2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group F)

Group F

Germany (1)

Mexico (15)

Sweden (23)

South Korea (61)

                Unlike the past groups, group F is one that I have a personal investment in. Mexico is the birthplace of my parents and where I get my food, traditions, and language. Most of the time I have temporary bias when I support a team or player. At times I enjoy watching Spain then get tired of them and watch Brazil and the same goes with club teams. I enjoy watching football in general. But, Mexico is different. It is a personal bias. Fans will understand when I speak of my team it is with passion and emotion. However, as I went through academia and studied sports I learned how to separate myself momentarily to critique the teams I support in a more honest manner.

                Germany are not only clear favorites to win the group, but they are perceived to be favorites to lift the world cup again. The German national side has quality all around and what makes their dominance frightening or admirable is that plenty of their younger players are already playing significant amount of minutes in big clubs around Europe. The issue German coach, Joachim Low, will have is who will have to leave out of his 23-man roster for the 2018 World Cup. That being said, Germany is beatable. Die Mannschaft lost to Brazil in a friendly 1-0. One could state that a friendly isn’t always the best method to judge a team which can be the case. Germany did lose when it mattered. They lost to France by a score of 2-0 in the semi-finals at the Euros. This isn’t to diminish the German national team in anyway. They are favorites to win the World Cup and justifiably so. I would just shed light to those that are not aware that the mighty can fall.

                Mexico is a team that if you want to make a safe bet on getting out of the group stage you will definitely earn that money back. The issue with Mexico is that after the group stage one could double their gambling earnings by betting against Mexico winning their round of 16 match. Since the 1994 World Cup Mexico has been eliminated in the round of 16. That is six, SIX times! In Mexico there are talks of superstition and a curse of the fifth game. However, even though I love the stories I do not who heartedly believe in them. Mexico is a talented national team where players have the speed and technical ability to match anyone of the favorites, yet they do lack tactical discipline to beat the favorites. Mexico will finish second in the group which means they will face the winners of group E in the round of 16. Chances are that BRAZIL will win group E. So, is it really a curse or just bad luck? Why not just finish first?

                Sweden in certain newspapers are perceived as finishing 2^nd in the group. Which is not unrealistic, the games still have to be played, but I don’t see Sweden making much of a run this summer in Russia. They did beat Italy in a play-off to earn a spot at the World Cup. But, that was an Italian side that was tactically handicap due to their coach and a national team that has not been playing up to its name for the past decade. Sweden has a chance to finish second, but to me that chance is very minimal. The Swedes play compact, pragmatic, and disciplined football. I don’t think they have the talent upfront to beat even the likes of Mexico.

                South Korea is a team I wish was a lot better than they currently are. I want to cheer for them simply because of Son Heung-min. He is the winger/forward who plays for Tottenham Hotspurs in the English Premier league. I enjoy watching Son play, but his supporting cast doesn’t have the quality to make a serious run to finish second in the group.   

  

                For group F Germany are the clear favorites to finish first with Mexico in second.  

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group E)

Group E

Brazil (2)

Switzerland (6)

Costa Rica (25)

Serbia (35)

                Brazil headlines Group E in this summer’s World Cup. Brazil comfortably finished first in the CONMEBOL qualification with a 10-point lead over their closes rivals, Uruguay, who finished second. The 2014 World Cup was hosted in Brazil that ended in a manner that most Brazilians wish didn’t happen. There were protest on the streets by the Brazilian people who preferred improvement in social services than FIFA’s white elephant gift. Adding to the devastation Brazil went on to infamously lose 7-1 to Germany in the semi-finals. I am pretty sure as the tournament looms closer none of the Brazilians need a reminder of their painful exit from the previous world cup. Brazil are favorites to come out as the winners of group E given that they are an improved team and that their competition isn’t up to par with the selecao. Not only are they favorites to come out first in their group Brazil is also -as in most, if not every world cup-  favorites to win the tournament.

