World Cup Preview: Brazil v Switzerland

Who? Brazil - Switzerland
Where? Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don
When? June 17, 20:00 (CET local time)

Brazil (Vitor Buratini Mendes)

The wait ends on Sunday: after a depressing finish for 2014 World Cup, the Brazilian team returns to the biggest tournament in the world against Switzerland. Brazil and Switzerland has faced eight times in history , but only once in the World Cup: 2-2 draw in 1950.

Brazil is excited for the World Cup. They are undefeated in the last 11 matches and the Brazilian are expected to give a true show at the premiere. Nothing except from victory will be acceptable and Neymar will do anything to make it happen.

Neymar have one of the most entertaining playing style in the world. He has everything that is need to mess up the defense of Switzerland. Returning from injury in the friendly games before the tournament, the biggest Brazilian player nowadays scored two beautiful goals in the matches against Croatia and Austria. He will surely use his speed and skills over Lichtsteiner, who will probably not be able to stop him without making fouls.

The biggest problem of the Brazilian team is perhaps the right back. With the injury of Dani Alves, it is possible to see Danilo in the first XI. He is not a bad player, but he is not at the same level as the other lineup players. Therefore, he should become more aware to the Swiss attempts to make him as an easy target.

Even with this small problem, Brazil are the favourites in this clash. This way to start the World Cup has everything to give confidence to one of the biggest teams in the world, which will seek with all its strength to take back to the place they know so well and to blow away the ghosts of 2014. Neymar will not be afraid to face it, just as he is not afraid of any defender -  these feelings may come, but Neymar will pass it.

Switzerland (Yossi Medina)

It is something that we need to get used to it, as Switzerland qualified for their fourth consecutive World Cup. They done it in the past, but one of these World Cups was 1954 campaign, which they hosted. It means that the Swiss managed to complete great four qualifying campaigns.

More than that Switzerland is usually qualifying for the knockout stage and can cause problems for major teams. They made a draw against France in 2006 and defeated Spain in 2010, two teams that will eventually reach the final. In such tournaments, Switzerland show their best skills and manage to play great even against teams that are considered as favorites.

Arsenal's Stephan Lichtsteiner will be one of most experienced players in the squad. As he probably will be in the starting XI, he can be the Swiss player with the most World Cup appearances, as he played 7 matches. He is also the only player in the Swiss squad to made 100 caps.

Another player that was significant four years ago and will like to make the same performance in this campaign is Xherdan Shaqiri. His hattrick against Ecuador in the last group stage match led Switzerland to another round of 16 appearance. With 20 international goals, Shaqiri's next one will make him as one of the top 10 goalscorers in the national team.

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World Cup Preview: Germany v Mexico

Who? Germany - Mexico
Where? Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
When? June 17, 17:00 (CET local time)

Germany (Yossi Medina)

The reigning World Cup champions is starting their way to win the title once again. It will be hard as long as the history is against them. Only two teams managed to win the title twice in a row, Italy (1934 and 1938) and Brazil (1958 and 1962). More than 50 years no team managed to keep the title for four more years, but Germany believe in their ability to do that.

If we are dealing with records, there is one guy that want to break them, Joachim Löw. In his third World Cup as Germany manager, he can make history with being the coach with the highest number of World Cup wins. The current record set by another Germany coach, Helmut Schön, who made 16 World Cup wins. In order to equal that record, Löw need to win five more matches and Mexico will be his first step.

Another possible record for Germany, or at least a possibility to be close to such one, is the goalscoring record of Miroslav Klose. With 10 goals in his two previous World Cup, Thomas Müller is wishing to make another remarkable tournament. If he want to equal Klose's record, he will aim to score six more goals, one more than the amount he scored in 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

Before speaking of reaching the highest heights, Germany is need to pass thorugh their first match against Mexico, which would not be an easy task. Neverthelss, Germany showed us more than once that they can make anything easier, reminding their previous World Cup opening match, while they thrashed Portugal 4:0. Will Mexico challenge them? It all depends on the ability of the Gemrans.

Mexico (Meir Lozowick)

From the moment that Maradona held in his hands the names in the drawing of the World cup, it’s was clear that Mexico got a very complicated draw.  Not only having tough opponents in the group, but also the order of the games itself, having to play against the current champions Germany and what could be the battle for the 2nd place vs Sweden on the third game. The first immediate conclusion is that the first game against Germany is the most important game. If Mexico could get a very surprising positive result (Even a draw), they will have a huge advantage on the qualification race from group F. Easier said than done. Mexico has never won against Germany in an official game, when the last game between the two teams finished with a 4:1 win for the Germans in last year's Confederations Cup semi-final.

However, on the Mexican side, the optimism is reigning. The players obviously know what they are up front, but according to their declarations, we should expect to an interesting and surprising outcome. Carlos Salcedo, who plays in Germany with Eintracht Frankfurt declared that “although they are one of the best teams, they don’t have a player like Messi, Ronaldo or Neymar”. He also said that the unity of the players in Mexico is not less than the German one. Andres Guardado with a similar statement, claimed that “as a team, we don’t fall from any other, include Germany”.

 The reality is that Mexico would be very satisfied if they could achieve a draw. It will put the two other teams in the group on pressure to gain something against Germany. In a second thought, who said that first game against Germany is a bad draw?

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World Cup Preview: Costa Rica v Serbia

Who? Costa Rica - Serbia
Where? Cosmos Arena, Samara
When? June 17, 14:00 (CET local time)

Costa Rica (Omri Tancman)

Slowly but Surely, Costa Rica has become a significant force in Central American football. From a region dominated mainly by Mexico and USA, CONCACAF can now be seen as a federation with three important regional forces. The progress of Costa Rican football has been steady, with its fourth qualification to the World Cup out of the last five editions.

