Fansided

Ranking the World Cup groups

By Adam Stocker

CHORZOW, POLAND - MARCH 27: Robert Lewandowski of Poland celebrates scoring a goal during international friendly match between Poland and Korea Republic at Slaski Stadium on March 27, 2018 in Chorzow, Poland. (Photo by Lukasz Sobala/PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images)
CHORZOW, POLAND - MARCH 27: Robert Lewandowski of Poland celebrates scoring a goal during international friendly match between Poland and Korea Republic at Slaski Stadium on March 27, 2018 in Chorzow, Poland. (Photo by Lukasz Sobala/PressFocus/MB Media/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 8
Next
QUITO, ECUADOR – OCTOBER 10: Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates after scoring the second goal of his team during a match between Ecuador and Argentina as part of FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers at Olimpico Atahualpa Stadium on October 10, 2017, in Quito, Ecuador. (Photo by Franklin Jacome/Getty Images)
QUITO, ECUADOR – OCTOBER 10: Lionel Messi of Argentina celebrates after scoring the second goal of his team during a match between Ecuador and Argentina as part of FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers at Olimpico Atahualpa Stadium on October 10, 2017, in Quito, Ecuador. (Photo by Franklin Jacome/Getty Images) /

1. Group D: Argentina, Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria

If there is a Group of Death in this tournament, it’s surely Group D, where Argentina will face off against Croatia, Iceland and Nigeria. All of them are good enough to get out of the group, and any one of them could win it.

Argentina are considered one of the tournament favorites despite struggling to qualify. If not for an incredible performance by Lionel Messi on the final day of qualifying, they may not have made it. And while they boast some big-name players, including Gonzalo Higuain, Paulo Dybala and Sergio Aguero, they’re still hugely reliant on Messi.

The group will also see Croatia and Iceland renew hostilities after competing against each other in the same qualifying group. Iceland topped the group, while Croatia eased past Greece in a playoff. Iceland don’t have many big name players, but Alfred Finnbogason and Gylfi Sigurdsson will make them fun to watch.

Next: The best player on every team at the World Cup

As for Croatia, this might be the last hurrah for their golden generation. Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Perisic, Luka Modric and Ivan Raktic are well-known commodities who could carry their country deep in the tournament. However, this will likely be their last World Cup. Atletico Madrid’s Sime Vrsaljko, Real Madrid’s Mateo Kovacic and Hoffenheim’s Andrej Kramaric will also be key.

Nigeria won their group to qualify for the World Cup. The Super Eagles have made it out of the group stage three times in five World Cups, including four years ago in Brazil, but have never made it past the round of16. The Nigerian roster is headlined by Chelsea’s Victor Moses and Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho.