World Fantasy: Group D analysis
Everything you need to know about Group D of the World Cup
Leo Messi’s Argentina headlines Group D, coming out of Pot 1 in the World Cup Draw. The squad now managed by Jorge Sampaoli will measure themselves against Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria, drawn out of the remaining pots, in this order.
The first round should settle the plot for this group, with Argentina-Iceland and Croatia-Nigeria as the openers, it will be a good opportunity for both Argentinians and Croatians to take a hold on the two top spots and to stop Iceland from stealing the spotlight again, as they did in the last European Championship. Messi apart, your regular fantasy-insurance, all bets are off for players from this group for Gameweek 1.
Group D could be a wild one, since Argentina and Croatia, favourites in the public’s eye, arrive in Russia after going through more rough patches than expected. Croatia and Iceland are only 3 spots apart in the FIFA ranking, Modric and his teammates in 18th, the islanders in 21st. Argentina remain at the top, in 4th, mainly due to two Copa America finals in a row, and Nigeria, the last ranked team of the group, sits at 47th.
Argentina
The Argentinians road to the World Cup was a rocky one after finishing the qualifying stage in 3rd place, with 28 points, despite those difficulties. In their luggage, they bring two straight losses in Copa America, both against Chile and in penalty shootouts, and the loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. Their recent friendly results have been all over the place: a convincing win over Italy followed by an historical defeat against Spain (1–6) a few days later. Their latest match was a 4–0 win over an underwhelming Haiti squad.
Their biggest star is, unsurprisingly, Lionel Messi (12.5M), the most expensive player in the World Fantasy, in Russia in pursuit of the missing trophy in his curriculum. To reach this goal, La Albiceleste will need help from the remaining stars that crowd their team, players of the likes of Di María (9.5M), Agüero (10.0M) and Higuaín (9.0M) will have to take a step forward and improve on their performances over the qualifiers. The back line is, without a doubt, the weakest sector of the team, something aggravated by the recent injury to the keeper Sergio Romero, forcing him out of the World Cup.
Despite their 4th place in FIFA’s ranking and been the holding vice-champions, the current mood in the Argentinian camp is very wary of the dangers ahead in Group D, where there’s no obvious weaker link. A good start against Iceland might prove fundamental in a good run for Messi’s team.
Iceland
This is Iceland’s first ever appearance in the World Cup, after the Nordics confirmed their good run of form in the Euro2016 with a 1st place finish in their qualifying group, with 22 points, relegating Croatia to the European playoff round. In this period, the Icelanders have only taken the foot off the gas in their recent friendlies, currently on a 3-game losing streak, having faced Peru, Mexico and Norway.
Everton’s star midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson (7.5M) keeps that role with his national team, and despite playing in the middle of the park was still Iceland’s top-goalscorer during the qualifiers. Another important part of the team’s dynamics is captain Aron Gunnarsson (5.5M), still questionable for Gameweek 1’s match against Argentina, due to a knee problem. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s squad will display one the most direct styles of football that will be on display during the World Cup.
While Argentina and Croatia take the front-row to snatch the two spots that go through to the knockout rounds, Iceland’s feeling good about their chances, having beaten the Croatians during qualifying, furthermore establishing themselves in the football scene.
Croatia
Having finished 2nd behind Iceland in the European qualifiers, Croatia had to beat Greece in the playoffs to book their ticket to Russia. Juventus’ Mario Mandžukic was on point during this stage, with 10 goals out of 11 games. After a disappointing qualifying, the Croatians have missed more opportunities to arrive at the World Cup on a higher note after two losses in their preparation, against Peru and Brazil, and only a win over Mexico.
Luka Modric (7.0M) leads a generation of players that might have their last opportunity in a major international tournament. The Real Madrid maestro is already 32 years old, the same as Mandžukic (8.0M) and, as well as equally veteran Rakitic (7.0), who’s just passed the 30-year mark. Croatia usually shows a very competitive team yet inconsistent, filled with good players, on top-tier clubs all around the best leagues in Europe. Placed in a group like this, their inconsistency could make them a riskier bet than expected.
The last time Croatia reached the knockout round was in France 98, twenty years ago, going on to a spectacular 3rd place finish. Now, placed in a group where a hard-fought battle for the last place behind Argentina is expected, it may seem like a cliché but their result against Nigeria could set the tone for the rest of the Croatian campaign. They’re the kind of team that could finish first or last in the group and not surprise anybody while doing it.
Nigeria
The only of the five African squads present to be in Brazil in 2014, Nigeria confirms a legacy of consistency within the African continent with another World Cup appearance under the belt. The Super Eagles won their group in the African qualifiers, with Victor Moses shining with 3 goals. Their last friendlies have a bit of everything: a win over Poland, a defeat against Serbia and a disappointing tie with DR Congo.
Victor Moses (6.5M) and John Obi Mikel (5.5M) are the main references of a squad with 3 forwards to keep an eye on: Kelechi Iheanacho (6.0M), Ahmed Musa (5.5M) and Ighalo (5.0M) are always looking to score and should not be underestimated. Also under the spotlight is Arsenal’s rising star Alex Iwobi (6.0M).
Currently the 47th in the world, the Nigerians are supposed to run from behind to try and reach the knockout stage. With a physical edge in their round 1 matchup against Croatia, they’ll only face Argentina in the last round of the group, so they can benefit of their previous results in combination with the Argentinian ones to go through. After being in the same group for the last 3 World Cups, this classic is a fitting end to what might be one of the most exciting groups in Russia.
