GROUP F
Argentina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Iran
Nigeria
OUTLOOK
What does this group have in store for us? Well Argentina couldn’t have been happier about this draw, and probably you shall hear all the Messi fans go yada-yada-yada about the goals he might score against the weaker teams.
As it stands, Argentina is “apparently” going to sweep all the three games, Nigeria predicted to come second and not much can be said about the results of the other two teams. Well not many are bothered about any team but Argentina, unless you happen to be a Chelsea fan, in which case it will be “GOOO JOHN OBI MIKEL!” . Rest aside, yes it is a relatively dull and boring group and lets see if there are any upsets lined up to make it more interesting.
ARGENTINA
Nickname : La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue)
FIFA Ranking : 5
Having won the World Cup two times already, Argentina have always been a force to reckon with. They always have had the potential to go all the way and usually don’t give in to surprising defeats at the big stage. This time, having probably the most majestic attacking options (if I may say so), Argentina certainly are big contenders and given how easily poised they are in this group, they certainly have many odds in their favour. Their skill, commitment and very well-known counter-attacking style will certainly prove to be a tough fight for any opponent. Oh before the Barca fans kill me, “they have MESSI too.”
Manager : Alejandro Sabella
Argentinian coach giving the “Don’t you dare question why I dint pick Tevez” expression.
Definitely not as well-known as Diego Maradona was, when he was coach last time. However not many of the great coaches were great players. So let’s see if Alejandro can help Argentina get lucky a third time this year.
Team & Tactics
Well yes, surprisingly there are other players apart from Lionel Messi in Argentina. In fact I believe Argentina have the most talented set of attacking options amongst all other teams right now. I know for a fact that I would love to have Messi , Aguero, Higuain, Lavezzi, Di Maria all playing in my dream team. Wait, where is Carlos Tevez you ask?! For very unobvious reasons, Carlos Tevez dint make it to the squad let alone the playing XI. They do have decent midfielders , likes of Gago and Mascherano are pretty good, given that they have such quality attackers in front of them. The back line also looks good enough with likes of Pablo Zabaleta , Demichelis – both part of Premier League winning team this season as well as Garay and Fernandez. However the key man is definitely Lionel Messi, you will see teams deploying as many four men marking him, showing how great a player he is. Thiago Silva apparently needs a gun to stop him.
Good news for Thiago Silva, Messi is afraid of Guns.
Having said that, expect Angel Dimaria to power the front line with his vision, speed, dribbling. He is one very under-rated player and a wonderful asset to the team.
With a preferred formation of 4-3-3, Argentines are going to heavily rely heavily on Pace and Skill from all directions with Messi upfront well supported alongside by Gonzalo Higuain as well as Sergio Aguero. Having DiMaria play behind the forwards, generating those pace driven runs and cutting past defenders, expect a lot of feed from this guy alone to the forwards upfront. The midfield and defense is very tightly coupled by Mascherano, showing how crucial he is to the team’s game, with the morale completely dependent on him. The two young centre backs look favourites to start but the World Cup being that important will maybe prompt Alejandro to put in Demichelis instead, to provide the team with some experience. Romero is certainly the obvious choice to stay between the bars, he provides the team with vigour as well as experience at the same time.
Although If situation permits, the Argentines might even change formation to a very attacking 3-1-6, Mascherano playing the pivotal holding midfielder and likes of Lavezzi , Gago , Perez joining the other forwards up ahead. They really do look interesting and aggressive this way.
Di Maria – It’s not all about Messi.
Argentina Squad In Full
Goalkeepers: Sergio Romero (Sampdoria), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Agustin Orion (Boca Juniors).
Defenders: Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Federico Fernandez (Napoli), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Marcos Rojo (Sporting Lisbon), Hugo Campagnaro (Inter Milan), Martin Demichelis (Manchester City), Jose Basanta (Monterrey).
Midfielders: Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Ricardo Alvarez (Inter Milan), Augusto Fernandez (Celta Vigo), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid), Maxi Rodriguez (Newell’s Old Boys), Enzo Perez (Benfica).
