2018 FIFA World Cup Preview: Group G
Belgium, England and not much else. Stranger things have happened, but don’t expect Panama or Tunisia to shock the world.
Only two days remaining until the 2018 FIFA World Cup officially begins! Are you excited yet? I hope your pantry is stocked with appetizers, drinks and plenty of napkins. Today, I preview Group G, but don’t forget to check back in tomorrow for The Great Zamboni’s 2018 FIFA World Cup Group H preview.
Welcome to Group G, where Belgium and England are heavy favorites to advance while Tunisia and Panama will look to play spoiler. Will the favorites advance or will the pressure prove too much?
Belgium
The Red Devils qualified for the World Cup by topping their group in dominating style, winning 9 out of their 10 matches and only dropping points in a 1–1 draw against Greece. Belgium’s best result at the World Cup came in 1986 when they finished fourth. This summer’s tournament will be Belgium’s 13th World Cup (lucky number 13?) and they will be looking to build on their 2014 run to the quarterfinals.
The Premier League is well represented on this Belgium squad, with core players from Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham leading the way. Not to mention, former Wigan and Everton manager Roberto Martinez is in charge of the Red Devils with Arsenal and France’s all-time leading goal scorer, Thierry Henry, on the bench as his assistant.
Given their success in the qualification stages, it’s no surprise that Belgium enter the tournament as one of the favorites. The Red Devils’attack is led by Man United’s Romelu Lukaku. Joining Lukaku in attack? Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, two of the top players in the Premier League who will likely play in the attacking half of the team alongside Lukaku. Perhaps the one glaring question on this squad is the lack of depth in central defense, which is led by Vincent Kompany, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. More notably, there is a lack of credible options behind the trio and that could cost Belgium in the knockout stages against stronger competition. Will the pressure get to the Red Devils? Possibly, but it’s hard to imagine them not advancing to the knockout stages given their plethora of talent. Belgian fans will and should expect this team to advance deep into the tournament.
England
England enter the tournament as heavy favorites to advance past Group G alongside Belgium. This will mark England’s fifteenth World Cup appearance, with their best result coming in 1966 when they lifted the World Cup trophy. England topped its qualification group rather easily, winning 8 of 10 matches and drawing twice. The Three Lions will look to avenge their 2014 World Cup disaster, in which they were knocked out of the group stage after only salvaging one point during the last group stage match against Costa Rica.
Gareth Southgate is at the helm as manager. On the pitch, every single player named to the World Cup squad plays in English football’s top flight. England’s greatest ever goal scorer, Wayne Rooney, retired from international football in 2017 and the torch has been handed off to Harry Kane. Southgate named a relatively young squad to travel to Russia, so much of England’s chances at advancing deep in the tournament will rely heavily on Kane’s shoulders.
In addition to Kane, England lines up with Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jamie Vardy as other viable options up front. However, Southgate has picked a squad heavily-loaded with defenders, which could be reflective of his desire to play with three centre-backs and wing-backs. Will the youth and exuberance provide enough of a jolt for the Three Lions to make a deep run?
Panama
Nothing quite like competing in your first ever World Cup! Panama will be doing just that in Russia. Panama qualified for their first World Cup with a controversial goal in a 2–1 win over Costa Rica on Oct. 11. Panama don’t have many big-name players on their squad and only managed to net nine goals throughout World Cup qualification, showing how improbable their qualification truly was.
Colombian manager Hernan Dario Gomez has worked wonders since taking over in 2014 and is one of four people to have led three different national teams to the World Cup, having taken Colombia in 1998 and Ecuador in 2002. Much of the squad named to Russia plays in Major League Soccer (MLS), with Román Torres (Seattle Sounders) being one of the names to watch. In fact, Los Canaleros qualified for the tournament after Torres’ 88th minute winner against Costa Rica. Blas Perez could be another name to watch for Panama. The 37-year-old and former Liga MX and MLS man is the joint top-scorer in the national team’s history (43 goals) who possesses the discipline and smarts to captain the attack. Overall, any result in the group stage will be considered a success and any other expectations are unlikely. Fans should just enjoy the ride.
Tunisia
Tunisia qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 12 years, but they don’t catch any breaks, as they battle England in their World Cup opener. This marks their fifth World Cup appearance but the The Eagles of Carthage have never advanced past the group stage.
Tunisia manager Nabil Maâloul has 74 caps for his country and played for German club Hannover in the late eighties to the early nineties. On the pitch, Tunisia’s star man is Sunderland’s Wahbi Khazri, who will be tasked with creating most of the chances in the final third. Aymen Abdennour (Marseille) is another name to watch for Tunisia. Abdennour is a very solid centre back and established defender, who will be the one marking star strikers such as Harry Kane and Romelu Lukaku. Much like Panama, Tunsia has a brutal start to the World Cup and they will need to be near perfect to have any chance at a result. However, I expect three matches and back home for Tunisia.
Predictions
I expect Belgium to top the group and England to follow in second. It’s really tough to imagine a scenario in which one the sides fail to advance to the knockout stages. There’s a gargantuan difference in talent between England and Belgium and Tunisia and Panama. Any other result after the group stage matches have concluded would be shocking.