                Brazil’s most difficult hurdle to get through will be Switzerland. I don’t necessarily believe Switzerland is the currently the 6^th best team in the world, but they provide a different challenge to the Brazilian national team. Switzerland has players such as Xherdan Shaqiri, Stepham Lichtsteiner, and Ricardo Rodriguez that play in big clubs or in Shaqiri’s case a league with a high-quality level. Switzerland isn’t the most exciting national team to watch, but they have been consistent qualifying for their fourth consecutive world cup. Which is impressive given that the UEFA qualifications can come down to a bit of luck for smaller nations based on which of the more traditional powerhouse teams are in the group. In Switzerland’s case it was Portugal. Both teams finished with 27 points, but Portugal finished first due to tiebreaker rules. Switzerland can maneuver their way into finishing second and reaching the round of 16.

                Costa Rica were a breath of fresh air last world cup. Los Ticos finished 1^st in a group that was made up of 3 previous world cup winners; England, Uruguay, and Italy were the three teams that made up the “Group of death.”  Costa Rica reached the quarter-finals in Brazil only to be eliminated by the Netherlands in a penalty shootout. Could Costa Rica perform a repeat of their miracle run? Of course, but it is less likely. If Costa Rica manages to get second place they will play the winner of group F, which will most likely be Germany. The Costa Rican side has more experience coming in as most players will return from the 2014 squad, yet from what I seen there are plenty of players that haven’t had a good campaign this season to reinforce them as legitimate giant slayers.

                Serbia finished first in their world cup qualification group. I wouldn’t put to much emphasis on the first place due to the strength of the group. As I mentioned before the UEFA qualifications could be brutal or giving to smaller footballing nations. In Serbia’s case it was a gift. Their group consisted of Republic of Ireland -who finished 2^nd- Wales, Austria, Georgia, and Moldova. Georgia and Moldova had a combination of zero wins. This shouldn’t be a knock on the Serbian national team. They were drawn in a group and they did what they planned out to do which was qualify for the World Cup in Russia. In the analyzing aspect it is difficult to say Serbia will come out as first or second without saying it simply to be as giving as Serbia’s UEFA qualification group.

                Brazil will finish first and second will be Costa Rica. Yes, Costa Rica!  

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group D)

Group D

Argentina (4)

Iceland (22)

Croatia (18)

Nigeria (47)

Argentina will have plenty of spectating eyes on them and it won’t be due to how well La Albiceleste play their football. Lionel Messi will be the main reason why most of the world will be watching the Argentinean national team. Argentina had a difficult time during the world cup qualifications. Messi scored a hat-trick to secure Argentina’s spot in Russia 2018. The national team hasn’t played well at all, with the quality of players this Argentinean side has there should be no difficulty against most national teams even without Messi. Yet, that is far from the case. At times players that perform excellent for their respective clubs are somehow weakened by the kryptonite that is woven in their national team’s jersey. Argentina lost to Spain in an embarrassing fashion. 6-1. A goal shy on matching Brazil’s 7-1 to Germany in 2014. Messi did not dress up for the match. He spotted in the stands overseeing what he will most likely have to work with in the summer and no psychic or fortune teller is needed to read what was going on in Messi’s head. Argentina are an awful side. I wish I could say there is a positive to this side, but the only thing I can think of is that Messi is on the team.

Argentina are a traditional safe pick to win the group, but if they perform the way they have during the qualifications and friendlies they will not make it out of this group. Nigeria, for some reason will face Argentina for the 3^rd consecutive time at the world cup, will have a better chance on advancing to the knockout stages than Messi’s national team. How? I wouldn’t put too much emphasis on friendlies, but that is what I will go off on. Nigeria beat Argentina 4-2 overcoming a 2-goal deficit. To be fair, Argentina has beaten Nigeria in their last two meetings at the World Cup. Nigeria is a national side that has great players that can come together and play well can definitely make it out of this group. A side with a mix of experience and youth can finish second whether it be behind or ahead the Argentinean Messi led side.

