Group G looks good for Belgium and England with both sides confident of qualifying ahead of North Africans Tunisia as well as World Cup debutants Panama. Group G
The Belgians come into the tournament as one of the form sides across the globe and bookies have them at 6th favourites at 11/1 to lift the trophy in Moscow on July 15th. While I don’t quite them to go all the way, they should have little trouble in qualifying for the last 16 with so much talent at their disposal. Hazard, Lukaku and Mertens will all expect to make a big impression in the coming weeks and having scored 43 goals in qualifying, this is a side with lofty expectations on their shoulders. Still, with Bobby Martinez at the helm, we should expect plenty of goals at both ends with the former Wigan boss not exactly famous for defensive organization. I expect fireworks from the red devils and a potential quarter-final with Brazil awaits should both sides win their group and come through the round of 16. In attack, Big Romelu Lukaku had a strong debut season at Man Utd and has scored 9 goals in his last 7 appearances for the Belgians and I expect the bustling centre-forward to lead the line well for the Belgians with Hazard and Carrasco providing plenty of ammunition. Lukaku is well-priced @13/8 to finish as Belgium’s top scorer in the competition and given the talent in the Belgian squad, they must be considered strong contenders to reach the semi-finals at least. Elsewhere, England are starting to look like a solid looking outfit under the stewardship of Gareth Southgate and while I don’t expect any repetition of ‘66 (God help us all) I do fancy the English to qualify for the last 16 at least while a quarter-final berth looks like a realistic goal for a side that has looked solid at the back in recent months as well as increasingly dangerous going forward. With the likes of Kane, Dele, and Sterling providing goals, creativity, and genuine ability, England could well surprise a few people by reaching the last 8 where a possible encounter with the Germans awaits. Blimey. Clearly, this is a nation that almost always fails to live up to some considerable expectations but following their calamitous exit at the hands of Iceland at Euro 2016, few have given Southgate's men much chance of making a genuine impression on this summers finals. Still, the English have done well in recent friendlies and look to have found a settled system under a coach who has brought a harmony and lucidity to the English camp that has seldom existed in past competitions. I really expect a much better performance from England this time around but if I am wrong, I won’t be doing too much complaining. Tunisia should make life difficult for both of the big guns in the group, and while I don’t necessarily expect them to make it out of the group, they should take 3 points from the Panamanians while a draw against England in their opening fixture would certainly give them a decent chance of eliminating one of the two expected qualifiers. If, buts and maybes. Ultimately, I can’t look beyond the big two qualifying with Panama bringing up the rear and unlikely to earn a first World cup victory at this their debut in the competition. But with odds of just ¼ on the big 2 qualifying, I prefer to take Panama to score fewer than 2 points @7/10 and to finish bottom of the group @½ with Lukaku top scoring for the dangerous Belgians. Best Bets Panama to finish bottom @1/2 - 4 stars Panama under 2 points @7/10 - 3.5 stars Lukaku top team scorer @13/8 - 2.5 stars Teams to qualify Belgium and England Group H Our final group looks like one of the most open in the tournament with the talented Colombians taking on a strong Polish side as well as Senegal and Japan. All 4 sides have dangerous players in the final 3rd of the field and while I do fancy Colombia to win the group, we may well see all four nations having a chance to qualify for the last 16 as we go into the final round of fixtures with all 4 teams likely to drop points along the way. Colombia were excellent in 2014, narrowly losing to Brazil in the quarterfinals and they look well placed to put in another good showing here. With the brilliants James Rodriguez pulling the strings and Davinson Sanchez marshaling their defence, the Colombians will be further buoyed to have the brilliant Radamel Falcao leading their line once more. Following a horrendous couple of years, Falcao has scored 55 goals in his last 2 seasons following his return to Monaco and if he can produce some of the magic that made him one of Europe’s most feared strikers in seasons gone by, Colombia will pose a threat to anyone on their day. Senegal has some really exciting talent in their squad as well with Sadio Mane and Keita Balde providing serious pace and energy in the final 3rd. The Senegalese performed sensationally in their one and only previous World Cup as they shocked France and the rest of the world by beating the reigning champions before being eliminated at the quarter-final stage. A repeat here is not out of the question, given the talent they have throughout their squad. Poland will also expect to qualify for the last 16 having qualified in some style with 8 wins from 10 matches and a whopping 28 goals scored. While the threat of Robert Lewandowski is obvious, the Poles will also be boosted by the return of long-term injury absentee, Arkadiuz Milik. The Napoli striker has suffered horrendously with injury over the last 2 years, rupturing both cruciate ligaments but has looked bright on his return to fitness with Napoli and could flourish if given the chance to pair up with the experienced Bayern striker Lewandowski. I do expect Poland and Senegal to fight it out for 2nd spot in the group and while Japan is the relatively unfancied team in the section, the Asian side should not be underestimated with Kagawa, Honda, and Okazaki offering solid experience and a decent threat in the attacking positions although recent Japanese performances offer little encouragement with 6 defeats in their last 10. Ultimately, I expect all 4 nations to drop points and plenty of goals along the way with Colombia my tip to qualify @4/11 and to win the group @11/8. Beyond that, it’s tough to pick another side to emerge with the South Americans although I would perhaps give the edge to Poland who may well feel more comfortable on Russia soil than the Senegalese or Japanese while they do also possess a genuinely world-class striker in the shape of Lewandowski. Best Bets Colombia to qualify @4/11 - 4 stars Colombia to win group @11/8 - 2 stars Rodriguez top team scorer @3/1 - 1.5 stars Teams to qualify Colombia and Poland Comments are closed.
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