Forwards: Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Rodrigo Palacio (Inter Milan), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris St-Germain).
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Nickname : Zmajevi (Dragons)
FIFA Ranking : 21
Well not much can be said about these, except that they do not belong to the Khaleesi. (Spoiler alert Game of Thrones fans).
Bosnia are the only debutant team in this World Cup. A decent squad , not many known players apart from Edin Dzeko and Pjanic. Very Very attack minded, however commit too much and get hurt defensively.
Apparently a rare Safet Susic collectible card.
Manager : Safet Susic
He was voted as the best Paris Saint Germain player of all time, Yugoslavian by descent and has done a fine job with the Bosnian team, leading them to their first ever World Cup.
Team & Tactics
Well, they are supposed to be an all attacking team, with two strikers upfront. They have a few stars in the two forwards Edin Dzeko and Ibisevic, Roma midfielder Pjanic as well.
They look to be a set of young and attack-minded players looking to up the anti in the group. Their trump card is Edin Dzeko who has looked in great form this year replacing the injured Aguero and help Man City win the League.
Being the really attack-minded team they are, they deploy a fancy 4-3-1-2 formation, spear headed by star Edin Dzeko along side Ibisevic. Interestingly, the striker-pair have been really excellent in the qualifiers and also one of the most successful partnership that we have seen in the qualifiers till now. With the wonderful skill and control of Pjanic in midfield, we most certainly are in for a goal flurry when these guys are involved.
Dzeko – Dragon breathing fire.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Squad In Full
Goalkeepers: Asmir Begovic (Stoke City), Asmir Avdukic (Borac Banja Luka), Jasmin Fejzic (VFR Aalen).
Defenders: Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen), Toni Sunjic (Zorya Lugansk), Sead Kolasinac (Schalke), Ognjen Vranjes (Elazigspor), Ermin Bicakcic (Eintracht Braunschweig), Muhamed Besic (Ferencvaros), Mensur Mujdza (Freiburg).
Midfielders: Miralem Pjanic (Roma), Izet Hajrovic (Galatasaray), Haris Medunjanin (Gaziantepspor), Senad Lulic (Lazio), Anel Hadzic (Sturm), Tino Susic (Hajduk), Sejad Salihovic (Hoffenheim), Zvjezdan Misimovic (Guizhour Renhe), Senijad Ibricic (Erciyesspor), Avdija Vrsaljevic (Hajduk).
Strikers: Vedad Ibisevic (VfB Stuttgart), Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Edin Visca (Istanbul BB).
IRAN
Nickname : Ŝāhzādegāne Pārsi (Princes of Persia )
FIFA Ranking : 43
Manager : Carlos Queiroz
Queiroz
Iran managed to get a coach, who managed Real Madrid at one point. Queiroz, being an ex Madrid coach , has failed to impress with the Iranian team however he might have just enough to cause a few upsets.
Team & Tactics
They definitely do not have any star players, however they have higher stage players like Ashkan Dejagah down the Flanks to provide some quality attack. However they are inexperienced as well as lack quality talent wise. There is Ghoochannejhad who is a young and promising striker from Charlton Athletic, who caught his fans by surprise for sure.
Deploying a standard Premier League formation of 4-2-3-1, it surely looks like they want to get the ball to the young and pacey striker in form. With Dejagah also added to the squad, it might not be that boring with these guys involved after all.
Ghouchannejad – Young Prince.
Iran Squad In Full
Goalkeepers: Daniel Davari (Eintracht Braunschweig), Alireza Haghighi (Sporting Covilha, on loan from Rubin Kazan), Rahman Ahmadi (Sepahan).
Defenders: Hossein Mahini (Persepolis), Steven Beitashour (Vancouver Whitecaps), Pejman Montazeri (Umm Salal), Jalal Hosseini (Persepolis), Amir-Hossein Sadeghi (Esteghlal), Ahmad Alenemeh (Naft), Hashem Beikzadeh (Esteghlal), Mehrdad Pouladi (Persepolis).
