Senegal offer brief hope but bleak prospects lie ahead for Africa

The Lions of Taranga defied the odds as they became the first African team to win at the 2018 FIFA World Cup 

Egypt were defeated 3-1 by hosts Russia in the second round of matches in group A. This makes the Egyptians elimination from Russia a little more than a formality with Uruguay set to take on Saudi Arabia where the South Americans will be coming in as heavy favourites to secure the second spot to the next round.

Egypt's defeat continued the bitterly disappointing performances of African teams as we've seen Nigeria, Morrocco, Tunisia lose thier opening fixtures meaning that African teams sit on the brink of elimination with the one exception being Senegal who stunned Poland in their group H opener.

Senegal profited from Poland's indiscretions with a 2-1 win and sit in a more favourable position in a group which also features Japan and Colombia. Senegal were by far the best performing side of the bunch as they were solid on defence, maintained their shape and looked composed throughout which was in stark contrast to their fellow Africans.

Two goals spread across the four other teams over five matches reflects a sorry state for African football, and it says much about the continent's so-called best teams as those two goals didn't come from open play.

Both Egypt and Tunisia's goals came from the penalty spot and the latter are also likely to accompany their North African compatriots back home as they face an uphill battle with a match against group leaders Belgium on the horizon, and prospects don't look any better for CAF's other representatives.

Morocco failed to leverage any sort of advantage from their opener against Iran which was a must win if they harboured any hopes of progressing to the last 16. The Atlas Lions dominated possession but still found themselves on the wrong side of a 1-0 defeat and now face the unenviable task of having to get something from their two matches against Spain and Portugal.

Nigeria should be wary of the opportunity at their disposal when they take on Iceland on Friday. A win will mean their final group game against Argentina will be for all the marbles in a group which could prove to be exciting as any of the four sides can still go through.

All in all, tidings for the African teams haven't been good as the end of current round of fixtures could see four of the continent's teams become the first casualties as the tournament kicks into the knockout phase.

So all eyes will be on Senegal to make the continent proud once again which leaves us with the oh so familiar situation of having to watch and wait awhile longer for that African team that fulfil the continent's burgeoning potential.

Unburdened by expectation can England get their tournament off to a good start?

Raheem Sterling will be a key figure England as Three  seek first win at the World Cup since 2010

The last few days in Russia have been an eye opener with the so-called lesser sides surprising some of the big guns in this year's World Cup. Subsequently, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and defending champions Germany haven't lived up to their billing failing to win their respective opening matches.

This should serve as inspiration for England as they are set to take on Tunisia in tonight's late kick off.

The Three Lions have found the going tough at major tournaments in recent times and go into their match against Tunisia having to atone for past indiscretions.

Four years ago, the English made one of their most anaemic performances at the World Cup. In Brazil they could only secure a solitary point while scoring just two goals and had an early return trip as Costa Rica and not the Italians or Uruguay upstaged them.

Two years later, after qualifying with relative ease, in France at Euro 2016 they had one of the great slip-ups in the history of the tournament as they were upset by surprise package Iceland in a 2-1 loss. The loss was duly dubbed as "the most humiliating defeat in English football history".

As a result England head into Russia unburdened by expectation and armed with a squad bursting with talent in attack along with breath taking pace and an evident threat in front of goal they will look to prove a point to their doubters.

Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli have had relative success throughout the season and without a doubt will be the names England will to for inspiration. That attacking unit will also be supported by the emerging talents of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Marcus Rashford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in their search for victory.

However, they won't have it all their own way against Tunisia who unlike the rest of Africa's participants come into the tournament highly ranked and technically sound.

The Tunisians have a game plan which is heavily focused on possession football and will likely probe for holes in England's game plan. A cohesive and solid team, having only conceded just four goals in qualification, Tunisia can pose problems for an inexperienced England team who despite their potential on attack don't look all that convincing on defence.

This has the looks for an interesting encounter as on one hand, we have a young english team with a point to prove, and on the other an unknown quantity who come highly rated with the expectations of a continent behind them.

