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FIFA World Cup 2018: Group F analysis (Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea)

As World Cup holders and the top-ranked team in the world, Germany start favourites to top the group and are also in good shape to go all the way to defend their title.

Reigning champions Germany start as favourites to top Group F

Group F

Countries: Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea

Fixtures:

Germany vs Mexico at 8.30 PM IST on June 17 (Moscow)

Sweden vs South Korea at 5.30 PM IST on June 18 (Nizhny Novgorod)

South Korea vs Mexico at 8.30 PM IST on June 23 (Rostov)

Germany vs Sweden at 11.30 PM IST on June 23 (Sochi)

South Korea vs Germany at 7.30 PM IST on June 27 (Kazan)

Mexico vs Sweden at 7.30 PM IST on June 27 (Yekaterinburg)

Key Fixture: Mexico vs Sweden


World Cup fixtures | Groups and points table

Germany</a> | <a class=Mexico | Sweden | South Korea" title="Germany | Mexico | Sweden | South Korea" />Germany | Mexico | Sweden | South Korea


Interesting battles in Group F:

Emil Forsberg (Sweden) vs Joshua Kimmich (Germany)

Thomas Muller (Germany) vs Guillermo Ochoa (Mexico)

Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez (Mexico) vs Andreas Granqvist (Sweden)


Group predictor: As World Cup holders and the top-ranked team in the world, Germany start favourites to top the group and are also in good shape to go all the way to defend their title. Under the guidance of Joachim Low and a star-studded squad they dominated world football by finishing 2017 as an unbeaten side and also won the Confederations Cup with a reserve team. Germany will feel they got an easy draw, but if they falter and finish second, they could meet the mighty Brazil.

Meanwhile, Mexico, who are known to make it the round of 16, are expected to do the same this year as well. The El Tri could be the only side in the group that could be a threat for Germany. However, they have had bad experiences in the past when they met the reigning champions, especially after the recent crushing defeat in the Confederations Cup semifinal in Russia last year. But they are a much different side to what they were during last year's confed-cup and have showed that by topping CONCACAF to qualify for Russia 2018.

The other team who could pose Mexico a problem in progression are Sweden, who had one of the toughest routes to qualify for the tournament and beat 2006 champions Italy in the play-offs to get to Russia 2018. This shows they wouldn't shy away from competition and are capable enough to cause a few upsets. With the absence of their record goal-scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they will depend on Emil Forsberg to fire.

South Korea on the other hand are not the same side they once were and could fail miserably. The Asian Tigers had a rough qualifying phase during which they saw head coach Uli Stielike get the sack and be replaced by their youth team coach Shin Tae-Yong. Under Shin they managed to qualify for their ninth consecutive World Cup as the group's second placed team. But, they are destined for fourth in the group, which leaves Mexico vs Sweden game on June 27 to decide the group.

Group picks: Reigning champions Germany are expected to progress as group winners, while second place could be a straight fight between Mexico and Sweden. South Korea could fail badly and are destined to finish fourth in the group.


Other group analysis:

Group G</a> | <a class=Group H" title="Group G | Group H" />Group G | Group H

Other team-by-team analysis:

Belgium</a> | <a class=England | Panama | Tunisia" title="Belgium | England | Panama | Tunisia" />Belgium | England | Panama | Tunisia

Poland</a> | <a class=Japan | Colombia | Senegal" title="Poland | Japan | Colombia | Senegal" />Poland | Japan | Colombia | Senegal

Story first published: Saturday, June 16, 2018, 0:54 [IST]
Other articles published on Jun 16, 2018