Group G's General Discussion Thread

Some of these guys I thought had already retired.

 

Belgium are the most talented team but I am really not convinced that they will win the group. They are very liable at the back and Rudi Garcia is NOT a good manager.

I have a strong feeling Egypt wins this group and beats Belgium with structure and organization and better tactics that'll overcome Belgium's superior talent but disorganization and lack of smart game plan.

I wouldn't be surprised if New Zealand gets 3 draws again like 2010. Anyways I think they're underrated a bit and just haven't been tested properly for a very long time. I think they're organized well.

Iran I don't see much from them. They are worse than 2022 world cup in talent and coaching, and that 2022 team was already in decline and had a lot of trouble finishing and in the final third. Also on top of that with the war, emotions, etc, I have strong doubts.

My Prediction:
1. Egypt
2. Belgium
3. New Zealand
4. Iran

 

I really like this group because it is such a hot mess of unpredictability.
Belgium are huge favorites but they have a lot of old has beens.
Iran we all know their off the field struggles and controversies.
Egypt has a couple of very good attackers but they never seem to do well in WCs. Their glories are mostly in African Cups.
New Zealand can compete for second only cause the other two teams are just not that great.

 

Talented?? how so?

 

Belgium is one lucky team

 

Yeah the one team that doesn't deserve a top seed got the easiest group.

 

Its funny because this group also reminded me of that 2010 group. You have your "big" UEFA team that's on a pretty big decline, NZ and two average teams. Though "average" may be a compliment in this case - that 2010 group was probably a bit tougher.

 

Exactly! I’d say this New Zealand side is probably a similar level to like Saudi Arabia 2022 or Tunisia 2022 or even Costa Rica 2022 which did come last in their group but it was group of death and they beat Japan and caused Germany problems.

This New Zealand team is are no pushovers and are capable of advancing. Expect all teams in this group to struggle against them even if some will win in the end.

 

Looking at Belgium through a positive lens:

*They have a world-class goalkeeper, plus several players ranging from match-winning (De Bruyne, Doku, Trossard) to quite good (77% play in the top 5 leagues).

*You don't need to be consistently good to do well in a tournament/cup. Finding momentum at the right time matters more, provided that you have those special key players. Sometimes, even those aren't necessary, because you can always fluke your way through draws, penalties, and a bit of luck.

*They are way past the post-Golden Generation era, although a few of them are still around. While this says something about the quality decline, they are still a "normal good" team with very little pressure. Playing without big expectations while simultaneously having the likes of Courtois and De Bruyne could be a win-win

*Rudi Garcia has only lost one game with Belgium so far. Sure, too many draws and conceded goals, but it's not a disaster really

*No outrageous squad omissions (maybe Matz Sels, but he's a backup), based on reactions to the selection. So Belgium is pretty much giving themselves the best possible chance from a personnel perspective.

*Looking at Lukaku's lack of match form from a positive angle, we have a forward who has almost always delivered for his national team who is not exhausted after a long season.

*The group they're in gives them a softer start to the tournament than had they had tougher opponents

 

I am kinda rooting for Lukaku. He probably is still having nightmares from all the near misses he had last W. C. tournament. Should have buried a few against Croatia and eliminated them early on.

 

Paraguay 2010 was a world class team. Slovakia was decent. But yeah Italy in a lot of decline with so many aging players that were past their prime and shouldn’t have been there as well as some key players like Pirlo and Buffon injured and unable to play fully.

 

What about at the back though? Without a defense there’s a lot of trouble. And also are you familiar with Rudi Garcia’s coaching history? He’s not good at all and also is notorious for the defense with the teams he coaches.

 

A lot of Iran's potential in the tournament IMO comes down to the final squad choices.

There are talks of Azmoun "being forgiven" and coming back.

If Ghalenoei does not cut the younger squad players like Razzaghinia or Taheri for his oldie favorites we might still have a chance.

If Eckert fits in well would be excellent also.

From all media I see, they are treating the first game vs New Zealand as a world cup final; where a win might ensure breaking the ceiling of never getting out of the group stage.

 

Putting that much pressure on one game could backfire.

 

Yeah, so he'll have something to prove this time! If he get to "stat pad" in the group stage, he'll be confident during the knockouts.

Well, I was focusing specifically on the positives, not trying to be completely nuanced. There is no denying that defense is a clear downgrade compared to when they had the likes of Kompany, Vermaelen, Alderweireld, and Vertonghen.

While Rudi Garcia is far from a great manager, it's not like he hasn't achieved anything in his career. Winning Ligue 1 with Lille and reaching the Europa League final with Marseille. Also, he finished second place with Roma two seasons in a row. When he got sacked mid-way through his final season, Roma was in 5th place. Does past achievements mean anything with regards to how he is today in 2026? Not necessarily (and he's had low points recently), but looking at it through the lens of the Belgian FA's budget, it's a decent hire compared to Wilmots and Tedesco. Who would be your ideal but realistic choice of manager?

 

I mean I think Roberto Martinez was the best you guys had for sure. I didn't think Tedesco was bad at all, do you think so? I definitely think Garcia is worse than Tedesco and potentially comparable to Wilmots.

As for Garcia, Europa League final to Marseille, he honestly had a fairly easy route there, and there was a very controversial decision ahead of the goal that sent Marseille passed RB Salzburg in semifinals. Corner should've never happened. VAR would've overturned that if we had it back then.

And also making second with Roma those 2 seasons in a row, Serie A was very weak those two seasons besides Juventus. Juventus was the only strong Serie A team at that time, and the rest of the teams were extremely questionable and in decline. Roma were extremely inconsistent under Garcia.