FIFA World Cup 2018: Group A analysis (Russia, Uruguay, Egypt, Saudi Arabia)

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All hopes will be pinned on Mohamed Salah to carry Egypt through to the Round of 16 from Group A at the FIFA World Cup 2018 (Image: Twitter) — All hopes will be pinned on Mohamed Salah to carry Egypt through to the Round of 16 from Group A at the FIFA World Cup 2018. Despite concerns over his fitness, reports say he would play the opening game against Uruguay (Image: Twitter)

Bengaluru, June 7: The FIFA World Cup 2018 will kick off in less than a week when hosts Russia take on Saudi Arabia in a Group A encounter at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 14.

FIFA World Cup fixtures | Groups and points table

The 32 teams that have made the final stages of the World Cup have been pooled into eight groups of four teams each. The group stage will be played in a round-robin format after which the top-two sides in each group will qualify for the Round of 16. Then on, the knockout stages - Round of 16, quarterfinals, semi-finals and final - will determine who will be crowned the world champions of football on July 15 in Moscow.

Defending champions Germany are placed in a relatively easy Group F featuring Mexico, Sweden and Korea. Group B, which has 2010 winners Spain, Euro 2016 champions Portugal, Morocco and Iran appears to be the group of death. Argentina are in tricky Group D alongside Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria, while Brazil spearheads a low key Group E comprising Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia.

Here, MyKhel predicts how each group will pan out in Russia.

Entrenamiento 💪💪💪 @AUFOficial #russia2018

Training 💪💪💪 pic.twitter.com/QkLSUP2N3R
— Luis Suarez (@LuisSuarez9) June 1, 2018

Group A

Countries: Russia, Uruguay, Egypt, Saudi Arabia

Fixtures:

Russia vs Saudi Arabia at 8:30 PM (IST) on June 14 (Moscow Luzhniki)

Egypt vs Uruguay at 5:30 PM (IST) on June 15 (Ekaterinburg)

Russia vs Egypt at 11:30 PM (IST) on June 19 (Saint Petersburg)

Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia at 8:30 PM (IST) on June 20 (Rostov-on-don)

Saudi Arabia vs Egypt at 7:30 PM (IST) on June 25 (Volgograd)

Uruguay vs Russia at 7:30 PM (IST) on June 25 (Samara)

Key game: Egypt vs Uruguay

Interesting battles: Luis Suarez (Uruguay) vs Yuri Zhirkov (Russia)

Edinson Cavani (Uruguay) vs Mohammed Al Sahlawi (Saudi Arabia)

Mohamed Salah (Egypt) vs Diego Godin (Uruguay)

🇧🇪🇪🇬#BELEGY #ThePharaohs pic.twitter.com/n0PwkCBMp1
— Egypt National Football Team (@Pharaohs) June 6, 2018

Group predictor: Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez chose an experienced squad for Russia, which includes star strikers Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani. Rising young players, including Juventus' Rodrigo Bentancur, Sampdoria midfielder Lucas Torreira and Celta Vigo's Maximiliano Gomez are also present in La Celeste squad. Eleven of their players were in the squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and defenders Martin Caceres and Diego Godin are experienced options. The semi-finalists of the 2010 South Africa World Cup boast of former Manchester United full-back Guillermo Varela, now of Penarol, and Girona forward Cristhian Stuani.

Uruguay are one of the strongest teams in Group A and wouldn't find it too difficult to make it to the round of 16, where Tabarez's boys will face a real test.

WALLCHART🏆🔢

Winners of the 1️⃣st #WorldCup title in 1️⃣9️⃣3️⃣0️⃣, we profile 🇺🇾@Uruguay👇

(Follow🇺🇾👉@FIFAWorldCupURU) pic.twitter.com/WdZzQldBlv
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 6, 2018

Egypt are the second strongest team in the group. They qualified for the FIFA WC last year ending a 28-year-long drought and bringing some cheer to the battered nation. They also comprise seasoned campaigners in skipper Essam El-Hadary (145 games), who will also be their custodian, and defender Ahmed Fathy (125 games). They would, however, bank upon their star striker Mohamed Salah - who they hope will be fit by their opening game. Salah's performance will be directly proportional to Egypt's chances of making it to the second stage.

The match between Uruguay and Egypt will be the most sought-after game in this group. Will it be Suarez who has the last laugh or Salah?

As per the latest FIFA rankings, published a week before the start of the tournament, Saudi Arabia (ranked 67th) and hosts Russia (ranked 70th) are the weakest teams in the biggest sporting extravaganza on the planet.

Fans would hope for some spirited efforts from these two teams so that they take out some positives from the tournament and make their presence felt on the international stage. Facing a giant team like Uruguay and a dominant Egyptian side is going to be very tough for Saudi and hosts Russia.

WALLCHART🏆🔢

It's a week until the hosts gets the #WorldCup going in Moscow! Get to know 🇷🇺@TeamRussia a little better@FIFAWorldCupRUS will be keep track on them throughout the tournament! pic.twitter.com/fUGXicxhbi
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 7, 2018

The hosts will have no dearth of support in the games they'll come out to play however, it remains to be seen if players would be able to convert crowd support into a success on the field. Moreover, all their 23 players are in the doping radar.

VIDEO: With his black beard, curly hair and football boots, Iraqi striker Hussein Ali is often mistaken for one of the world's top players: Egypt's Mohamed Salah pic.twitter.com/QbBnPyZTaV
— AFP news agency (@AFP) June 7, 2018

Saudi Arabia too must hope for something special on the field against heavyweights like Uruguay and Egypt to garner the attention of the football enthusiasts from all parts of the globe.

Group picks: Uruguay and Egypt to go through. Saudi Arabia to finish third and Russia fourth.

💯 days, 💯 players | Sami Al Jaber

The 🇸🇦@SaudiNT_EN legend helped his country reach the FIFA #WorldCup for the very first time, at USA 1994, finding the net against Morocco. He later played at France 1998, Korea/Japan 2002 & Germany 2006, scoring three goals in nine matches. pic.twitter.com/p3BDasNsqR
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 6, 2018

Team-by-team analysis: