fernandes. Fernandes played a very important role in Sporting's season contributing 11 goals and 8 assists for them.
The attack will have the fortune of Cristiano up-top, and also for extra motivation. Partnering him will be Milan's Andre Silva and the aged and experienced Quaresma. Both of them have excellent (for once, excellent is an understatement) and that is one of the main reasons it works for Portugal.
To go with all this, they have some really fast players who can come in as super-subs and trouble teams with raw pace on the ball. Unfortunately, their hero of the Euro finals - Eder, will not be one of those.
Player to watch out for: Cristiano Ronaldo
Honestly, who else? There is no need to go into detail about how good Ronaldo is, and his thirst for the World Cup trophy will only make him even better. With the Ballon d'Or hanging in the balance as well, we might finally get to see the Ronaldo Portugal has always looked for.
Spain
After a roller-coaster of World Cup campaigns in which Spain went from worthy champions to getting knocked out in the first round in Brazil, Spain come back to Russia as favourites once more, and with all the quality to back it up.
Like Portugal, Spain qualified as top of their group and went one step further - 28 points out of a possible 30. Their 3-0 destruction of Italy during the qualifiers is what many consider the start of the demise of Italy's World Cup dreams. Just how good should one be to beat the morale out of the Italians?
Coach: Julen Lopetegui
One of the few players with the distinction of playing for both Barcelona and Real Madrid, Lopetegui was part of Spain's 1994 WC squad as the goalkeeper. He has spent most of his coaching career in Spain (except with Porto) and was handed the job after Vincent Del Bosque.
He is not new to the national team, having coached Spain's U-19 and U-21 sides to the European Championship titles in 2012 and 2013 respectively.
With David de Gea in goal, Spain are set for the next few World Cups in the goalkeeping department. The Manchester United shot-stopper might not be the same beast he is for the club, as Spain's playing style requires a keeper who is very good with the feet.
If there is one downside to De Gea's game, it has to be his distribution with the feet. In spite of all that, De Gea is one of the best keepers in the game and there is no question of leaving him out.
The defence is also one of the most solid in the tournament - Jordi Alba, Ramos, Pique and Carvajal forming a back 4 as good going forward as it is defending. Spain's defence is so stacked that Azpilicueta will not be part of their starting XI and Sergi Roberto and Marc Bartra do not even get a call-up. Ridiculous, really.
Lopetegui has shown a liking for a three-man midfield - comprising of Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Thiago forming a formidable 3. Busquets will serve as the holding midfielder, Iniesta as the Regista and Thiago with a freedom to roam.
Koke, Saul, Asensio and Lucas Vazquez will have to serve it out from the bench and come in as super-subs. Their industriousness will also be useful as Iniesta might not be able to play the full 90 in every game, and especially when the games get to extra-time.
The attacking trio will include Diego Costa, David Silva in a more forward role and Isco. Diego Costa's time in Brazil was not so happy, but in four years, he is a far matured (well, not really) player and far more feisty than before.
David Silva is coming on the back of one of his best seasons with Manchester City and is one of the most overlooked players in the tournament. Isco with the national side is one of the best players in the world, even better than his exploits at Real Madrid.
The team is one of the strongest and will enter the tournament as Tier-1 favourites.
Player to watch out for: Isco
Honestly, I cannot talk enough about Isco. An average season with Madrid might make it look like Isco is not very good, but Spain play exactly to his strengths. As a team too, they put no pressure on him as every single one of them is a match-winner on their own.
A free-roaming Isco in the national team is a sight to behold, and we might truly witness a breakout tournament for the Spaniard.
Morocco
Morocco have gone under most people's radars, because of the relative unpopularity of their players, but they are huge underdogs and on their night are capable of shutting down Portugal for good.
Morocco qualified as the leaders in the final round of the African qualification rounds, ahead of enormous favourites Ivory Coast. What is even more impressive is that they did it without conceding a single goal in the process. That's right - they played 6 qualifying games, scoring 11 and conceding 0.
Coach: Herve Renard
Herve Renard is a name immortalised in African football after he won the AFCON with two different teams - with Zambia in 2012 and with Ivory Coast in 2015. He was handed the job of coaching the Moroccan team in 2016 and has repaid their faith by getting the team qualified for their first World Cup since 1998.
Morocco has generally had a few technically gifted players in their ranks, but have lacked the confidence as a team to leave any lasting impact. That is where Renard comes in. This Moroccan team genuinely looks confident and will be a dark horse for the tournament despite being in an unlucky group.
Benatia is probably the most famous name on the list. The defender is one of the best CBs in world football and is very solid at the back. He will be leading the Atlas Lions' back-line as well as the whole team in Russia.
Haiss and Dirar are experienced players as well and will play a good supporting role to Benatia as part of the defence. A friendly reminder once again that they conceded 0 goals in their qualifying campaign's final round.
