RUSSIA 2018 - World Cup Preview: Group B
Teams: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
Player to Watch: Isco
X-Factor: Portuguese youth
Projected to Advance: Portugal, Spain
Best Match to Watch: Portugal v Spain
Portugal: Portugal enter the World Cup on the heels of their Euro 2016 triumph, in which they defeated heavily favored France on their home turf. Portugal always field strong squads, but now they have a new found confidence about their ability to not only compete in, but win a major tournament. They're led by arguably the best player in the world in Real Madrid forward Christiano Ronaldo, whose last remaining box to check on his career accomplishment list is a World Cup title. Ronaldo will have no shortage of talent around him as fellow veterans Ricardo Queresma (Besiktas), Joao Moutinho (Monaco), Pepe (Besiktas), and Bruno Alves (Rangers) offer consistency and experience to a team with a lot of youth. Portugal is in the midst of a new golden generation whose talent will be displayed on the world stage this Summer as young players like Gelson Martins (Sporting), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Andre Silva (AC Milan), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting), William Carvalho (Sporting), Bernardo Silva (Man City), and Joao Mario (Inter) will all strive to contribute to Portugal's continued international success. Even with all of the young and promising talent on Portugal's roster, fans may notice the absence of former wunderkind Renato Sanches who burst on the scene during Euro 2016 and acted as the team's midfield maestro. After Portugal took home the trophy, Sanches signed a deal with Bayern Munich, but struggled to consistently crack the Bavarian giant's lineup and was subsequently loaned out to recently relegated Swansea City. His relatively quiet inter-tournament club period combined with the meteoric rise of his young compatriots led Portuguese manager Fernando Santos to leave Sanches off his final World Cup roster. Ronaldo is always a treat to watch, but I'm just as excited to watch all of the young talent take on more important roles for Portugal. It will be interesting to see how Portugal's veterans gel with their younger teammates on the pitch, but this team certainly has enough talent to make some noise this summer. Portugal should move on to the knockout stage in Russia.
Spain: I expect Spain to come out of the gates swinging as they are coming off disappointing finishes, by their lofty standards, at the 2014 World Cup where they failed to advance out of the group stage and Euro 2016 where they were blanked by Italy 2-0 in the round of 16. This all came on the heels of one of the most dominant stretches of international success in history when Spain won 3 major tournaments in a row between 2008-2012 (Euros 2008 & 2012 and the 2010 World Cup). Spain is eager to regain their place atop the mountain as World Cup champions, but they will have to do it with a new man calling the shots. After 8 years of unprecedented international triumphs, Spanish gaffer Vicente del Bosque retired from his post in 2016, leaving Julen Lopetegui to fill his massive shoes. Spain is one of only a few countries that could probably have two teams not only qualify for the World Cup, but also advance past the group stage. However, even though the Spanish roster is a who's who of talent, Lopetegui had some head-scratching omissions on his final roster. I don't envy the job of selecting the Spanish national team because you will inevitably have to leave off several extremely talented players, but this year seems more glaring than in the past. Spanish players who will be watching the World Cup from home this summer include Alvaro Morata (Chelsea), Pedro (Chelsea), Marcos Alonso (Chelsea), Cesc Fabergas (Chelsea), Juan Mata (Man United), Hector Bellerin (Arsenal), Artiz Arduriz (Athletic Bilbao), Jose Callejon (Napoli), and David Villa (NYCFC). Most, if not all, of the above players would be heading to Russia if they had been born in nearly any other country in the field. Spain's strength lies in the midfield where players like Koke, Iniesta, Thiago, Isco, David Silva, and Saul will use precision passing to dominate possession and unlock their opponent's defense. Their defense, anchored by Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique and flanked by speedy full backs Jordi Alba and Dani Carvajal are arguably the best back line in the world, especially when you consider that they have Man United's David de Gea in net behind them as the ultimate security blanket. Spain's main striker will be Diego Costa who has had a mixed bag of success and disappointments during his tenure with the national team after he switched from Brazil. That position group is also the thinnest at the roster with 30 year old Iago Aspas and Rodrigo as the only other players listed as forwards on the roster, which makes Morata's omission so glaring. Nevertheless, on paper have as much or more talent than anyone they will face in Russia, the key for them will be to figure out which starting 11 to select to maximize chemistry on the pitch. The dominant Spanish sides from 2008-2012 had cerebral communication, which was key to their dynasty. Spain vs. their western Iberian neighbors should be a classic, but other than Portugal, I don't foresee La Roja struggling with the other teams in their group.
Morocco: Morocco are one of those intriguing North African teams. Every World Cup it seems like at least one team from North Africa raises some eyebrows. They typically have a decent portion of their roster playing for clubs in big leagues in Europe and generally have one or two big names stars, but for the most part people don't know, or expect, much from these sides. This year, mainly due to the buzz around Mohamed Salah, many people, and pundits alike, have pegged Egypt as that wild card, so to speak, but I don't think you should sleep on Morocco.The Atlas Lions, which they've been nicknamed, are headlined by Juventus center half Mehdi Benatia and Galatasaray midfielder Younes Belhanda. Their supporting cast is unsurprisingly unfamiliar, but the roster features payers from clubs like Schalke, Feyenoord, Malaga, Standard Liege, Caen, Getafe, Lille, Ajax, Fenebrahce, and Real Madrid so their squad doesn't lack experience against high level competition. Beating Portugal or Spain will be a tall task for Morocco, but you can't overlook a team like them because they want to play the underdog role. Getting a point from either one of their matches against the Iberian giants could be pivotal in how Group B shakes out and Morocco's hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.
Iran: If Morocco is an off the beaten track type of team, then Iran is from under a rock. Iran's national team has had relative international success recently; qualifying for the 1998, 2006, and 2014 World Cups, even thought they haven't recorded a victory since France '98. However, they lack the star power of most of their tournament contemporaries. Iran's biggest names are midfielder Ehsan Hajsafi (Olympiacos) and Masoud Shojaei (AEK Athens), and forwards Karim Ansarifard (Olympiacos) and Reza Ghoochannejhad (Heerenveen). The odds are stacked against Iran in this group. but because so little is known about their squad, I wouldn't be surprised if they shocked the world and came away with a point or 3.