The most memorable campaign was in Brazil 2014, in the previous World Cup. Costa Rica was drawn with three former World Cup winners, Italy, England and Uruguay. Although no one considered Costa Rica for being able to present any competition, the Costa Ricans proved themselves worthy and topped the group after beating Uruguay and Italy and drawing against England. Their magical campaign ended only in quarter finals after losing to The Netherlands in a penalty shootout.

Some might say that the current appearance is just the final performance of a golden generation. This statement can be true in a way, since Costa Rica has the oldest squad in this World Cup, with an average age of 29.5. The match against Serbia confronts Costa Rica with one of the youngest teams in the tournament so it can be a good test to check if Keylor Navas and his fellow teammates are already too old for this competition. However, it is possible though that the experience of the Costa Ricans can help them overcome the young vibrant Serbians and maybe lead them to another triumph.

Serbia (Eden Roitfarb)

Serbia will face the Ticos from Costa Rica on Sunday to open Group E in a crucial match. The first place looks like a lock with Brazil the favorites to top the group, while the fourth team, Switzerland, would expect to progress as well. Long story short, the second place is up for grabs between three quality teams who all have a case to qualify further.

The Serbians come in a good mood to Samara, after thrashing Bolivia 5-1 last week, as striker Aleksandar Mitrović continued his 2018 resurrection with a hattrick and a bicycle kick assist. The Eagles enjoy a deep attacking cadre: Mitro is joined by fellow Premier League mate Dusan Tadić, Serie A journeyman Adem Ljajić and Greek league top scorer Aleksandar Prijović. Additionally, the defense is anchored by the experienced Branislav Ivanović and Aleksandar Kolarov.

Yet, the most interesting part is the midfield: Luka Milivojević comes off a good season with Crystal Palace, Nemanja Matić is reliable as always, but Serbia’s biggest hope is Sergej Milinković-Savić. SMS, as he is often referred to, had a breakout season in Lazio and is heavily linked to join Manchester United. Although the team qualified impressively to the World Cup, SMS was barely used by coach Slavoljub Muslin, who was also criticized for playing defensive football. These two talking points were allegedly behind Muslin’s surprise sacking in October. He was replaced in the helm by former defender Mladen Krstajić, who has stated that “Milinkovic-Savic proved he can be counted on and is bound to become the backbone of this squad”.

Clearly, the Serbs have high-class individuals and potential. However, recent tournaments show that these players struggle to show unitedness or glue together. Serbia’s biggest challenge would be on the mental and character aspects and these might determine their fate in Russia.

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World Cup Preview: Croatia v Nigeria

Who? Croatia - Nigeria
Where? Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad
When? June 16, 21:00 (CET local time)

Croatia (Eden Roitfarb)

20 years ago, Croatia shocked the football world by finishing 3rd in their World Cup debut. Suker, Boban, Vlaovic and the rest have simply dazzled their opponents, peaking with a 3-0 victory over European Champions Germany in the 1/4 finals. They were stopped eventually by hosts France, but the achievement was way beyond expectations.

Since then, the Croatians are constantly underachieving in the biggest stage of all: 3 early exits in the group stage, and even a failure to qualify in 2010. That was not due to lack of talent, quite the contrary, but a contributing factor is ongoing internal problems that involve the FA, fans and players altogether. These issues would be covered later throughout the tournament, but now it’s time to talk football.

Croatia’s opening fixture pits them against Nigeria. This would mark the two’s first ever meeting, and the Balkanian’s prepared to this occasion by beating a strong Senegalese side last week. Experienced defender Vedran Ćorluka, has said recently that the players “are tired of being billed as a talented generation which keeps flattering to deceive”. Ćorluka himself played only a small part in Lokomotiv Moscow’s sensational title run in Russia, due to an injury-ridden season. He will certainly hope his other team would succeed similarly on Russian soil, but also to play a bigger part in the process.

Saturday’s venue is the brand-new stadium in Kaliningrad, the western most city to host games this summer. Kaliningrad is an isolated exclave located between Lithuania and Poland, that became a Russian city post World War II. The city would host mostly European teams during the World Cup and that creates an easier journey for fans who wish to avoid Russian mainland. Thus, we can expect the Croatian fans to come in large numbers and generate a massive atmosphere. Sretno!

Nigeria (Yossi Medina)

Back in the 90's, Nigeria was one of the teams that you waited to see their games. They reached the knockout stage twice in 1994 and 1998 with an impressive style of football and nostalgic names like Jay-Jay Okocha, Finidi George and Sunday Oliseh.

Though, this is the past and Nigeria suffered a long era of failures. In the next three World Cups they failed to qualify for the knockouts twice and even missed the World Cup in 2006. In 2014 they reached the round of 16 once again but they did it with poor football, as they managed to win only 1 out of 3 group stage matches.

Although they have been drawn to a tough group, Nigeria still hopes to make another great performance. One of the key moments in their warm-up was in Wembley, while they played against England. They began the game badly with conceding two goals. A few subs and playing in a more defensive style made the scoring mission almost impossible for England and Nigeria could made better attacks.

While most of the top guns of Nigeria are on the front line, the Nigerian defense will have an important role in the Super Eagles mission. Most of the leading defenders in the squad are young, but they have enough experience to help. The main player will be Kenneth Omeruo, who played in Turkey in the last three seasons. Even though he is only 24 years old, five years ago he played all the matches of Nigeria in their way to the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations title.

It will be a different Nigeria than we used to know. The famous attackers will need their help from the back, which may make the style less attractive. Yet, for Nigeria it's a chance to make it through with a smart style, an important element in such a tournament.

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World Cup Preview: Peru v Denmark

Who? Peru - Denmark
Where? Mordovia Arena, Saransk
When? June 16, 18:00 (CET local time)

Peru (Omri Tancman)

Probably as a preparation for its first match ever against Denmark, Peru played several friendlies against Nordic teams. On March 28th, Peru has beaten Iceland 3-1 and on June 9th, Peru finished in a 0-0 draw its match against Sweden. In both games two of the players that excelled are Renato Tapia and Jefferson Farfan.

