Know your Teams from the World Cup!

The World Cup is upon us, the teams have arrived in Russia and we are only a few hours away from the Group Stage matches! Let us have a look at all the teams that will be playing in this year’s tournament.

Group A – Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay

Russia:

FIFA World Ranking:70

Star Players: Alan Dzagoev the mercurial winger might create problems for other teams.

Igor Akinfeev might be able to make those crucial saves.

Coach: Stanislav Cherchesov

Chances for progressing: It might make a lot of financial sense if Russia makes it past the group stages given the amount of financial and political capital already invested, but it is highly unlikely.

Saudi Arabia:

FIFA World Ranking: 67.

Star Players: Mohammad al-Sahlawi scored 16 goals during the qualifying stages! He has an incredible count of 28 goals in 33 international appearances. Other teams need to watch out for him.

Coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi.

Chances for progressing: After a 12-year absence from the World Cup, playing in the biggest international tournament is a huge achievement for Saudi Arabia. Any positive results will be a huge bonus.

Egypt:

FIFA World Ranking: 45.

Star Players: Mohamed Salah is a national hero for the land of the Pharaohs. If he is in usual unstoppable self, Egypt could definitely make it to the last 16.

Coach: Héctor Cúper

Chances for progressing: Egypt is back to the World Cup after a long wait, having to wait at the sidelines since 1990. Making it to the last 16 will be an achievement for them.

Uruguay:

FIFA World Ranking: 14.

Star Players: Uruguay striking force Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani alongwith defender Diego Godin can cause a major headache for opponents.

Coach: Oscar Washington Tabarez;

Chances for progressing: With Suarez, Cavani and Godin in form, there is a high chance to reach the last 16 of the tournament and a bit further.

Jiyo Bangla’s Verdict for Group A:

Uruguay and Egypt to qualify for the knock out stages from Group A.

Group B –Portugal, Spain, Iran, Morocco

Portugal:

FIFA World Ranking: 4.

Star Players: Cristiano Ronaldo, the Best FIFA Men’s Player for the last two years running is Portugal’s best chance. Ronaldo has hit peak form towards the end of the season with Real Madrid and like Euro 2016, he may drag Portugal all the way to the Final. Pepe, Joao Moutinho, Ricardo Quaresma and Andre Silva will be a major threat for other teams.

Coach: Fernando Santos

Chances of progressing: Portugal has already won the Euro 2016 and they should not be underestimated. They might not play beautiful football, but they are quite effective.

Spain:

FIFA World Ranking: 10.

Star Players: Sergio Ramos is the star player, with amazing talents like Gerard Piqué, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets, David Silva, Isco, Marco Asensio along with the feisty battering ram in Diego Costa upfront. David De Gea is arguably the best goalkeeper in the World now and scoring past him will be a serious test for the best forwards in the world.

Coach: Fernando Hierro.

Chances of progressing: Spain wowed us when they won the Euros and World Cup between 2008 and 2012. Spain are going into the tournament as potential world-beaters, but following their coach Lopetegui getting the sack and appointment of Fernando Hierro only 48 hours prior to the World Cup, it will be interesting to see how Spain copes with this crisis.

Iran:

FIFA World Ranking: 37.

Star Players: Sardar Azmoun who currently plays for Rubin Kazan has already scored 22 international goals and is a mojor threat for other teams.

Coach: Carlos Quiroz.

Chances of progressing: This is the fifth World Cup for Iran. Although they were winless during the 2014 World Cup, they were unbeaten during the qualifying games leading to this year’s World Cup.

Morocco:

FIFA World Ranking: 41.

Star Players: Nabil Dirar from Fenerbache and Mehdi Benatia from Juventus will be key players for Morocco.

Coach: Hervé Renard.

Chances of progressing: Getting caught in the same group as Portugal and Spain might not help Morocco’s cause but with a solid defense and fast attacking tempo might just be enough to cause an upset in their Group to send them through!

Jiyo Bangla’s Verdict for Group B:

Portugal and Spain to qualify for the knock out stages from Group B.

Group C –France, Peru, Denmark, Australia

France:

FIFA World Ranking: 7.

