World Fantasy: Group E analysis

The full story of Group E of the World Cup. Teams, players, schedules and more.

The top seed of Group E is Brazil, who were a bit lucky with the draw. From Pot 2 came Switzerland, Costa Rica is the representative of Central and North America, being drawn out of Pot 3 and Group E was completed by a second European squad of the group, coming from Pot 4: Serbia.

With Brazil facing Switzerland in the group’s opener, the match between Costa Rica and Serbia could be fundamental to square off who’ll have the better chance of going through. Everything points out to Brazil qualifying easily in 1st place, but all the other three teams seem able to put up a fight for 2nd place, with Costa Rica perhaps a step behind. Fantasy-wise Serbia can be a good bet for the first two gameweeks.

Brazil is currently in 2nd place in the FIFA ranking and is the clear-cut favourite to win the group and a record of “3 out of 3” for the Brazilians would not be surprising at all. Switzerland came from Pot 2 and holds a surprising 6th place in the FIFA ranks, but the Swiss do not appear to have a significant quality edge over for Serbia, so their fight for qualification won’t be easy. Serbia has the worst ranking of the group, ranked 35th, while Costa Rica is ten places up the ladder, 25th. And let’s not forget that, in the last World Cup, Costa Rica came out on top of their group, despite facing Uruguay, Italy and England! So, let’s not completely exclude the Ticos from the battle for 2nd spot.

Brazil

The “Escrete” qualified for the WC2018 winning the CONMEBOL qualifying with 41 points, 10 more than the 2nd placed Uruguay. Gabriel Jesus was their top goal-scorer with 7 goals, and Neymar was king of assists, with 8 goals created. This calendar year, Brazil has held three friendly matches, all against fellow World Cup participants, picking up wins against Russia, Germany and Croatia.

Brazil’s biggest star is Neymar Jr. (11.5M) but the PSG play-maker has lost the end of the season due to an injury. He has already played in Brazil’s last friendly, netting one in the process. But Neymar isn’t the only star in this Brazilian squad. Up front, Gabriel Jesus (8.5M) and Roberto Firmino (8.5M) fight for the #9 sport, with Jesus seeming to have an advantage. Behind, in supporting roles, Phil Coutinho (10.0M) and Willian (8.5M) are the ones who offer the most offensive potential. Allison Becker (6.5M) is nowadays a top-ranked goalkeeper, with the veteran presence of Thiago Silva (6.5M) and offensive wing-backs Danilo (6.0M) and Marcelo (7.0M) playing ahead of him. With this group, it is mandatory to have at least 2 players from Brazil in your team.

Only a major collapse will cause Brazil to not reach the knockout rounds, in what would be a shocker for the ages. The South Americans have one of the most serious candidacies for the title and are riding on a very talented generation to get there.

Switzerland

Switzerland finished 2nd place in Group B in the World Cup qualifiers, tied with Portugal for 1st. The Swiss had the same 27 points, losing only one game against Portugal and winning all the others, and only missed the direct entry in the WC2018 due to the goal difference against the Portuguese. In the playoff, they knocked out Northern Ireland with a timid 1–0 on both legs. In 2018, Switzerland has played three friendlies, having beaten Greece and Panama and coming out with a surprise draw against Spain.

There isn’t a bigger star in this Swiss selection, so Xherdan Shaqiri (7.5M) remains the player who has the weight of this team on his shoulders. Seferovic (6.0M) has been a forgetful forward, threatened by the lurking shadow of a promising young man who could have some serious chances in Russia: Breel Embolo (6.0M). Lichtsteiner (4.5M) is the veteran of a rock-solid defensive line and can be a good budget bet for a 4th or 5th defender on your team.

Switzerland’s plan is to make it out of the group stage, but the path may not be easy. Starting against Brazil, with a possible defeat on the horizon, the Swiss could arrive already under pressure for their second game, against Serbia. If the Serbs beat Costa Rica on Matchday 1, they’ll surely try to settle the fight for 2nd against the Helvetians.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica qualified for the World Cup with the 2nd place in the CONCACAF qualifiers, with 16 points, 5 fewer than Mexico. Marcos Ureña and Christian Bolaños shone above all others, with 4 goals each. In their 2018 friendly matches, the Costa Ricans have beaten Scotland and Northern Ireland while losing against Tunisia.

The player to follow will be goalkeeper Keylor Navas (5.0M), who has come into his own at Real Madrid. In the attacking line, Ureña (6.0M) carries the hope for goals, with Joel Campbell (5.5M) waiting for an opportunity, either up front or in the wings. Bolaños (6.0M) and Bryan Ruiz (6.5M) dominate play from the middle of the park. The bet on Costa Rican players is a risky one but their first game will give you an idea of ​​what they are worth.

After their great journey in Brazil 2014, where they reached the quarter-finals, Costa Rica wants to repeat the feat. The probability of that happening is very slim, being expected to end their World Cup at the end of the group stage but that was also the general perception in 2014.

Serbia

Serbia have qualified for Russia by winning Group D of the European qualifiers, ahead of Ireland, Wales, Austria, Georgia and Moldova. The Serbs scored 21 points with 6 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Aleksandar Mitrovic was their top scorer, with 6 goals. In their three friendly matches held this year, Serbia defeated Nigeria but has lost with Morocco and Chile more recently.

Serbia does not have a main star in its ranks, but still has some interesting players. In the back-line, veterans Kolarov (6.0M) and Ivanovic (5.5M) bring solidity to the team, with the help of holding midfielder Matic (5.5M). On the attacking side, Mitrovic (7.0M) is expected to be the focal point, but behind him there is also a lot of talent: Tadic (7.5M), Milinkovic-Savic (7.0M), Ljajic (6.5M) or even young prospect Zivkovic (5.5M). Their schedule gets rougher at every game, so any bet on Serbs should be right from the start of the competition.

Arriving with the worst FIFA ranking of the bunch, in theory Serbia seems to have the team to fight for getting into the knockout rounds. Their latest friendlies, however, show that there is still a lot to do in the training ground to overcome the Swiss, a more mature and cynical team.

Go to RealFevr.com and start building your team now!

Also, don’t miss our previews of the other groups: Group A, Group B, Group C and Group D.