Croatia and Iceland both finished first in their qualifying groups to earn an automatic bid for the World Cup. Unfortunately, that is the only similarities I see between the two sides. Iceland will be making their first appearance at the World Cup and is worth celebrating. However, I don’t see them repeating a run at the world cup similar to their Euro run in France. Croatia is a national team that has a talented midfield led by Luka Modric. I think Croatia has the capability to finish first in group D.

Of all the groups so far, I can see Group D as the most intriguing one to keep an eye on. As mentioned earlier Argentina on paper should be the winner of this group, but the way they have been playing I can see the serious possibility of Croatia and Nigeria advancing to the knockout stage.

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group C)

Group C

France (7)

Australia (40)

Peru (11)

Denmark (12)

                France is a team that is loaded with talented players, from the starting eleven to those sitting on the bench. Not only is the French national team gifted with depth, but the age of most of the players is 26 and younger. This can be analyzed as a team that is built for the future. However, the world cup is played in 2018 and no national team can loan itself success by borrowing from the future. France leads Group C heading into Russia this summer as favorites to win the group and even make a deep run in the tournament. Les bleus were runners-up in the Euros and would enjoy reaching the final in the summer for another opportunity to win an international trophy.

                Australia is the lowest ranked on FIFA’s ranking system of the teams in group C. The Socceroos have qualified for their fourth consecutive World Cup which is an achievement in itself since before qualifying for Germany in 2006 the Australian national team had a 30-year absence. I don’t see the socceroos causing too much trouble for any of the other teams and will most likely be eliminated once the group stage is over.

                Peru and Denmark are close and not just in the FIFA rankings. The two national teams will participate in their fifth world cup in their respective history. I think the two national teams are ranked slightly higher than they merit based on their quality of play. However, they are close in quality which is somewhat indicated by the rankings. How Peru and Denmark perform against Australia will be a key factor in which team will advance to the knockout phase of the tournament. Any slip up against the Australian team will open up a huge opportunity for the other. 

France is an easy pick to finish first, but who will finish in second is a bit more difficult to state with historically assured confidence. I will side with Peru to advance simply because I was memorized by the fans in the stadium who passionately cheered on their national team during the qualification and after it was set that La Blanquirroja would be in Russia in this summer. Denmark has not lost in their last 11 matches winning 6 of them and drawing with the likes of Germany and Chile. They have quality players and can finish 2^nd. My tiebreaker was my emotional attachment to Peru after watching the two national teams play their playoff matches to qualify for the World Cup. I admit that’s not the usual manner in which I attempt to analyze football, but as the world cup nears the emotions are starting to quickly ascend.  

2018 FIFA Men's World Cup (Group B)

Group B

Portugal (4) FIFA Rankings

Spain (8)

Morocco (42)

Iran (36)

The 2018 FIFA men’s world cup is approaching and the world will soon have their sights on Russia this summer. This year FIFA decided to take a different route in determining how the teams would be placed in the allocated four pots in which the teams are randomly picked to form the eight groups for the initial phase of the tournament. The premise behind FIFA’s decision was to make it more balanced, where a group couldn’t have three teams that were all in the top 10 FIFA rankings. Spain was not rank as high and as a result were drawn in a group with the European Champions.

Portugal may be the higher ranked team in Group B, but I see it as Spain’s to lose. La Furia Roja have not lost a match since March 2017 and their two most recent friendlies they tied Germany and beat Argentina 6-1. Spain is going through a bit of a transition under their head coach, Julen Lopetegui. Lopetegui has introduced younger players into an aging squad in a manner that has not disrupted the team’s success that some teams face during a similar process. Alvaro Morata isn’t playing well at Chelsea and Diego Costa only has 3 goals since he became available to play for Athletico Madrid in January. Yet, that won’t bother the coach or fans as Rodrigo from Valencia and Iago Aspas have been in excellent form this year for their clubs and played in the last two friendlies.

