FIFA World Cup 2018: Group G Preview and Match Schedule

Group G of the 2018 FIFA World Cup consists of Belgium, England, Tunisia and Panama. This group looks less competitive than any other groups of the fixture. The main competition is likely to be held between Belgium and England. Either of them is expected to advance to the round of 16 as winners and runners-up. However, it is hard to predict who between the two will be the winners and runners-up from this group. 

Belgium:

Very few football fans are aware of the strength of Belgium football team. The Red Devils, who are currently ranked 3rd in the latest FIFA World rankings, will travel to Russia as one of the favorites for the tournament.

They qualified for the World Cup with an ease. Out of 10 matches, they won 9 while drew against Greece 1-1. In their qualifying games, they scored 43 goals; Romelu Lukaku of Manchester United and PSG’s Thomas Meunier scored 11 and 5 goals respectively. They along with Eden Hazard (Chelsea) and Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City) are likely to play the vital role for the national team.

Since 1930, Belgium has qualified for the world cup 13 times, with their best performance at the 1986 World Cup when they finished fourth.

England:

The Three Lions (nickname of the England national football team) will make their 15^th World Cup appearance this summer, their sixth consecutive presence at the tournament. At the previous World Cup, they were eliminated from the group stage. This time, they will fancy to progress past the group stage. However, they are not considered hot favorites at this tournament.

England will be highly dependent on Harry Kane, captain of the England football team, to avoid early exit. He became the second highest goal scorer in the recently concluded English Premier League season. He scored 30 goals, two less than top scorer Mohamed Salah. The Tottenham striker will have to lead his team from the front. Other players who can play the pivotal role are Raheem Sterling (Manchester City) and Eric Dier (Tottenham).

Tunisia:

The Carthage Eagles are going to play their fifth World Cup tournament this year. However, they could never move from the group stage. It looks like same thing will happen this time also. They are expected to make at least tough competition against Belgium and England. The question is if they can cause trouble against the big teams.

They finished first in group A in the third round of CAF. They qualified for the World Cup without losing any match, with four wins and 2 draws out of 6 matches. Throughout the qualification, they scored 11 goals while conceded 4. They had to beat Congo, Libya and Guinea to secure their spot in Russia.

Panama:

They have become one of the two new countries to be qualified for the World Cup in Russia. Because of this achievement, a national holiday was called throughout the country. For being the weakest team in this group, they have the least possibility to advance to the second round.

Securing their place at the World Cup was not an easy task. Leaving behind the USA by one point and Honduras on goal difference as both the countries had equal points, Panama qualified for the World Cup. They won only three matches while drew four and lost 3. Throughout the qualification process, they scored only 9 goals. Their overall performance raised the question if they can cause an upset.

Date	Teams	Time	Venue
18 June 2018	Belgium vs Panama	18:00 MSK	Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
18 June 2018	Tunisia vs England	21:00 MSK	Volgograd Arena, Volgograd
23 June 2018	Belgium vs Tunisia	15:00 MSK	Otkritie Arena, Moscow
24 June 2018	England vs Panama	15:00 MSK	Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod
28 June 2018	England vs Belgium	20:00 KALT	Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
28 June 2018	Panama vs Tunisia	21:00 MSK	Mordovia Arena, Saransk

Sources-

https://www.101greatgoals.com/world-cup-2018-betting/2018-world-cup-group-g-preview-prediction/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_Group_G

FIFA World Cup 2018: Group A Preview and Match Schedule

Group A of the 2018 FIFA World Cup contains the host nation Russia along with Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. This group is different from others because it does not have any recognized superpowers. Perhaps the most debated issue is if Russia as a host nation can make it out of the group stage. For qualifying for the second round, they will have to compete with Uruguay and Egypt. 

Uruguay:

It looks like Uruguay will not find it hard to emerge as winners from the group A. The two-time World Cup winners finished second in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification behind Brazil. They would try to carry out their impressive form in the upcoming World Cup tournament.

The attacking duo Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are key players for Uruguay. Both have showed their best form for their respective clubs- Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain. If they do the same for their team, their opponent teams will be in big trouble.

The 17^th seeded team will make their 13^th World Cup appearance.

Russia:

Progressing to the next round will be a big challenge for the host nation. Having placed on the 66^th position in the current FIFA World rankings, they have become the worst ranked team in the competition. It is expected that they will make proper use of the “home advantage” and will try to earn a spot in the second round.

Being the host nation, Russia qualified for their 11^th World Cup automatically. In their last three World Cups, they were eliminated from group stage. The same thing is likely to happen this time also. Their match against Egypt will play a decisive role in the group. Without any doubt, Uruguay will become group winners, leaving the remaining three teams, especially Egypt and Russia to fight for becoming runners-up.

Egypt:

Egypt made their third-ever World Cup qualification this summer. However, it was their first appearance after 28 years since 1990. The Mediterranean country will have to compete with Russia to grab the second spot. Now, they are much better team than before. The Pharaohs became runners-up in the recently concluded Africans Nations Cup. It will not be a significant surprise if they beat the host nation.

They have a number of talented players who feature in the top European clubs like in Ahmed Hegazi (West Bromwich), Ali Gabr (West Bromwich), Ahmed ElMohamady (Aston Villa), Karim Hafez (Lens), Omar Gaber (Los Angeles FC) and Mohamed Salah (Liverpool). Among key players, Mohamed Salah will play the most important role for his national team. The Liverpool-forward is in good form. Scoring 32 goals, he became the highest scorer in the recently finished English Premier League (EPL) and won golden boot.

Saudi Arabia:

Saudi Arabia, who is perhaps the weakest team in the tournament, will make their fifth appearance in the World Cup, their first presence since 2006. They could advance to the round of 16 in their first World Cup. Since then, they could never progress past the group stage. They are likely to repeat their poor form once again in Russia. So, their qualification to the second stage of the tournament will be considered the biggest surprise.

Green Falcons secured their place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup winning 6 matches while drew 1 and lost 3 in the qualification process. They finished second in Group B in the third round of the Asian Football Confederation qualification stage behind Japan. Despite scoring the same point as the third placed team Australia, they have been qualified for the World Cup thanks to a better goal difference.

Unlike other countries, players in the Saudi Arabia squad do not have any experience playing in any of the European leagues.

Date	Teams	Time	Venue
14 June 2018	Russia vs Saudi Arabia	18:00 MSK	Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
15 June 2018	Egypt vs Uruguay	17:00 YEKT	Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg
19 June 2018	Russia vs Egypt	21:00 MSK	Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg
20 June 2018	Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia	18:00 MSK	Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
25 June 2018	Uruguay vs Russia	18:00 SAMT	Cosmos Arena, Samara
25 June 2018	Saudi Arabia vs Egypt	17:00 MSK	Volgograd Arena, Volgograd

Link-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_FIFA_World_Cup_Group_A

http://futbolgrad.com/2018-fifa-world-cup-group-preview/

http://www.skysports.com/football/news/15117/11371227/mohamed-salah-wins-the-premier-league-golden-boot160for-201718 

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