More of the same as Africans continue to struggle at World Cup

The second and third day of the FIFA World Cup saw Africa's participants make their first appearances in Russia. Egypt, Morocco and Nigeria were all beaten in their opening group fixtures which leaves them in a must win situation in their remaining matches.

The bigger issue though is that while they were all edged out, with the exception of nigeria, by a solitary goal none of the three teams were able to find the back of the net.

Egypt were first up in Friday's early kick off and looked comfortable in the opening stages as they were solid on defence and controlled the game for some time.

However, their limitations were evident as their game plan appeared to be centred around containing Uruguay as opposed to taking the game to them which was evidenced by the chances they created, or lack thereof, with only two shots on goal with the one on target  resulting in a routine save for Uruguayan keeper Fernando Muslera.

The Egyptians sought to cause problems for the South Americans but lacked penetration as they rarely found themselves in good positions to do any damage to a tough Uruguay defence.

From the looks of it the Egyptians were waiting on some inspiration from their forward thinking players, but it never arrived given that the Pharaohs have made their stock and trade on a good solid base, but not much firepower upfront.

Their main weapon of attack ssems to be Liverpool star Mohamed Salah who's scored an impressive 33 goals in 57 matches for seven time African champions, but with him out injured the next highest goal scorer is midfielder Abdallah Said with just six goals.

Though they lost by a late goal from a header from Jose Jimenez, Egypt left the match with more questions than answers as they couldn't muster a credible goal scoring opportunity throughout the 90 minutes.

It will be do or die for the Pharoahs when they take on hosts Russia who are riding high on the momentum of the home support and their 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia and if they play like they did against Uruguay we'll see an early end to their trip to Russia.

Even with that the Egyptians are very much still in the competition and received a boost with the news that star striker Salah will be available to provide the much needed finishing touch.

Morroco went into their group B opener knowing that a win was a must when they took on Iran knowing the odds were thoroughly stacked against them with Spain and Portugal making up the numbers in their group.

The Lions of the Atlas did themselves no favours, however, as they conspired to lose a game they had full control over with 63 percent of the possession.

For all their industry they could only get three shots on target the whole game which is a poor reflection of a team which had the quality on their side with the players, and also the form after having gone on a run of ten games unbeaten.

The own goal in added time pretty much summed up the game for Morrocco as they showed that nobody can hurt you more than you can hurt yourself.

Nigeria, as the most consistent team in qualifying for the World Cup, was looked to with much expectation and the only lasting impression they made was their team kit rather than their work on the field as they lost 2-0 to Croatia.

Again, the pattern of events which had occurred for Egypt and Morocco took place for the Super Eagles as they found it hard to fashion chances in front of goal.

It took about 69 minutes into the game before the Croatian goal keeper had to make a save, if you could it that, when Odion Ighalo headed the ball on towards goal.

The Nigerians also didn't seem to have an outlet in terms of their offence as most of their game plan proved to be indecisive in the final third.

In all honestly man for man and as team Nigeria were out of their element as their tactics weren't all that clear.

All this doesn't make for good reading for the African hopefuls at this year's World Cup as they've left themselves with an uphill battle on their hands. From first impressions one thing that's clear is that African teams are missing that cutting edge in front goal and that imaginative spark they've come to be known for.

Clearly something has to change.

For Nigeria and Morocco it looks to be too late considering how well their next opponents played in the opening fixtures and how much of point they still have to prove.

All eyes will now be on Senegal and Tunisia in the hopes of getting the tournament off on a good note for Africa.

It's over to you Messi

Argentina will kick off their world cup campaign against debutants Iceland in group D's opening fixture following last night putting Argentina opener in the spotlight after Cristiano Ronaldo's heroics saw Portugal and Spain play out to a 3-3 draw.

Cristiano Ronaldo stole the headlines with an outstanding performance scoring a hat trick which included a stunning free kick to level matters towards the end.

This now puts an even brighter spotlight on Ronaldo's rival Lionel Messi to do something similar or at least to top that, but that's going take some doing after yet again Ronaldo' s knack of creating history shined through.

Ronaldo not only scored a hat trick against one of the pretournament favourites, but he did so becoming only the fourth player to score at four different world cup tournaments, the oldest player to score a world cup hat trick and became the leading goal scorer in international football.