Portugal are the European champions, but I am still a skeptic on the quality of the team. Cristiano Ronaldo is on fire at the moment scoring goal after goal, but that is not what I mean when I discuss the quality of the Portuguese national team. They are European champions and that can’t be disputed, but the manner in which they won it can be. I don’t see a team replicating what Portugal did at the Euro’s and winning the world cup. The lack of quality as a team is due to the age of the defensive back line. Bruno Alves is (36) years old, Rolando (32), Jose Fonte (34), Luis Neto (29) and if Pepe gets called he is 35. Those are Portugal’s current centerbacks. In their last two friendlies Portugal narrowly defeated Egypt with two 90 minute goals from Ronaldo and lost to a Netherland’s team that failed to qualify for the world cup.

Morocco has qualified for the 2018 world cup after a twenty-year absence. Morocco hasn’t lost since June 10 2017 and has a variety of players playing all across Europe. Their captain, Medhi Benatia, most recently known for bringing down Lucas Vasquez in the 90^th minute to award a penalty to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, anchors the Moroccan defense. When Portugal and Morocco face each other in their group stage match I can only see Ronaldo getting the best of Benatia.

Iran is a team that is well organized and has been steadily getting better. They are a team that plays well and can match their opponent’s tempo. In their last world cup appearance in 2014 the Iranians finished last in their group. However, it did take Lionel Messi to produce a bit of magic and score a magnificent goal to give Argentina a 1-0 win.

On paper it is easy to dismiss Iran and Morocco, but I would say that Portugal and Spain should not over look these two national teams. All four teams in group B finished as winners in their respective qualifying groups to make it to Russia. I will still take Spain to win the group, but Portugal might have problems if they don’t take 3 points from Iran and Morocco as I don’t see them defeating Spain.  

2018 FIFA Men's world Cup (Group A)

Group A

Russia (66) FIFA Rankings

Saudi Arabia (70)

Egypt (46)

Uruguay (17)

Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Uruguay make up the four teams that make up group A in the 2018 men’s FIFA World Cup. For most viewers, this group as a whole seems dull and other than a few singular story lines can be deemed as a group that won’t be fondly remembered. The host, Russia, aren’t necessarily exciting to watch and don’t have the same structure as they did under Guus Hiddink. South Africa beat Russia to it, but Russia has a high probability in joining them as the one of two teams to host the tournament and not make it out of the group stage.

The two main reasons why I see Russia having a disappointing summer is because of Egypt and Uruguay. Egypt has not made a world cup appearance since 1990 and to add to the unimpressive record the Egyptian national team has never made it past the group stage. The past doesn’t determine the outcome of present or future performances. At the moment, Egypt have a player that is having an incredible season. Mohammed Salah, who plays his club trade in Liverpool, is a winger that is on his way to win the golden boot in the English Premier League.  As a whole Egypt isn’t a team that can disturb any of the traditional powerhouse teams, but the Pharaohs should have enough to beat Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Uruguay is a safe pick to finish first. The Celeste finished second in the CONMEBOL world cup qualifying region which is regarded as one of, if not the most rigorous region to qualify from. Uruguay has won the tournament twice, but their latest triumph has been well over sixty years. In 2010, led by Diego Forlan, Uruguay finished fourth in South Africa. As mentioned before, the past does nothing to win in the present or future, only create shackles of failure or success. Uruguay has strikers that can score and cause problems to any back line. Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani, and Christhian Stuani are strikers who are scoring goals for their respective clubs and if they can replicate their form for their national team Uruguay could be a dark horse in this summer’s tournament and challenge the favorites to win it.

Saudi Arabia isn’t much of a threat to any one in the group and the only news from the national team was when a handful of national team players went to Spain in January to play football in the first and second division.

