Clicking a World Cup teams name will take you to a page with all of their upcoming fixtures as well as links to pages displaying match odds for each game. World Cup Tables 32 teams will make it through to the group stages of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with only. Uruguay are tipped to be the winner in this group. Russia, the host country, are in second place, followed by Egypt. Saudi Arabia are the underdogs in this group and current predictions put them at the bottom of the group. On Thursday, the 2021 FIFA Club World Cup Tournament concludes with the third-place and first-place games. In the third place game, Brazilian squad Palmeiras takes on Ahl Aly. Then after that match, top Bundesliga club team Bayern Munich throws down against Mexican Liga team Tigres U.A.N.L. Check out analysis, FIFA Club World Cup odds, and free.
World Cup 2018 Group A consist of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay. Find here our World Cup 2018 Group A betting previewAbout World Cup. The World Cup, held every 4 years since the first tournament in 1930, is regarded to as the most celebrated tournament in football and you could find the latest World Cup 2014 odds across OddsPortal.com. Current World Cup format involves thirty-two teams competing for the World Cup Trophy over a period of around one month.
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In this post, we'll take a closer look at Group A and try to determine which two nations are likely to prevail.
WORLD CUP 2018 GROUP A BETTING PREVIEW
Russia
Russia qualified automatically as hosts and judging by their Fifa points rankings, and current form, this is the only reason they're playing at a World Cup. They will hope to get a boost from what is certain to be a hugely vocal home support.Manager Stanislav Cherchesov has extensive knowledge of the game in his country, having spent most of his coaching career in Russian domestic football. The 54-year-old has assembled a squad of players who virtually all ply their trade in the Russian Premier League since he started managing the national team, and boasts a 31.25% win rate. Last march, they lost both their friendlies at the hands of France (1-3) and Brazil (0-3).
With Krasnodar striker Fyodor Smolov wearing the captain’s armband, Russia will hope to advance to the knockout stage, relying on a number of stars from CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow.
They were disappointing in international friendlies but their attack is impressive. Aleksandr Kokorin leads the goalscoring charts of players currently in the squad with 12, while Smolov has 11 and Alan Dzagoev nine.
Russia have qualified for the World Cup on three occasions, in 1994, 2002 and 2014 but have yet to make it out of the group stage. With a home boost, will this be the year?
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia missed out in 2010 and 2014 but are back after finishing ahead of Australia in their qualifying group. They reached the round of 16 in 1994.Manager Bert van Marwijk steered the team through qualification but left just days after the successful conclusion of the campaign. He was replaced by former Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza but he has since been sacked after just five games in charge. Former Spain striker Juan Antonio Pizzi is now at the helm and the 49-year-old can draw on 13 years of managerial experience, including a stint in charge of Chile. He played for Barcelona and has managed Valencia in La Liga, meaning he won’t be fazed by the prospect of a World Cup campaign.
They recently beat Greece 2-0 on 15th May but lost 4-0 to Belgium and drew 1-1 against Ukraine last March.
Veteran central defender Osama Hawsawi skippers the side and will lead out a team comprised almost exclusively of home-based stars, as there are strict laws that prevent players from playing for foreign clubs if they hold only Saudi citizenship.
Al-Nassr striker Mohammad Al-Sahlawi led the way in qualifying with an amazing 16 goals and much will depend on the 31-year-old in Russia.
Elsewhere, experienced midfielder Taisir Al-Jassim bagged six and can boast 124 caps for his national side, while winger Salem Al-Dawsari is one to look out for with four goals from 26 outings, including a couple in 2017.
Egypt
Egypt eased into the 2018 World Cup by topping their qualification group, and will make their third ever appearance in the finals. The Africans first appeared at the 1934 World Cup, but had to wait until 1990 for their second chance at the event.However, hopes are high this time around with experienced manager Hector Cuper pulling the strings for the past three years. The Pharaohs are the 14th side he has coached, while spells at clubs such as Valencia and Inter Milan prove that he has the pedigree to work at the top level. The 62-year-old has international experience too, spending a year in charge of Georgia and he has made Egypt a tough side to beat with a strong defence.
The squad is a mixture of home-based payers and some star names who have opted to play abroad. Essam El-Hadary captains the side at the age of 45 and will hope to add to his 155 caps in Russia, plus Arsenal’s Mohamed Elneny and West Brom duo Ali Gabr and Ahmed Hegazi are likely to feature. Clearly, however, it is Mohamed Salah whose name leaps off the team sheet. The 25-year-old failed to shine at Chelsea but, after spending time at Roma, moved to Liverpool in the summer of 2017, and so far - the rest is history. He has scored goals for fun all season long and become one of the most feared strikers in the Premier League, going from strength to strength.
