Only a week and a few days left before the start of the World Cup. The time has arrived to start making your predictions on who will win, who will be the surprise, who will disappoint ... In the next days, I will make a preview of each group, and try to predict how far each team will go. Afterwards it's always fun to take a look at your predictions and take pride on the times you were right on it, or feel shame because you were completely wrong... First group we take a look at is Group A.
Russia: The hosts of the World Cup, and therefore automatically qualified. The players will have to carry the pressure from the home supporters, which has proven to be as much an advantage (France in 1998) as a disadvantage (Brazil in 2014) in the past. Their draw might seem favorable at first glance, but my expectations for Russia are rather low. Taking a look at their selection, I can't say I'm very impressed by it. Remarkable is the fact that nearly all of them play in their home country- with the exception of Cherysev who plays for Villareal in Spain and Gabulov who plays for Club Bruges in Belgium (and failed to impress there). Major absentee is Kokorin, the striker of Zenit St. Petersburg. It seems that Russian players can only excel in their home country, and they will have to do so again. Perhaps the advantage of playing at home (and the sometimes questionable referee decisions that come with it) can give them a boost, but getting through the group stage will already be an achievement for them. Won't be surprised if the World Cup is already over for the hosts after the group stage.
Prediction: Group Stage
Uruguay: Uruguay qualified quite comfortably in the difficult South American qualifications, coming in second after Brazil. Uruguay is traditionally a tough team to play against and can make any team suffer to break them down. Their main strength is traditionally in their solid defense- led by the ever reliable Diego Godín- but their strikers don't need an introduction as well. Cavani and Suarez up front, many countries will dream of an attacking duo of that caliber. Cavani was their main goalscorer in qualifications with 10 goals. I don't see too many problems for Uruguay to go to the next round. In that round, Spain or Portugal will wait (assuming here they go through in their respective group). It's very likely that Uruguay will prove to be a difficult task for both of them, but really eliminating one of these heavyweights might be a step too far (but not impossible).
Prediction: Round of 16
Egypt: I will be able to make a much better analysis of Egypt after they play Belgium on Wednesday, but I can't wait so long. In all honesty, there is only one player to talk about for Egypt: Mo Salah. What a season he had! 46 goals in all competitions for Liverpool, 32 in the Premier League- breaking the all time record in a single season. His presence however is still uncertain after his injury in the Champions League final, where he got taken out by Sergio Ramos. It would be as much a blow for Egypt's chances on the World Cup as it was for Liverpool in that final if he can't play. To point out the importance of him for Egypt: he scored 5 of their 8 goals in the last qualification round, which brought them to the World Cup. The result: Salah got a million votes in the presidential elections; he's that important! Elneny, Hegazi and Sobhi Ramadan are other players with Premier League experience, but they can't carry the team the way he would. Worth mentioning as well is their goalkeeper of 45 years old. Salah is named in the selection, so at least the medical staff of the national team is hopeful he will be ready. With a fit Salah in goalscoring form, they will have an advantage over Russia. Nevertheless, their encounter on 19 June will probable be the must-win match.
Prediction: Round of 16
Saudi-Arabia: I will keep on my preview on them short, because I believe they are one of the weaker sides that will play on this World Cup. I am basing my predictions mostly on the friendly game against Belgium in March, where Belgium didn't even need to play good to beat them 4-0. Their latest results were defeats against Italy (2-1) and Peru (3-0), so nothing too promising there either. Looking at their selection, there isn't any player I know. I heard some of them play their football in Spain because of a deal between the Saudi association and La Liga, but that is not much of a success so far. Any positive result from them would be a surprise to me.
Prediction: Group Stage