2018 FIFA World Cup Preview: Group H
Who emerges from one of the most even and fiercely contested groups in this competition’s history?
One more day. In just a few hours, Russia and Saudi Arabia will be kicking off the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup. Naturally, this means that we have arrived at our last of 8 group previews. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading them, because we’ve sure enjoyed bringing you our take on the 32 teams participating in this festival of football. Poland, Senegal, Colombia and Japan are here to round it off in Group H. Here’s my take:
Poland
Eighth ranked Poland will be appearing at their eighth World Cup, with their best result coming in both 1974 and 1982 where they finished third. Qualifying was rather easy for The White and Reds, as they finished top of their group with 25 points. Their top scorer? Robert Lewandowski, of course. His 16 strikes were the most in World Cup qualifying and he demonstrated just why he is considered to be one of the best players in the world. Lewandowski is not only the Polish captain but is their top scorer (55) and holder of the second most senior caps (95) in the current squad (four behind Jakub Błaszczykowski’s 99). Lewandowski came under heavy criticism following Poland’s quarterfinal exit at Euro 2016 as the prolific striker scored just once. If Poland are to do anything at this tournament Lewandowski simply has to show up.
But enough about him, huh? Poland are managed by Adam Nawałka whose 22 year managerial career has never taken him outside of Poland. This is both a good and bad thing as his knowledge of the Polish players and system is second to none, but a lack of management experience at the highest level could cost this Polish team if they wish to progress from their group and make it far in this tournament. Nawałka’s team also has depth around their captain, with the likes of Piotr Zieliński as well as Arkadiusz Milik hoping to make a name for themselves at this tournament. The Euros were proof that Poland are a balanced team that can show up in the absence of bigger names, but if their star men show up at this tournament, Poland might be our dark horse.
Senegal
27th ranked Senegal are making just their second appearance at a World Cup. Their only other appearance was in 2002 where they reached the quarterfinals after losing 1–0 after extra time to Turkey. They’ve had some moderate success in the Africa Cup of Nations, however, as The Lions reached the quarterfinals, losing to eventual champions Cameroon on penalties last year. Senegal received a bye into the second round of African qualifying where they beat Madagascar 5–2 over the course of two legs. They then emerged from a rather tricky third round group containing Burkina Faso, Cape Verde and South Africa to qualify for the tournament proper with 14 out of a possible 18 points. Their top scorers in qualifying were Made Diouf, Cheikh N’Doye and Diafra Sakho with a rather unimpressive two goals in eight matches for each.
However, Senegal is a team known for their flair, and tricky players such as Sadio Mane and Keita Baldé are more than capable of providing creativity (as well as the occasional goal) while strong midfielders Idrissa Gueye and captain Cheikhou Kouyate will try to provide a strong backbone in midfield to win the ball for the creative Liverpool and Monaco wingers. Their only issue is goals: as stated earlier, their top scorers in qualifying only found the net twice and Bursaspor’s 32-year-old striker Moussa Sow is their leading goalscorer, with just 18 international goals. If their higher calibre wingers find themselves shut out, Senegal’s players just might be beginning their summer holidays a bit early.
Colombia
The oddsmakers’ favorites to win the group, Colombia enter their sixth World Cup as the 16th ranked team in the world following their best ever quarterfinals finish in 2014. James Rodriguez won the Golden Boot that year with 6 goals, and his seven qualifying goals were enough to see Colombia qualify for the World Cup in fourth position in CONMEBOL qualifying. Despite qualifying automatically, La Tricolor were a whopping 14 points off leaders Brazil and faced some poor results, beating neither Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay nor Chile throughout the course of qualifying, not very good.
Colombia were dealt a blow just a few days ago as left-back Frank Fabra was ruled out for the tournament with an ACL tear. This is a crushing blow for manager Jose Peckerman who has no high quality replacement for Fabra within the ranks at the tournament. However, quality options at centre back, right back and attack mean that Colombia are still capable of notching that winning goal late on in matches. Colombia were without Falcao due to injury at the last tournament, and the players and fans alike will be brimming from ear to ear at the likes of Juan Cuadrado, James Rodriguez, Falcao, Davinson Sanchez and Santiago Arias all playing together at this World Cup. Despite iffy form during qualifying and a worrying reliance on Bayern man James, Colombia have talent in a competition where individual skill can win matches (see James 2014). Colombia have shown that they have “that” magic but need their key players to step up, or they’ll be caught out in an evenly matched group.
Japan
Japan are the lowest ranked team in this group (61) and are the third lowest team at the entire tournament. However, don’t sleep on the Samurai Blue as they will be competing at their sixth consecutive World Cup. They reached the Round of 16 as recently as 2010 (those Honda free kicks, though) and will be eager to do away with any bad memories lurking from their 2014 campaign where they crashed out, finishing bottom of their group.
Akira Nishino’s side received a bye into the second round of AFC qualifying, where they accrued 22 out of a possible 24 points and qualified for the third round of qualifying. In the third round, Japan emerged triumphant from a group containing fellow World Cup teams Saudi Arabia (second) and Australia (third). This is an impressive achievement and serves as a testament to Japan’s quality despite their relatively low FIFA ranking.
Japan play in a 4–2–3–1 formation and are captained by Frankfurt’s defensive midfielder Makoto Hasebe who impressed massively in a Europa League and Pokal winning season. Dortmund’s attacking midfielder Shinji Kagawa is by far their best player, and his creativity for strikers Shinji Okazaki and backup Yūya Ōsako will be key for Japan if they want to progress from this group. In defense Japan have great fullback depth, as the experience of Yuto Nagatomo as well as the Sakai brothers will be key in shepherding a defense filled with J-League players such as Gen Shoji and experienced goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima. Overall, this is a decent team with quality attackers with ample goal threat posed by Okazaki, Kagawa and Honda. Their defense can cope but may struggle against the likes of Lewandowski and Mane. However, if they counter well and stay organized, Japan just might advance.
Predictions
Colombia are the most talented team in this group, and their superb individual class should be enough to set them apart from the rest. Second place is much tougher to predict, as Japan, Senegal and Poland all have great teams with quality players. I think Poland have enough about themselves to finish second, but I think Senegal will give them a run for their money in third. Japan vs. Portugal on the 28th is a match to watch for me as I think it determines the final qualifying spot with three teams in the mix for second. Should be good fun.
