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The wait for the 2018 Fifa World Cup is over, the teams have arrived and we're only hours away from the first match of this summer's highly-anticipated tournament. The groups are pretty interesting. The group of death comprises of Argentina, Iceland, Nigeria and Croatia. It will be surprisingly curious to see who makes it out of that group. Brazil are being touted as favourites for the cup. But it's the World Cup, as unpredictable as ever. Spain will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing World Cup last time around.
It remains to be seen if the current French side can fulfil their high potential. Germany, the defending champions have been as consistent as ever. The legend of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will continue. There's so much to look forward to in Russia this year. There are some highly anticipated matchups this summer. Here's a look at 5 of the best matches set to take place during the group stages:
#5 Argentina vs Croatia (Group D)
Date: 21st June 2018
Venue: Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
Head-to-head:
Games played: 4
Argentina wins: 2
Croatia wins: 1
Drawn: 1
Most recently, in 2014, these 2 sides played a friendly which Argentina won 2-1 thanks to a Leo Messi penalty in the second half.
Preview:
Both sides have similar records coming into the tournament with 2 wins and 2 losses in their last 4 games.
Argentina qualified for the World Cup with a last-gasp effort, earning a 3-1 win over Ecuador, courtesy of a brilliant hat-trick from talisman Lionel Messi. Similarly, Croatia booked their place in Russia with a 4-1 qualification playoff victory over Greece.
Argentina will be depending on their star-studded attacking lineup to provide impetus to the team whereas Croatia will look up to their experienced and creative midfield trio of Modric, Rakitic and Kovacic.
Key players:
Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic (Croatia)
Lionel Messi, Nicolas Otamendi, Di Maria (Argentina)
Possible lineups:
Argentina(4-2-3-1/4-4-2): Caballero, Mercado, Otamendi, Fazio, Tagliafico, Mascherano, Biglia/Banega, Di Maria, Pavon/Dybala, Messi, Higuain/Aguero
Croatia(4-2-3-1): Subasic, Vrsaljko, Lovren, Corluka, Vida, Badelj, Rakitic, Modric, Perisic, Rebic, Mandzukic/Kramaric
Prediction: Argentina 3-2 Croatia
#4 Poland vs Colombia (Group H)
Date: 24th June 2018
Venue: Kazan Arena, Kazan
Head-to-head:
Games played: 5
Poland wins: 2
Colombia wins: 3
Drawn: 0
The last 3 games have gone Colombia's way.
Preview:
Poland had an easy passage into the World Cup group stages as they finished top of Group E in the European qualifiers with Robert Lewandowski topping the scoring charts with 16 goals.
Despite their heroics in Brazil 4 years ago, Colombia made hard work of qualifying and struggled to find their rhythm. They finished in 4th position, which was enough to secure them a place at the World Cup. They didn’t win any of their last four games and limped over the line.
Both sides have injury concerns with Kamil Glik (Poland) unlikely to feature in the group stages and Colombia's first choice left-back Frank Fabra ruled out of the tournament with an ACL rupture.
Key players:
Robert Lewandowski, Jakub Blaszczykowski, Piotr Zielinski (Poland)
James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao, Juan Cuadrado (Colombia)
Possible lineups:
Poland(4-4-2): Szczesny, Piszczek, Bednarek, Pazdan, Rybus, Blaszczykowski, Krychowiak, Zielinski, Grosicki, Milik, Lewandowski
Colombia(4-2-3-1): Ospina, Arias, Zapata, D Sanchez, Mojica, C Sanchez, Aguilar, Cuadrado, Rodriguez, Quintero, Falcao
Prediction: Poland 2-2 Colombia
#3 Germany vs Mexico (Group F)
Date: 17th June 2018
Venue: Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
Head-to-head:
Games played: 11
Germany wins: 6
Mexico wins: 1
Drawn: 4
Most recently, Germany and Mexico faced each other in the 2017 Confederations Cup semifinal where Germany won 4-1.
