Top 5 Countries That Could Cause an Upset at the World Cup 2018
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Script written by Adrian Sousa
We wouldn’t sleep on these nations if we were you. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today, we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 5 countries that could cause an upset at the 2018 World Cup.
For this list, we’ll be looking at the unheralded or underdog teams that we think could cause an upset or two during their World Cup journey in Russia. We aren’t saying these teams will go on to win the World Cup, but they could make some noise, one way or another.
Egypt is the most successful African country in history, having won the African Cup of Nations seven times. The 2018 World Cup will be their third World Cup tournament, having first qualified for the 1934 tournament, and then again in 1990. Though they only managed to score eight goals across six qualifying matches, their Argentinian coach Hector Cuper has the team well organized. Not to mention, they have one of the best attacking players in the world right now in Mohamed Salah. The man who scored the goal that sent Egypt to the World Cup, Salah will be looking to build on his incredible 43 goals that he scored across all competitions for Liverpool this season.
Los Ticos were undoubtedly the Cinderella story of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, pushing Holland all the way to a shootout in the quarter-finals, but ultimately losing to the Oranje. That experience was invaluable to the Costa Rican team that made relatively easy work of their CONCACAF qualification, beating the USA in both of their meetings, and earning a draw against Mexico. Securing qualification with a draw against Honduras thanks to a late equalizer from Kendall Waston, this experienced Costa Rican team will have many caps to their name, and the capacity to cause a potential upset in their group against tournament favorites Brazil.
This will be Morocco’s fifth appearance at the World Cup, having had a flawless qualification campaign. Under proven French manager Herve Renard, Morocco went undefeated, without conceding a single goal. That’s zero goals conceded across six matches, scoring eleven for themselves, against African powers like the Ivory Coast and Gabon. Drawn into the same group as Portugal and Spain, don’t be too surprised if Morocco somehow manages to steal second place, with Juventus star Mehdi Benatia marshaling their back line. Up front, they pose a threat as well, with Ayoub El Kaabi - who has scored ten goals from eight caps - leading an exciting Moroccan side!
African teams are looking strong going into the World Cup in Russia, and Senegal is no exception. While we should give special mention to Tunisia, who had an identical qualification record of 4 wins and 2 draws, Senegal was perhaps given the better group stage draw. Finding themselves in a balanced group alongside Poland, Colombia and Japan, Senegal and their attacking talisman, Sadio Mané, have every chance of causing an upset in Russia. With this being just their second World Cup appearance, fans will be hoping the Lions of Teranga can replicate their fortunes from 2002, where Senegal beat defending champions France en route to a quarter-finals finish.
The smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup has big aspirations. After missing out on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil by a playoff loss to Croatia, Iceland famously qualified for Euro 2016, becoming the talk of the tournament. After earning a draw against Portugal in the group stage, the nation of under 350,000 citizens - around one-fifth of the population of Manhattan - then went on to eliminate England before falling to France. In qualifying for the World Cup, Iceland topped their group above the likes of Ukraine, Croatia, and Turkey. Drawn into a tough group alongside Argentina, Nigeria and familiar foes Croatia, Iceland will have a stern task ahead of them. Nothing new there, though.
Top 5 Countries That Could Cause an Upset at the World Cup 2018
We wouldn’t sleep on these nations if we were you. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today, we’ll be counting down our picks for the top 5 countries that could cause an upset at the 2018 World Cup.
For this list, we’ll be looking at the unheralded or underdog teams that we think could cause an upset or two during their World Cup journey in Russia. We aren’t saying these teams will go on to win the World Cup, but they could make some noise, one way or another.
#5: Egypt
Egypt is the most successful African country in history, having won the African Cup of Nations seven times. The 2018 World Cup will be their third World Cup tournament, having first qualified for the 1934 tournament, and then again in 1990. Though they only managed to score eight goals across six qualifying matches, their Argentinian coach Hector Cuper has the team well organized. Not to mention, they have one of the best attacking players in the world right now in Mohamed Salah. The man who scored the goal that sent Egypt to the World Cup, Salah will be looking to build on his incredible 43 goals that he scored across all competitions for Liverpool this season.
#4: Costa Rica
Los Ticos were undoubtedly the Cinderella story of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, pushing Holland all the way to a shootout in the quarter-finals, but ultimately losing to the Oranje. That experience was invaluable to the Costa Rican team that made relatively easy work of their CONCACAF qualification, beating the USA in both of their meetings, and earning a draw against Mexico. Securing qualification with a draw against Honduras thanks to a late equalizer from Kendall Waston, this experienced Costa Rican team will have many caps to their name, and the capacity to cause a potential upset in their group against tournament favorites Brazil.
#3: Morocco
This will be Morocco’s fifth appearance at the World Cup, having had a flawless qualification campaign. Under proven French manager Herve Renard, Morocco went undefeated, without conceding a single goal. That’s zero goals conceded across six matches, scoring eleven for themselves, against African powers like the Ivory Coast and Gabon. Drawn into the same group as Portugal and Spain, don’t be too surprised if Morocco somehow manages to steal second place, with Juventus star Mehdi Benatia marshaling their back line. Up front, they pose a threat as well, with Ayoub El Kaabi - who has scored ten goals from eight caps - leading an exciting Moroccan side!
#2: Senegal
African teams are looking strong going into the World Cup in Russia, and Senegal is no exception. While we should give special mention to Tunisia, who had an identical qualification record of 4 wins and 2 draws, Senegal was perhaps given the better group stage draw. Finding themselves in a balanced group alongside Poland, Colombia and Japan, Senegal and their attacking talisman, Sadio Mané, have every chance of causing an upset in Russia. With this being just their second World Cup appearance, fans will be hoping the Lions of Teranga can replicate their fortunes from 2002, where Senegal beat defending champions France en route to a quarter-finals finish.
#1: Iceland
The smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup has big aspirations. After missing out on the 2014 World Cup in Brazil by a playoff loss to Croatia, Iceland famously qualified for Euro 2016, becoming the talk of the tournament. After earning a draw against Portugal in the group stage, the nation of under 350,000 citizens - around one-fifth of the population of Manhattan - then went on to eliminate England before falling to France. In qualifying for the World Cup, Iceland topped their group above the likes of Ukraine, Croatia, and Turkey. Drawn into a tough group alongside Argentina, Nigeria and familiar foes Croatia, Iceland will have a stern task ahead of them. Nothing new there, though.
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