2018 FIFA World Cup: Group H

Ladies and gentlemen!

Here it is: My analysis of group H. It took me a lot of time to write down these descriptions. I'm not exactly sure whether I will be doing this again when the FIFA will be raising the number of participating nations from thirty-two to forty-eight. I hope you have liked my predictions and you're enjoying the World Cup. There have already been quite a few surprising results and great games which is a huge relief after a rather weak 2016 Euro. Leave a comment if you like and encourage your favorite team!

Team: Poland

Strengths: Poland has a lot of strengths. Experienced head coach Adam Nawalka has been in charge of the national team for five years by now. Poland qualified impressively with eight victories, one draw and only one defeat, scoring twenty-eight goals but only conceding fourteen. Poland might have one of the world's very best strikers in its squad with Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski.

Weaknesses: Poland has only won two of its last six exhibition matches, losing against teams like Mexico and Nigeria and getting draws against Chile and Uruguay.

Prediction: Poland has an incredibly talented squad with strong goalkeepers, promising talents and experienced veterans and one of the world's greatest strikers. I predict Poland to surprise the world at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. I could imagine them going all the way to the semi-finals but can't see the squad going further yet and beating the world's greatest teams. Poland will finish the tournament in third position.

Team: Senegal

Strengths: In the last year, Senegal has only lost three out of eighteen matches. The squad has seven players earning their money in England, six playing in France and three in Italy which shows how experienced this team is.

Weaknesses: The team hasn't qualified for the previous three World Cups. The team has never won any important international tournament. Head coach Aliou Cissé has no significant experience and only coached Senegal's under twenty-three national team prior to becoming head coach of the senior squad.

Prediction: Senegal doesn't have enough international experience to survive the group stage. They might have a chance at beating Japan but won't be able to compete with Colombia and Poland.

Team: Colombia

Strengths: Colombia has numerous international top players in its squad such as Arsenal F.C.'s goalkeeper David Ospina, Tottenham Hotspur F.C.'s defender Davinson Sanchez, Bayern Munich's skilled midfielder James Rodriguez as well as Juventus F.C.'s Juan Cuadrado and finally AS Monaco F.C.'s striker and the national team's captain Radamel Falcao. The mixture between experienced veterans and motivated youngsters seems to be particularly good. Argentinian head coach José Pékerman is one of the most experienced head coaches of the tournament, having been in charge of the national team for six years and being aged sixty-eight.

Weaknesses: Colombia had some trouble qualifying for the tournament, finishing in fourth position behind Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. The team's recent exhibition games had rather mixed results with a surprising defeat against South Korea, draws against Australia and Egypt but a surprising victory against France as well as against China. 

Prediction: Colombia reached the quarter-finals four years ago. I expect the Colombian squad to repeat this success as the team has stagnated on a high level. However, the team's recent results are too unstable to go all the way and win the tournament.

Team: Japan

Strengths: Japan is a successful squad in Asia and has won four AFC Asian Cups, the last one in 2011. The team is known for its strong team spirit as it never gives up and Japanese players have had a lot of success abroad over the past one and a half decades. Unsurprisingly, the last AFC Champions League was also won by Japanese team with Urawa Red Diamonds.

Weaknesses: Japan's recent exhibition matches haven't been too encouraging as the team lost against Ghana, Switzerland and Ukraine earlier this year and drawing against Mali. Current head coach Nishino Akira has only been in charge for two months after previous head coach Vahid Halilhodzic was unexpectedly sacked. Japan has a rather old squad. Key players like F.C. Metz's goalkeeper Kawashima Eiji (35 years old), Galatasaray S.K.'s defender Nagatomo Yuto (31 years old), C.F. Pachuca's midfielder Honda Keisuke (32 years old), Eintracht Frankfurt's midfielder and captain of the national squad Hasebe Makoto (34 years old) and Leicester City F.C.'s striker Okazaka Shinji (32 years old) might all be competing in their last World Cup already. 

Prediction: Japan's squad is too old and the head coach change just before the tournament had a negative impact on the team. Japan might be an important team in Asia but won't be able to compete with the best international squads. The team won't survive the group stage and might even finish last in its group.