For many, and for a reason, Paolo Guerrero is the main man for Peru. However, two players that should be noticed are Farfan and Tapia. Farfan on one hand, is an experienced journeyman and in many ways he has a very important role this summer for Peru. The scorer led Lokomotiv Moscow to winning the Russian title this year, after 14 years. His experience in European football and knowledge with Russian culture may present some important value exceeding beyond the boundaries of the pitch itself.

Compared to Farfan, Tapia on the other hand is a young promising player. Nevertheless, like Farfan he is well familiar with European football and especially in the Netherlands. Tapia has played in the Netherlands since 2013 for Twente and since 2015 he is a Feyenoord player. This experience should help him cope with Danish players and tackle their game. The Dutch league is home in recent years for many Danish players, such as Christian Eriksen, current Tottenham star that emerged in Ajax, and Denmark first-team striker, Nicolai Jorgensen, Tapia’s fellow teammate.

Denmark is considered by many as the favorite in this clash. However, Peru’s recent history against Nordic teams, Farfan’s experience in Russia and Tapia’s acquaintance with Danish players may result altogether to a bright start for the Peruvian campaign in group C.

Denmark (Yossi Medina)

After missing the last World Cup, Denmark is back and they want to show some of their talent in Russia. Denmark is coming with some of the leading players in the European football such as Christian Eriksen of Tottenham and Lasse Schone of Ajax.

Denmark brings also a young and talented generation to this World Cup. Three years ago, the U-21 national team reached the U-21 European Championship semifinals and made a great performance. In the current squad you can find seven players that have been a part of this championship and some of them have an important role in Denmark's qualification.

One of them is Yussuf Poulsen, who plays for RB Leipzig. Poulsen is a son of a Danish mother and Tanzanian father and is showing some of the new generation of young European players. Another great player is Viktor Fischer, who returned to his home nation at the last season as he played for FC Copenhagen.

With a long tradition of football, Denmark believes that they can make it through the next stage. As France is expected to finish on the top of the group, Denmark will fight against Peru and Australia. Defeating Peru will be an improtant step in the way for this objective.

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World Cup Preview: Argentina v Iceland

Who? Argentina - Iceland
Where? Otkritie Arena, Moscow
When? June 16, 15:00 (CET local time)

Argentina (Yossi Medina)

Argentina loves to play against debutants. In 1998 they played in an all-debutants group with Jamaica, Japan and Croatia, and they played also against Ivory Coast in 2006 and Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2014. Usually, their experience was enough to give them advantage against these teams.

In 2018, it's not so sure that Argentina is prepared well for the World Cup. They made only one warm-up game against Haiti and their second scheduled match against Israel, another weaker team, has been canceled after a large geo-political controversy. With such a poor preparation, Argentina arrived to Russia and hope to make it through.

Argentina suffered also injuries to two key players during the last weeks. The goalkeeper Sergio Romero had a knee injury and left the team with three goalkeepers that played a combined number of just 9 international caps. It seems that Jorge Sampaoli will choose Willy Caballero, who had a lot of experience in his club career but is a part of a World Cup squad for the first time in his career.

The second missing player is Manuel Lanzini. West Ham United midfielder left over after a knee ligament injury. The midfield has some great players such as Ángel Di María and Javier Mascherano but they will need to work hard to stable their line.

With all these problems, a whole nation will cheer for their Albiceleste heroes, hoping to see them lifting a trophy for the first time since 1993.

Iceland (Eden Roitfarb)

Welcome back Iceland! The Nordic Cinderella are back for their first ever World Cup, and by doing so they became the smallest ever nation to qualify with a population of only 350,000 people.

Yet, it’s those colorful characters that helped Iceland capture the hearts of the neutral fan in Euro 2016. Whether it was the powerful Viking Thunderclap performed together by the players & fans and that has been since adopted by many  teams, or whether because of commentator Guðmundur Benediktsson who famously screamed out his voice in games vs Austria and England (while even taking a jab against the Brits for Brexit), Iceland became the public’s number one darling that summer.

A new exciting prospect in Icelandic football is PSV Eindhoven’s Albert Guðmundsson, who is part of a family with rich footballing history. Albert scored a hattrick in a friendly vs Indonesia in January and became the fourth member of his family to score for the national team. His great-grandfather, who held the same name, played for Arsenal and AC Milan in the 1940’s and was later Minister of Finance. And his father? Well, that’s no other than memorable commentator Guðmundur Benediktsson who once was considered a big talent and played for the national team as well. Talk about a small world!

Perhaps it is time for Iceland to make even bigger headlines, as they start with the biggest challenge possible – a date with Argentina and Lionel Messi in Moscow. It would be interesting to see which Iceland we would see: The side that dominated a tough World Cup qualifying group, or the one that is struggling since and hasn’t won a single preparation friendly. One thing is definite, they would give it all and make life difficult for the best player in the world and his crew.

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World Cup Preview: France v Australia

Who? France - Australia
Where? Kazan Arena, Kazan
When? June 16, 12:00 (CET local time)

France

One of the tournament favorites is kicking off their campaign, wishing to end it with the second ever title. Their coach, Didier Deschamps,  has done it once in 1998 and wants to be part of this glory once again.

It was always a challenge for France to make the group of talented players to a team. Many remember the failure of Domenech in 2010, which ended with a completely horrible tournament. Deschamps succeeds in making the players a united group and the results are significant with a quarterfinals in the 2014 World Cup and finishing as runner-ups in Euro 2016.

Another challenge for the French team is the fact that many players are related to several tranfer rumors. Antoine Griezmann made a weird statement about his next season in Atletico Madrid, Thomas Lemar also have some issues with a possible transfer and many other players are on the usual headlines.

If these players could focus on the mission they have, France my be one of the best teams in tournament. In any other case, the French may find themselves struggling with players who don't to be part of this trip to Russia. That's where Deschamps will need to show his skills as the players' mentor in order to make them concentrate.

