Germany is out to defend its title and is the favorite entering the 2018 World Cup. The Germans have an abundance of talent at nearly every position. Last year, manager Joachim Low made no effort to hide that he was bringing his ‘B’ team to the Confederations Cup in order to give some of the younger players more experience. They showed that they would be one of the strongest teams in the world too with a dominant performance en route to the title.
It looks as if the other teams are playing for second place, but there are always surprises at the World Cup. Will either Mexico, Sweden, or South Korea stun the Germans and grab first in Group F?
Once every four years, the world's most popular game has its biggest tournament. The World Cup is as big as it gets all over the world, especially for the 32 countries who have earned the right to partake in this tournament. We think of the World Cup as a four-week tournament in June and July every few years, but this is actually a tournament where every FIFA team in the world has a chance to make it to the big stage.
The 2018 World Cup in Russia will begin on Thursday, June 14 and run through the final on Sunday, July 15. All of the action can be seen on FOX, FOX Sports 1 and FOX Sports 2.
FIFA 2018 World Cup Group F Betting Odds
Germany -340
Mexico +600
Sweden +800
Korea Republic +2500
Germany
With a win at the 2018 World Cup, Germany will tie Brazil for the country with the most World Cup titles. Barring something unforeseen the Germans will be the No. 1 ranked team according to FIFA heading into Russia and should be a big favorite in most of their matches.
There is a big concern for Germany though. Goalkeeper Manuel Neuer is widely regarded as the best in the world, but he has not played since fracturing his foot in September. Neuer is likely to sit out the rest of the year for Bayern Munich in order to get healthy for the World Cup, but there are growing concerns over whether or not he will be ready come June.
Even if Neuer can’t go, this team is still the favorite to win the group, just not an overwhelming one. The midfield is probably the best in the world with superstars all across the lineup. It’s hard to make a bad selection in this area of the field with the depth of talent they have available.
Mexico
El Tri dominated CONCACAF qualifying and was one of the first teams to punch its ticket to the World Cup, but this team has not played well against elite teams from other regions. Over the last couple years, Mexico was hammered 7-0 by Chile in Copa America Centenario and lost to Germany’s backups 4-1 in Russia at the Confederations Cup. However, they did show their offensive firepower in a 3-3 draw against Belgium last November.
Chicharito is going to be the one getting most of the goal scoring chances for Mexico. He has had a checkered club career, but he has always come up big for Mexico when it mattered most and he is adored by his countrymen.
Mexico has been made it out of the Group Stage, but been ousted in the Round of 16, in six straight World Cup appearances. If it finishes second in Group F, it will likely be seven in a row with a probable match against Brazil in the Round of 16.
Sweden
The Swedes used to be considered a lock to make it to the World Cup, but the country was unable to qualify in each of the last two cycles. That frustration led superstar forward and all-time leading scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic to retire from international play, but he is hinting at a return now that Sweden is back at the World Cup.
That would be big news for a Swedish side that was surprisingly good in qualifying. The Swedes were fantastic defensively and didn’t allow a goal in their playoff against Italy, knocking the Italians out of the World Cup.
Korea Republic
This is the weakest we have seen South Korea in some time and it will be tough for them to get out of this group. South Korea did not perform well in qualifying, finishing a distant second to Iran. The Asian Tigers lacked the offensive creativity that we had seen out of previous teams and were surprisingly porous in the back. They finished with a goal differential of +1 despite playing in the easier of the two Asian groups.
If this team is going to pull off the upset, Son Heung-min will have to play a big role. He is a talented midfielder who has performed well with Tottenham and is coming into his prime at 25.