Now it's Messi's turn to step up to the plate.

Messi, just like Ronaldo, has been given the task of guiding his nation to with what by the looks of it could be his final chance at World Cup glory.

But unlike Ronaldo the Barcelona man has had to carry Argentina for a number years despite having players like Angel di Maria, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain by his side which means considerable interest will be shown not only just Messi, but also the whole team when they face the unknown in the form of Iceland.

While it should be expected for Argentina to overcome Iceland, the Albiceleste haven't been the most convincing in recent times and had a brief brush with controversy when they opted out of playing Israel in an international friendly in preparation for the World Cup.

Instead the only preparation Argentina had was a friendly against a lowly Haiti winning 4-0 a result which doesn't say much in terms of their preparation for Russia.

Again Argentina should have more than enough in their locker to win their first game, however, in the group context the South Americans and Messi go into the tournament being known elements and emphasis will likely be on stopping Argentina's little maestro in order to hinder the rest of the team.

In a group which could make life complicated for Argentina emphasis should be on the opening fixture given that Nigeria and Croatia could make for dangerous adversaries for Argentina if their only play in Russia will involve Messi having to once again carry the team instead of the other number of stars within the Argentine ranks finally pulling their weight.

From the depths the Phoroahs make their way to the top

As much as the FIFA World Cup is about celebrating the highest level of skill and brilliant goals it also serves to describe the human spirit and at times its a case of life imitating art.

Nowhere does this ring more true than in the story of Egyptian football having ascended to the top coming up short and falling from grace, then rising from the depths of ruin to take their place amongst the world's best punctuating the potential they'd showed almost a decade ago.

 When it comes to football on the African continent very few country's can dispute the achievements of Egyptian football. Having dominated African football at club level with 35 trophies in all forms of CAF competitions, Egypt's dominance was finally translated into continental success with the national side as they dominated the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the latter half of the previous decade.

From 2006-2010 Egypt won successive Afcon titles marking the first time any country has won the tournament three times in a row. During that winning run the Egyptians completed a run of 18 matches undefeated over the three tournaments and bigger things looked to be on the horizon for the continent's greatest side.

Things started to look up for Egypt as they entered the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup giving a good account of themselves as they ran former World champions Brazil very close in an exciting 4-3 defeat.

The Phoroahs even had the beating of defending world champions Italy in a 1-0 win, but exited the competition after a 3-0 loss against the USA.

With the first ever world cup on the African continent on the horizon, Egypt looked to be set to announce themselves back on the world stage having last made an appearance at the World Cup back in 1990.

Unfortunately, that's as good it would get for the seven-time African champions as they lost out on a spot in South Africa after a play-off as North African rivals Algeria edged them 1-0 over two legs.

Having stopped just short of making a splash on a global scale, an unfortunate series of events outside of their control saw the record setting champions miss out on three consecutive AFCON finals.

Political instability and upheaval that came with the Arab Spring that swept across the Middle East and North Africa made life difficult for an Egypt team with a large contingent of home based players.

Egypt finished bottom of a qualifying group they would be expected to win as it featured minnows Sierra Leone and struggling South Africa. The defending champions missed out on the Afcon in 2012.

The Egyptian Premier league was suspended for more than two months in 2012 was later cancelled and replaced with a  tournament after stadium violence in Port Said erupted leaving 75 people deceased and 500 others injured marked one of the darkest passages in the nation's history on both a footballing as well as a social context.

Egypt would go on to miss the Afcon finals in 2013 and the tournament thereafter. Seemingly in the space of a few years the nation which had conquered continental football in successive campaigns had been reduced to outsiders looking in as the rest of the continent left them behind.

By the time qualifications for the Brazil World Cup came around things started to look good as the former African champions breezed through the second round of qualifiers winning all of six of their games, but Egypt's battle with adversity wasn't over yet.

In a play-off which was expected to be tough affair Egypt were drawn against Ghana and by the time the final whistle was blown Egyptian dreams of a place in the 2014 World Cup were crushed.

Ghana hammered Egypt 6-1 in Kumasi and an Egypt win in the return leg proved only to be a formality as the Black Stars came away with a 7-3 aggregate win and a place in Brazil.

Things have finally started looking up for Egypt recently with their reintroduction back onto the world scene with their first appearance at a World Cup finals for the first time in 28 years which coincidenced with their return to the Afcon the previous year where they finished as the runners-up to Cameroon.

In Russia they will carry with them the hopes of a nation that has had to overcome much in a short space of time and due to how deeply woven football is into the inner fabric of Egypt as a country, one can only hope to see them go as far as they can and in the process write the next chapter in what has been one of the great storylines in the FIFA World Cup's history.

What's holding Africa back from World Cup Success?

The day African football reached new heights

Africa has the proud distinction of producing some of the finest talent the world has ever seen. From Jay-Jay Okocha to Samuel Eto'o to Yaya Toure to Didier Drogba and even today to Mohamed Salah players from Africa have made their mark on the global game.

But it is at the international stage in the World Cup, when it counts the most, where the African continent has been starved of success with only five teams having gone past the first round since 1990. 

Based on current results African teams could'nt be further away from Pele's prediction of them lifting the biggest prize in football let alone making it into the semi-finals.

Ghana, Senegal and Cameroon have gone the furthest at the World Cup falling just short of a spot in the last four.

Clearly talent has never been an issue for African teams, but it has been their inconsistency in delivering at major tournaments that has had them at a disadvantage. 

African football has always been a proverbial wild west where anything can happen and thus you'll have teams like the Senegal team who come seemingly from nowhere to spring a surprise like they did in the 2002 World Cup reaching the quarterfinals in their first World Cup appearance only to recede back to the unknown they had come from.

The Lions of Taranga haven't been able to qualify for the World Cup since then and will be making their return this year. This clearly examplifies how African teams tend to be one hit wonders.

Ghana and Nigeria are the only teams who were able to deliver some consistency as they to got past the first round in successive tournaments.

Both countries have had talent in spades, but as important as talent is there is much to be said about consistency and experience on the continent when it comes to a major tournament of the World Cup's magnitude.

Of the five teams who will be playing in Russia, only Nigeria have been consistent in qualifying for the World Cup only missing one tournament since their first appearance back in 1994 and its shown as they've reached the last sixteen in four out of the last five appearances at the World Cup.

For the most part a change in mentality is needed as most teams view making the finals as an achievement in itself rather than seeing it as the first step in a gradual process to greater things.

Spain were eliminated in the 2006 World Cup at the last 16 by France and in the space of six years they won three major honours in a row. That came down to three major factors namely; capitalizing on their best generation of players- what most African teams don't do-, innovation and having an end product in mind as opposed to the "happy to be here" and "let's see how far we can go" mentality we've seen in African teams.

Precision, planning and execution are the key ingredients that will be needed to be successful on the world stage and not going into the World Cup and getting plaudits for being a very entertaining team.

What's also become clear is that African teams need succession plans to be put in place for their teams to give them enough stability to become a force instead of being the next one hit wonder.

Just look at the wonders its worked for Germany going back to 2006  where they've successfully integrated youngsters into the team and have found the right blend of youth and experience.

Seeing as African teams have had varied success at youth level even going as far as winning world titles, more time should be dedicated to the development and organizational side of the game to ensure that things keep running smoothly like a conveyor belt with a new player already in place to replace those who's time has passed 

Overall the situation is not bad considering since Cameroon became the first team to progress past the group stage in 1990, at least one team has reached the knockout stages at each tournament since then.

There have also been signs of some progress.

Even in Brazil, Algeria and Nigeria broke new ground when they made it out of the group stage marking the first time two African teams made it into the last 16 and in Russia with fingers crossed we might at least see three teams advance.

All the big guns and regulars who won't be at the World Cup

A great  international career ends in tears as Italy failed to reach World Cup finals 

The FIFA World Cup as everybody knows is the biggest party of 2018 with invitations extended only to the best of the best. This year's edition has left a number of regulars to the party out in the cold to rue missed opportunities as they missed the plane to Russia.