Australia

Australia made a long journey since the end of the qualification campaign. The Socceroos were one goalpost away from being eliminated in the Asian playoffs, but since then they had a complete change in the squad. The main one was in the manager position, when Ange Postecoglu resigned and replaced by Bert van Marwijk.

The Dutch coach made few changes in the squad and there is one player you can't miss. Daniel Arzani is the youngest player in the World Cup, born in January 1999. Arzani got his first senior call-up during the pre-World Cup preliminary squad. He impressed in both of his first two caps, including scoring a goal within a minute after he was substitute in.

Arzani will enjoy the guidance of one of the oldest players in tournament, Tim Cahill, which will be the first Australian to appear in four World Cup tournaments. Cahill is the last player left from 2006 World Cup squad, who made the best ever achievment for Australia, reaching the round of 16.

Australia knows that they are much weaker than the French team, but they hope that the spirit of their fans will follow them to Kazan. The Australian fans are well known as noisy and they will support their team until the final whistle.

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World Cup Preview: Morocco v Iran

Who? Morocco - Iran
Where? Krestovski Stadium, St. Petersburg
When? June 15, 17:00 ?(CET local time)

The opening whistle of the 2018 World Cup is getting closer, and Group B seems like the most interesting group in the tournament. With Spain cutting coach Julen Lopetegui who signed for Real Madrid, the whole scene looks different now. Morocco, and Iran, will look to snatch their chance for a second round spot, as the match between them on Saturday will be a crucial one.

Morocco

Morocco is coming in a good shape to this match and is counted as a slightly favourite over the Asian Cheetahs from Iran. Both nations have sent massive amount of fans to Russia. “I came from Morocco, and met here many Moroccans from Belgium, Holland and France”, says Ayoub Fajri, a Moroccan fan from Aghadir. “In Morocco we are excited for this tournament for a long time now”, he continues, “For months now that Casablanca is decorated with World Cup signs. I believe that you will see around 30,000 Moroccan fans here in Russia. Between 8 or 10 thousands arrived from Morocco, the rest from Europe”.

Morocco enjoy the fact that 15 players on the squad are born and raised in European countries, growing up in few of Europe’s best academies. “For me it’s not important whether a player has been born in Morocco, Holland, India, or if he is Jewish or a Muslim. If he loves Morocco, feels Moroccan and he is a good player - we love him and want him on the team”.

Iran

Despite having 18 players playing in European clubs - a record in Iranian football history - the Iranians have experienced quite a difficult preparation for the World Cup. The US sanctions regime against the country. The friendlies against Greece, Kosovo and Italy were all cancelled, and the Iranians have only had a chance to play against Uzbekistan and Lithuania - not a great gauge of the skill levels of their rivals in the powerful Group B.

In addition, Nike, the sports brand that represents eight players on the Iranian squad, have reportedly asked their representatives not to wear the company's shoes during the tournament - as part of the US-led sanctions. When politics get involved in football, it's always a complete madhouse - the United States couldn't even qualify for the tournament, but Trump's presence is felt here in Russia.

In any case, the Iranian fans are filling Russia and their positive presence is well felt. Queiroz and his players will receive their support, and hope to beat their direct rival for the group’ surprise. With Alireza Jahanbaksh, the Dutch League top scorer in the line-up it might actually happen.

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World Cup Preview: Egypt v Uruguay

Who? Egypt - Uruguay
Where? Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg
When? June 15, 14:00 (CET local time)

Egypt (Uri Levy)

The past three weeks in Egypt seemed like eternity. Since Mohamed Salah has dislocated his shoulder the entire nation got into a post traumatic shock. Everyone was horrified with their star player’s future & his chances to take part in the World Cup matches against Uruguay & Russia.

On Thursday afternoon Egypt received the encouraging news they all were waiting for. Coach Hector Cúper declared that Mohamed Salah will take part in their first match against Uruguay, after being almost 100% fit, only three weeks after his injury.

While the majority of the Egyptian fans are terrified of the thought of their team playing without Liverpool’s Egyptian king, the Pharaohs’ fans should put their beliefs in the likes of Mahmoud Trezeguet from Kasimpasa, Abdalla Said from Al-Ahli Jeddah, Mahmoud Kahraba and Marwan Mohsen. None of them is a big name in Salah’s scale but they all decent footballers indeed.

Egypt will look to grab a point against Uruguay, what will be counted as a huge achievement for the Middle Eastern nation. With Salah on the field, and support of 100 million Egyptians worldwide, the Pharaohs will look to make the unexpected - take points from one of the world’s top teams.

Uruguay (Yossi Medina)

Oscar Tabárez knows what is the World Cup better than anyone else in the Uruguay national team. This is his fourth World Cup and he would like to keep his perfect record of qualifying to the knockout stage.

In this group, Egypt may be the only team to challenge Uruguay in terms of international players. With four players that made more than 100 caps and two more that may join them during the group stage (Luis Suárez and Fernando Muslera), Uruguay is fielding a well experienced team that will be the favourite in such clash.

Even the players of Uruguay knows how strong their squad is. In the last press conference before the match, Diego Godin said that the Uruguayan preparation for the match does not depend on a single player. Except from the leaders, watch out for some younger and talented players such as Giorgian De Arrascaeta, 24-years-old midfielder who plays for Cruzeiro and impressed at the friendly match against Uzbekistan.

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World Cup Preview: Russia v Saudi Arabia

Who? Russia - Saudi Arabia
Where? Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow
When? June 14, 17:00 (CET local time)

Russia (Eden Roitfarb)

Here we go again! 4 years of anticipation are finally over and suddenly we stare in the eyes of the World Cup opening match. If the football world has waited long for this day, more so have the Russians, that will host a major tournament for the first time. That was officially announced in December 2010 and handed Russia more than 7 years to prepare efficiently.

But are they ready? Unfortunately, it doesn’t look so. Despite being drawn in a comfortable group (which always seems to be the case for host nations), Russia are projected to struggle to qualify further. Only a decade ago they were Euro semi-finalists, but much has changed. To understand that, it’s enough to look at their recent friendlies form that is counting 7 games without a win.

