A simplified look at Group A from a historical perspective and the current situation Note: Country's best player Information taken from Wikipedia page. Match Report from several on-line articles Uruguay History World Cup Winners: Twice (1930, 1950) Copa America Winners: 15 times (1916, 1917 , 1920, 1923 , 1924 , 1926, 1935, 1942 , 1956 , 1959, 1967 , 1983, 1987, 1995 , 2011) World Cup Appearances: 12 times 1930: Winners 1934: Did not enter 1938: Did not enter 1950: Winners 1954: Fourth 1958: Did not qualify 1962: Group stage 1966: Quarter-finals 1970: Fourth 1974: Group stage 1978: Did not qualify 1982: Did not qualify 1986: Second round 1990: Second round 1994: Did not qualify 1998: Did not qualify 2002: Group stage 2006: Did not qualify 2010: Fourth 2014: Second round Best World Cup Match: Uruguay 2-4 (a.e.t.) Hungary (1954) 'As the media reflected on the match following the final whistle the consensus arose that this had been the greatest game in football history, for the technical accomplishment shown by the two teams as well as the excitement provided that left the spectators departing in wonder. Like many of the matches of 1954, this one would live long in the memory.' World Soccer 'Despite the absence of their natural rallying point, Varela, Uruguay demonstrated their significant experience and typical garra (fighting spirit) to prove why they had never previously lost a World Cup match.' World Soccer Best player: Juan Alberto Schiaffino 'A highly skilful and creative playmaker, at club level, he played for CA Peñarol in Uruguay, and for A.C. Milan, and Roma in Italy. At international level, he won the 1950 FIFA World Cup with the Uruguayan national team, and also took part at the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He was ranked as the best Uruguayan footballer of all time by an IFFHS poll, and the 17th greatest player of the twentieth century. Following his eight successful years in Peñarol. He played 171 games with A.C. Milan and scored 60 goals, and participated in the 1958 European Cup Final. Schiaffino won three national championships with Milan, the victories being in 1955, 1957 and 1959. Schiaffino participated actively in Uruguay's victory in the 1950 World Cup, scoring one goal in the final and beating Brazil in its own stadium, in what was called the Maracanazo. He also played in the 1954 World Cup, helping his nation to a fourth place finish in the tournament.' Present World Cup Qualification: Second in CONMEBOL Performance at Continental Championship: Group stage Most Notable Match in Qualification: Uruguay 3-0 Chile (Home) Most important player: Luis Suarez Egypt History African Cup Winners: 7 times (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010) World Cup Appearances: Twice 1930: Did not enter 1934: First round (Straight knockout format) 1938: Did not enter 1950: Did not enter 1954: Did not qualify 1958: Did not enter 1962: Did not enter 1966: Did not enter 1970: Did not enter 1974: Did not qualify 1978: Did not qualify 1982: Did not qualify 1986: Did not qualify 1990: Group stage 1994: Did not qualify 1998: Did not qualify 2002: Did not qualify 2006: Did not qualify 2010: Did not qualify 2014: Did not qualify Best World Cup Match: Egypt 1-1 Netherlands (1990) 'If not for the work of Dutch goalie Hans van Breukelen, Egypt might have won. He made two brilliant saves, with a dive on Ahmed el Kass' left-footed drive and with both hands on a spectacular header by Abdelghani late in the game.' The Los Angeles Times 'The much-heralded Dutch trio of van Basten, Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit were outplayed by such unknown players as Hassan, el-Kas and Gamal Abdel-Hamid as the trend of surprises in the first round continued.' The Los Angeles Times Best player: Mahmoud El Khatib 'Popularly nicknamed Bibo. