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The 2018 World Cup is just over a week away and excitement for the tournament is at an all-time high. After a fairly mediocre tournament in Brazil in 2014, fans are expecting the World Cup to bounce back in Russia and be the festival of football that we all know it can be.
Predicting a winner for the World Cup is always a difficult task, and given some of the talents that will be on display in Russia over the coming weeks, the 2018 edition of the tournament may be the most difficult to call yet.
Reigning champions Germany look like strong candidates to retain their prize, while 2014 hosts Brazil will be out for revenge after being humiliated on their home soil last time out. 2010 champions, Spain are heading into the tournament riding a wave of momentum, while Euro 2016 finalists France will be hoping to do away with their 'bottlers' tag and summon the spirits of 98.
Of course, though, the World Cup rarely pans out as fans predict, and even attempting to predict what should be a fairly straightforward group stage is an impossible task. That being said, let's give it a try anyway, and try and predict who will be advancing from each of the groups, and predict what matches we will see in the tournament's first knock-out stage.
Uruguay Vs Portugal (A1 Vs B2)
Uruguay’s success in Group A will largely depend on their opening fixture against Egypt. Both teams have a shot at winning the group if they can get the most out of their star players, but with Mo Salah set to miss the opening game, it seems likely that Egypt will have to rely on victories against Russia and Saudia Arabia to advance out of the group.
While Uruguay’s top players are showing signs of aging, the likes of Edison Cavani and Luis Suarez should see them comfortably through one of the tournament’s easier groups, and the South American’s had a solid qualification campaign.
European Champions Portugal face a slightly trickier task in their group, as they will come up against 2010 champions, Spain. While they should pick up easy victories against Morroco and Iran, the Portuguese will likely slip against Spain, which will see them slide into second place.
Portugal has an experienced squad, and they will be riding a wave of momentum heading into the tournament after their 2016 success in France. This will likely be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last chance of winning a world cup, but it seems unlikely that they will be able to repeat their success from Euro 2016 in Russia.
Spain Vs Egypt (B1 Vs A2)
Mo Salah’s incredible run of form should be the catalyst for a successful group campaign for Egypt, in what will be their first World Cup appearance since 1990. The Liverpool striker was in fine form for his country in the qualifiers, scoring five goals in six games, and Egypt’s success will largely depend on him.
Spain is currently enjoying the longest unbeaten run in international football, having not lost any of their first 19 games under manager Julen Lopetegui. The Spaniards will be hoping to banish their demons from 2014, where the reigning champions crashed out in the group stages, and an impressive 6-1 victory over Argentina a couple of months ago has seen them crowned as one of the favorites for the tournament. Despite coming up against Portugal in the group stage, the Spaniards should comfortably top their group.
France Vs Croatia (C1 Vs D2)
France are considered as one of the favorites to win this year’s World Cup, and a quick look at their squad will tell you why. Les Bleus have one of the most impressive teams in the tournament, and their strength in depth is perhaps only rivaled by the Germans and the Spanish.
While the French have earned a reputation for bottling in recent tournaments, most notably blowing the final of Euro 2016, they should still progress easily as the winners of Group C. Denmark are their biggest threat but if France have realistic ambitions of winning the tournament, then they should be brushing them aside fairly easily.
Croatia’s route to the round of 16 will not be as easy though, with Zlato Dalic’s side being in one of the tournament’s trickier groups. Argentina are likely to top Group D but on paper, Croatia should finish second above Iceland and Nigeria.
Iceland are a bit of an unknown here, and they will be hoping to replicate their performance from Euro 2016, while Nigeria are always likely to cause problems. The experience of players like Luka Modric, Mario Mandzukic, and Ivan Rakitic should be enough to see Croatia through though.
Argentina Vs Denmark ( D1 Vs C2)
While Argentina’s route to the World Cup was anything but smooth, the former two-time champions should be able to navigate their way out of Group D with relative ease.
All three teams, Croatia, Iceland, and Nigeria, are potential banana skins for The Argentinians but if they are to have any hope of replicating their success from 2014, where they made the final, then they really should be topping their group. Like Ronaldo, this is Messi’s last real shot at winning a World Cup and topping off his legacy on the international stage.
As for Denmark, they will have to compete with Australia and Peru for the second spot in Group C, with France likely being comfortable winners. The Danes are unbeaten in 11 games heading into the tournament and qualified for the finals with a comfortable playoff victory over Northern Ireland. Australia will be looking to cause an upset but Denmark should get themselves over the line in the end.
Brazil Vs Mexico (E1 Vs F2)
After being humiliated in their home country in 2014, Brazil will be out of for blood in Russia, and should comfortably top Group E.
The appointment of Tite in 2016 has revitalized Brazil, and the five-team world champions have only tasted defeat once in his 21 games in charge.
Having finished fourth in 2014, Brazil are one of the favorites for victory in Russia, and it seems unlikely that they will slip up in what should be a fairly straightforward group for them.
Mexico have been knocked out in the round of 16 for the last six world-cups, and while they will no doubt come up short against group favorites, Germany, they should be able to overcome Costa Rica, Sweden, and South Korea to get out of the group stages once again.
Germany Vs Switzerland (F1 Vs E2)
Reigning champions Germany should have no issues progressing as winners of Group F, with Mexico being the only team likely to cause them any sort of bother.
The Germans will be hoping to repeat their success from 2014 here, and take home back to back World Cups, and their route through to the quarter-finals should be fairly straightforward.
Switzerland, on the other hand, will have a battle on their hands to get through a group which also features Costa Rica and Serbia.
While it will be difficult, Switzerland should make second place their priority, and realistically, this is their best chance in some time of getting that far. While the Swiss don’t have the best World Cup record, they have a young and ambitious squad, who will be hoping to make a name for themselves in Russia. Their journey is likely to come to an abrupt end against The Germans, but they will be hoping to get this far, at least.
Belgium Vs Poland (G1 Vs H2)
It feels like Belgium are labeled as ‘dark horses’ in every major international tournament these days, and Russia 2018 may be their last chance to live up to their billing.
Belgium has one of the most exceptionally talented squads in the tournament but their golden generation is aging fast, and Russia may be the last time we see them as such a complete unit.
Former Everton Manager, Roberto Martinez will be hoping to get the best out of the team in Russia, and they should progress from Group G with relative ease. The likes of Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, and Romalu Lukaka should be more than enough to see them top a group which also features England, and they should comfortably see off Poland in the round of 16.
As for Poland, they will compete in one of the tournament’s most difficult groups to predict. Senegal are back in the world cup after missing out on the last three tournaments and will be out to prove themselves in Russia, while Colombia will try hard to replicate their success from Brazil, where the South Americans made the quarterfinals.
Robert Lewandowski was Europe’s top scorer in the qualifiers and he will no doubt fire Poland through the group, in what is likely going to be his final World Cup appearance.
England Vs Colombia (H1 Vs G2)
After drawing Belgium in their group, England fans let out a sigh of relief when they discovered they would be facing Panama and Tunisia in their other group games.
Gareth Southgate has chosen one of the youngest ever English squads for this tournament, and the usual weight of expectation from the English public is not there for this year’s finals.
A fairly easy group should see them comfortably through behind Belgium though, and the footballing gods have provided them with a very winnable game in the round of 16, regardless of whether it is Colombia or Poland who win Group H.
As for Colombia, they had an excellent tournament in Brazil, and while they do not look as comfortable at the moment as they did back then, James Rodriquez is likely to shine for his home nation on the big stage, and will probably just see them edge past Poland to win Group H.
