The Wildcard’s Big Ol’ 2018 FIFA World Cup Preview – Part 2
GROUP D
ARGENTINA
2014: Beaten finalists, losing 1-0 to Germany after extra time. Got through their group unconvincingly then won 1-0 (aet) vs Switzerland, 1-0 vs Belgium, beat Netherlands on penalties and then… yeah. Lost to Germany in the World Cup Final.
The Gaffer: Jorge Sampaoli (ARG)
Main Man: Hahahaha… Lionel Messi. The little maestro bagged a hatty in the final game of qualifying to get them here, keeping up his long history of carrying a completely dependent Argentinian team on his short shoulders.
What to Watch For: This isn’t a classic Argentine squad. It has a number of obvious holes around a handful of world class players and they struggled mightily to even qualify. Specifically those holes are rather enormous in defence and in goal (Sergio Romero’s out with a knee injury). Then add in that they lost the 2014 final and have also taken heartbreakers in consecutive Copa America finals and Jorge Sampaoli has only been in charge for a year. Sounds like it’s all stacked against them, right? Step up Lionel Messi…
The Big Question: Can Sergio Aguero (and Paulo Dybala, Gonzalo Higuain, Angel Di Maria and Manuel Lanzini) take the pressure off of Messi with a few goals? Oh and will Lucas Biglia and Giovani Lo Celso boss the midfield and protect that fragile backline? There are heaps more but we’ll leave it there with the Argies.
Prediction: Last time Lionel Messi carried them to extra time in the final. His back’s not that strong to do it again. Out in the quarters, losing to Spain. Wouldn’t even rule them out as the Massive Nation That Gets Knocked Out In The Group Stage. There’s at least one every time…
ICELAND
2014: Viking claps for the mighty Iceland. Darlings of Euro 2016 and now the smallest nation ever to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.
The Gaffer: Heimir Hallgrímsson (ICE)
Main Man: Gylfi Sigurdsson is the best of them and a man whose creativity will be crucial for an otherwise defensively compact line-up. If he gets marked out of the game, though, keep a lookout for Burnley winger Jóhann Berg Gudmundsson to do some enticing things.
What to Watch For: This is the group of death if ever there was one, with Argentina rocking up as one of the tournament favourites, Nigeria representing the best hope of the African nations and Croatia always something of a dark horse. Then you’ve got tiny little Iceland who showed at the last Euros that you underestimate them at your own peril. Genuinely any combination of teams in this group could advance or be eliminated. Every result is massive.
The Big Question: Will this tight-knit team have the depth to handle any injuries or suspensions? Will they even need to?
Prediction: Love Iceland… but they won’t make it out of the group this time.
CROATIA
2014: Had a very tough group with Brazil, Mexico and Cameroon and never made it out.
The Gaffer: Zlatko Dalić (CRO)
Main Man: Do you prefer the passing vision and balletic grace of Luka Modrić or the more energetic but equally creative capabilities of Ivan Rakitić? It’s Real Madrid versus Barcelona except this time you can have both.
What to Watch For: Lots of names ending in ić. Tell you what, it’s easy to forget how many outstanding players represent Croatia given that they’re all spread out across the top leagues in Europe but this starting eleven is gonna be stacked. Their bench is mostly young dudes and battlers and their best players are mostly in that 28-33 age range but that’s not a bad balance. And in Mario Mandžukić they have a striker who can make ‘em count.
The Big Question: This might be the last chance at a World Cup for some of these guys, certainly the last chance in their primes. Will they get to dine alongside the legends of 1998?
Prediction: Dunno. Too hard to pick. I’ll play it safe and say they come third in Group D but I can easily picture them beating Argentina and progressing at their expense.
NIGERIA
2014: A 1-0 win over Bosnia & Herzegovina got them out of their group but a 2-0 loss to France knocked them out in the Round of 16.
The Gaffer: Gernot Rohr (GER)
Main Man: Take a look at Wilfred Ndidi, one of three Leicester City players in this squad, who has been carrying a hamstring injury but will be a huge presence for this team in the midfield. He’s the guy Leicester signed to be the new N’Golo Kante. A proper box to box midfielder capable of scoring a few screamers now and then.
What to Watch For: Heaps of pace and power up front but lacking in quality further back. Should make them a fun team to watch, plenty of goals on offer. Alex Iwobi, Victor Moses, Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Odion Ighalo… this team is going to bring the entertainment. Plus, yo, how about those jerseys!?
