Many football fans are excited for Group E in this winter's World Cup. Two previous World Cup winners are making this group a must watch. Germany and Spain are set to play against dark horses Japan and Costa Rica who are known for having a tight defence. This group kicks off on Wednesday afternoon. All four countries need to make a redemption after their failures at Russia 2018 World Cup where Costa Rica and Germany crashed out the group. Spain and Japan where later knocked out in the Round of 16 so fans are demanding more from their countries in Qatar.
Firstly, we will focus on the odds-on favourites in this group which are Spain. Germany and Spain are spoken to be competing for top spot in this group and both are expected to qualify. Spain qualified for the World Cup topping a group with the likes of Greece and Sweden, only conceding five goals in the process. Since Spain won the World Cup in 2010 South Africa, they haven't been able to make it past the Round of 16, only winning 2 out of 7 of their games in the competition. Spain have a young exciting side for this tournament with Barcelona star Pedri expected to dictate games. Luis Enrique had a surplus of talents to pick from and has not selected notable names like World Cup winner Sergio Ramos and Man United shot stopper David De Gea. Spain are hoping to replicate their 2010 success and turn young players into legends.
The Germans go into this tournament to take the trophy back to Berlin and they have a very good chance. With this group being deemed as a tough one, many still tip Germany to advance with ease. Although 2018 in Russia was a poor performance, which many blame as the ‘World Cup Curse’ after winning the trophy 4 years prior, Germany have a team with depth and talent. After Joachin Lows departure many fans feel Hansi Flick can recreate the glory from Brazil 2014, especially with match winner Mario Götze making a return to the squad and impacting off the bench. Hansi Flicks side impressed in qualifiers scoring 36 goals and conceding 4 in 10 games. With many young players and experience combine, Germany are expecting to excite all fans across the world. Jamal Musiala is one to keep a close eye on. The young Bayern star boy has impressed and expressed himself this season in the Bundesliga. Having scored 9 and assisted 6 for the German giants. Mixed this with the likes of Kimmich, Sane and Gnabry, don’t be surprised if Germany go deep into the competition.
Many have stated Japan as their dark horses in this year's World Cup, although they find themselves in a tough group. Japan are coming into this competition with failure on their backs from the Asian Cup back in 2019, losing to this winter's hosts Qatar in the final. Japan qualified for the World Cup with 22 points out of a possible 30 only conceding 4 goals in the process. This will be Japan's seventh consecutive World Cup but have failed to make it past the Round of 16 in all previous tournaments. Japan will be looking towards Dalichi Kamada and Takefusa Kubo to provide star quality and creativity to unlock their Group E opponents. Maya Yoshida and Hiroki Sakai are providing their experience by making their third consecutive World Cup for the Samurai Blues. I expect Japan to shock the two giants in this group and advance into unknown territory later in the competition.
Lastly, Costa Rica make up this group. The North Americans finished fourth in their group in qualifying, placing them in a playoff game with New Zealand. Costa Rica scrapped a 1-0 win, due to an early goal by Ex-Arsenal forward Joel Campbell. During qualifying, Costa Rica found themselves struggling to score goals but having a strong back line due to Champions League winner Keylor Navas being in between the sticks. So, expect Spain and Germany to dominate the ball but find it hard to score. Bryan Ruiz will be looking to top Costa Rica’s goal scoring charts in World Cup after scoring two in 2014 where they advanced out a group containing Italy, England and Uruguay. With Costa Rica being underdogs in this group they will be looking at Brazil 2014 to as inspiration.
Overall, this group will be a good one to watch. This group has experience and youth on the biggest stage under the pressure of their countries. Germany and Spain are expected to advance but it will be hard for the giants. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a major upset in Group E especially with the underrated talent Japan possess.
Will Japan or Costa Rica cause a Group E upset?
Yes
No
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