Group H preview
Cape Verde: Another team making their debut in the World Cup are Cape Verde and they aren’t here to make up the numbers in the USA, they do find themselves in a tricky group but with the extended format it’s not impossible that they qualify for the Round of 32. There’s not many players you’ll have heard of in the squad but they did beat Serbia 3-0 in their last friendly so they’re aren’t going to be pushovers in this World Cup, they are used to playing in hot weather as well which should come as an advantage if they play any of the European sides which we’ve already seen are struggling in some of the friendlies so far in the hotter temperatures. Of course they’ll be buzzing just to be here but why not aim for that Round of 32 with a win possibly against Saudi Arabia? They are well capable of it.
Player to watch: Jovane Cabral
Saudi Arabia: In the last World Cup Saudi Arabia shocked the world by beating Argentina 2-1 in the first group game but they failed to get out of that group which I think was a huge disappointment following the high of that first game, they find themselves in a tough group with Uruguay and Spain but as I said before the extended format has enabled these smaller countries to finish 3rd and qualify so if Saudi Arabia beat Cape Verde they will probably qualify for the Round of 32 which I think would be a success for this side. I’d be shocked if they got further than that but I think for a lot of these countries the aim should be at least the Round of 32 which is something every country in the tournament is capable of, I can definitely see this Saudi Arabia team beating Cape Verde but will that be enough to qualify as one of the best 3rd place teams? We’ll have to wait and see.
Player to watch: Saud Abdulhamid
Spain: The Spanish are heading into this World Cup as favourites but there are question marks surrounding the fitness of some of their best players, what condition will Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams be come the start of the first game? If they are fully match-fit I can’t see any team in the competition beating this side but if they aren’t there definitely is problems in the attack for Spain, Mikel Oyarzabal is most likely going to start up front but if Yamal and Williams aren’t fit I wonder who De La Fuente will go with on the wings in the group games anyway as I think the pair will be fit come the knockouts. The midfield was where Spain won the Euros in my opinion with Pedri-Rodri-Ruiz dominating every game in the tournament with Fabian Ruiz being my player of the tournament in that competition but he hasn’t played much football this season with PSG so I wonder if De La Fuente will trust him in that midfield alongside the two best midfielders in the world, can Yamal and co bring the World Cup back to Spain this summer? I wouldn’t bet against them.
Player to watch: Mikel Oyarzabal
Uruguay: One thing that has surprised me about Uruguay’s preparation for this World Cup is that they aren’t playing any warm-up games in the lead-up to the tournament which I don’t think any other team are doing in the competition, the last match they played was against Algeria back in March and the next one will be against Saudi Arabia in the first group game so it’ll be interesting to see whether that plays a part in their performance in that first game. Gone are the days when they lined up with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani but they will hope that Darwin Nunez can can lead the team this summer along with Federico Valverde to a successful tournament which I think would be the quarter-finals for this Uruguay side, we all know how Marcelo Bielsa’s side will play and I’m looking forward to watching them this tournament in what looks like a tasty group.
Player to watch: Rodrigo Zalazar
Overall prediction for the group:
1.Spain
2.Uruguay
3.Saudi Arabia
4.Cape Verde