The main problem of the Russian football is the absurd amount of money spent by owners in the local league in previous years. Although this helps to attract foreign stars and improve the football level, there is a major downside for the drive and competitiveness of the Russian footballers who can earn very high wages at home and stay in their comfort zone. Alan Dzagoev, for instance, has never left CSKA Moscow even though he was considered a wonderkid on a global level. Similarly, Yuri Zhirkov did tried his luck in England but returned to the homeland quickly. Evidently, only two squad players earn their living abroad. This type of career management has led to stagnation in the development of the Russian footballer and directly damages the national team. 

However, coach Stanislav Cherchesov might hope experience would provide an x-factor – the Russian squad is one of the oldest this summer with average age of 28.8, and he knows a win on Thursday can change the whole narrative of the Sbornaya.

Saudi Arabia (Uri Levy)

"I'm very optimistic. No one gives us a chance, our players had a disappointing year with their loan deals in Spain, but the truth is that Russia can be surprised in the first game”, said Khaled Abdel Rahman, A Saudi fan with a huge smile outside the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow at Monday afternoon. “The Russians are a weak and fearful team, and against Egypt? Well it's an Arab derby, so everything is open”, he added.

Khaled’s thoughts are not there for granted. Not because of his team's ability, the opposite - the Saudis doesn't have much to lose in this World Cup. The betting agencies give them the lowest chances to win alongside with Panama, and, as Khaled mentioned, this was not a good season for the big stars of Saudi Arabia.

Though, in the last preparation friendly against Germany, although the Saudis conceded twice in an early stage, but looked solid altogether, made it very difficult for the Germans to score more and even got one goal back. “Honestly, I was surprised by the ability," Khaled added. "The goal came as a result of a good pressure, exactly like it came against Italy. These things weren’t happening in a Saudi national team before. When I saw that, I said that perhaps the time in Spain did something good eventually,” he laughed.

After a short period, it seems that Juan Antonio Pizzi is starting to leave his mark on the Saudi players. It is true, they are not favorites in Group A, but they have no pressure and what is certain is that Pizzi will do everything he can to prevent a humiliation in this World Cup. If it is up to him, the 0-8 against Germany & Miro Klose in 2002 will be a foregone memory. Pizzi's Saudi Arabia is a more combative team than what appears on paper.

But will they be able to steal the show in the opening game of the World Cup?
If you ask Khalid, he will tell you: “I told you man, everything is possible!”

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Vai Brasil!

The all-time title leader. With five World Cups, this is what Brazil is seeking to defend in Russia, while Germany is behind them with four titles. After the shame in 2014 World Cup, many expect that Brazil will be better and they can even win the title.

Brazil is perhaps the country that had the greatest number of football legends. Besides the greatest of all, Pelé, several others like Ronaldo, Romário, Garrincha and Ronaldinho Gaúcho enchanted several generations, always with  beautiful soccer based one dribbles. That kind of football made many fall in love in this game.

In 2018 World Cup, Brazil will seek to regain this status. Without winning the tournament for 16 years, this may be the best squad since the last winning squad in 2002. Managed by the giant Tite, one of the best managers the country has ever had and currently one of the best in the world, A Seleção comes strong for the World Cup.

The team is full of great players: from Alisson and Éderson the goalkeepers, through Marcelo and Thiago Silva in the defensive line, with Casemiro, Paulinho and Phillipe Coutinho in the midifield and a front line with Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Roberto Firmino. This year's squad is undoubtedly much better than 2014 squad: the national team has great options in all positions and showed much better football since the arrival of Tite.

The Brazilian people are very excited about the possible journey for hexacampeonato, the sixth title. The future of Brazil is very uncertain and football can be a way out from everyday problems. Winning the title can bring so many joy for a lot of people, even if it is for a single moment.

As a young man who previously did not care much about the Brazilian team and cared only about Palmeiras, I can say that today I'm in love with Brazil national team. We are giants and although we have been humiliated four years ago and many have made fun of us, our history will never be erased. We produce some of the best players in the past and I can assure you: Brazil future will be the same. If we will win the title or not, I can say that our greatness will continue for a long time.

Vai Brasil! Make everyone remember who you really are. The biggest and best of all.

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World Cup Nostalgics: Best 5 Repeats at the Group Stage

The World Cup always brings us the feelings of great memories. Many games during the group stage will remind an old-fashioned World Cup clashes with the same teams. Here are some of these best repeats.

Sweden - Germany
1958 Semifinals 3:1 / 2018 Group F

In 1958, Germany was the reigning World Champions and they were two wins away from winning the title once again. 1:0 lead by Germany didn't made any change for the hosts feeling. Sweden managed to equalize during the first half and scored twice in the last with goals of Gunnar Gren and Kurt Hamrin. Sweden made history and qualified for their only final in the history. Can Sweden upset Germany once again?

Morocco - Portugal
1986 Group Stage 3:1 / 2018 Group B

In hot summer day at Guadalajara, Morocco and Portugal met while they knew that the winner will qualify for the next stage. Portugal were the favourites, but they didn't believe that Morocco will be in one of its best matches ever. Abderrazak Khairi scored a brace in the first half and Abdelkrim Merry added one more. The Atlas Lions won and Portugal found themselves being eliminated too early.
Portugal are once again on the lead, but will it be enough to defeat Morocco?

Brazil - Costa Rica
1990 Group Stage 1:0 / 2018 Group E

Costa Rica World Cup debut was a memorable campaign with wins against Scotland and Sweden and reaching the knockout stage. Nevertherless, one of its well known performances was actually at the defeat 0:1 against Brazil. In this match Costa Rica played with an unusual black and white shirts. The local crowd in the mythical Delle Alpi in Turin thought it a gesture for the local team, Juevetus, and it was enough to make Costa Rica as one of the most beloved team in the tournament.
May Costa Rica have another performance that will be enough to get support?

