How will this year’s World Cup play out? Here’s our handy guide to each group in Qatar with a sharper focus on Australia’s tough Group D opponents.
GROUP A
Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal, Netherlands
The favourites: Having missed qualification for the last World Cup, the Netherlands – three-time losing finalists – have landed in a comfortable group and Louis van Gaal’s mix of experience and youth should be able to top it with relative ease.
The dark horse: Home advantage helped Russia get past Spain on penalties and into the quarter-finals four years ago – Qatar will have designs on doing something pretty similar here. The defending Asian champions are used to the conditions and will have the whole Arab world behind them.
The superstar: The injury scratching of Senegal’s Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane puts Dutch captain Virgil van Dijk in the spotlight. The defender’s move to Liverpool in the lead-up to Russia 2018 helped the Reds to back-to-back Champions League finals, lifting the trophy in 2019. But he will need to turn around some indifferent club form of late if the Dutch are to break their duck.
Louis van Gaal is back for third stint managing the Netherlands after beating prostate cancer.Credit:AP
Instant expert pub chat: This is probably Louis van Gaal’s farewell to the football world. The former Manchester United boss retired from management almost five years ago but came back for his third stint with the Dutch national team after beating prostate cancer.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: The Netherlands will make a roaring return to the World Cup, but Senegal will extinguish local hopes of a deep run by Qatar and finish second.
GROUP B
England, Iran, USA, Wales
The favourites: It’s got to be England, although they have gone off the boil since football almost came home at last year’s Euros. They have failed to win any of their last six games in the UEFA Nations League – their longest winless run heading into a major tournament.
Captain Harry Kane will carry the goal-scoring burden for England.Credit:Getty
The dark horse: Don’t sleep on the United States. They might have missed the last edition of the World Cup and struggled through qualifying to reach Qatar, but they have a crop of exciting young ish players like Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic, Juventus’ Weston McKennie and son-of-a-gun Timothy Weah, who are building towards something.
The superstar: England skipper Harry Kane comes into this tournament in blistering form for Tottenham Hotspur with 12 goals in 15 games in the Premier League so far this season.
A quick hat tip to his former teammate, Wales star Gareth Bale, who now plays for Los Angeles FC and scored the extra-time winner for them in the MLS Cup final.
Instant expert pub chat: This is the ‘Geopolitical Group of Death’ – each of the four teams has been involved in some form of armed conflict against at least one of the others. Tensions are simmering between the USA and Iran, who meet for the first time since the 1998 World Cup.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: It’s England’s group to lose, and while you can never rule out the prospect of them stuffing it up completely, they’ll go top, and I fancy the Americans to take the other knockout spot.
GROUP C
Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Poland
The favourites: It’s got to be Argentina – we’ll get to their main man in a moment, but him aside, there’s more than enough quality in this squad to contend for their first World Cup trophy since Diego Maradona held it aloft at Mexico 1986.
Lionel Messi was in goal-scoring form for Argentina in their friendly against the UAE this week.Credit:Getty
The dark horse: This is only Poland’s third appearance in the past nine World Cups, and on none of those occasions have they made it out of their group. The form of Barcelona’s red-hot Robert Lewandowski surely gives them a decent chance.
The superstar: Who else but Lionel Messi? This will almost certainly be his last World Cup appearance and, after heartbreak in the 2014 final, he will be looking to bow out as a world champion.
He’s back to his absolute best at Paris Saint-Germain and you’d be hard-pressed to find a neutral who doesn’t want to see Argentina win it all just for him.
Instant expert pub chat: Mexico has made the past seven consecutive World Cups and reached the round of 16 on each occasion – and the only times they’ve ever gone further were in 1970 and 1986, when they were hosts.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: Messi will guide Argentina to the top of the group and Poland will finish second.
GROUP D
France
The coach: Didier Deschamps has been in the job for more than a decade now, making him the longest-serving coach at the tournament. He guided Les Bleus to the ultimate success four years ago in Russia – this is now his third World Cup as a coach and fourth overall, having also captained France to victory as a player in 1998.
France’s Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe are a potent attacking partnership.Credit:AP
The tactics: Criticised for his unadventurous approach in the group stage four years ago, Deschamps has already declared he will play with a back four – having encountered defensive troubles recently with a back three – which means a reversion to the 4-2-3-1 system that worked well enough for them in Russia, but will also probably force one of Karim Benzema, Kylian Mbappe or Antoine Griezmann onto the bench.
The superstar: Take your pick – either Ballon d’Or winner Benzema, who enters the tournament under a fitness cloud and hasn’t started for Real Madrid in more than a month, or Mbappe, the 23-year-old marvel from Paris Saint-Germain.