Unsurprisingly, he topped the qualification goalscoring charts with five and will have several other Premier League players for company at the World Cup, including plenty from Liverpool. Runners-up to Cameroon in this year's African Nations Cup, Egypt booked their place in Russia with victory over Congo and a game to play, courtesy of a late goal scored by the team's star player Mohamed Salah. Their last notable success at a major tournament was in 2010, when they lifted the Africa Cup of Nations for the seventh time. In recent friendlies, Egypt suffered back to back defeat against Portugal (2-1) and Greece (1-0).Uruguay
Uruguay finished second to Brazil in their group to secure their place in the finals and make their 13th appearance at a World Cup. They looked certain for qualification during much of their campaign but it took a final-round victory over Bolivia to make absolute certain. Winners in 1930 and 1950, their next best efforts have been fourth in 1970 and 2010.Atletico Madrid defender Diego Godin captains the side and is a rock at the back, but it is the attacking players that will really have coach Oscar Tabarez purring. Superstar attackers in Barcelona’s Luis Suarez and Paris Saint Germain’s Edinson Cavani have a combined 89 goals this season, and it is obvious that the nation’s hopes will be pinned on these two.
The South American outfit has a cosmopolitan feel overall too, with squad members playing all over the world, including some of Europe’s top clubs. Right-back Maxi Pereira has 124 caps, while supporters of Southampton, Hull and Middlesbrough will be familiar with midfielder Gaston Ramirez.
Tabarez has been in charge for 12 years and guided his side to the round of 16 four years ago. Can he go even further this time out? Uruguay played two friendlies on march, beating both Czech Republic (2-0) and Wales (0-1).
WORLD CUP 2018 GROUP A BEST ODDS
The following are the best prices available on the World Cup Group A Winner market. Click on the 'Bet' button to back your selected team at the odds shown.WORLD CUP 2018 GROUP A PREDICTIONS
Undoubtedly one of the most levelled World Cup groups, we're backing Egypt to upset other contenders for the first place. The battle for second place could be a tough affair between Russia and Uruguay while Saudi Arabia are very outsiders.
We post sports betting predictions each and every day and you’ll find them here on our homepage or over on our predictions page. You won’t find better football predictions anywhere else. Take a look at our FIFA World Cup betting tips. We won't let you down!
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RUSSIA (+175)
Russia is hosting a World Cup for the first time, and they, of course, got a ticket to the Group Stage without having to participate in the qualifiers. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the national team of Russia was born in 1992 and are currently sitting at the 63rd spot of the FIFA rankings. They are participating in the World Cup for the 11th time in their history, and the best place they have captured was the 4th spot in the 1966 edition in England, when they were still the Soviet Union. Moreover, they have reached the quarter-finals on three occasions, as the Soviet Union again, in Sweden (1958), Chile (1962) and in Mexico (1970). In their last two friendlies, they met equal losses to Brazil (3-0) and France (3-1), showing problems on both ends of the pitch. They have a lot of experienced players on their roster, led by their captain and goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow). Moreover, defender Roman Neustader (Fenerbahce) and midfielders Alan Djagoev (CSKA Moscow) and Denis Cherysev (Villarreal) will be the focal points.
URUGUAY (-110)
Uruguay is without a doubt the favorites to top this group, and they came here as 2nd in the CONCACAF Group. They have participated in World Cups on 13 different occasions, and have captured the title twice, back in 1930 at home, and in 1950 in Brazil. Moreover, they have obtained the 4th spot on three occasions (Switzerland 1954, Mexico 1970, South Africa 2010), and are currently residing at the 22nd spot of the FIFA rankings. In their most recent friendlies, they recorded narrow wins against the Czech Republic (0-2) and Wales (1-0). Coach Oscar Tabares will probably use a classic 4-4-2 formation, spear-headed by two world-class players like Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint Germain) and Luis Suarez (Barcelona). They will also have Atletico Madrid's tenacious defender and captain Diego Godin lock down the defense, as the Celeste will look to do much better than what they did in the previous World Cup.
EGYPT (+450)
Be on the look-out for this team, for it will cause a lot of upsets. They are one of the two underdogs in this group, but having the fantastic Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) in their ranks is undoubtedly a massive boost. The man has done it all in the Premier League this season, and he is surely going to be troubling the opposing defenses throughout Egypt's run in the tournament. Besides Salah there are a couple of other players who have made a name for themselves in the Premier League, like midfielder Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal) and defender Ahmed Hegazy (West Brom). One more critical piece in this Egypt national team is coach Hector Raul Cooper, with a lot of experience in coaching both national teams and clubs. Egypt is currently sitting at the 44th place of the FIFA rankings, and their best spot in a World Cup has been the 13th place in 1934.
SAUDI ARABIA (+4000)
Which brings us to the big underdogs in this group, a Saudi Arabia side who qualified as 2nd behind Japan in the 2nd Qualifying round of the Asian group. This will be their 5th time in a World Cup, with their best finish being the 12th spot in the 1994 World Cup which was held in the USA. They are currently sitting at the 69th spot of the FIFA rankings, and don't have a name that stands out. They have a couple of players who are playing in Spain, and their most valuable asset is coach Juan Antonio Pizzi.
Uruguay is by far the best team in the group, and even if they are not in top form, they are still better than all the other teams. They are given at (-110) to win the group, and this should happen one way or the other. Keep an eye on Egypt who is most likely going to pull an upset here, so getting Over 3.5 points in this group is at (-135). Moreover, Uruguay and Egypt to finish at the top two spots in either order are at (+275).