World Cup Group E Reveiw

Group E is one of the most competitive groups in this World Cup. With the likes of Spain and Germany as previous winners and our teams in Japan and Costa Rica trying to push themselves this year to get to the knockout, this could be one of the best groups to watch.

Costa Rica 

Costa Rica has a reasonably recent history, with the World Cup only making its first appearance in 1990, where they went on to make the round of 16. Over the last few years, they have made the last five out of six world cups, their best run being in 2014, making the quarterfinals. Today their key man in the squad is former Fulham Player Bryan Ruiz. Being 37 makes him a veteran for Costa Rica, but being the captain, he can be the tone for the rest of the squad. They start their World Cup against Spain.  

The Pitchsider's view is Costa Rica could cause some upset if they get a win against Spain or Germany, which is possible. However, Spain and Germany, we think, will be too strong, so therefore this will lead to Costa Rica finishing third in this group and not making the round of 16 this time which will be a shame for a nation with a good track record in the World Cup.

Spain 

Spain is a country that knows all about this World Cup, winning the competition back in 2010. However, they also know how to fall, as they did back in 2014. Therefore, this is going to make this Spain squad very interesting. With a fresh breath of new players coming through, it will be interesting to see where Spain can end up. One of the most exciting players is Pedri. In centre midfield, he could be the player that pushed Spain forward and near the final. They start against Japan.

The Pitchsider View is that they will finish second in the group and be able to win their games against Japan and Costa Rica. However, they will struggle to beat Germany, which could be one of the best games on the group stage. Overall, Spain will end up going to the Quarter Finals.

Germany 

Germany is an exciting team. They have been going through a real transition over the last few years, with only a few survivors from the 2014 side. However, some real gems of players are coming through, making Germany one of the favourites for this world cup. One of their key players is Joshua Kimmich, who is the real heartbeat of this team and runs the midfield. Spain will be a good test for Germany with one of the best games in the group stage, which will likely decide the group's top stop.  

The Pitchsider’s View is that Germany will win this group and end up going to the World Cup's semi-fails. Of course, this would not be what Germany would be hoping for, but it would be a good step forward compared to the last few world cups.

Japan

This is the 7th time Japan has had it to the world cup. But they have never won this competition. Japan is a team in this group that could cause a headache for the likes of Spain and Germany. However, it is very unlikely that they will be able to land a knockout punch for the two teams. Japan’s Key man is Takumi Minamino the Monaco player will need to turn in big performances in Qatar if Japan is going to have any chance of upsetting the apple cart. Along with Junya Ito, Minamino will be carrying plenty of responsibility to provide a creative spark, particularly on the counter. Japan expects to find themselves without the ball, particularly against Spain and Germany. 

The Pitchsider View is that Japan will finish Third in this group with losses to both Spain and Germany. However, Japan could get a win against Costa Rica, which would give them some sense of a successful world cup. However, Japan does not have the quality to get out of this group.  

Conclusion 

Overall, this could be one of the best groups in this world cup, with both Spain and Germany the standout teams with both hoping to win the cup again. The game between them will be exciting and could be one of the highlights of this competition. Unfortunately, Japan and Costa Rica will not have that great success, but they could cause a big upset this year.