Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
World Cup 2018: Argentina favorites to qualify from Group D
At first glance, two-time World Cup winners Argentina look to have been given a fairly friendly draw. In truth, however, there is quality throughout this group. Croatia may have needed to come through the European playoffs, but they were one of the best sides at Euro 2016. Nigeria have a handful of excellent attacking players and sailed through a tricky qualifying group. And Iceland, as we saw at Euro 2016, can shock anyone. If Argentina aren’t at their best, this could be a fascinating mess.
Argentina
It took for Lionel Messi to score three goals in the last qualifying match for Argentina to make it to the World Cup but now that they’re in the tournament, it’s hard not to look at them as one of the favorites. It’s confounding that a team with so many world class players finds a way to consistently struggle, even with Jorge Sampaoli who was supposed to finally balance the team but could lead the team to only one win out of four games.
But this is still a team with Messi, Mauro Icardi, Sergio Aguero, Angel di Maria, Ever Banega, Javier Pastore, Angel Correa and Gonzalo Higuain, just not in the Final.
It’s do or die for this crop of Argentina players, and anything less than a win will be one more disappointment to add to a history of failures. Losing in three straight tournament Finals in the waning minutes and extra time has to have some lasting psychological effect on the players, but they will have to overcome that to fulfill the potential that everyone knows they have.
Key player: Lionel Messi
The best player of our generation and arguably the best player to ever play the game, and this will probably be his last chance to win the World Cup. It has to be his best performance. Even though Argentina is full of great players, they are entirely dependent on his ability. Whatever success they will have will have to come by his left foot.
Iceland
Before now, Iceland have never made the World Cup. They’re the smallest country ever to qualify for it. They only even made their first European Championship tournament in 2016 and made it all the way to the quarterfinals before going out. They’re a fun team that plays fascinating football, and they proved with a dominating qualifying run in a tricky group that their 2016 run was no fluke. Now they’re ready to take an even bigger step forward as a national team.
Iceland play a tactical brand of football, but where that kind of phrase is usually associated with dire, overly defensive game plans, Iceland’s approach is anything but. They run well-coordinated patterns of movement for both their passing attack and defensive setups that often seem to leave opponents mystified, and they do it with incredible consistency.
They’re not the most outright talented team in the World Cup by a long ways, but they’ve got a lot of underrated players who play way above their level as a unit, and that’s always a good recipe for a surprise result or three in a big tournament.
Key player: Gylfi Sigurðsson
Sigurðsson hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons with Everton so far — no Everton players have, to be honest — but his lethal skill on set pieces and ability to create magic from open play still leaves him as the most crucial part of Iceland’s squad. He’s their best playmaker by far and the top goalscorer in the squad, and no matter what they do to approach a given match, he’s going to be at the heart of it.
Croatia
In a world where football results were awarded for style, Croatia might just be going into the 2018 World Cup as the reigning European champions. Their 2-1 victory over Spain at Euro 2016 was the performance of the tournament and raised the very real possibility that this generation of players might go further than the great generation of the mid-’90s. Then they ran into Portugal and got smothered.
Qualification for Russia started well, then nosedived. Coach Ante Čačić was sacked following losses to Iceland and Turkey and a draw with Finland, and Zlatko Dalić took over with just one game left, a winner-takes-the-playoffs game against Ukraine. They won that then dispatched Greece to secure their place, though they made short work of Greece. But off-field matters have rather soured the achievement: Thanks to a complex and still-emerging mess of corruption allegations involving players and administrators, support for the side is at a low ebb.
Key player: Luka Modric.
Now 32, this will perhaps be our last chance to enjoy Luka Modric at a major international tournament. Let's hope it goes well, then, because in form he's one of the most delightful midfielders going — a creative presence who makes everybody around him better and occasionally scores beautiful goals for himself, too.
Nigeria
African qualifying had a clear group of death, and Nigeria was in it. Any of their opponents — Zambia, Cameroon or Algeria — would have had a good chance to get out of any other group. But the Super Eagles coasted past all of them, going undefeated and finishing six points clear. At the moment, Nigeria appears to be the clear class of Africa and the continent’s best hope at making a deep run.
John Obi Mikel continues to be the veteran leader of this team, but the rest of the squad has been made over considerably in recent years, and most of the starters in Russia will be 25 or younger. Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho have emerged as star players in the attack, joining up with the top performers from the generation slightly older, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses.
Key player: Alex Iwobi
Mikel and Moses might be the leaders, but Iwobi will be the difference maker. He’s the most creative player in the side and will need to be at his best for Nigeria to make a deep run.
