Group A
Egypt
Egypt qualified from CAF’s five group final qualification stage, topping their group and
only losing at home to Uganda.
Egypt were Africa’s first ever qualifiers for a World Cup, back in 1934 in Italy, but
they did not qualify for the competition again until 1990, again hosted in Italy.
Mohamed Salah, the Premier League’s Golden Boot winner and the FWA’s Player of the
Year and PFA Player’s Player of the Year, topped the scoring for Egypt in qualification
with five goals.
Egypt, with Hector Cuper in the dug-out, are a solid 4-2-3-1 team who deploy two defensive
midfielders, Mohamed Elneny and Tarek Hamed, ahead of a tough pair of centre backs including
West Brom’s Ahmed Hegazi.
Elneny has licence to get forwards to support the number 10, usually Abdallah Said, while
the full backs push up.
Egypt press quite hard where possible, before falling back into a 4-4-2 with Said pushing
up alongside the striker in the mid-block.
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The aim is, unsurprisingly, to get the ball to Salah, but this team is far from a one-man-band.
Braga’s Ahmed Hassan Kouka is a rangy forward who can bring his teammates into the game
with flick-ons and lay-offs, while Stoke’s Ramadan Sobhi poses a threat cutting in from
the left wing.
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But Salah is, quite clearly, Egypt’s dangerman, and his pace, trickery, and movement will
pose a threat to any side in the competition.
Watch out too for goalkeeper and captain Essam El-Hadary, who could become the World Cup’s
oldest ever player.
Egypt’s blend of steel and guile should see them through the group, as long as Salah
stays fit.
Russia
Russia qualified automatically as hosts, but they have not got past the group stage of
a major tournament since the 2008 European Championship.
Then, they reached the semi-finals, before their team, featuring current ‘keeper Igor
Akinfeev, as well as Andrey Arshavin, Yuri Zhirkov, and Roman Pavlyuchenko fell to eventual
champions Spain.
This squad is lacking the quality of that side.
Stanislav Cherchesov can still call on Akinfeev in goal, but much of the defence has retired,
while midfield schemer Alan Dzagoev is injury-prone and only strikers Fyodor Smolov and Artem
Dzyuba have scored more than ten international goals.
Russia play with three at the back, the wing backs pushed high, and one screening midfielder
dropping off to provide cover as the centre backs split to cover the wide spaces.
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Creativity comes from Dzagoev, who plays off the striker but in reality pops up everywhere,
linking attacking play, carrying the ball through the centre or wide, and arriving in
the box to provide a second goal-scoring threat.
He is supported by runners from midfielder.
If Dzagoev cannot make things happen, Russia resort to going long down the wide spaces
in the hope that Smolov can chase down and secure the ball.
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Russia can look disjointed in possession and defending.
If Dzagoev is nullified, much will be expected from highly rated prospect Aleksandr Golovin.
Russia have talent in midfield, but a disjointed defence, an error prone goalkeeper, and a
lack of real firepower could see them struggle to emerge from a gritty group.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia qualified for Russia 2018 by finishing as runners-up in Group B of AFC’s
third round, a home and away round robin format that saw Juan Antonio Pizzi’s Green Eagles
secure automatic qualification ahead of Australia on goal difference.
Mohammad Al-Sahlawi scored 16 goals overall, the joint top scorer in World Cup qualification.
Saudi Arabia are captained by the vastly experienced Osama Hawsawi, while Taisir Al-Jassim pulls
the strings from a deep role in midfield, pushing up into the hole if Saudi Arabia have
a sustained period of possession.
The side generally line up in a sort of 4-3-3, but one midfielder drops to screen, while
Al-Jassim drops to collect the ball from the defence.
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Saudi Arabia look to absorb pressure then hit long passes up the line towards the wide
forwards.
The left hand side, with full backs Yasser Al-Shahrani or Mansoor Al-Harbi and left winger
Salem Al-Dawsari, poses Saudi Arabia’s greatest threat going forwards, and Al-Jassim will
try to facilitate this sort of quick breaking counter punching with his long passing.
Yahya Al-Shehri can cut in from the right, and both wingers are capable of switching
to pose issues.
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Saudi Arabia are likely to sit back and look to counter, but they are far from one dimensional
and are not pushovers, as show in a recent 2-0 friendly win over Greece.
Al-Dawsari is the one to watch, while Mohammad Al-Sahlawi has plenty of international experience
and goals in the number 9 role.
Getting out of the group is likely to be a bridge too far, though.
Uruguay
CONMEBOL qualifying is always a tough ask: Uruguay did well to finish in second place,
behind Brazil, but made things tougher than they needed to be.
Edison Cavani scored 10 goals, the most in CONMEBOL qualifying, while Luis Suarez bagged
five.
Under coach Oscar Tabarez, who in his second stint as Uruguay coach and has also managed
the U20s, Uruguay play a 4-4-2.
The spine is extremely solid, with Fernando Muslera in goal, Atletico Madrid centre backs
Diego Godin and Jose Gimenez, and two holding midfielders who can also pass well in Inter’s
Matias Vecino and one other.
Rodrigo Bentancur plays wide right, but pushes high in attack, while the left midfielder
tucks in and Luis Suazrez or Edison Cavani peel to the left to give the team a lop-sided
4-3-3 in attack.
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Uruguay play a direct style, using long range passing from the back or from central midfield
to find the full backs on the overlap, hit Bentancur almost as a wide target man, or
exploit Cavani and Suarez’s ability breaking behind the defensive line.
They look to win the ball aggressively in midfield and counter quickly, or shift it
back to create space for a long pass.
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The front pair are obviously Uruguay’s danger men, but key an eye out for central midfielder
Lucas Torreira.
He’s had an outstanding season in a young, dynamic Sampdoria midfield and can create
chances for the strikers with astute passing, while more than holding his own in Uruguay’s
tough tackling set-up.
Uruguay’s combination of explosive firepower and gnarled toughness should see them comfortably
into the knock-out stages.