THE ANATOMY OF A 2018
WORLD CUP GROUP OF
DEATH Let’s first define a Group of
Death. In its truest form, the term
is used to label a group of four
teams that, in a vacuum, would
expect to advance to the
knockout round. It’s debatable whether anybody in Pot 3 or 4 at
the 2018 World Cup Draw fits that
bill. But “Group of Death” has come to
simply mean the toughest of the
eight groups. It was Brazil,
Portugal, the Ivory Coast and
North Korea in 2010. It was
Spain, Chile, the Netherlands and Australia – or Germany, Portugal,
the United States and Ghana – in
2014. The 2018 draw can give us
similarly treacherous pods of
four. Let’s take a look at how. Pot 1 — If we’re getting greedy, we’d ask for Germany, Brazil, or France. But really any group that doesn’t include Russia or
Poland has Group of Death
potential. Pot 2 — With Spain clearly the Pot 2 giants, any group that
includes La Furia Roja will be among the most difficult. But England or Uruguay could make for a deathly experience, too. A
group featuring Colombia or Mexico could qualify as well. Pot 3 — Pot 3 is where the definition begins to stretch. Sweden with Zlatan Ibrahimovic would probably be the pick of the
bunch. Senegal could cause problems for nations from the top
two pots as well. Denmark, if its the fourth best team in the group,
could also perhaps contribute. Pot 4 — It’s Serbia, Nigeria or bust. OK, maybe Japan. But the Nigerians are the ones to really
be wary of from Pot 4, especially
because they’re more likely to be
drawn with Sweden or Denmark
from Pot 3. A Group of Death
involving Serbia would likely have to include Senegal. (Serbia can
only be drawn with Sweden or
Denmark if the group’s Pot 2 team
is Mexico, and if its Pot 1 team is
either Argentina or Brazil. That
would be a Group of Death, but because of the geographical
rules, explained above, it’s
unlikely to materialize.) So, what’s the best we could
come up with? POSSIBLE GROUPS OF
DEATH The toughest single group would
probably be Brazil, Spain, Sweden and Nigeria. If we wanted a second, we could get Germany, England, Senegal and Japan. And a third? Argentina, Mexico, Denmark and Serbia. POSSIBLE GROUPS OF LIFE On the other hand, any truly easy
group will include Russia or
Poland. The top “Group of Life”
would probably be Russia, Peru, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia. A second could be Poland, Switzerland, Egypt and Panama. After that, all or most of the nations in Pots 1 and 2 will be
decided favorites to advance.

Source: https://sports.yahoo.com/world-cup-2018-seeding-anatomy-group-death-040247231.html

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