Preview:
Germany had a flawless record in qualifying, winning all 10 matches with relative ease and finished 11 points above 2nd placed Northern Ireland. Thomas Muller and Sandro Wagner top scored with 5 goals each.
Mexico also qualified unchallenged, topping the North American qualification with 21 points. Hirving Lozano was their talisman, scoring 4 goals.
Germany enter the tournament with a poor defensive record, unable to keep a clean sheet in any of their last 6 games, of which they lost 2. Mexico on the other hand, have a better record, winning 3 of their last 6 games and keeping 4 clean sheets in the process.
Key players:
Timo Werner, Toni Kroos, Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Javier Hernandez, Giovani dos Santos, Hector Herrera (Mexico)
Possible lineups:
Germany(4-2-3-1): Neuer, Kimmich, Hummels, Boateng, Hector, Khedira, Kroos, Muller, Reus, Ozil/Draxler, Werner
Mexico(4-1-4-1): Ochoa, Alvarez, Ayala, Moreno, Gallardo, Herrera, G dos Santos, J dos Santos, Guardado, Corona/Lozano, Hernandez
Prediction: Germany 3-1 Mexico
#2 England vs Belgium (Group G)
Date: 28th June 2018
Venue: Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
Head-to-head:
Games played: 21
England wins: 15
Belgium wins: 2
Drawn: 4
In 2012, England beat Belgium 1-0 in an international friendly with Danny Welbeck scoring the winner.
Preview:
England were undefeated in European qualifying, winning 8 of their matches and drawing just 2. England captain Harry Kane top scored with 5 goals and also provided an assist.
Belgium bettered England's record in qualifying, with 9 wins and 1 draw. They scored a mammoth 43 goals in just 10 games, with Romelu Lukaku scoring 11 and Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens and Thomas Meunier all making significant contributions.
Belgium are undefeated in their last 14 games. Their last loss was against Wales in Euro 2016. England possesses a very similar record, having lost their last game at Euro 2016 to Iceland in the round of 16.
This will be the battle of the 3-at-the-back systems.
Key players:
Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker (England)
Eden Hazard, Kevin De Bruyne, Thomas Meunier (Belgium)
Possible lineups:
England(3-1-4-2): Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire/Cahill, Henderson/Dier, Trippier, Lingard, Alli, Young, Sterling, Kane
Belgium(3-4-2-1): Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen, Meunier, Witsel, De Bruyne, Carrasco, Mertens, Hazard, Lukaku
Prediction: England 1-3 Belgium
#1 Portugal vs Spain (Group B)
Date: 15th June 2018
Venue: Fisht Stadium, Sochi
Head-to-head:
Games played: 35
Portugal wins: 6
Spain wins: 17
Drawn: 12
The teams last faced off in the semi-finals of Euro 2012 - Spain winning that one on penalties following a stalemate in normal time in Donetsk
Preview:
The dismissal of Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday sent shockwaves throughout the football world, as La Roja reacted swiftly Real Madrid's appointment a day beforehand that the 51-year-old is to become their manager later this summer. Fernando Hierro, his successor, is somewhat inexperienced at this job.
Portugal come into the tournament with a 3-0 win over Algeria. But their record hasn't been all that great. However, the fact that their fierce rivals are undergoing a period of distress should be more than encouraging.
Spain were undefeated in qualifying and scored 36 goals. Diego Costa, Isco, Alvaro Morata and David scored 5 each. Portugal hotshot Cristiano Ronaldo alone scored 15 goals as his team qualified as group B winners.
Key players:
Cristiano Ronaldo, Goncalo Guedes, Bernardo Silva (Portugal)
Isco, Sergio Ramos, Diego Costa (Spain)
Possible lineups:
Portugal(4-4-2): Patricio, Cedric, Pepe, Fonte, Guerreiro, B Silva, Carvalho, Moutinho, J Mario, A Silva/Guedes, Ronaldo
Spain(4-2-3-1): de Gea, Carvajal/Odriozola, Ramos, Pique, Alba, Busquets, Alcantara, Isco, Iniesta, Silva, Costa
Prediction: Portugal 2-3 Spain