Prediction
Argentina
Nigeria
Croatia
Iceland
https://www.sbnation.com/2017/12/1/...raw-group-d-argentina-iceland-nigeria-croatia
At first glance, two-time World Cup winners Argentina look to have been given a fairly friendly draw. In truth, however, there is quality throughout this group. Croatia may have needed to come through the European playoffs, but they were one of the best sides at Euro 2016. Nigeria have a handful of excellent attacking players and sailed through a tricky qualifying group. And Iceland, as we saw at Euro 2016, can shock anyone. If Argentina aren’t at their best, this could be a fascinating mess.
Argentina
It took for Lionel Messi to score three goals in the last qualifying match for Argentina to make it to the World Cup but now that they’re in the tournament, it’s hard not to look at them as one of the favorites. It’s confounding that a team with so many world class players finds a way to consistently struggle, even with Jorge Sampaoli who was supposed to finally balance the team but could lead the team to only one win out of four games.
But this is still a team with Messi, Mauro Icardi, Sergio Aguero, Angel di Maria, Ever Banega, Javier Pastore, Angel Correa and Gonzalo Higuain, just not in the Final.
It’s do or die for this crop of Argentina players, and anything less than a win will be one more disappointment to add to a history of failures. Losing in three straight tournament Finals in the waning minutes and extra time has to have some lasting psychological effect on the players, but they will have to overcome that to fulfill the potential that everyone knows they have.
Key player: Lionel Messi
The best player of our generation and arguably the best player to ever play the game, and this will probably be his last chance to win the World Cup. It has to be his best performance. Even though Argentina is full of great players, they are entirely dependent on his ability. Whatever success they will have will have to come by his left foot.
Iceland
Before now, Iceland have never made the World Cup. They’re the smallest country ever to qualify for it. They only even made their first European Championship tournament in 2016 and made it all the way to the quarterfinals before going out. They’re a fun team that plays fascinating football, and they proved with a dominating qualifying run in a tricky group that their 2016 run was no fluke. Now they’re ready to take an even bigger step forward as a national team.
Iceland play a tactical brand of football, but where that kind of phrase is usually associated with dire, overly defensive game plans, Iceland’s approach is anything but. They run well-coordinated patterns of movement for both their passing attack and defensive setups that often seem to leave opponents mystified, and they do it with incredible consistency.
They’re not the most outright talented team in the World Cup by a long ways, but they’ve got a lot of underrated players who play way above their level as a unit, and that’s always a good recipe for a surprise result or three in a big tournament.
Key player: Gylfi Sigurðsson
Sigurðsson hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons with Everton so far — no Everton players have, to be honest — but his lethal skill on set pieces and ability to create magic from open play still leaves him as the most crucial part of Iceland’s squad. He’s their best playmaker by far and the top goalscorer in the squad, and no matter what they do to approach a given match, he’s going to be at the heart of it.
Croatia
In a world where football results were awarded for style, Croatia might just be going into the 2018 World Cup as the reigning European champions. Their 2-1 victory over Spain at Euro 2016 was the performance of the tournament and raised the very real possibility that this generation of players might go further than the great generation of the mid-’90s. Then they ran into Portugal and got smothered.
Qualification for Russia started well, then nosedived. Coach Ante Čačić was sacked following losses to Iceland and Turkey and a draw with Finland, and Zlatko Dalić took over with just one game left, a winner-takes-the-playoffs game against Ukraine. They won that then dispatched Greece to secure their place, though they made short work of Greece. But off-field matters have rather soured the achievement: Thanks to a complex and still-emerging mess of corruption allegations involving players and administrators, support for the side is at a low ebb.
Key player: Luka Modric.
Now 32, this will perhaps be our last chance to enjoy Luka Modric at a major international tournament. Let's hope it goes well, then, because in form he's one of the most delightful midfielders going — a creative presence who makes everybody around him better and occasionally scores beautiful goals for himself, too.
Nigeria
African qualifying had a clear group of death, and Nigeria was in it. Any of their opponents — Zambia, Cameroon or Algeria — would have had a good chance to get out of any other group. But the Super Eagles coasted past all of them, going undefeated and finishing six points clear. At the moment, Nigeria appears to be the clear class of Africa and the continent’s best hope at making a deep run.
John Obi Mikel continues to be the veteran leader of this team, but the rest of the squad has been made over considerably in recent years, and most of the starters in Russia will be 25 or younger. Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho have emerged as star players in the attack, joining up with the top performers from the generation slightly older, Ahmed Musa and Victor Moses.
Key player: Alex Iwobi
Mikel and Moses might be the leaders, but Iwobi will be the difference maker. He’s the most creative player in the side and will need to be at his best for Nigeria to make a deep run.
Prediction
Argentina
Nigeria
Croatia
Iceland
https://www.sbnation.com/2017/12/1/...raw-group-d-argentina-iceland-nigeria-croatia
