2018 FIFA World Cup: Group C

Ladies and gentlemen!

The time has come to take a look at group C of the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. This group seems to be much tougher to predict on paper than the previous two groups. France seems to be the obvious favorite to win the group but the other three national teams of Australia, Denmark and Peru seem to be quite equally matched. Let's take a closer look at these four teams today.

Team: France

Strengths: France has numerous strengths. After a troublesome time under Raymond Domenech and a quite short stint by Laurent Blanc, head coach Didier Deschamps has been in charge for six years and has done a great job dealing with numerous narcissistic players and avoiding scandals involving training boycots, death threats among players and players in contact with prostitutes of minor age that shook up the national team in the past. France's squad is very close to the quality of the generation that won the last World Cup title in its home country twenty years ago. Goaltender and captain Hugo Lloris is calm and composed and has had a fabulous season with Tottenham Hotspur FC. Real Madrid CF's Raphaël Varane and Barcelona FC's Samuel Umtiti and Lucas Digne are only three of numerous world-class defenders in the squad. Creative midfielders like Manchester United's Paul Pogba can decide games on their own. France's forwards are among the best in the world with Atlético Madrid's Antoine Griezmann and Chelsea FC's Olivier Giroud. The squad features many successful youngsters like nineteen-year old Paris Saint Germain forward Kylian Mbappé and twenty-year old Barcelona FC forward Ousmane Dembélé.

Weaknesses: France's squad is probably the best of all participants in the World Cup. The French squad can only beat itself if the lack of discipline, focus and team spirit that have harmed the team in past tournaments come back haunting them. This is why the job of the coaching staff can determine whether France will win its second World Cup title or fail miserably.

Prediction: I will go ahead with a bold prediction. I think France will win the 2018 FIFA World Cup. 

Team: Australia

Strengths: Australia has won the 2015 AFC Asian Cup in its own country. The success was based upon a very balanced team which is still the case these days. The squad can count on experienced veterans like Millwall FC's thirty-eight year old forward Tim Cahill who has scored fifty goals in one hundred five appearances and Aston Villa FC's thirty-three year old midfielder Mile Jedinak who has scored eighteen goals in seventy-five appearances and who also serves as captain for the national team. The multi-ethnic team features experienced players who play for teams in exotic countries like South Korea, Saudia Arabia and Israel. 

Weaknesses: Successful former head coach Ange Postecoglou resigned from his position earlier this year after qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. New Dutch head coach Bert van Marwijk hasn't been particularly successful in recent years and only has a few months to get familiar with the squad. To make things worse, it has already been announced that Bert van Marwijk will be replaced by Graham Arnold after the conclusion of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Those conditions are particularly difficult to deal with for the head coach and his staff. In addition to those questionable procedures, Australia's squad is overall very old. The youngest member of the squad right now is twenty-two year old defender Aleksandar Susnjar, who plays for Mlada Boleslav in Czech Republic and who only has accumulated one cap so far. 

Prediction: Australia's squad is too old, the head coach doesn't know its team very well and most players earn their money in exotic leagues that are not known for great football. Despite having won the last AFC Asian Cup three years ago, I would be surprised to see Australia survive the group stage.

Team: Peru

Strengths: Experienced head coach Ricardo Gareca has been in charge for more than three years and has successfully guided the team through a tough qualifying process. The team has performed very well in friendly games so far this year, beating Croatia and Iceland away from home. The team has a solid mixture of promising youngsters and a few experienced veterans.

Weaknesses: Peru has only finished in fifth position out of ten teams of the South American CONMEBOL section of the qualifying stages. The team had to beat New Zealand in the Inter-confederation play-offs where it got a goalless draw in the first leg and a two-goal victory in the second leg. Peru didn't play convincingly at all. Most players in the Peruvian squad don't have much international experience. The only member of the squad who could be considered the star player is thirty-three year old forward Jefferson Farfan who plays for Lokomotiv Moscow. Peru hasn't qualified for any World Cup since 1982.

Prediction: Peru's squad is lacking depth and experience. The team might get eliminated at group stage.

Team: Denmark

Strengths: Denmark is a team that should never be underestimated. It won the first modern Olympic Games back in 1896 even though no medal was officially awarded back then and once more in 1906, Denmark won the UEFA Euro 1992 in spectacular manner and the team won the 1995 King Fahd Cup, today known as FIFA Confederations Cup. In addition to this, the team is on quite a streak and hasn't lost one single game in 2017 and 2018 so far, winning 4-0 against Poland, 1-5 against Republic of Ireland to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup and beating Panama 1-0 earlier this year. The team has a balanced squad with Leicester City FC's goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, captain and defender Simon Kjaer who plays for Sevilla FC, Tottenham Hotspur's midfielder Christian Eriksen who has scored twenty-one goals in seventy-seven caps and legendary striker Nicklas Bendtner who has scored thirty goals in eighty-one appearances and who now plays for Rosenborg BK. The squad is overall quite young, with most players being in their mid-twenties.

Weaknesses: Denmark did not qualify for the last World Cup and the last time the team managed to survive the group stage at such a tournament was back in 2002. The team hasn't had much international success recently. Norwegian coach Age Hareide who has been in charge for two years has been doing a solid job but isn't known as a particularly outstanding coach. Most people outside Scandinavia haven't heard much about him. 

Prediction: Denmark has surprised the world of soccer before by winning the 1992 UEFA European Championship when nobody expected it to win. This won't happen this time around but Denmark is a team that shouldn't be underestimated. The team might not beat the mighty French squad but has good chances to defeat Australia and Peru, hence advancing to the next round. Denmark could potentially meet Argentina in the round of sixteen. I predict the squad to survive the group stage but don't expect it to go any further.