If you’re talking the best players in the world right now, they’re both on the podium.
The rising star: With Paul Pogba and N’golo Kante injured, the stage is set for Real Madrid standout Eduardo Camavinga, who turned 20 only days ago, to make his name in midfield.
Instant expert pub chat: Milan’s Olivier Giroud needs two goals to match Thierry Henry’s all-time scoring record of 51 for the French national team.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: They obviously ooze quality in every department, but I’m tipping it will be Denmark who tops the group. France won’t totally self-destruct, but they’ll take time to build into peak form.
Australia
The coach: Maligned by some for his tactical conservatism, there’s no doubting Graham Arnold’s love for the shirt and passion for the country. He’s often said he wants to judge his career as a coach by the number of players he’s turned into millionaires – and there’s quite a few who could fall in that bracket from his youthful, refreshed 26-man squad.
Expect Graham Arnold to stick to the formation and tactics that got Australia to the World Cup.Credit:AP
The tactics: The Socceroos will stick to Arnold’s tried and tested 4-3-3, and try to replicate the formula that got them past Peru in June’s World Cup qualifying play-offs – compact in defence but relentless and aggressive in the press, and ready to spring forward on the counter-attack when the opportunity presents. Arnold wants his players to act like “11 boxing kangaroos”.
The superstar: Aaron Mooy is known as the ‘Pasty Pirlo’ for a reason. Midfielders like him don’t grow on trees, and his vision, calm temperament and ability to negotiate tight areas will ensure pretty much every Australian attack goes through him.
The rising star: Real ones already know, but Garang Kuol is about to become a household name around the world. This 18-year-old, who will join Newcastle United in January, has contributed a goal or assist every 36 minutes of his A-League career. Erling Haaland is going at every 49 minutes in the EPL this season. Different levels, of course, but Kuol just makes things happen.
Instant expert pub chat: Almost half of Australia’s squad has a connection to Scotland – six play club football there, two (Jamie Maclaren and Jackson Irvine) played for Scotland at youth level, and of course, Harry Souttar, Martin Boyle and Jason Cummings were born and raised there but qualify for the Socceroos through Aussie heritage.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: Will battle valiantly and perhaps even beat Tunisia, but there’s only so much Arnie’s patented ‘Aussie DNA’ can do against teams of the quality of France and Denmark.
Denmark
The coach: Forced to retire early from his career as a player due to injury, Kasper Hjulmand is a former Danish Superliga winner with Nordsjaelland who has won 23 of his 34 games in charge of the national team.
The tactics: Expect a 4-3-3 with an emphasis on a high volume of short passes, and with most of their attacking play to come through the flanks via their inverted wingers – Denmark’s challenge will be turning their weight of possession into clear-cut chances.
Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen, centre right, will be the creative force for Denmark.Credit:Ritzau Scanpix
The superstar: It’s a miracle Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen is alive at all, let alone playing at a World Cup, after he suffered a mid-match heart attack at last year’s Euros which stopped the football world i n its tracks.
The rising star: He became the youngest Dane to ever score at the Euros last year, and now Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard, 22, is starting to make his mark on the Premier League in his first season.
Instant expert pub chat: Denmark’s uniforms will be ‘blacked out’, with all logos to be coloured red (home) or black (away) to blend in with their jerseys, in a subtle protest at Qatar’s human rights record by apparel manufacturer Hummel.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: With two wins in the bank this year against France in the Nations League, and an exciting squad that has galvanised their whole country, I’m tipping Denmark to finish first and go on a deep run in the knockout phase.
Tunisia
The coach: Talk about journeyman managers. Jalel Kadri’s CV features an incredible 26 different jobs in the past two decades, all of them at teams in the Middle East or North Africa.
The tactics: If you’re looking for beauty and aesthetics, you’ve come to the wrong place. Expect a low defensive block, a commitment to frustrating their opponents, and a sprinkling of classic footballing shithousery, or ‘grinta’, as the Italians call it.
The superstar: Tunisia’s skipper and most capped player of all time is Youssef Msakni, the veteran winger who has been with Qatari club Al-Duhail since 2013.
Tunisia’s Youssef Msakni during last year’s Arab Cup final.Credit:AP
The rising star: On the books of Manchester United but on loan at Birmingham City, 19-year-old Hannibal Mejbri is fast gaining a reputation as a technically gifted midfielder with an aggressive, antagonist streak. He plays on the edge, and sometimes goes over it.
Instant expert pub chat: Tunisia was the very first Arab or African nation to win a World Cup match when they beat Mexico in 1978 – but they’ve never made it out of their group.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: They’ll be scrapping it out with the Socceroos to avoid a bottom-placed finish.
