The 2018 FIFA World Cup is set to start in 13 days when hosts Russia will take on Saudi Arabia in the opening match at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
With the best of world football showcasing their talents, this bonanza will certainly entertain fans around the world, and while Netherlands and Italy will be missed, the football faithful will want another Costa Rica story of underdogs defying odds at this World Cup.
Fans around the world will want Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to perform well in what is likely to be their last World Cup.
In this set of articles I will preview the eight groups of the tournament. It can help us provide insights in predicting how the World Cup will shape.
This is how Group E is shaping up.
Goalkeepers: Alisson (Roma), Cassio (Corinthians), Ederson (Manchester City).
Defenders: Danilo (Manchester City), Fagner (Corinthians), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid), Pedro Geromel (Gremio), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Marquinhos (PSG), Miranda (Inter Milan), Thiago Silva (PSG).
Midfielders: Casemiro (Real Madrid), Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk), Paulinho (Barcelona), Renato Augusto (Beijing Sinobo Guoan), Willian (Chelsea).
Forwards: Taison (Shakhtar Donetsk), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Douglas Costa (Juventus), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool), Neymar (PSG).
Manager: Tite
In 2014 Brazil reached last four on their home soil. They lost Neymar in quarter-finals to an injury. The hosts were humiliated 7-1 in semi-finals by eventual champions Germany. Over last four years the gloom seems to have lifted.
Appointment of Tite has galvanised this uber-talented side. They are one of best assembled squads of this tournament with stars all over the pitch. They are likely to employ any variation of 4-3-3 formation for this tournament.
In goal they are certain to have Alisson, who emerged as one of the best goalkeepers of this season. The likely centre-back pairing of Silva- Marquinhos in front of him is solid and Marcelo is arguably one of the best left-backs.
The likely midfield trio of Casemiro, Paulinho and Coutinho is imperious. Fred, Fernandinho and Augusto offer a more than competent cover. Their attack will be led by Neymar with two among Firmino, Jesus and Willian partnering him.
Brazil along with Spain may be the most complete team of this competition.
There doesn’t seem a weakness in this side except the brittle right-back position. Additionally it will be interesting to see how Neymar performs in Russia. He has been out of the game since 26 February.
If Brazil can keep themselves fit and play as a unit, they should comfortably qualify
from this relatively tough group. They are one of the prime contenders to lift the coveted trophy for an unprecedented sixth time.
(AP Photo/Leo Correa)
Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas (Real Madrid), Patrick Pemberton (Alajuelense), Leonel Moreira (Herediano).
Defenders: Giancarlo Gonzalez (Bologna), Johnny Acosta (Aguilas Doradas), Cristian Gamboa (Celtic), Bryan Oviedo (Sunderland), Oscar Duarte (Espanyol), Francisco Calvo (Minnesota United), Kendall Waston (Vancouver Whitecaps FC), Ronald Matarrita (New York City FC), Ian Smith (Norrkoping).
Midfielders: Celso Borges (Deportivo La Coruna), Christian Bolanos (Saprissa), Randall Azofeifa (Herediano), Yeltsin Tejeda (Lausanne), David Guzman (Portland Timbers FC), Rodney Wallace (New York City FC), Daniel Colindres (Saprissa).
Forwards: Bryan Ruiz (captain) (Sporting CP), Joel Campbell (Real Betis), Marco Urena (Los Angeles FC), Johan Venegas (Saprissa).
Coach: Oscar Ramirez.
Germany clinched the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. However, the Costa Ricans won hearts. Drawn in a tough group with Uruguay, Italy and England, they reached quarter-finals before narrowly losing out to the Netherlands on penalties.
For their fifth World Cup Costa Rica appear much different than 2014. Many individuals are the same, but they have developed immensely with the opportunities in bigger leagues.
Captain Bryan Ruiz will lead the attack while Borges is the one around whom their midfield will perform. However, like the last edition, Costa Rica’s main strength is their defence. They were the second-best unit of CONCACAF’s hexagonal while conceding just eight goals. Defensive trio Waston, Gonzalez and Acosta were solid.
However, their real strength and Costa Rica’s best player is goalkeeper Keylor Navas. One of the breakout stars of last edition, he has become a top-class goalkeeper. He recently won third consecutive UEFA Champions League with Real Madrid.
Age can be a cause for concern as Costa Rica are the second oldest squad of the tournament. Along with this, too much dependence on Ruiz to score goals can come back and bite them.
This World Cup Costa Rica find themselves in a tough group with Brazil, Switzerland and Serbia. With Brazil virtually certain to progress, Costa Ricans will want to get maximum points from other two opponents. While they defied the odds last time, this can be too tough a mountain to climb.
Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic (Partizan), Predrag Rajkovic (Maccabi Tel Aviv), Marko Dmitrovic (Eibar), Aleksander Jovanovic (AGF)
Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic (Zenit St Petersburg), Aleksander Kolarov (Captain) (Roma), Antonio Rukavina (Villarreal), Matija Nastasic (Schalke 04), Dusko Tosic (Besiktas), Uros Spajic (Anderlecht), Milos Veljkovic (Werder Bremen), Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina), Milan Rodic (Red Star Belgrade)
Midfielders: Nemanja Radonjic (Red Star Belgrade), Nemanja Maksimovic (Valencia), Sergej Milinkovic-Savic (Lazio), Marko Grujic (Cardiff City), Mijat Gacinovic (Eintracht Frankfurt), Andrija Zivkovic (Benfica), Filip Kostic (Hamburg SV), Luka Milivojevic (Crystal Palace), Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Adm Ljajic (Torino), Nemanja Matic (Manchester United)
Attackers: Aleksander Mitrovic (Fulham), Aleksander Prijovic (PAOK), Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Coach: Mladen Krstajić
After topping the qualifying group comprising Ireland, Wales and Austria, coach Slavoljub Muslin was sacked. While he was criticised for defensive tactics, Serbia scored 20 goals in the qualifier stage, with Mitrovic netting six
This Serbian squad has many talented midfielders and attackers. Midfield trio Kostic, Milivojevic and Matic is a solid combination. With Tadic and Ljajic partnering Mitrovic on top, their front three look settled.
While the defence is solid, age and a lack of pace could prove to be their Achilles heel. Branislav Ivanovic, at 34, is fading, as are captain Kolarov and Rukavina. Nastasic must continue to perform and prove why Manchester City spent such money on him a few years back.
This World Cup is an opportunity for much sought after Milinkovic-Savic. The young midfielder’s reputation has grown in leaps and bounds. Such is his worth that Lazio have snapped him up for a price tag of around €100 million ($A155 million) on him.
Like other Balkan teams, Serbia is a balanced unit with great work rate. However, in this World Cup they are drawn in a tough group alongside Brazil, Switzerland and Costa Rica. Brazil’s qualification to the knockouts seems virtually assured. Hence Serbia’s games against other two teams can decide the outcome of this group. They will require positive results to reach the knockouts.
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Goalkeepers: Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach), Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund), Gregor Kobel (1899 Hoffenheim), Yvon Mvogo (RB Leipzig).
Defenders: Stephan Lichsteiner (Captain) (Juventus), Johan Djorou (Antalyaspor), Ricardo Rodriguez (AC Milan), Fabian Schar (Deportivo La Coruna), Michael Lang (Basel), Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Silvan Widmer (Udinese), Manuel Akanji (Borussia Dortmund), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach).
Midfielders: Valon Behrami (Udinese), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City), Gelson Fernandes (Eintracht Frankfurt), Blerim Dzemaili (Bologna), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Steven Zuber (1899 Hoffenheim), Remo Freuler (Atalanta), Denis Zakaria (Borussia Monchengladbach), Edimilson Fernandes (West Ham United).
Forwards: Breel Embolo (Schalke 04), Haris Seferovic (Benfica), Mario Gavranovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Josip Drmic (Borussia Monchengladbach).
Coach: Vladimir Petkovic.
Qualifiers were going ideally for the Swiss until Portugal woke up and forced them to play play-offs against Northern Ireland. They comfortably qualified to the tournament and find themselves in one of the toughest groups.
The 11th ranked in the world plays possession-based football, with talented players all around the pitch. They are eye-catching yet solid.
In Lichsteiner and Rodriguez they have two outstanding attacking wingbacks. They have been constant threats for their clubs. These two complement each other wonderfully.
Shaqiri and Xhaka will be key for Swiss success. Shaqiri, Switzerland’s best player, was one of the only bright spots in Stoke City’s Premier League debacle. He is quick, skilful, has a mean left food and can pick out a pass from anywhere. Xhaka has played a deeper role at Arsenal. However, with Gelson, Dzemaili and Behrami in the squad, he is likely to play a much-advanced number ten role, which he occupied and thrived at in qualifiers.
While attacking wingbacks and centre midfield is their strength, attack seems their biggest weakness. None amongst them had a good 2017-18 season. Seferovic struggled at Benfica. Drmic, a natural finisher played little football while youngster Embolo failed to find consistency at Schalke. The less-fancied Gavranovic is the only consistent scorer through this season. He is unlikely to be a difference maker for the Swiss.
Switzerland are drawn alongside Brazil, Costa Rica and Serbia. While Brazil are expected to win the group, any team among the remaining three is good enough to join them. It can come down to the little moments in matches which decide who makes it to knockouts from this group.
| Game No. | Date | Time | Match | Venue |
| 9 | Sun 17 Jun | 10:00 PM | Costa Rica vs Serbia | Samara Arena |
| 11 | Mon 18 Jun | 4:00 AM | Brazil vs Switzerland | Rostov Arena |
| 24 | Fri 22 Jun | 10:00 PM | Brazil vs Costa Rica | Saint Petersburg Stadium |
| 26 | Sat 23 Jun | 4:00 AM | Serbia vs Switzerland | Kaliningrad Stadium |
| 43 | Thu 28 Jun | 4:00 AM | Serbia vs Brazil | Spartak Stadium |
| 44 | Thu 28 Jun | 4:00 AM | Switzerland vs Costa Rica | Nizhy Novgorod Stadium |
Likely qualifiers from this group
Brazil and Serbia
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