Midfielders: Javad Nekounam (Kuwait SC), Andranik Teymourian (Esteghlal), Reza Haghighi (Persepolis), Ghasem Haddadifar (Zob Ahan), Bakhtiar Rahmani (Foolad), Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan).
Forwards: Ashkan Dejagah (Fulham), Masoud Shojaei (Las Palmas), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (NEC Nijmegen), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Charlton), Karim Ansarifard (Tractor Saz, on loan from Persepolis), Khosro Heydari (Esteghlal).
NIGERIA
Nickname : Super Eagles (No, that’s not an IPL team name)
FIFA Ranking : 44
I did say there is not much to this group apart from Argentina but then Nigeria has always been this really sporty and give it everything kind of team, similar to most African teams. (I am not being racist, I am praising them!)
They do start as underdogs and not many predict them winning the World Cup or going too far into the knock-out stages, however they always have some element of surprise.
They surely are the dark horse of the tournament (NO I am not being Racist , again.) and are bound to surprise us with immense work rates, dedication and sportsmanship.
Manager : Stephen Keshi
A very high spirited Stephen Keshi, seems to be either shouting or dancing.
Not a very famous lad , however if you are a Nigerian then you’d know that he led the Nigerian team to African Cup of Nations’ victory and also their first World Cup qualification. He aint that bad as a coach too, bagging the African coach of the year award.
Team & Tactics
John Obi Mikel. Okay now that I have mentioned his name, let’s get to the team. These guys are known to be pacey and strong and have extraordinary work rates. With likes of Odemwengie and others like Victor Moses, Nigeria are certain to cause at least 1 or 2 upsets. John Obi Mikel ( There, I did it Again).
Getting to the star player, well it’s pretty obvious who it is according to me, John OBI Mikel. What is the big deal? He is a boring defensive Chelsea midfielder? I have one question to all those, have you seen him play for Nigeria?! Omg. He plays an attacking midfielder, Yes Attacking and Mikel.. In the same sentence ! There is clear passion and skill seen in this guy once he represent his country and actually scores for them too. Moses, Mikel, Odemwingie, Ameobi and the others are certainly out there to make a statement.
Also operating in a 4-3-3 formation, Nigeria is definitely reliant on width and pace offered by their flanks as well as holding possession midfield and relentless through balls forward. Mikel is known to be the centre of their gameplay and will be key to bringing the team together. They might have a weak defensive line-up, but their work rates and physical strength are certainly a force to deal with and compensates the defense. Another important thing about Nigeria is their attitude, how dedicated they are and how they don’t let anything get to them. This will certainly boost the teams performance on any day.
Mikel – You definitely have to be special if Yaya bows down to you !
Nigeria Squad In Full
Goalkeepers: Vincent Enyeama (Lille), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Be’er Sheva), Chigozie Agbim (Gombe United).
Defenders: Efe Ambrose (Celtic), Godfrey Oboabona (Rizespor), Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves), Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough), Juwon Oshaniwa (Ashdod), Joseph Yobo (Norwich, on loan from Fenerbahce), Kunle Odunlami (Sunshine Stars).
Midfielders: John Mikel Obi (Chelsea), Ramon Azeez (Almeria), Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio), Reuben Gabriel (Waasland-Beveren), Michael Babatunde (Volyn Lutsk), Ejike Uzoenyi (Enugu Rangers).
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Shola Ameobi (Newcastle), Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahce), Michael Uchebo (Cercle Brugge), Peter Odemwingie (Stoke), Victor Moses (Liverpool, on loan from Chelsea), Uche Nwofor (Heerenveen).
CONCLUSION
Well that’s pretty much all about Group F, and obviously the interest in reading this kept dropping as you came down. However let’s hope, Group F does pull of a series of exciting matches worth remembering, and leave us scratching our heads. Adios!
ARGENTINA 1-0 IRAN
From The Penalty Spot 