There is a total of 32 teams qualified for the FIFA World Cup, and the nations are divided into 8 groups. Which are the most interesting groups?
If you do not see the image above, here is a short summary presenting the eight groups and the teams in the different groups.
- Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
- Group B: Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Iran
- Group C: France, Australia, Peru, Denmark
- Group D: Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria
- Group E: Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia
- Group F: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, Korea
- Group G: Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England
- Group H: Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan
Want to know when they will play the different matches in the different groups? Find the detailed FIFA World Cup schedules right here.
If you want more information on how to stream the entire FIFA World Cup online, check this article.
The FIFA World Cup 2018 groups
Group A: The least interesting group in the FIFA World Cup 2018
I guess this is a brutal title to give a group, but I believe group A deserves the name. As a football enthusiast who just wants to watch great football, group A is kind of depressing. Russia is a fairly good time, but nothing more. Saudi Arabia and Egypt fit into the same category, with Uruguay being the only breath of fresh air in this group. If Suarez can bring some magic to the field, then that would mean a lot to group A.
Group B: The group with the most interesting match
In group B we meet Spain, Portugal, Morocco and Iran. It is quite obvious which teams we expect to qualify for the knockout stage from this group, Portugal and Spain. But, which team will be the best as they face one another? The match between Spain and Portugal will be played on June 15th, the second day of the tournament. Prepare some popcorn, and stay tuned for this fantastic upcoming match.
Group C: One favorite and three outsiders
In group C everyone expects France to win, quite easily. But, at the same time, there will be an intense battle among the three outsiders. Denmark, Peru and Australia are all capable of surprising, and in fact, they are all capable of even getting further in the knockout stage. I believe Denmark might be the strongest of the three teams, so if the coach Åge Hareide has some luck and their general Christian Eriksen from Tottenham has some good days, Denmark might do really good in the tournament.
Group D: The toughest group in FIFA World Cup 2018
Looking through the list presenting the different groups, the hardest group the way I see it is probably group D. There are some other tough groups, but in group D all four teams are very good teams. Iceland and Croatia know each other very well from the qualification to the World Cup, and both teams are capable of playing very good football. But, the favorite to win the group is still Argentina. But, let us not forget, Nigeria is a fantastic team as well, one of the best teams in Africa, so all the other teams will have a hard time playing against Nigeria. In other words, this is by far the toughest group, and any outcome is possible as the group stage matches end on June 26th.
If the best two teams are to qualify, I believe Argentina and Croatia will succeed, but with Iceland and Nigeria, it is impossible to know!
Group E: Can Costa Rica surprise again?
One of the biggest surprises in the FIFA World Cup 2014 was Costa Rica. Can they surprise again? In group E, we all expect Brazil to win, but whether Switzerland, Costa Rica or Serbia will follow them to the knockout stage remains a mystery. If we were to look at statistics, I believe Switzerland should follow them to the knockout stage, but Costa Rica proved to be a great tournament team in 2014, so maybe they will surprise again. Serbia has had a fantastic recruitment of young players, and lots of their players have won tournaments with the national team on lower levels. Can they succeed on this level as well?
Group F: The second hardest group.
If I were to mention one team that I believe will win the FIFA World Cup 2018, it would be Germany. They have won everything, and in 2017 they won the Confederations Cup (without any big trouble, and almost a B-team). During the group stage, they will play against Sweden, Korea and Mexico. These teams should not be able to cause much trouble for Germany, but on a good and disciplined day, Sweden might surprise. Mexico is a cool team to watch, but they will not be able to stop Germany. It will, however, be interesting to follow this group, and especially the battle for the second place which we believe will be between Sweden and Mexico. They will play against one another on June 27th, in the last match of the group stage.
Group G: Can England finally succeed in a tournament?
England qualified for the World Cup without even sweating. Now they are here, but can they finally succeed in a tournament? Their greatest opponent in the group stage will be Belgium, one of the big outsiders in the FIFA World Cup in Russia. But, since both teams can move on to the group stage, we believe they will do so, while Tunisia and Panama will battle one another for the third spot. The match between England and Belgium will be played on June 28th, and it will be the last match during the group stage (and the second most interesting of all matches during the group stage).
Group H: Without some Lewandowski magic this will be boring
Group H could be called the most boring group in the FIFA World Cup 2018 together with group A, but hopefully, the Polish striker Robert Lewandowski can do some magic. It must be said, that Poland is the favorites to win group H, but it will be interesting to see what will happen, because, in group H, it could just as well be Senegal and Japan qualifying for the knockout stage. Not because they are so fantastic teams, but because group H lack that very thing, a fantastic team.