Group A is the group of the host, but unfortunately for them fixing results won’t be enough for them to get through. Uruguay is a team that can reach the further rounds and Egypt have a scoring machine in Salah to get them by.  

FIFA

FIFA-

"That one person who is rich and we all know did some sketchy shit to make that money, but gives back to your favorite charity."

              The 2018 FIFA men’s World Cup will be hosted by Russia this summer. The opening game will be on June 14 and run through the final on July 15. FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) is the sports governing body that, along with the host nation, prepares and runs the football tournament. The games won’t begin until June, however, there is plenty of excitement prior towards the commencement of the World Cup. The topic that will be discussed isn’t necessarily as exciting as the beautiful game but does play a dramatic part in the footballing world.

              FIFA.  FIFA controls and manages the organization of tournaments and everything that comes along with it such as negotiating with sponsors, awarding television rights, rules and laws that surround the game, but do not control the actual Laws of the game.  That reponsiblilty falls under the International Football Association Board (IFAB) which is composed of the English FA, the Scottish FA, The Football Association of Wales and Northern Ireland’s FA. However, FIFA has 50% of the votes (4) when it comes to the 8-person panel.

              That is why FIFA is a vital part and will most likely never go away. Not without a fight at least. There is a significant amount of money that is involved in the soccer organizing operation that it’s insane. FIFA has a negative connotation to some in the footballing community mainly due to allegations of corruption, money laundry, and being complicit to human rights violations to host nations that are using foreign labor to complete the construction of stadiums.

              Don’t let that last sentence stray you off course. I am not here to bash FIFA, I’ll leave that to the funnier and more qualified comedians such as John Oliver. I am here to attempt to explain how FIFA is structured so as the World Cup nears and comedians, sports news outlets, and even regular news outlets will make some sort of report on the scandals associated with FIFA, the reader will have a slightly better understanding on the topic.

              The President. The President of FIFA is the normally the most recognizable person in the sport governing body. The current president, Gianni Infantino, was elected after his predecessor, Joseph Blatter, was removed due to corruption allegations. The FIFA president is a representative role where whoever holds the position must advance the Council’s agenda in strategic manner that also represents the policies and values. The president has no vote in congress, but has one ordinary vote on the Council. In short, the president represents FIFA where ever he goes in order to further their agenda.

              The Council. The 37 members (1 President, 8 Vice Presidents, and 28 other members) on the Council have significantly more authority in progressing FIFA’s agenda and authority. A few of the aspects under control of the Council is the awarding of commercial contracts, football development grants, the operational costs of FIFA and other business-finance related matters. The Council appoints a general secretariat to manage and execute the business-finance matters. As one would expect the general secretariat is overseen and answers to the authority of the Council. The Council also approves the budget and assigns committees and holds the elections for the head of those committees to be voted by the congress. Remember the IFAB mentioned earlier? The Council is involved in that as well. They pick three members along with the President to represent FIFA at the IFAB and how representatives will vote in the IFAB. To summarize, the Council runs FIFA, they don’t control all aspects, but if anything is going to be done it will have to go through the Council.

FIFA Congress.  Meets ordinarily every year and/or when summoned by the Council. Each soccer federation is represented in FIFA congress unless it is not present, therefore can’t vote, or suspended due to a violation against FIFA regulation and policy. The FIFA congress gets to vote for the next president, approval of the budget and which nation will host the next world cup. To compare, FIFA congress is like the students in an elementary classroom who raise their hands to vote and the Council is the teacher who provides the students on what they will vote for.

Clearly, I didn’t go as in-depth as most fans of policy making would enjoy, however, my intention wasn’t to explain the influence of the confederations have over the soccer federations in their region that results in block voting. My intentions were to familiarize, mostly Americans, how FIFA is structured not how it works. Full transparency, I don’t know 100% how FIFA works, and I research, follow, and attempt to understand what they do for quite some time now. The real excitement will be on the fields in Russia this summer, but keep an eye and watch for the drama that FIFA brings along with them.