The Big Question: That Nigeria home kit with the flouro green had three million pre-orders and sold out minutes with fans in London, for example, lining up down the street to get their hands on it. This squad has the potential to capture the imagination of the neutrals and be one of the stories of the tourney… so can they keep up the good work?
Prediction: This is a Nigeria team that cruised through qualification and should rate themselves a shot at winning a knockout game… if they can get out of this group. I’m saying they will and they will. Nigeria for the quarters, mate, Lock it in.
GROUP E
BRAZIL
2014: Well, they hosted the damn thing. Then they lost narrowly to Germany in the semis, a hard fought and extremely tight 7-1 loss.
The Gaffer: Tite (BRA)
Main Man: Unfortunately it’s got to be Neymar but the good news is that they won’t be nearly as reliant on him as they were in 2014. Still, Neymar demands the spotlight and his fitness following a foot injury that’s kept him off the park since late February is kind of a big deal.
What to Watch For: With a little luck this will be a return of the Brazil of old, full of flair and excitement but also with that added steel that’s been missing in recent years. Casemiro is going to sweep up plenty of danger, allowing extra freedom to the attacking weapons in front of him. Since taking over as manager Tite has restored belief to this team and they cruised through qualifying. Brazil are legit threats to this title. Even their reserves would probably make the quarters.
The Big Question: You may recall that they didn’t handle the pressure of being hosts and favourites too well last time. How will Brazil deal with having a better squad but in less favourable conditions?
Prediction: Champions? It’s been 16 years so they’re due. The tournament being hosted in Russia counts against them, as does their recent tournament history… but they were immaculate in qualifying and, for mine, they’re the best team at this tournament. That means relying on Neymar though and I’m not sure I can handle that.
SWITZERLAND
2014: Did well to advance to the knockouts and pushed Argentina a long way in the R16, before an Angel Di Maria goal in the 118th minute killed them in extra time.
The Gaffer: Vladimir Petković (BOS)
Main Man: A few candidates but given that they conceded just seven times in qualification (winning nine of ten games before beating Northern Ireland 1-0 over two legs in a playoff), seems most appropriate to go with new Arsenal signing and Swiss captain Stephan Lichtsteiner.
What to Watch For: Hardly the most captivating team out there but they do have the enigmatic Xherdan Shaqiri in their ranks alongside the rambunctious Granit Xhaka. Bicycle kicks and red cards usually get the viewership numbers moving in the right direction. Ricardo Rodriguez is also a fun player to witness in full flight. Between that and their stellar defence the Swiss will find a way to stay in every game.
The Big Question: How many 0-0 draws can the people tolerate? The Swiss don’t concede many but with Haris Seferović fumbling around up front they don’t score a lot either. He hasn’t scored for Benfica since October.
Prediction: Boring second place in this group and a boring R16 exit, probably on penalties.
COSTA RICA
2014: Incredibly qualified first out of a group with Uruguay, Italy and England and then beat Honduras on penalties before the Netherlands evened out that dollop of luck with a spotties win of their own in the Quarters.
The Gaffer: Óscar Ramírez (CRC)
Main Man: Bryan Ruiz remains their finest outfielder, while Bryan Oviedo and Joel Campbell are more than decent. Numero uno is the numero uno though, none other than Keylor Navas.
What to Watch For: Very experienced squad with a lot of players there from the 2014 tournament so consistency shouldn’t be a problem. Only two players younger than 25, however. Fantastic jerseys too. Hugely unlikely they can repeat what they did last time but you never know with these things.
The Big Question: How do we thank them for helping keep America out of the World Cup? Is a gift basket enough or should we all chip in for something bigger?
Prediction: Commendable first round exit.
SERBIA
2014: Was Serbia there? Nope, doesn’t appear so.
The Gaffer: Mladen Krstajić (SER)
Main Man: There’s a reason that Sergej Milinković-Savić is being linked with some enormous transfer fees and it’s not because he’s got incriminating photos of anyone… although personal issues with the last Serbian manager did get that last Serbian manager sacked. The Lazio midfielder’s one of the emerging stars in world footy and here’s his coming out party… maybe. He’s a bit temperamental so it could go either way.
What to Watch For: Dark horse potential? Serbia aren’t the prettiest team and they had their issues in qualifying for this thing but they’ve sure got the ability and potential in this squad to make a few things happen. Nemanja Matić, Dušan Tadić, Aleksandar Mitrović, Adem Ljajić… heaps of talent here.