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in African football history. "Bibo" played for El Ahly (the African club of the century), spent 16 years with the club before he retired in 1988 due to numerous injuries he suffered over the years, as he was often the target of the opposition's attention, and often fouled. "Bibo" Won the Egyptian League title ten times, the Egyptian Cup six times, The African Cup Winner's Cup three times, and the African Champions League twice with his club El Ahly. He was also chosen best player in Egypt five times during his career. In 1983, El Khatib won the France Football Award for the best African player. El Khatib was selected to be a member of the International Committee for Fair Play after playing 450 domestic and international games without being reprimanded once. In 2007 "Bibo" was named the second best African Footballer in the last 50 years by the Confederation of African Football.' Present World Cup Qualification: Group winners Performance at Continental Championship: Runners-up Most Notable Match in Qualification: Egypt 2-0 Ghana (Home) Most important player: Mohamed Salah Russia History (Since 1991) World Cup Appearances: 3 times 1994: Group stage 1998: Did not qualify 2002: Group stage 2006: Did not qualify 2010: Did not qualify 2014: Group stage Best World Cup Match: Russia 6-1 Cameroon (1994) 'Still, the match in Stanford, California, is worth mentioning since two incredible records in world cup history were made in the same match.' Football Fanaticos 'However, no player had ever scored five goals in one world cup match, and this was exactly what Oleg Salenko achieved only three minutes later, when he scored a fifth for Russia on a quick attack that tore apart the tired African defense. To this day Oleg Salenko remains the only player that has scored five goals in one world cup match.' Football Fanaticos Best player: Lev Yashin 'Nicknamed the "Black Spider" or the "Black Panther", widely regarded as the greatest goalkeeper in the history of the sport. He was known for his athleticism, positioning, stature, bravery, imposing presence in goal, and acrobatic reflex saves. Yashin earned status for revolutionising the goalkeeping position by imposing his authority on the entire defence. Yashin appeared in four World Cups from 1958 to 1970, and in 2002 was chosen on the FIFA Dream Team of the history of World Cups. In 1994, he was chosen for the FIFA World Cup All-Time Team, and in 1998 was chosen as a member of the World Team of the 20th Century. Winning a gold medal at the 1956 Olympic football tournament, and the 1960 European Championships. In 1963, Yashin received the Ballon d'Or, the only goalkeeper ever to receive the award. He was voted the best goalkeeper of the 20th century by the IFFHS. He spent his entire professional football career with Dynamo Moscow, from 1950 to 1970, winning the USSR football championship five times and the USSR Cup three times. Yashin led the Soviet team to its best showing at the FIFA World Cup, a fourth-place finish in the 1966 World Cup held in England.' Present 2018 World Cup: Host nation Performance at Continental Championship: Group stage Most important player: Igor Akinfeev Saudi Arabia History Asian Cup Winners: 3 times (1984, 1988, 1996) World Cup Appearances: 4 times National team formed in 1957 1958: Did not enter 1962: Did not enter 1966: Did not enter 1970: Did not enter 1974: Did not enter 1978: Did not qualify 1982: Did not qualify 1986: Did not qualify 1990: Did not qualify 1994: Second round 1998: Group stage 2002: Group stage 2006: Group stage 2010: Did not qualify 2014: Did not qualify Best World Cup Match: Saudi Arabia 1-0 Belgium (1994) 'The match, on June 29, again at RFK Stadium, would go down as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, in Saudi football history.' FourFourTwo Arabia 'It took Al Owairan only five minutes to pull off his near miraculous goal. In the following years many have decreed it a “lucky” goal, thanks to a couple of untidy bounces, though clearly Al Owairan is at every step in control of the ball. A more apt description would be one of the World Cup’s greatest.' FourFourTwo Arabia Best player: Majed Abdullah 'He was one of the top international scorers in the world. He won Asian Footballer of the Year three times in 1984, 1985, and 1986. He won the AFC Asian Cup twice in 1984 and 1988. He has been the league's top scorer 6 times and was nicknamed the "Arabian Jewel". Majed went on to represent Al-Nassr for more than 20 years scoring 320 goals making him Al-Nassr greatest player ever.' Present World Cup Qualification: Second-placed (Final Round of the 2 Asian Qualifying Groups) Performance at Continental Championship: Group stage Most Notable Match in Qualification: Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan (Home) Most important player: Nawaf Al Abed