ITALY 

A stunned and distraught Italy after draw against Sweden 

It's almost farfetched to think that a little over a decade ago Italian football was at its highest point with the Azzuri claiming a fourth world cup crown putting them just one title behind record holders Brazil.

In the years since then Italy have sinked to lower and lower depths having won just one match at the World Cup finals since that win in 2006. Italy were eliminated at the group stage in successive tournaments first dropping a winnable group failing to win against New Zealand, Slovakia and Paraguay in 2010.

In Brazil they didn't do any better as they dropped points in a group where minnows Costa Rica sprang a surprise as the Italians along with English were sent home early.

The worst was saved for last as Italy, after finishing in second place behind Spain, lost a world cup play-off against a functional Sweden 1-0.

The result meaning one of the most successful teams in World Cup history would miss the World Cup finals for the first time in 60 years.

NETHERLANDS 

Dutch winger Arjen Robben feeling the pain as he retires from international football after the Dutch failed to reach Russia 

The Dutch's fall from grace has been somewhat surprising considering their pedigree at the World Cup and their success at the two previous finals. Oranja were beaten finalists in South Africa and finished third in Brazil four years ago.

On the under though the Netherlands did fail to qualify for Euro 2016 after losing five of their ten qualifying matches. This occured as the Dutch had three coaches within a short space of time as Louis van Gaal was replaced by Guus Hiddink, who later vacated the position in 2015 after his team struggled at the beginning of the Euro qualifiers.

Danny Blind oversaw the remainder of the qualifiers failing to deliver. With their World Cup hopes in jeopardy, Blind was also let go after achieving meagre returns, which included a 3-0 loss to Bulgaria, in 2017 by the then the writing was on the wall as their fate was no longer their hands.

USA 

Christian Pulisić weeping after Trinidad and Tobago shock

Regulars at the world cup finals since 1986 the Stars and Stripes have been one of the most consistent performers and considering they also had experienced relative success making it into the knockout stages at successive World Cup tournaments.

In 2010 they were knocked by Ghana in the last 16, and performed at their best in Brazil as they fought their out of a group which featured Germany, Portugal and Ghana.

In the qualifiers for Russia the USA were shocking in the final round of qualifiers as they couldn't even finish in a play-off spot placing second from bottom after suffering the most humiliating defeat in American soccer history after a 2-1 loss to 99th ranked Trinidad and Tobago.

Ghana

An inconsolable Andrew Ayew as trip to Russia is cancelled 

The Black Stars also joined the reject list after their usually vibrant and enterprising football went missing in a stale world cup qualifying campaign.

The Ghanaians would only win one of their six qualifying games failing to win a single home game which allowed the more consistent Egypt to take top stop in their group.

A sad turn of events after Ghana had made great strides at World Cup in 2006 where they stunned a Czech Republic side, who were second in the world, to move into the last 16 and come very close to becoming the first ever African team to make the semi-finals of the World Cup.

Cote D'ivoire

Try as hard as they might the Elephants couldn't find a way past a sturdy Morocco 

The Ivory Coast have been one of the powerhouses of African football and in what has been their golden era produced talents of the likes Didier Drogba, Solomon Kalou, Yaya and Kolo Toure just to name a few. 

In the time between 2006 and 2018 Cote D'ivoire qualified for three World Cups, were runners-up in two African Cup of Nations (AFCON) finals and would finally win the tournament at the third attempt in 2015 bringing  some achievement to one of Africa's best sides.

However, the golden era of Ivorian football couldn't make an impact on the international scene as they failed to move past the group stage of the World Cup finals on all three occasions.

The Ivorians also left the 2017 AFCON in disgrace exiting at the group stage, and their misery was compounded when they fell to Morocco in a 2-0 loss at home waving goodbye to their World Cup dream.

Brazil learn lesson from World Cup Heartbreak

Coutinho, Neymar and Jesus will be key to Brazil's world cup hopes

As the most successful team in the history of the FIFA World Cup, and having played at each and every tournament, it is almost a given that Brazil will be favourites more often than not. 