Argentina - Nigera
1994 Group Stage 2:1 / 2018 Group D

Argentina and Nigeria will meet for the fifth time in World Cup group stage, but none of the previous matches was as amazing as the first meeting in 1994. An early lead with a goal scored by Samson Siasia made the Argentinian a bit shockes. Only Claudio Caniggia could save the day for the Albiceleste and he scored twich before the half time whistle. These goals gave Argentina the win, but later both of the teams qualified for the knockout stage.
In 1994 they qualified together and it happened once again in 2014. What will be in 2018?

Spain - Portugal
2010 Round of 16 1:0 / 2018 Group B

Another Portuguese lost, this time against the eventual World Cup winners in that year, Spain. The only goal scored by David Villa was enough for a win in the Iberian Peninsula derby and to qualify for the quarterfinals. The interesting name in the list is Portugal manager in this match, Carlos Queiroz. In 2018, he will make a double repeat while he will meet Spain and Portugal as the head coach of Iran.
With tons of emotion, what will be the end of the Queiroz-Portugal-Spain trio in the next World Cup?

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The New Fighters

As a fan of La Celeste I'm in unknown territory a few days before the 2018 World Cup. This feeling is probably shared with many Uruguayos today, maybe apart from those who watched football before the 70's. The heroic performance in the 2010 World Cup and winning the Copa America a year later, strengthened the believe that La Celeste can achieve almost everything with the character and stability shown under the legendary Maestro Tabarez's guidance. This time the level of optimism is even higher and Uruguay is marked as the favorite team in Group A and more than usual is referred to as a team who will reach the final stages. I think it's because the current squad has more talent than the ones who did so great before. Alongside this new talent, Uruguay has more depth in the squad, and various options to mix formations and style of play.

The defence is tough as usual with Atletico Madrid's duo Godin and Josema Gimenez forming a formidable defence no striker would like to play against. The frontline is packed with heavy artillery as Suarez and Cavani leading the line and a backup from Stuani and young Maxi Gomez, both tired of scoring goals in La Liga this season. But a formidable defence and lethal strikers are not new for Uruguay in the last decade, although it's rare to see so many players in optimal conditions, so what has changed? Almost the entire midfield from the last World Cup has changed, with Cebolla Rodriguez the last survivor, and the new players to lead it are much more exciting talentwise. It's Bentancur, Torreira, De Arrascaeta, Nandez (my personal favorite), Laxalt (option for both fullback and winger roles), under the guidance of more experienced Vecino, that makes me believe Uruguay can achieve even more.

Yet, I'm a little bit concerned. maybe because I'm not use to this "favorite tag" or expectations to play "good" football and not only bring good results. Uruguay's greatest achievements in my lifetime weren't as a result of superior football as it was for character, toughness, togetherness. You can sum up it in one local term missing the ness ending, explaining the winning against all odds, the Garra Charrua. Most of the players in the squad were like el Ruso Perez rather Forlan. Now this is shifting and while mostly regarded as positive, I'm slightly worried that the talented youngsters will not be able to achieve what the former squad, with less talent but a lot of this Garra Charrua fighting spirit, achieved. Or maybe it's just me, wanting to be the underdog again and idealizing the past…

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World Cup Warm-up: Austria v Brazil

Who? Austria - Brazil
Where? Ernst Happel Stadion, Wien
When? June 10, 16:00 (CET local time)

On June 8, 1958, the Brazilian national team faced the Austrian in the first match of the World Cup. Back then, Brazil made a great 3:0 win, with two goals by striker Mazzola, who has a resemblance to another striker that currently is part of the Brazilian squad.

Mazzola and Gabriel Jesus, both played and became well known in Palmeiras. Both also played for European giants: Mazzola made it as AC Milan player, while Gabriel Jesus doing it today in Manchester City.

Gabriel Jesus is one of the most promising youngsters in this World Cup. Four years ago, he was painting the streets of his neighborhood for the 2014 World Cup. In 2018, he will be be part of the biggest football competition in the world, so he finished his career as a painter. However, Jesus keep helping people to paint, as he made a contribution for amazing portrait of him in his neighborhood, Jardim Peri.

The 21-year-old was the Canarinho's top scorer in the qualifiers and he was one of the key players in maintaing the World Cup appearances streak of Brazil. This is not a small achievement. It's even bigger when it comes from a boy who four years ago only thought about cheering for Brazil, but ended up being disappointed of his team performance.

Mazzola scored the first goal against Austria in the 1958 campaign, which ended with the first title of Brazil. Gabriel Jesus will probably be in the first XI, and after a weak performance against Croatia, all he needs is to score goals to gain confidence. Even if it's just a friendly, the feeling is that the competition has already begun. So, if Jesus will have a great performance, we can already expect big flights from Brazil in the World Cup.

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World Cup Warm-up: Denmark v Mexico

Who? Denmark - Mexico
Where? Brøndby Stadion, Copenhagen
When? June 9, 20:00 (CET local time)

At the beginning of the millenium, Mexico had one of its best teams ever. In 1999 Mexico won the Confederation Cup after beating Brazil at the Final and in 2001 they reached the 2nd place in the Copa America, after defeat against the hosts Colombia. That team Created a lot of expectation going into the World Cup in 2002, only to lose against the US in the round of 16. During this era, most of the players used to play at the domestic league and only few left to play abroad.

Since then, the concept has changed a lot. At the next World Cup, for the first time in its history, Mexico will send a mostly European based team. 17 out of 23 are playing outside of Mexico. 3 of them are in the MLS, the Dos Santos brothers & Carlos Vela, but those 3 left Mexico while they were young and spent most of their careers in European teams.

Another notion is that this time the players insisted on playing all of their preparation games against European teams instead of having US based Friendlies against the local team or South American teams.

There is a big debate about the process of the “Europeanization” and if it is the formula that at least will help Mexico to excel in the World Cup. For the current squad and the administration of the national team there is a clear answer: Europe is the way. Having played only against European teams, Mexico will have one last test before the real deal. This time it will be against Denmark in Copenhagen.