The Big Question: Remember Branislav Ivanović and Aleksandar Kolarov? Because they’re still crucial parts of this Serbian defence. The World Cup brings out the best in experienced defenders so don’t worry about their age, this Serbian defence is probably its strongest aspect.
Prediction: Another commendable first round exit. It’s either them or Switzerland.
GROUP F
GERMANY
2014: Mate, they only went and bloody won the thing!
The Gaffer: Joachim Löw (GER)
Main Man: Take your pick. You could throw darts at the sticker book with a blindfold on and not come up with a bad suggestion from this squad. The one thing they don’t really have which has always served them well in the past is a poacher of a striker to apply the finishing touches. So young RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner will need to have a big tourney.
What to Watch For: If your squad is so good that you can leave behind players like Mario Gotze, Shkodran Mustafi, Andre Schurrle, Benedikt Howedes, Jonathan Tah and, most astoundingly of all, Leroy Sane… and still have a tough time looking at who you’d have left out in any of their places… then good luck picking a starting XI. This team has champion pedigree and is stacked from one to twenty-three. A lot of people are picking them to go back to back.
The Big Question: Well, there’s definitely a question about Manuel Neuer’s fitness. Such a massive part of their World Champion team in 2014 but the German captain’s only just made his return from seven months out with a broken foot, fifteen days before the tournament begins. Is he ready?
Prediction: A 7-1 defeat in the final against Brazil. Okay, maybe not.
MEXICO
2014: Went down 2-1 in the R16 to Netherlands with Wes Sneijder equalising in the 88th minute and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar winning it from the penalty spot in the fourth minute of injury time. Arjen Robben might have dived.
The Gaffer: Juan Carlos Osorio (COL)
Main Man: Javier Hernandez needs to score some goals but equally as important is that Hirving Lozano is able to create chances for him. The PSV forward, whose nickname is Chucky, is fast becoming one of El Tri’s very best players.
What to Watch For: Mexico has made the knockouts of the last six World Cups. There’s absolute buckets of experience here with four 100-cap players and 14 with at least 50 caps… yet that also means there are some old bastards in there. Hey, it wouldn’t be a Mexican team without a couple 38 year olds. Edson Álvarez, who is the youngest in the squad by four years at age 20, is the only player with fewer than 20 international caps in this squad.
The Big Question: Did they learn the necessary lessons for breaking down desperate defences when they played Anthony Hudson’s All Whites at the Confederations Cup last year?
Prediction: Either they beat Germany in the groups or they play Brazil in the knockouts. Leaning towards the latter and another typically Mexican heart-breaking and scandalous exit against a top team.
SWEDEN
2014: Surprisingly this is the first time Sweden has qualified since 2006. So it turns out a World Cup without Zlatan really is still a World Cup.
The Gaffer: Janne Andersson (SWE)
Main Man: Emil Forsberg is one of those players who’ll get plenty of transfer suspicion if he shows up like he’s capable of showing up. Madman Leeds centre back Pontus Jansson should be a fan favourite as well.
What to Watch For: Nothing too eccentric, they’re actually a pretty quiet and organised team without Zlatan Ibrahimović around. Can’t sleep on the team that eliminated Italy, of course. Also likely to be amongst the sexiest teams in attendance.
The Big Question: They didn’t win a game at the 2016 Euros, have they improved enough since then to be competitive in Russia?
Prediction: Everyone likes Sweden but they’re not going further than the groups.
SOUTH KOREA
2014: Took one point from three games and went home at the end of the group stage.
The Gaffer: Shin Tae-yong (KOR)
Main Man: Probably gotta leave it at Son Heung-min, the Tottenham wizard who’s got a lot of expectations on his shoulders if the Koreans are going to get out of this group. He’s good enough to make it happen.
What to Watch For: They always play a decent style of football, quick passing and lots of movement, lacking in that European cynicism that often clouds World Cups. South Korea weren’t great in qualifying but that ain’t always the best indication of things. The Taeguk Warriors are a team that can cause some issues. Either that or they’ll get stomped on.
The Big Question: Their entire defence plays their club stuff in Korea, China or Japan so there’s a culture clash coming up against Germany, Mexico and Sweden here… will that see them struggle? Or will it be an advantage given they’re not exactly coming up against big, physical target men with any of these opponents?
Prediction: Everyone also likes South Korea but they’re also not going further than the groups. Although I’d sure like them to.
The Niche Cache is on Patreon. Flip a few bucks our way there and you’ll be helping keep us funky, independent and uncompromised all for the price of a cup of coffee (or beer (or whatever)).
And whack an ad while you’re here.