Star Players: Paul Pogba of Manchester United, Kylian Mbappé from Paris Saint Germain, Antoine Griezmann from Athletico Madrid will be players to watch out for while playing against France.

Coach: Didier Deschamps.

Chances of progressing: A team filled with young and vibrant players full of flair! On paper, possibly the best team in this year’s competition. However, problems in defense along with occasional lapses in concentration need to be nipped if France wishes to win the World Cup.

Peru:

FIFA World Ranking:11.

Star Players: Paolo Guerrero and Jefferson Farfán will be carrying the burden of taking Peru through to the round of last 16 squarely on their shoulders.

Coach: Ricardo Gareca.

Chances of progressing: With minimum chances of progressing to the round of last 16, getting through to the last 16 will give Peru enough reasons for huge celebration.

Denmark:

FIFA World Ranking: 12.

Star Players: Christian Eriksen who scored a wonderful hat trick against Ireland and helped Denmark into the tournament will be the crucial to the chances of Denmark making any progress.

Coach: Age Hareide.

Chances of progressing:Denmark will be looking to beat Australia and Peru and target to progress into the last 16.

Australia:

FIFA World Ranking: 36.

Star Players: Evergreen player Tim Cahill was yet again the standout star for Australia in the qualifying stages to the World Cup with 11 goals! Aaron Mooy from Huddersfield and Mile Jedinak from Aston Villa could also make a difference.

Coach: Bert Van Marwijk.

Chances of progressing: With a bit of luck Australia could progress through the Group stages.

Jiyo Bangla’s Verdict for Group C:

France and Denmark to qualify for the knock out stages from Group C.

Group D – Argentina, Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria

Argentina:

FIFA World Ranking: 5.

Star Players: Messi is considered one of the best footballers in the world but has been in the shadow of Diego Maradona and Cristiano Ronaldo due to his lack of international success. This is the last chance saloon for Messi to match upto Cristiano Ronaldo’s stature by adding an international cup to his collection of trophies. Key players in attack like Sergio Aguero, Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain and Angelo Di Maria might be able to make a difference.

Coach: Jorge Sampaoli.

Chances of progressing: Messi carried Argentine fans hopes to Russia with the help of his goals. However, a very porous defence centered on Marcus Rojo and Nicolas Otamendi does not very ably back the attacking force of Argentina led by Lionel Messi.

Iceland:

FIFA World Ranking: 22.

Star Players: Gylfi Sigurdsson is the best bet for Iceland going into this year and the team will probably be built around the Everton attacker.

Coach: Heimir Hallgrimsson

Chances of progression: Iceland might be the smallest country to be playing in the World Cup, but last year they knocked out England in Nice and qualifying for the World Cup ahead of Croatia and Ukraine showed immense talent and grit. Might cause another upset this year as well!

Croatia:

FIFA World Ranking: 20.

Star Players: Croatia is going into this World Cup with a group of star players led by Real Madrid playmaker Luka Modric who is the heartbeat of Croatia along with the talents of Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic playing upfront. If these players can replicate their club form, Croatia is going to be a very tough challenge for any other team.

Coach: Zlatko Dalic

Chances of progression: It is quite likely that Croatia will qualify for the last 16, and will pose a big problem to most teams in the last 16.

Nigeria:

FIFA World Ranking: 48.

Star Player: Victor Moses along with John Obi Mikel, Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Ihenacho has the potential to unlock any defence in the world.

Coach: Gernot Rohr

Chances of progression: With a victory against Argentina earlier this year, Nigeria proved that they could be handful for any side. They will surely go through to the last 16.

Jiyo Bangla’s Verdict for Group D:

It is likely that Argentina and Nigeria will qualify for the knock out stages from Group D.

Group E – Brazil, Switzerland, Serbia, Costa Rica

Brazil:

FIFA World Ranking: 2.

Star Player: Neymar is undoubtedly the key player for Brazil and shall be joined by others star players like Roberto Firmino, Willian, Marcelo, Casemiro and Gabriel Jesus.

Coach: Adenor Bacchi also known as Tite.

Chances of progression: Neymar aged 26 will be at the peak of his powers and under Tite’s coaching, Brazil has attacking flair back and has a high chance of ending the World Cup with a parade through Rio Di Janeiro.