Denmark will have a tough group in the World Cup, playing against France, Peru & Australia. Australia might not be the biggest hurdle, but Peru and of course France won’t be easy games for the Scandinavians. Apart of their biggest star, Christian Eriksen, they have a solid team with names like Kasper Schmeichel as a goalkeeper, young Andreas Christensen as well as Simon Kjær in the defence. Alongside with Eriksen you can find names like Lasse Schöne, Thomas Delaney or the veteran Michael Krohn-Dehli. Another player to keep on eye on is obviously Pione Sisto that can mix up the defences with hisspeed.

With all the respect to South Korea, Denmark will be the perfect test for Mexico just before they meet the real challenges: Germany and Sweden.

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World Cup Warm-up: England v Costa Rica

Interestingly, Costa Rica has a very good record against British national teams in 2018. On March 23rd, Costa Rica defeated Scotland 1-0, and on June 3rd, Costa Rica defeated Northern Ireland 3-0. It is possible that the Costa Ricans feel comfortable on British soil due to the fact that some of the most important players in their squad have strong connection to British football. To name a few, Bryan Ruiz, Costa Rica’s captain, had a spell in Fulham, Joel Campbell is still registered as an Arsenal player and Cristian Gamboa, the experienced right back, has played in West Bromwich Albion between 2014 and 2016.

But from all Costa Rican players, maybe the one with the strongest ties to British football is Bryan Oviedo. Oviedo was one of the most important players for Everton between 2012 and 2017 before his move to Sunderland where he currently plays. In a way, the upcoming match against England is a closure for Oviedo.

On January 25th, 2014 Oviedo broke his leg during a FA Cup match while playing for Everton. This injury made him miss Costa Rica’s best campaign ever, in which they almost reached the Semi Finals of the World Cup in Brazil, when the Netherlands eliminated them only after a penalty shootout.

Oviedo is fit and is part of the final squad of Costa Rica for Russia 2018. The upcoming match against England can present an opportunity for Oviedo to start his small journey towards private redemption on British soil, towards maybe a possible reproduction of Costa Rica’s sensational campaign from 2014, on Russian land.

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World Cup Warm-up: South Korea v Bolivia

Who? South Korea - Bolivia
Where? Tivoli Stadion, Innsbruck
When? June 7, 14:10 (CET local time)

Being a talented youngster can always make problems for a player. You find yourself in a constant chase for reaching goals that others think you need to achieve, not necessarily close to your skills.

Many wonder kids have been in this place. The next World Cup will be the first chance for one Korean boy to show his skills and maybe try to be a real key player. It will be the 20 years old winger, Lee Seung-Woo.

Lee has been marked as one of the future stars of the Korean football when he was 12 years old. Today it is too common to see teenagers that leave their home early for playing in prestigious academy abroad. Lee got an offer to join Barcelona and he was part of the youth teams until the last summer.

Like many other of La Masia alumni, Lee failed to be part of the senior team and almost did not get a chance in Barcelona B. Yet, his potential was enough for him to find a new future in Hellas Verona. It was his debut season in a senior top-flight and it was not bad – 14 appearances and 1 goal.

In the last weeks, Lee Seung-Woo made his first caps for the senior team. In his debut against Honduras he played in the first XI. Few days later he entered as a substitution against Bosnia and Herzegovina, as he replaced Hwang Hee-Chan, one of the leading Korean footballers today. In both of the matches, he impressed the local fans and got their support.

The Korean national team will have a mixture of talents. It a mixture between experienced players like Son Heung-Min and the talented players that won the bronze medal in 2012 Olympic Games. Lee Seung-Woo nee to show now that he can join these players and not get lost as a former wonderkid.

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The Russian Paradox

With 10 days remaining for World Cup opening match, the Russian national team's troubles are flowing. The hosting country's team is considered as one of the weakests in the tournament, with miles of potential being wasted and promising players who disappered throughout the years. Although it has been majorly talked about the lack of centre-backs in the hosts' squad after recent Berezutski brothers' retirement, lest it be forgotten that most of other positions are not much better.

A quick review of the squad reveals that only 3 out of 28 players play abroad – third-choice goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov (Club Brugge), naturalized Roman Neustader (Fenerbahce) and Denis Cheryshev (Villarreal). A squad which is based on the local league players may definitely be an advantage, improving the players' comprehension, but not when the league is as weak as the Russian Premier League.

The truth is there are no Russian players who are good enough, physically and mentally, to play abroad. Anderi Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko playing in the English Premier League are a distant memory, whilst players who were expected to lead the national team failed to do so. Alan Dzagoev, who was marked as a future star, spent all of his senior career at CSKA Moscow. Although he is one of the Armeitsy's best players, he could have played in a better league and become a better footballer. Artem Dzyuba was also marked as a possible key player but got loaned out from Zenit St. Petersburg to middle-table Arsenal Tula. These are just two examples of this disturbing phenomenon.

The main reason for that is the desprate will to make Russian Premier League more attractive by signing foreign players. Nowadays, the best way to convince a player to move to a non-top league is usually a high salary, and this is what the major Russian clubs did. The results were devastating. If Hulk, Axel Witsel and Willian raised the Russian League level, most of the foreigns fell short of expectations or simply were past their peak. For some reasons they were preferred over local players, who  stayed on bench and stopped improving. The few Russians who kept playing became indispensable for their clubs since they had no replacement, regardless of their performances' quality. Considering their astronomical salaries, moving abroad meant less money received and more efforts required. And so a Golden Cage was created.

Another aspect of the issue is the absence of a new generation of young players. Aging Berezutski brothers played alongside Arshavin and Aleksandr Kerzhakov, who quitted national team long ago. Instead of investing in young players promotion, Russia chose the easier way and used the old generation players as long as possible. Sadly for them, the they've lost their shaped in the worst timing.

