England manager Gareth Southgate has gone in for a young and transitional squad. AFPWith the 2018 World Cup kicking off in less than a week, it is time to look ahead to the group stage of the tournament. Most of the participating teams have announced their final 23-member squad with some surprise omissions and inclusions. Two top players who failed to make the cut were Belgium’s Christian Benteke and Radja Nainggolan.
Group G, featuring Belgium, England, Tunisia and Panama, is loaded with some of the most elite English Premier League (EPL) footballers from the past season.
Both Belgium and England, who are expected to come out of this group comfortably, are powered by stars from the world's richest and most popular domestic league such as Harry Kane and Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling, Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), and Eden Hazard (Chelsea).
Group G lends itself to being one of the exciting groups of this year’s tournament. Here is all you need to know about this tough group.
Panama
FIFA ranking: 55
Head coach: Hernan Dario Gomez
This is their first ever World Cup. Panama qualified for the finals knocking out the US who had dashed their hopes of making it to the 2014 edition. The tiny nation sealed their ticket to Russia with a last-gasp 2-1 win at home over neighbouring Costa Rica which saw them finish third in the North and Central American qualifying pool behind Mexico and Costa Rica, and a point clear of the US.
Dario Gomez is a vastly experienced coach having led Colombia and Ecuador to World Cups in 1998 and 2002 respectively.
Strengths: Panama's golden generation will be looking to make more history in Russia. This well-balanced team has a fine blend of youth and experience. Their key men are 37-year-old defender Felipe Baloy and 21-year-old winger Ismael Díaz.
Weaknesses: Panama have the least internationally experienced squad in the fray. It will be a significant disadvantage for them in a group featuring European powerhouses Belgium and England, and the formidable Tunisia.
Number to remember
Panama were placed a lowly 150 in the ranking - 30 rungs below India – in August, 1995. However, they have been on an upward spiral thereafter and achieved their best-ever ranking of 29 in March, 2014.
England
FIFA ranking: 13
Head coach: Gareth Southgate
Marcus Rashford could well be one of the biggest stars of Russia 2018. AFPEngland would always begin their World Cup preparations earnestly months before the quadrennial event, but as the tournament approaches, the discussions would inevitably veer into the usual territory. Talks on team formations and strategies would take a back seat as there would be heated debates on off-field issues such as fan hooliganism and ban on wives and girlfriends of the players at World Cup venues.
This has been the biggest curse haunting English football for quite some time. However, this squad, definitely not a golden generation, looks promising and is expected to go beyond the quarterfinals.
Strengths: Southgate’s young and transitional squad features lots of energetic and flexible players. Kane, Alli, Vardy, Rashford and Sterling are some of the brightest prospects in world football currently.
Weaknesses: England's problems are purely psychological. They have the habit of wilting under any level of expectation and the Three Lions have an unenviable record in sudden-death situations, having failed in six out of seven penalty shootouts in major tournaments since 1990. The coach has put them on a gruelling penalty practice session ahead of the World Cup.
Number to remember
In the qualification rounds, 12 players found the net for England. Kane, with five goals, was their top-scorer.
Tunisia
FIFA ranking: 14
Head coach: Nabil Maaloul
Tunisia booked their place for the finals without losing a single qualification match. The only team who posed some challenge to them was Congo. In the first leg, Tunisia came from behind to beat Congo while in the return leg, they held them to a draw.
They may struggle to get out of the group comprising two formidable teams, but Tunisia are more than capable of pulling off an upset.
Strengths: Tunisia do not have superstars in their ranks, but they do have some talented players, especially in the midfield. Unlike most of the African teams, they play an attractive yet disciplined brand of football.
Weaknesses: Lack of scoring prowess. In the qualification campaign, Tunisia struggled to score even against inferior opponents. Their only goal against Libya came through a penalty.
Number to remember
Tunisia became the first African nation to secure a win at the World Cup when they beat Mexico 3-1 in the 1978 edition.
Belgium
It remains to be seen whether Belgium can live up to the huge expectations. AFPFIFA ranking: 3
Head coach: Roberto Martinez
Belgium will once again head to a major international tournament carrying the tag of dark horses.
They have an abundance of talent both on and off the bench. Whether it be Manchester City’s Kevin de Bruyne in midfield; Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku and Napoli’s Dries Mertens up front; Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany and Tottenham duo Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen at the back; or Chelsea’s Thibaut Courtois in goal, Belgium’s line-up reads like a computer game dream team.
The entire football world sat in disbelief when Martinez left AS Roma’s prolific midfielder Radja Nainggolan out of his squad for the World Cup.
Strengths: Experience. Most of their players are regulars in top-flight leagues across Europe. Belgium only need these star players to replicate their club form on the international stage.
Weaknesses: They lack the killer instinct. Also, Belgium’s team of stars have never managed to get it together as a unit.
Number to remember
There are 12 players in this Belgium squad who have more than 50 international matches under their belt. Tottenham Hotspur centre back Jan Vertonghen is their most experienced player with 100 international caps.
