RUSSIA 2018 - World Cup Preview: Group A
Teams: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Player to Watch: Luis Suarez
X-Factor: Russian crowds
Projected to Advance: Uruguay, Egypt
Best Match to Watch: Uruguay v Egypt, June 15th
Russia: The hosts enter the World Cup as the lowest ranked team in the field. Had the tournament not been held on their home turf, Russia would have had an uphill battle to qualify. The Soviet Union enjoyed relatively consistent success, especially during the 1960s, but since the USSR's collapse in 1991, success has been hard to come by. After reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2008, Russia failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup. The Russians qualified for Euro 2012, the 2014 World Cup, and Euro 2016 but have failed to advance past the group stage in each of those tournaments and didn't record a win in their two most recent appearances. They are lead upfront by Artem Dzyuba and anchored in the midfield by national team veterans Aleksandr Samdeov and Yuri Zhirkov as well as former Real Madrid product Denis Cheryshev and CSKA Moscow star Alan Dzagoev. The Russians lack the star power of most of their tournament contemporaries, the advantage of playing on home soil is incalculable and should provide the Russians with the adrenaline boost necessary if they want to pull off an upset. The Russians play a no-nonsense brand of soccer, but their current squad is not as strong as some that they've fielded in the past and they'll struggle to advance out of the group.
Saudi Arabia: The distinction of second lowest team in the FIFA rankings belongs to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia does not have a strong international soccer pedigree and this year will be the first time they've qualified for the World Cup since 2006. Prior to 2006, the Saudis qualified for 4 straight World Cups, but failed to record a win after the 1994 tournament where they advanced to the round of 16. Almost all of the Saudi roster pays in their domestic league, but they will be led upfront by 31 year old striker Mohammad Al-Sahlawi who has scored 28 times in 40 appearances for the national team. The Saudi midfield is the strength of their squad, where their trio of La Liga players Yahya Al-Shehri, Salem Al-Dawsari, and Fahad Al-Muwallad will look to pace the team and use their experience abroad to instill composure within their side. While I don't put too much stock into FIFA rankings, being the lowest ranked qualifying team in the tournament isn't a fluke and they will be the underdog in every match they play. It would take a minor miracle for the Saudis to make any noise in Russia this Summer.
Egypt: The Pharaohs are a dark-horse fan favorite. While they lack the depth to realistically make a deep run in Russia, they are led by one of the most exciting players in the world in Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah. Unfortunately, Salah's status for the World Cup is still up in the air while he races to fully recover from the separated shoulder he suffered at the hands of Sergio Ramos in the Champions League final in late May. When healthy, Salah's dynamic ability to create chances and breakdown defenses will make him must-see TV. He will be complimented by fellow English Premier League players Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City) and Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) in the midfield. Hopefully, Egyptian manager Hector Cuper has watched plenty of tape on Liverpool this season and has created a game plan similar to what Jurgen Klopp has been doing to fully unlock Salah's potential. Drawing Russia and Saudi Arabia in their group was a stroke of luck for Egypt, but the team will only go as far as Mohamed Salah takes them. Reports state that he is aiming to play in Egypt's opening match barring any setbacks. For the country of Egypt, and for the sake of soccer fans around the word, I'm praying for Salah to be match fit by kickoff on June 15th.
Uruguay: While Uruguay has the second smallest population at this year's World Cup, they boast a bevy of world-class talent and soccer tradition. The 2-time tournament champions are the clear cut Group A favorites and will hope to improve on their Round of 16 departure from the 2014 World Cup where they were upended by a hot Colombia squad. Uruguay opened people's eyes at the 2010 World Cup where they made a relatively surprising run to the semifinals before falling to tournament runners-up, Holland. Uruguay is led by their lethal attacking tandem of Barcelona's Luis Suarez and PSG's Edinson Cavani. Behind them, their underrated midfield features Inter's Matias Vecino, Juve's Rodrigo Bentancur, and former Liverpool man Carlos Sanchez. Their talent extends to their back line too, as they will feature some combination of their captain, and Atletico center half Diego Godin, his teammate in Madrid Jose Maria Gimenez, Lazio man Martin Caceres, Porto center half Sebastian Coates, and national team veteran and Porto man Maxi Pereira in front of longtime keeper Fernando Muslera. Uruguay would be a tough out in any of the groups this year, but they have a very realistic to go 3-0 in group A. They must have felt like the won the lottery when they were selected into Group A with Russia (the pot 1 team in the group) because they dodged a massive bullet by not having to face any of the European giants in the preliminary round. I have a lot of faith in this Uruguay squad to take care of business and not have any major let downs against anyone in this group. Their goals are, and should be, to reach the semi-finals in Russia.
