Teams: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria

Player to Watch: Kelechi Iheanacho

X-Factor: Nigeria's speed

Projected to Advance: Argentina, Croatia

Best Match to Watch: Croatia v Nigeria

Argentina: The South American giants are perennial World Cup contenders and this year will be no different. The two-time world champions fell to Germany in the finals of the 2014 tournament on a Mario Gotze winner in extra time. Argentina have become synonymous with international soccer success and seek to add to their extensive legacy in Russia. Led by Barcelona front man Lionel Messi, Le Albiceleste are loaded all over the pitch, although their attacking firepower tends to overshadow their other position groups. Joining Messi upfront is a murderer's row of lethal scorers includig Sergio Aguero (Man City), Gonzalo Higuain (Juventus), and Paolo Dybala (Juventus), and Angel Di Maria (PSG). One notable omission from this group is Inter Milan striker Mauro Icardi who was left off the final 23-man roster for Russia. Facilitating the attack for these forwards will be some combination of the following creative play makers; Giovani Lo Celso (PSG), Christian Pavon (Boca Juniors), Eduardo Salvio (Benfica), and Ever Bangea (Sevilla). This group will have the freedom to push forward with the peace of mind of having former Barcelona man Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia (AC Milan) sitting behind them in holding midfield roles. Nicolas Otamendi (Man City), Marcos Rojo (Man United), and Federico Fazio (Roma) headline an underrated defensive unit. Over the course of Messi's career he has earned virtually every award, record, and title in his path, except for the ever-elusive World Cup. He is a living legend, and will be remembered as such regardless of how Argentina finish in Russia, but adding  a World Cup title to his extensive resume will immortalize his legacy. Because of his accolades and reputation as one of the best players in history, his performances in Russia will undoubtedly be hyper-scrutinized. Messi is the key to Argentina's success, and he will need to live up to his deified stature for Argentina to make a title run this summer. It's always hard to bet against Argentina, but the group draw afforded them no favors when they were placed in this tournament's 'group of death,' There wont be any easy outs in Group D as Croatia, Nigeria, and Iceland are all excellent sides with their sights set on ruining Argentina's title dreams. Argentina always has a target on their back and they will have to rely on their experience and skill to navigate a tricky Group D draw.

Iceland: SKOL! Whoever doesn't have a soft spot in their hearts for tiny Iceland doesn't have a pulse. The puny Scandinavian island nation, located on a volcanic archipelago just south of the Arctic circle roared onto the international scene at Euro 2016 when they made an improbable run to the quarterfinals after defeating England in the round of 16. 'Our Boys,' as they're almost too appropriately nicknamed, followed up their European Championship success by qualifying for their first ever World Cup this year. Iceland is the smallest country in the field this year and certainly face an uphill battle to advance past the group stage with Nigeria, Croatia, and Argentina lying in their path to the knockout stage. Despite their population disadvantage, Iceland's roster is relatively strong and they play some of the most cohesive and effective team soccer in the world. Their strength lies in the midfield where they're anchored by captain and Cardiff City man Aron Gunnarsson and their star Everton man Gylfi Sigurdsson. Their top striker is Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg) and their midfielders will attempt to release him on the counter to spark their offense against top-class competition, when possession most likely wont be in their favor. Iceland have fully embraced their role as David and will need to channel their underdog mentality to earn points from opponents where they will be over-matched. Word for the wise: don't overlook Iceland because that's what they're counting on you to do. 

Croatia: For a country that only gained it's independence within the last 30 years, Croatia has emerged as a regular World Cup attendee. Despite missing out on qualification for the 2010 tournament, the Croats have established themselves as a tough out. Balkan teams exude a fighter's mentality and Croatia is no exception. They play a strong, focused, and decisive brand of soccer that can lead to issues for their opponents who aren't used to their caliber of strength and skill. Their roster this summer features some massive names from across the biggest clubs in Europe. Upfront, they have a surplus of attacking options in Ivan Perisic (Inter), Andrej Kramaric (Hoffenheim), Nikola Kalinic (AC Milan), Marko Pjaca (Juventus), and Mario Mandzukic (Juventus). While their options at forward are abundant, they are even more spoiled at midfield with Milan Badelj (Fiorentina), Marcelo Brozovic (Inter), Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid), and their two maestros Luka Modric (Real Madrid) and Ivan Rakitic (Barcelona). Despite being one the smallest nations in the tournament, the Croatian squad heading to Russia is the strongest group they've ever assembled. Croatia is in the middle of a golden generation of talent and boasts probably the most  under-the-radar collection of star players in the tournament. Their forward and midfield position groups are as talented and experienced as anyone they'll face. People tend to be hesitant to gamble on the Croats because they've never made a deep major tournament run. If manager Zlatko Dalic can figure out a way to maximize the talent at his disposal, then there is a very real opportunity for Croatia to finally get over the hump and show the world that they deserve to be in the same discussion as the elite teams of the world.

Nigeria: Nigeria is always a bit of a question mark when they grace the World Cup with their presence.The country is a unquestionably a hotbed for talent and world-class players have been funneling to Europe for decades, yet it seems like Nigeria is rarely able to put it all together on the world stage. Since qualifying for the first World Cup in 1994, Nigeria has participated in every tournament, except for 2006, and have reached the round of 16  in '94, '98, and most recently in 2014. The young talent pool is deep for the Super Eagles, who have claimed 3 out of the last 6 U-17 World Cups, but it looks like Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr opted for experience over youth in his final roster selection. Rohr won't be working with a bunch of aging geezers however, as he will utilize the attacking speed and skills of Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City), Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai), Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), and Alex Iwobi (Arsenal) - all under 30 years old. Even team captain, and former Chelsea man, Jon Obi Mikel is still only 31, even though it feels like he's been around forever. Mikel's leadership and experience will be a calming presence on the pitch as he will be in charge of dictating the flow of the game through his central midfield position. Fellow Super Eagles veteran Victor Moses (Chelsea) will be also be relied upon to initiate the Nigerian attack from the wing. Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City), Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor), and Joel Obi (Torino) will add depth and their experience playing top flight soccer in Europe to help round out Nigeria's midfield. Nigeria has been knocking on the door for a while, and are a sleeping giant of a federation. Rhor will need to focus on getting his opponents to play Nigeria's brand of soccer, a pacey, chaotic style to maximize his teams most valuable assets - their speed and finishing ability on the break. As I mentioned before, there are no gimme games in Group D, and the Super Eagles will need to approach the group stage one game at a time and play compete games if they intend to advance to the knockout stage.