In the 2018 edition of the world's greatest sporting event Brazil sit firmly as the team to watch out for even after the gut-wrenching demise of their world cup dream in front of their home fans in Belo Horzonte.

On a day which will forever go down as biggest loss in Brazilian football Germany produced footballing lesson as they blitzkrieged the hosts 7-1 as they marched their way to a fourth world cup title.

From that defeat chinks in Brazil's armour were laid bare to the world as a ruthless and concise Germany team picked off Brazil in a fashion not even themselves might have expected.

Deadly individually, but even more devasting as a unit Germany taught Brazil a lesson on the indiscretions  of building a team around a single focal point as opposed to building a solid team. 

The unfortunate injury suffered by star man Neymar and the suspension of then captain Thiago Silva left the Selecao in disarray. 

Without the  organizational leadership of Silva Germany ran amok and without Neymar's x-factor Brazil couldn't quite find that end product in front of goal despite creating a number of chances.

The Brazil world cup provided a point of reflection for the five time world champions and aided by the quality in their squad as player performances have stepped up in the years since that fateful semi-final could see them find their back on top.

Paulinho has been a revelation since moving to Barcelona along with Fernandinho, who played a starring role in Manchester City's record breaking season, and Real Madrid's Casemiro form one of the best mid-fields in the tournament with still having the option of Manchester United bound Fred to call upon as well.

In the high stakes competition of the world cup a number of teams have quality in their squads, however, this isn't always enough and you need something a little bit extra and that's what Brazil have found themselves in plenty of supply. 

Neymar, Coutinho, Douglas Costa will give Brazil the x-factor that they found themselves devoid of in their semifinal defeat.

The centre forward position which has been a point of contention which was lead by an underwhelming Fred in the last world cup now have two forwards ready to follow in the footsteps of past greats like Ronaldo.

With a combined goal tally of 45 for club and country Brazil's strike force is in good hands with either Liverpool's Roberto Firmino and Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus leading the line.

As good as the squad is, full credit should be given to coach Tite who has gotten the team to perform. In his short spell at the helm of the Brazilians have only lost just one match. This has come down to Tite reinventing his side bringing a dose of pragmatism to go with the extravagance of Brazil's playing style. 

On paper Brazil look like the real deal, however up until they have that trophy hoisted above their heads it may be too early to be singing their praises, but its good to at least see them learning from past experiences.

The teams with nothing to lose and whole lot to prove

In the build up to the FIFA World Cup most of the attention will be on the big names to deliver which diverts attention away from the outsiders to swoop in . This year will be no different with some of the tourment's less fancied sides having the advantage of nothing to lose and some potential to stun some of the favourites. You can be sure at least one of the dark horses on this list will be out to cause more than a few surprises.

Argentina 

The Albiceleste were surprisingly disappointing in their world cup preliminaries leaving it late to qualify after doing the unexpected beating Ecuador 3-1 in Quito. 

It was only by the grace of a Lionel Messi hat trick on the day that booked Argentina's place in Russia, and herein lies the Argentines' biggest problem. Despite having a plethora of world class talent only Messi seems to have what it takes to drag the team forward.

Regardless of their shortcomings Argentina are a deadly foe as evidenced by their three successive runners-up finishes at major tournaments including the last world cup. 

Argentina with their vastly experienced side could go all the this year, provided they come together as a team as oppose to just laying on the responsibility on Messi's shoulders.

Portugal

The Portugese have been blessed with some exceptional talent over the last few decades with Luis Vigo then and now Cristiano Ronaldo donning the Portugal jersey. However, the one thing they've always been missing is a great team. Over the recent years along with Ronaldo Portugal have only had maybe two or three world class players which hasn't yielded the best results.

Portugal were eliminated in the group stage in Brazil after they'd opened the tournament losing 4-0 to eventual winners Germany. 

In 2016 adopting a more pragmatic approach during the Euros, Portugal would reverse their misfortune upsetting France in the final to become European champions.

Pragmatic as they may be Portugal also present a potent attacking threat with the 32 goals they scored from their qualifiers. Ronaldo scored almost half of those (15) and has found a worthy strike partner in Milan's Andre Silva. Joao Mario and Bernardo Silva will be key to Portugal's attack with the wingers looking to set up Ronaldo and Silva in the middle while also having the tricky and unpredictable Ricardo Quaresma as their wild card.

