World Cup 2018: Hosts Russia will take on Uruguay in Group A

Host nation Russia will be feeling relatively pleased and satisfied after being drawn into an intriguingly balanced group, but one that features none of the established superpowers.

Only one host nation, South Africa in 2010, has failed to make it out of the group stage, and Russia will have to contend with Uruguay and Egypt for the two qualifying spots. Making up the numbers is Saudi Arabia, which may not have the quality to get out of the group but will feature in the opening game, in Moscow on June 14.

Russia

As hosts, Russia did not have to qualify, but they’ve still had plenty of chances to get ready for the World Cup against top competition. They qualified for Euro 2016, then got to host the Confederations Cup. But they struggled in both tournaments, getting knocked out in the group stage with two losses from three games on both occasions. Recent friendly results haven’t been terribly encouraging either -- since the Confederations Cup, Russia has beaten South Korea, drawn against Iran and Spain, and lost to Argentina in four home games.

The Russians have mostly moved on from their older players in recent years. The core of their excellent Euro 2008 squad stuck with the team well into their 30s, but only 34-year-old Yuri Zhirkov and 31-year-old captain Igor Akinfeev remain as important players. The possibility of a strong showing depends on younger players stepping up for the first time in an international tournament.

Key player: Aleksandr Kokorin

The Zenit St. Petersburg forward is having the best season of his career so far after an average campaign last season. He has 17 goals in all competitions and is the third-leading scorer in the Europa League.

Saudi Arabia

Historically, Saudi Arabia's contributions to the World Cup have ranged from the sublime to the disastrous. In 1994 they became one of only four Asian sides to reach the knockout stages, an achievement marked with one of the competition's most thrilling and joyous goals, when Saaed Al-Owairan charged two-thirds of the length of the pitch to score against Belgium. As if to balance that moment out, in 2002 they were dissected in brutal, clinical fashion 8-0 by Germany and Miroslav Klose.

2006 was their last finals appearance, and they return twelve years later in less than ideal shape. Qualification was a success: a 1-0 win over Japan in their last game ensured they finished ahead of Australia on goal difference. But the coach that oversaw the campaign, Bert van Marwijk, departed his job shortly afterwards thanks to a contract dispute. He was initially replaced by Edgardo Bauza, who oversaw five friendlies before himself being replaced, this time by Juan Antonio Pizzi, who led Chile to the 2016 Copa America Centenario. Pizzi now has seven months and a handful of friendlies to get acquainted with his new team, assuming he hangs on that long.

Key player: Mohammad Al-Sahlawi

Joint-top scorer in Asian qualifying with 16 goals, 30-year-old Al-Sahlawi has a happy knack for scoring late on. He scored a 94th minute winner against Palestine in the opening game of qualification, and followed that up with a 90th minute penalty against the United Arab Emirates.

Egypt

Egypt represent something of an unknown quantity in the World Cup. After years of being basically a non-entity on the competitive front internationally, they’ve exploded into growing prominence in the last couple of years, getting to the final of the 2017 African Cup of Nations and dominating a tough CAF qualifying group just to make their third-ever World Cup.

They’ve gotten to this point by developing a lot of rapidly improving talent hitting their prime around the same time recently, including a number of players who have been finding success all over Europe, like Trézéguet, Ramadan Sobhi, Mohamed Elneny, and Kouka. They’re a fun, fast, talented team, but just how good they are is up for some debate right now. The group stage will be a big trial by fire, but they’ll fight to the last to make sure they make it through that trial.

Key player: Mo Salah

Despite having developed a number of doubters and detractors over the years, 25 year old Salah has absolutely exploded in his development and success as a player this season after signing with Liverpool last summer. He just hasn’t been able to stop scoring goals, a run that’s included scoring five goals for Egypt in 2017. His speed and skill will elevate Egypt’s attack to being a serious threat at the World Cup.

Uruguay

Uruguay are a difficult team to judge. They finished second in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, but over the last few years they’ve had long runs of thoroughly mediocre form, including bitterly disappointing results in the last two Copa America tournaments. But when they’re on their game, Uruguay can also be a bitterly tough team to play against, with an incredibly physical team backing up an incredibly potent front attacking line.

The fact of the matter is that we don’t know yet which version of Uruguay is going to show up for the World Cup. Will it be the quick trigger team that scores wonderful goals out of nowhere and can play with anyone, or will it be the bogged-down, slow footed team that struggles to get the ball to the explosive attacking duo of Luis Suarez or Edinson Cavani? The answer to that question will be the difference between a team that could make a deep run in the tournament, or a team that won’t make it out of the group stage.

Key player: Luis Suarez

While Uruguay are far from a one-man army, even in attack, they do have one man at the forefront of their creative and goalscoring efforts, and that man is Luis Suarez. An incredibly divisive figure who was at the core of the most controversial moments of the last two World Cups, Suarez is also at the absolute top of his game, almost single-handedly pulling Uruguay through a World Cup qualifying cycle in South America that can only be described as chaotic. If he plays to his level and Uruguay can get him the ball on a reliable basis, any team they play are in a mountain of trouble.