GROUP E
Spain, Costa Rica, Germany, Japan
The favourites: Now here’s a real ‘group of death’. It’s hard to split Spain and Germany, two powerhouses of world football, but Japan is an excellent side also, as Socceroos fans know all too well. And even Costa Rica have made a habit out of sneaking out of tough groups in the past, as they did in 2014 when they finished above England, Italy and Uruguay.
The dark horse: The Samurai Blue have lost only two of their past 13 games and have a squad packed with so much talent there was no room for Celtic stars Kyogo Furuhashi and Reo Hatate, who would walk into most other Asian teams.
The superstar: Barcelona legend Sergio Busquets is still going strong at 34 and will be the linchpin of Spain’s midfield and a crucial leader in a squad otherwise largely filled with young or middle-aged talents yet to hit their career peaks.
Spain’s World Cup campaign with be built on the rock that is veteran Sergio Busquets.Credit:Keystone
Instant expert pub chat: Statistically speaking, Costa Rica are the luckiest team to be in Qatar – in qualifying, they had a goal difference of +6 but an expected goals differential of -4.43.
That over-performance was largely attributable to the insane form of PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: Spain to finish top, Germany a close second, but the other two teams will make it very, very hard for them.
GROUP F
Belgium, Canada, Morocco, Croatia
The favourites: Another one that’s very hard to pick. Croatia were the beaten finalists last time around while Belgium won the third-place play-off.
Belgium’s midfield maestro Kevin De Bruyne has been in red-hot form for Manchester City.Credit:AP
The dark horse: One of the big unknown quantities in the tournament is Canada, who topped CONCACAF in qualifying and have some truly exciting young players ready to take the next steps in their careers, like Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies and Lille’s Jonathan David.
The superstar: Arguably the best midfielder in the world right now, Kevin De Bruyne is firing on all cylinders with 13 goal involvements already this season for Manchester City.
Instant expert pub chat: Only one member of Canada’s squad, Atiba Hutchinson, was alive the last time they made the World Cup in 1986 — and he was three.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: It’ll be a gallant showing from the Canucks but they’ll fall short of progression.
Belgium to go top and Croatia close behind.
GROUP G
Brazil, Serbia, Switzerland, Cameroon
The favourites: Many betting markets have Brazil as outright favourites to win the whole thing and add a sixth star to their famous badge, and rightly so – they’ve got a brilliant squad filled with Premier League stars and fronted by Neymar and Vinicius jnr, two of the world’s most exciting forwards.
Superstar striker Neymarto win a major trophy at international level with Brazil. Could this be it?Credit:AP
The dark horse: It’s a closely-run thing here – all three have a good chance of nabbing second spot, but Serbia looks strongest on paper and their frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic is in rare form for Fulham.
The superstar: This could be it for Neymar, the PSG weapon who has already dropped a big hint that this could be his final World Cup for Brazil. He’s yet to win a major trophy at international level, and time’s running out.
Instant expert pub chat: Granted, it’s not a particularly wide field, but Brazil’s captain Thiago Silva surely wins the award (if one exists) for World Cup Player With Best Song Named After Them. Check out the Dave & AJ Tracey track, and then the 2019 Glastonbury live performance. Thank me later.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: My tip to win the whole thing is Brazil, but as for this group, Serbia will qualify second.
GROUP H
Portugal, Ghana, Uruguay, Korea Republic
The favourites: Possibly the most even group of the lot. Portugal are the standouts but Diego Jota’s injury and Cristiano Ronaldo’s losing battle against Father Time could make them vulnerable and open this one right up.
The dark horse: Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani are back for one last hurrah with Uruguay and they’ve got Liverpool’s new man Darwin Nunez up front for company. This team is getting old but they’ve always been street-smart and know what it takes in big tournaments.
The superstar: Like his great rival Messi, this looms as Cristiano Ronaldo’s last World Cup, and – just as he likes it – all the focus will be on him after his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, in which he declared he felt betrayed by Manchester United and had no respect for manager Erik ten Hag. Can he channel his rage on the pitch for Portugal, or is he truly past it as United seems to think?
Will this be Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup with Portugal?Credit:AP
Instant expert pub chat: The last time Ghana and Uruguay met at the World Cup, Suarez sacrificed himself with that deliberate handball to deny a goal-bound header. He was red-carded, but Ghana missed the spot kick, and then the decisive penalty shootout. Villainous areas.
Vince Rugari’s prediction: With Son Heung-min under an injury cloud it’s hard to back Korea – for me it’s Uruguay one, Portugal two.
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