As for today, only three youngsters could make an immediate impact – the Miranchuk twins, Aleksei and Anton, and Aleksandr Golovin, 22 and 20-years old respectively. The Miranchuk brothers took massive part in Lokomotiv Moscow's fantastic season, becoming unexpectedly champions, and Golovin helped CSKA to finish second. It is to be said that Anton Miranchuk started playing first team football only the past season, previously being plying his trade in the Estonian League. He took to chance and have produced high quality performances. Maybe now young players will get more chances, following his case.

Russia will start the tournament against Saudi Arabia, whom they can and ought to beat. At least one of the other teams - Uruguay and Egypt - will lose points, which may give the hosts an advantage before the next two games. Although stopping Luis Suarez and Mohamed Salah with no center-backs is not an easy task, a successful opening game along with massive support from the tribunes may help the locals in advancing to the next stage. With two brothers in squad again, this time attacking players, Russia might manage to avoid early exit from the tournament they are hosting. After all, the famous phrase says that the best defence is a good offense. The Russians will have to count on that. 

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World Cup Warm-up: Serbia v Chile

Who? Serbia - Chile
Where? Merkur Arena, Graz
When? June 4, 21:00 (CET local time)

Towards the end of the 2015 – 2016 season, Wigan Athletic fans dedicated a song to their prolific striker Will Grigg. To the tunes of “Freed from Desire” by Italian artist Gala, “Will Grigg’s on Fire” became a worldwide sensation during Euro 2016 as Grigg mostly sat on the Northern Irish bench. Unbeknownst to most, this song was originally sung to Aleksandar Mitrovic by Newcastle United supporters, who still claim “Mitro’s on Fire” was stolen by the Wigan faithful, and have always seen the Serbian as a cult hero in St James Park.

Regardless of this debate, there is one thing that is very clear - Just like the song states, defenses should be terrified of the Serbian forward. After falling down the pecking order in Tyneside, Mitrovic was offered a lifeline by compatriot Slavisa Jokanovic who brought him in January to high flying Fulham from the Championship. It was a match made in heaven: Mitro scored 12 goals in 20 games and played a vital part for the Cottagers as they finished the season strong and qualified to the Premier League through the grueling playoffs.

The Serbians are delighted to be back in the front stage, as they qualified for their first big tournament since the 2010 World Cup. Mitrovic has played a huge part in making that happen as well: 6 goals in 6 straight games, which made him the top scorer in a tough qualifying group that included Wales, Austria and Ireland. Additionally, he scored twice in a friendly win vs Nigeria in March. With that in mind, it is very likely Mitrovic will lead Mladen Krstajic’s attack in the tournament

It will be incredibly interesting to see how the emotional and passionate Smederevo born striker will perform, and whether he can “ignite” the Serbian team to glory this summer.

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World Cup Warm-up: Saudi Arabia v Peru

Who? Saudi Arabia - Peru
Where? Kybunpark, St. Gallen
When? June 3, 20:00 (CET local time)

Saudi Arabia (Uri Levy)

Saudi football will never forget the 2017/2018, and from different justified reasons. The country held its first football matches with female audience, 10 Saudi internationals has signed in Spanish teams in an outrageous deal and the national team managed to qualify for the World Cup with three coaches in one year. Wait, what? Yes.

The Saudis have started the World Cup Qualification with the Dutch Brett Van Marwijk, who got sacked and replaced by Edgardo Bauza. Bauza himself was sacked after only three months later and was replaced by Juan Antonio Pizzi, the current coach.

The man behind everything is one of the strongest figures in Middle Eastern football - Turki Al-Shekih, the Saudi Football Association President, and the brain behind the Spanish deal. He hoped for different results. Besides numerous minutes of Fahd Al-Muwallad and Salem Al-Dawsri at Levante and Villareal, none of the players involved in the deal gained the opportunity to get playing time in a European level.

This fact turned out to be a bit problematic, as a few of the national team’s most promising stars are arriving the World Cup after four months where they played only few minutes of pro football.

Meanwhile, the betting agencies positioned Saudi Arabia as one of the two worst teams in the World Cup. Though, in the past week against Italy, the Saudis produced a great second half, pressured the Italians to their own goal and even scored in a counter attack all made by their ‘Ex-Spanish’ players. Al-Muwallad pressed, Al-Dawsri stole the ball and founded Yahya Al-Shehri who played for Las Palmas, which went through Donnarumma and sent it in. 2-1 for the Italians at full time.

Against Peru, the Saudis will look to prepare themselves for Uruguay, and this is exactly why they brought a Copa America winner as Pizzi as coach. He knows what it takes to win a South American team.

Peru (Omri Tancman)

Two weeks before the World Cup and it seems that finally Peru can concentrate in creating stories on the field instead outside of it. To name some of the controversies that followed the Peruvian team on its way to Russia this summer, Peru lost to Bolivia 2-0 in September 2016 during the qualifications. However, in August 2017 a victory awarded for this game, after it was found that Nelson Cabrera, one of Bolivia’s players was ineligible to play.

Later, in the last game of the qualifications Peru and Colombia played each other. Both teams could benefit from a draw which would send Colombia to Russia and Peru to the playoffs instead of Chile. The match ended 1-1 with a bizarre own goal by Colombia’s goalkeeper, Ospina. Chilean press accused both teams for fixing the match, a claim that was boosted after Falcao was caught talking to some of Peru’s players, including Captain Paolo Guerrero, in order to calm down the game, according to Chilean accusations.

Finally, Guerrero himself was in the midst of another scandal when several weeks after qualification, he failed a drug test and was tested positive for cocaine. Guerrero was banned for 14 months and was supposed to be ruled out for the upcoming World Cup. In a dramatic fashion, on May 31st, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) decided to accept Guerrero’s appeal. The decision holds great importance for Peru who will now receive its captain and all-time top goal scorer back to the squad.

The game against Saudi Arabia will be a first test for the Peruvians to prove that they can create stories related only to football, although this might be somewhat boring, no?

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