Morocco will employ a 5 man midfield most probably, with Mbark Boussoufa as the anchor. He is one of the calmest players on the pitch, and very rarely puts a step wrong when he is playing for the national team.
Playing for Al-Jazira, Boussoufa has 3 goals and 6 assists to his name, but that's not his speciality. The 33-year-old has spent a huge chunk of time in the Belgian League, and has pretty much won everything there - The Belgian Footballer of the year (3), the Golden Boot (2), the Ebony Shoe (3).
To share the duties with him will be four from Amrabat, Ziyech, El Ahmadi and Belhanda and Harit. Not household names as of now, but every single one of them are good and the eventual sum is greater than its parts.
Their possession-based style of play is their biggest advantage, as they constantly press when they lose the ball and attack relentlessly when they have it. Up front will be Boutaib as the sole striker, who scored 4 goals during the final stage, just one behind Mohamed Salah.
Player to watch out for: Hakim Ziyech
Ziyech is Morocco's most important player, and the Ajax playmaker is rumoured to be leaving Ajax this season. His performances in Russia will be the on the radar of several teams, and rightly so.
Ziyech is the definition of an attacking midfielder - great passing, great vision and great dribbling. He is a delight to watch on the ball and is destined for greater things certainly after Russia.
Iran
Iran is what truly makes this group hard to predict. Undoubtedly the best team in Asia over the last few years, the introduction of Iran into this group of teams who are already matched closely is pure pandemonium.
Iran simply cruised their way through the Asian qualifiers, finishing 7 points ahead of second-placed South Korea. They only conceded 2 goals on the way, scoring 10 goals in the process.
Coach: Carlos Queiroz
The Portuguese was at the helm of Iran's qualifying campaign, as they became the first Asian team to qualify for the WC. This will be his third stint in charge of a team at the World Cup, having led his national team in 2010 and Iran in 2014.
His team received wide praise for almost denying Argentina in the group stages at the previous edition, but they ended up crashing out after a 1-3 loss against Bosnia. This time around, they are much stronger.
Like most unknown teams in the World Cup, it is with the goalkeeper that Iran has the most problem. The position is undoubtedly their weakest link in the team, and undoubtedly the one the other teams will be looking to exploit.
Beiranvand, who is most likely to start, can range from absolutely horrible to giving the performance of his life and no one is capable of knowing which will come when. But the defence is good enough to make sure that he is well-protected.
Iran play 4 at the back, and they are very organized. The discipline has been well ingrained in them, and they very rarely get out of shape. Another important thing is that they are very good at set pieces - both in defending them and attacking them.
The midfield and attack are where Iran truly excels. Unlike the last campaign where they ended up scoring only one goal, they have several dynamic players in their midst, with a good mix of youth and experience.
Iran play a classic 4-2-3-1, and requires 2 defensive midfielders for this to work. Therein lies their first problem. Ezatolahi is their best defensive midfielder. Well, to be entirely honest, he is their only true defensive midfielder.
Unfortunately, he received a red card in qualification and will not be eligible for the first match against Morocco - the match that will probably affect their fortunes the most. Ezatolahi is more vital to Iran's fortunes than you would imagine.
He essentially does what Busquets does at Barcelona. He is the player who keeps the side ticking. He shields balls from opponents and unleashes the attackers. He also steals balls from the opponent attackers. Against a side like Morocco, his absence will be sorely missed.
But barring this, Iran has a quality attack that can wreak havoc on any side - and I mean any side. The fact that Iran had to be drawn in this group is more than just bad luck for them, as their presence in any other group would have made them a strong contender for going through to the Round of 16.
On the right is Jahanbakhsh, who is the most dynamic forward player in the team. He has finished the season in the Eredivisie with 21 goals and 12 assists and is simply unstoppable. As intelligent as he is fast, he is also capable of shooting with both feet.
He is certain to attract offers from bigger clubs in the summer and is the one to often make the difference for the national side. The rest of the cast work around him, and they work well as a unit.
The only problem is the stamina of the players, which the coach has complained about. Against teams that park the bus, Iran play to their strengths but against opponents who stay on the ball, Iran find it hard to stay on their feet through the entire game.
In the World Cup, one random moment of switching-off is enough to make the difference.
Player to watch out for: Sardar Azmoun
Well, Azmoun has been already hailed as the Iranian Ibrahimovic and the Iranian Messi, as well as being considered the heir to the legendary Iranian striker Ali Daei. No pressure, kid.
Unlike Messi and like Ibra, Azmoun plays as the central striker and is more of a poacher. Iran will be looking to provide him with crosses at every possible juncture and expect him to make things happen - which he usually does for the national team.
At 23, he is already the 5th highest scorer for the national side. Why would you not look out for him?