England

Despite playing host to the most watched league in the world, with most of the best players in the world, there's been little joy for English football outside of their sole world cup triumph in 1966. 

In recent times they've plodded from one major tournament to next after controversy, and their old foe the penalty shootouts have seen their stay at tournament's end early on. 

In Brazil things would take a turn for the worse as Costa Rica upset the odds giving England the boot in the group stage, but the Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland would have stung as it was labelled "most humiliating defeats in the country’s history".

In order to fix that England even though their set-up looks a bit shaky at the back and their midfield options are a bit sketchy will have to rely on a gifted frontline which features some of the hottest property in world football including Raheem Sterling, Harry Kane, Delle Alli and Jesse Lingard.

Special mentions 
Uruguay - defensively solid and gritty (goals and controversy Luis Suarez)
Croatia - One of the best midfield combinations  (Modric and Rakitic)
Iceland - first world cup appearance (I just wanna see their signature Viking clap)

Who will your money be on?

The one trophy to rule them all

With just under a week left until the FIFA World Cup kicks off in Russia, excitement is building for the world's leading sporting event and as usual the focus will be on the big guns to deliver. So let's take a minute to look at some the of the sides that are expected to make a splash in Mother Russia.

Brazil

The Selecao upheld their tradition of being the only team to qualify for every world cup after breezing through the tricky South American qualifications finishing top of the final standings 10 points clear of second placed Uruguay.

After the disappointment of their home world cup Brazil will be out to prove a point and with head coach Tite steering the ship that looks to be on the cards. The former Corinthians coach only took over the national side only two years ago, but in that short time he's seen his charges to win 10 games drawing two, scoring 30 goals while conceding three during the qualification phase.

Brazil's squad is probably one of the most stacked its ever been boasting the likes of Coutinho, Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino and, of course the player who makes it all happen, PSG star Neymar along with other big names from back to front.

Germany

Although they haven't won their last three international matches,  defending champions Germany go into this World Cup, alongside Brazil, as hot favourites to lift the coveted trophy.

This looks like a probability considering not only the names within their squad, but also their fine pedigree at the world cup. Back in 2014 Germany made a fourth consecutive appearance in the last four, their 12th overall, and finally got rid of their bride's maids tag beating South American giants Brazil and Argentina on the way to winning the trophy.

Germany's success has, in large part, come down on a thriving youth system which has worked like a conveyor belt allowing the best to rise to the top.

 As soon as one great player retires another equally capable player is there to take his place, just look in the cases of Miroslav Klose and Phillip Lahm being replaced by Joshua Kimmich and Thomas Muller respectively, and new stars could be set to rise with Leipzig star Timo Werner and Bayern bound Leon Goretzka set to make their bow after impressing at last year's FIFA Confed Cup.

Spain

Another team on the road to redemption, Spain go into the world cup on the back of a disastrous outing back in 2014 where they were unceremoniously sent crashing out in the group stages after coming into the tournament as defending champions.

La Furia Roja have seemingly put that behind them going undefeated in the qualifiers scoring 36 goals and only conceding 3.

Spain will look to regain the form that once saw them win back-to-back Euros and the world cup seeing as the Spanish squad consists of a whole host of big names like Sergio Ramos, Diego Costa, Barcelona's Sergio Busquests and Andres Iniesta and some young talent to boot.

It is also worth noting that the squad also consists of Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid players who tasted glory in Europe after winning the Champions League and Europa League respectively. Which means Spain not only have experience, individually, but they can also deliver in those crunch moments during big games.

France

France exited the world cup in Brazil after being edged out by eventual winners Germany 1-0 in the quarters. Les blues would go on to finish as runers-up to Portugal in the Euros two years later by all indications France have been developing over the years and on paper are likely to be a threat to any they encounter.

The once world cup winners, just like the other sides on this list, are also jam packed with big names too and it will be particularly interesting how things develop for them with their squad which is top heavy with some of the best young attacking talent in the world.

Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar, Ousmane Dembele and the ball playing ability of Paul Pogba will be part and parcel of the French attack throughout along with the evident goal threat from Atletico Madrid sharp shooter Antoine Griezmann aiming to guide them to world cup success.

Belgium

Belgium are undoubtedly in the best position they've ever been with their golden generation ready to take on the world. The Belgians had a good test drive in the previous world cup exiting at the quarter finals and in 2018 will be aiming to play for much higher stakes.

Their last world cup outing will undoubtedly have emboldened the Belgians as they now have experience to back the precocious talent at their disposal.

The Belgians look to have a bit of everything with solidity at the back with Spurs pair Jan Vertongehn and Toby Alderweireld along with Man City captain Vincent Kompany; the swaggering displays of Chelsea star Eden Hazard, the pin point passing of Kevin De Bruyne and with the battering ram that is Romelu Lukaku Belgium look set for some interesting times in Russia. 

Yaya Toure pulls race card, ends up clowning himself

Yaya Toure has undoubtedly had a storied career winning a total of 17 trophies including two La Liga titles, three English Premier League titles and a Champions League title. Not to mention being named African footballer of the year four times the Ivorian would be guaranteed a great legacy in the sport, however he let his mouth spoil his latter years at Manchester City.

It is no secret that Toure isn't a fan of Pep Gaurdiola from his time at Barcelona as the Ivorian proved to be only a peripheral figure at the Nou Camp after three seasons with the Catalans prompting a move to Manchester City in 2010.

The same events took place for Toure over the last two seasons when Guardiola took over the reins at Manchester City and evidently from his interview with France Football magazine, which is to be published later to day, Toure isn't too pleased with Spaniard's decisions, going as far as to insinuate that it was more than just a tactical decision to leave him out in the cold.

Via supersport.com:
"He insists he has no problems with black players, because he is too intelligent to be caught out,” Toure said. “But when you realise that he has problems with Africans, wherever he goes, I ask myself questions.”

It's not at all that surprising that the Ivorian would make such an accusation considering that he's been more prominent for kicking up dust than his football over the last few seasons.

That fact that Toure stopped just short of calling Guardiola a racist says more about his character rather than Gaurdiola's with regards to his melodrama exposing him for the self-centred, entitled princess that probably led to him getting the boot from Guardiola at Barcelona in the first place.

He also seems to be overlooking a few factors which have made it easy to leave him on the side lines. First off, Fernandinho has been City's best midfield player and the deployment of Kevin De Bruyne in a deeper midfield role with a far better work ethic makes more sense considering how the Ivorian doesn't seem to be all that handy on the defensive end.

And not to be outdone he went on to dig himself further into a hole: "Last summer, when Pep brutally got rid of (Wilfried) Bony, who had been signed a year earlier for a huge sum, I asked questions,” 

So according to Toure it hadn't been factored in that in 31 matches his countryman only managed to score six times? By the looks of things the Man City manager made the right decision giving Bony his marching orders given he's  only scored 3 goals in 19 appearances throughout the 2017/18 season since his move back to Swansea.

By the way, if Gaurdiola is indeed  a racist how come guys like Raheem Sterling, Kyle Walker, Fernandinho, Danilo, Leroy Sane have been regulars  and are thriving with him at the helm? Surely they're not black? Beacuse Guardiola doesn't play those kind players in his team?

And towards the end comes the true issue of what the revelation was about: himself.

"I think I was dealing with someone who just wanted to take revenge on me, who was jealous of me, who took me for his rival. I felt humiliated,” said Toure, ducking any and all accountabilty on his part for his sub par performances over the last two seasons.

"He stole my farewells with City. I would have liked to leave this club with emotion, as Iniesta and Buffon were able to do. But Pep stopped me.”

Wasn't this all about how Pep Guardiola being a racist and not sour grapes of an egomaniac because he wasn't part of Manchester City's greatness?

All in all, the reason Yaya Toure didn't get a farewell befitting that of the likes of Buffon or Iniesta is evident from his interview that he didn't deserve such, and the difference between him and those players is that they put in the time, didn't complain and didn't make everything about them.