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World Cup 2018 : Top 3 hotly-contested groups

By Chiranjib Ghosh

ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 12: The FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed during the Italian Football Federation trophies exhibition at the 'Aldo Fabrizi' cultural center on October 12, 2015 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)
ROME, ITALY - OCTOBER 12: The FIFA World Cup Trophy is displayed during the Italian Football Federation trophies exhibition at the 'Aldo Fabrizi' cultural center on October 12, 2015 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images) /
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SAITAMA, JAPAN – MARCH 28: Shinji Kagawa of Japan celebrates scoring the opening goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between Japan and Thailand at Saitama Stadium on March 28, 2017 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)
SAITAMA, JAPAN – MARCH 28: Shinji Kagawa of Japan celebrates scoring the opening goal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifier match between Japan and Thailand at Saitama Stadium on March 28, 2017 in Saitama, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images) /

1. Group H – Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan

This is the group in the World Cup Finals where nothing is certain. All four sides have almost equally good sides, and none of them can be ruled out of contention for a top-two finish. Even though Poland and Colombia are the favourites, Senegal and Japan can spring any surprise.

Poland arguably have the best squad in the group, with a good balance between experience and youth. Łukasz Fabiański is expected to star between the sticks, with an experienced defence in front of him, which consists of Kamil Glik and Łukasz Piszczek. The midfield has both experience and youth, with Grzegorz Krychowiak, Karol Linetty, Piotr Zieliński and Jakub Błaszczykowski. But Poland have a star-studded attack, with Robert Lewandowski leading the line and having Arkadiusz Milik and Łukasz Teodorczyk as backup.

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Colombia also a good squad. David Ospina will be the starting ‘keeper, with an extremely talented defence consisting of Davinson Sánchez, Yerry Mina, Santiago Arias and Cristián Zapata, in front of him. The midfield will be led by Juan Cuadrado and James Rodríguez, while Carlos Bacca, Radamel Falcao and Luis Muriel would be charged with scoring the bulk of the goals.

Japan have a highly experienced squad with players who can surprise everybody at the Finals. Eiji Kawashima would be in goal, with an experienced defence protecting him, which consists of the likes of Maya Yoshida and Yuto Nagatomo. The midfield is also very experienced, and is led by Shinji Kagawa and Keisuke Honda. But the attack consists of talented youngsters like Takuma Asano and Yoshinori Mutō. Although they cannot start due to presence of veteran striker Shinji Okazaki, they can make an impact as a super-sub.
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Senegal is a side which will have to rely on individual brilliance for any sort of hope. They have stars in defence, midfield and attack but the rest of the squad is nothing better than mediocre. In defence, Kalidou Koulibaly is the star, and in midfield, Idrissa Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyaté are the stars. The only part on the pitch where there is no dearth of quality is attack. Moussa Konaté, M’Baye Niang, Sadio Mané, Keita Baldé Diao and Mame Diouf all have the ability to single-handedly carry the side but it remains to be seen whether they can gel to create a formidable front line.

Next: Tottenham projected starting XI at Watford

Any of these four sides can occupy the qualification spots, but we can expect Poland to occupy one of them.

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