World Cup 2018 Group A Preview
GROUP A
Sean O'Conor
Russia
Coach: Stanislav Cherchesov
Formation: 5-4-1
FIFA World Ranking: 70th
Best World Cup: 3rd in 1966 (as Soviet Union)
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Russia Kit 1 | Russia Kit 2
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Russia v Saudi Arabia 14 June; Moscow (Luzhniki)
Russia v Egypt 19 June; Saint Petersburg
Russia v Uruguay 25 June; Samara
Russia enter their home World Cup with the unenviable tag of being the lowest-ranked team at the finals and with concomitantly low expectations.
Automatic qualification, a blank at last year's Confederations Cup and no wins this year suggest the only group stage exit in World Cup history apart from South Africa in 2010 is on the cards.
The Russian team is clearly lacking in quality with only their experienced goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev rising somewhat above the milieu.
CSKA's Alan Dzagoev must direct the midfield and Krasnodar striker Fyodor Smolov lead the line following the injury to the Russian Premier League's top gunner Alex Kokorin.
The identical twin Miranchuk brothers will surely get noticed, if only for novelty value. Right-sided Alexandr Golovin could also come through.
The defence looks particularly green and sub-par although recent results have not been too discouraging: Draws with Spain and Turkey sandwich losses to Brazil, France and Austria.
It is clear that as soon as Russia meet a decent side they will lose but all is not lost.
It helps a ton that they are at home with the fiery Russian fans and home expectation worth a goal start. It also helps that the next worst team in the tournament Saudi Arabia are in their group.
Assuming they can beat the Saudis in their opening game at the Luzhniki (they really have no excuse) and that beating Uruguay in Saint Petersburg will be too tall an order, the host's ability to navigate the first round therefore hinges on their clash with Egypt on the 19th of June.
Mo Salah looks like missing the cut which will bring Stanislav Cherchisov's men a sigh of relief and victory from their opening match should serve as a double fillip.
Previous tournaments provide some hope of a wave of national fervour carrying the mediocre host eleven to over-achievement.
While South Africa in 2010 failed to make the second round, Bafana did beat France and draw with Mexico, while the USA in 1994 looked equally out of their depth but managed to draw with Switzerland and beat Colombia to reach the next phase.
Russia in the knock-out stages? Do not bet against it just yet.
Saudi Arabia
Coach: Juan Antonio Pizzi
Formation: 4-2-3-1
FIFA World Ranking: 67th
Best World Cup: Round of 16 in 1994
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Saudi Arabia Kit 1 |
Saudi Arabia Kit 2 |
Saudi Arabia v Russia 14 June; Moscow (Luzhniki)
Saudi Arabia v Uruguay 20 June; Rostov-on-Don
Saudi Arabia v Egypt 25 June; Volgograd
Ranked bottom of the 32 at time of qualifying and with a woeful World Cup record, that Said Al-Owairan wonder goal at USA '94 apart, it is fair to say nobody expects anything of Saudi Arabia in Russia.
An opener against the host nation in the first game of the finals is not the start they would have wanted, but the relative weakness of Russia affords the Saudis some hope of an upset or realistically a point from a tight defensive display.
The Middle Eastern derby with Egypt is their key match, where their familiarity with their near neighbours, albeit from a different FIFA confederation, will help.
The Green Falcons were no slouches in qualifying, were unbeaten at home, never lost by more than one goal, finished ahead of Australia and only a point behind Japan.
Skipper and defensive stalwart Osama Hawsawi has 135 caps but aged 34 could be tested in Russia. When they can break out of defence they will look to left-sided attacker Fahad Al Muwallad to supply forward Mohammad Al-Sahlawi, who has an impressive 28 goals in 40 outings.
Al Muwallad was one of nine players on loan to Spain to gain much needed experience, but none started a match in La Liga. As it stands none of their team play outside the country, which is a disadvantage.
Argentine manager Juan Antonio Pizzi is their third in less than a year and knows his work is cut out to reach the next round.
Optimism at qualifying and reigniting the spirit of 1994, when they beat Belgium and Morocco and lost only 2-1 to the Netherlands, is tempered by the knowledge Saudi Arabia missed the previous two World Cups and in 2002 they were hammered 8-0 by Germany.
However a narrow 2-1 loss to the world champions in Leverkusen a week before the tournament showed they may not be the pushovers everyone expects.
In any case, 2018 has been a historic year for Saudi soccer - for the first time women were allowed to attend matches.
Egypt
Coach: Hector Cuper
Formation: 4-2-3-1
FIFA World Ranking: 45th
Best World Cup: 1st round in 1934 and 1990
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Egypt Kit 1
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Egypt Kit 2
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Egypt v Uruguay 15 June; Ekaterinburg
Egypt v Russia 19 June; Saint Petersburg
Egypt v Saudi Arabia; 25 June; Volgograd
The Pharaohs were raring to go in their first finals since Italia '90 until Sergio Ramos yanked Mohamed Salah to the soil in the Champions League final, putting their talisman and his nation's entire World Cup in serious doubt.
Salah's meteoric season with Liverpool has made the world sit up and take notice of Egypt's participation in Russia and it would be a universal shame if the finals took place without one of the world's best footballers.
Unsurprisingly their game plan revolves around freeing Salah to work his magic up front, aided by Abdallah Said directing things behind him and Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny as the midfield anchor.
Expect Egypt to play safety first, like most North African sides at the World Cup do and coach Cuper has said as much in interviews, but expect a more attacking approach in the game with the Saudis.
Their 2018 form has been poor with their best results a 1-1 draw away to Kuwait and a 0-0 draw with a superior Colombia. The other games saw defeats to Belgium, Greece and Portugal.
Facing Uruguay first may knock their confidence a little but they will fancy their chances of bagging second spot against Russia and Saudi Arabia.
If he plays, 45 year old goalkeeper Essam El Hadary will break Farid Mondragon's record as the oldest player ever in the finals.
Uruguay
Coach: Oscar Tabarez
Formation: 4-4-2
FIFA World Ranking: 14th
Best World Cup: Winners 1930 & 1950
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Uruguay Kit 1 |
Uruguay Kit 2 |
Uruguay v Egypt v 15 June; Yekaterinburg
Uruguay v Saudi Arabia 20 June; Rostov-on-Don
Uruguay v Russia 25 June; Samara
El Celeste feel they have some unfinished business after Luis Suarez's bite on Giorgio Chiellini unsettled their promising 2014 campaign, which after wins over England and Italy, abruptly ended in a 2-0 loss to Colombia in the round of 16.
The fact Suarez derailed them in 2014 but is still their lethal weapon four years later means he has been reluctantly forgiven, but any repeat of that tantrum would mean game over.
In 2010 Suarez was sent off yet his goal line hand ball against Ghana helped Uruguay reach the last four. For 2018, they finished second behind Brazil in the South American qualifiers so will be confident of going far in Russia.
This is still a gilded age for the original world champions and the same manager has been at the helm for the last 12 years, bringing a sense of continuity.
Familiar faces Edinson Cavani and Suarez lead the line again but behind them the fruits of Uruguay's youth teams has rejuvenated the side: Midfielders Rodrigo Betancur, Nahitan Nandez and Federico Valverde average 20 years of age.
Defensive solidity remains key to unleashing clinical finishers as the team shape moves between 4-4-2 and 4-5-1.
Group A should provide few problems for them but Spain or Portugal await in the next round, followed by Argentina or France in the quarter finals.