Uruguay favourites to top the group while the hosts, Russia look to capitalize on Mohamed Salah’s injury to take them into the round of 16.
Teams
Russia (FIFA Ranking – 70th)
Ranked lowest outfit of the 32 teams representing the FIFA World Cup 2018, Russia obtained automatic qualification to the World Cup as the hosting nation. According to critics, this Russian outfit is the poorest Russian team ever to take part in a FIFA World Cup in the Russian Football history.
Russia’s journey leading to the 2018 FIFA World Cup reflects well upon the lack of quality in the side. Having played 19 matches after Euro 2016, Russia only managed to seal a win in six of those encounters.
World Cup 2018: Preview – Egypt & Russia
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt has made it to the FIFA World Cup..
Coach Stanislav Cherchesov, taking over the reigns after a very unimpressive Euro 2016, from the previous coach Leonid Slutsky’s has had so much of cutting and polishing to do in the side. In the absence of any major players or experienced players, Cherchesov has worked very hard to shape up a very young Russian outfit for the FIFA World Cup this summer.
Egypt (FIFA Ranking – 45th)
One of the most anticipated teams to watch in the world cup due to the current popularity of the superstar Mohamed Salah, suffered a serious injury to his shoulder which forced the man in form to leave the UEFA Champions League Final against Real Madrid in the first half.
This left the Egyptian side and their fans in massive shock as it is said that he is likely to miss the first few matches of the world cup according to the current reports.
Making their way back to the World Cup after 28 years, Coach Hector Cuper has been able to transform the Egyptian outfit into a side which could pose a real threat at the World Cup. He has adopted a defensive style of play which has made it extremely hard for the opponents to break through will most probably be their game plan for the World Cup as well.
Qualifying for the round of 16 will be Egypt’s main target as it would then be the best achievement by an Egyptian team at the FIFA World Cup. However, probable loss of not being able to have Mohamed Salah for the first few fixtures might see the Pharaoh dream crashing in the group stage itself.
Uruguay (FIFA Ranking – 14th)
Finishing only second to Brazil in the South American qualifiers, Uruguay are the favourites to top the group with ease leaving the second spot open for Russia or Egypt to grab.
A very prominent strength that was seen in the side during the qualifiers was how their young talent emerged to take up and share the responsibility of carrying the team forward with their superstars like Diego Godin, Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez.
Experienced and talented Cavani, Suarez and Godin will undoubtedly keep the backbone of the team strong during the 2018 FIFA World Cup run with much needed expertise in the defense and attack while emerging talents in the likes of Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Bentancur and Nahitan Nandez in the mid field will together steer the team to be a strong opponent to all nations.
World Cup 2018: Preview – Saudi Arabia & Uruguay
Two-time champions Uruguay makes their 12 th Uruguay..
It can be expected that the 70-year-old experienced coach Oscar Tabarez, will adopt a very attacking style of play at the FIFA World Cup this summer with a 4-4-2 formation. The high number of attack minded players in the forward line and the midfield line for Uruguay will definitely pose a huge threat giving high chances for Uruguay to progress in the World Cup.
Saudi Arabia (FIFA Ranking – 67th)
2nd lowest ranked outfit in the FIFA World Cup 2018. However, the Green Falcons never fail to put on a good show with tremendous guts and courage carved in their hearts.
Missing out on qualifying for the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups, the Saudi football fans were eagerly waiting for this moment to see their nation in the biggest stage of them all which was made true by coach Bert Van Marwijk.
Sadly, due to some disagreements with the Saudi FA he was replaced by Edgardo Bauza who was again given the boot by the FA after just 5 months before handing over the responsibility to Juan Antonio Pizzi just three days before the draw in Moscow.
The most exciting moment for them in the qualifiers was when they defeated the already qualified Japan in the final match to secure their place in the World Cup through a goal by Fahad Al Muwallad while the Saudi team and the fans will lay any of their hopes of survival in tournament on Mohamed Al-Sahlawi who was very instrumental in carrying the team through the qualifiers into the World Cup by scoring a total of 16 goals in the qualifiers.
Fixtures
14th June – Russia vs Saudi Arabia – 20:30 local time – Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
15th June – Egypt vs Uruguay – 17:30 local time – Ekaterinburg Arena, Ekaterinburg
19th June – Russia vs Egypt – 23:30 local time – Saint Petersburg Stadium, St. Petersburg
20th June – Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia – 20:30 local time – Rostov Arena, Rostov-On-Don
25th June – Uruguay vs Russia – 19:30 local time – Samara Arena, Samara
25th June – Saudi Arabia vs Egypt – 19:30 local time – Volgograd Arena, Volgograd
Key Fixture
19th June – Russia vs Egypt – 23:30 local time – Saint Petersburg Stadium, St. Petersburg.
Uruguay being favourites to top the group and Saudi Arabia being one of the lowest ranked outfit in the World Cup 2018, it is most likely upto Russia or Egypt to clinch the second spot in the group to qualify for the round of 16 and therefore this match has a high probability of deciding the group standings.
FIFA World Cup Schedule in Sri Lankan time
Below you can find the complete schedule of the upcoming…
Prediction
It could be predicted that Uruguay will clinch the first spot of the group easily leaving Russia and Egypt to fight for the second. However, the Arabians have a high chance of surprising the group with their high endurance levels and morale after the long awaited 2018 World Cup selection.
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