Wednesday, June 11, 2014

Group H

Belgium (FIFA #11) The Red Devils are the sexy dark horse pick for this World Cup.  This squad is the culmination of a many year plan.  There is a reason this team is being picked by so many people to make a serious run.  They have lots and lots of young talent that play some really exciting soccer.  This golden generation team will win the group stage easily and could go far.

Players to watch: Eden Hazard - This 23 year old winger currently plays for Chelsea and is an important part of their attack.  He is extremely fast and has great ball control.  Currently one of the best young players in the world.  Romelu Lukaku - A big striker who scored 15 goals in 31 appearances for Everton this year.  Marouane Fellaini - This 6'4" midfield looks even taller with his crazy afro style hair.  He is a force in the air and talented with the ball, mostly though, it's his crazy hair.

Algeria (22) The Desert Warriors were lucky to end up in this group as this gives them a chance to make it out.  Unfortunately they have a serious lack of attacking players and will struggle to score goals.  This a scrappy team, however, so they could pull out a surprise but I think they will end this group in third place.

Player to watch: Madjid Bougherra - A center back who controls the defense, he will probably see a lot of action as Algeria will struggle to maintain possession.

Russia (18) Russia was starting to look like a real soccer threat around 2008 but then they failed to qualify for South Africa in 2010.  Russia was an exciting team to watch in 2008 as they hardly played any defense and were constantly trying to score.  Times have changed for Russia, while their defense is still a bit suspect they are a more balanced team.  The loss of their captain, Roman Shirakov, is a big one and if they were in any other group I would say they would not make it out, but their competition is weak, besides Belgium, and they will get second place.

Player to watch: Aleksandr Kerzhakov - One of the greatest goal scorers ever for Russia, he will have to perform to help his team.

Korea (55) The Taegeuk Warriors will struggle to perform in this group.  They are a young team and throughout qualifying games were constantly changing their lineup making it hard to predict who will even play.  Their lack of experience could hurt them.  I predict they will end up in fourth place.

Player to watch: Son Heung-Min - Currently playing for Bayer Leverkusen, this forward has shown that he can score goals.  He can play well with his left or right foot making him hard to defend.

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