World Cup 2018 Group H- POL/SEN/COL/JAP

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   With a month to go and squads starting to be announced I thought it would be an idea to start threads for the World Cup. I've put together a guide to all the teams and these threads can then be used to discuss any further developments and of course the games:

Group H
POLAND
SENEGAL
COLOMBIA
JAPAN

Schedule

June 19th 13:00        Colombia v Japan
June 19th 16:00        Poland v Senegal

June 24th 16:00        Japan v Senegal
June 24th 19:00        Poland V Colombia

June 28th 15:00        Senegal v Colombia
June 28th 15:00        Japan v Poland

Poland

FIFA ranking: 10^th 

Star Player: Robert Lewandowski- The Bayern man is a goal
machine simple as he’ll be the man who will look to fire the Poles into the
knockout stages

WC History: 3^rd place in 74 and 82

Odds: 50-1

Synopsis: Despite only dropping 5 points in qualifying and
topping the group they weren’t great at the back conceding 14 goals the most of
any team finishing in the top two in a European group. A potential tricky group
for the Poles but if Lewandowski is in form then they should have enough at
least make it through.

Squad: 

Goalkeepers: Bartosz Bialkowski (Ipswich), Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City), Wojciech Szczesny (Juventus)

Defenders: Jan Bednarek (Southampton), Bartosz Bereszynski (Sampdoria), Thiago Cionek (SPAL), Kamil Glik (AS Monaco), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warszawa), Michal Pazdan (Legia Warszawa), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski (VfL Wolfsburg), Jacek Goralski (Ludogorets Razgrad), Kamil Grosicki (Hull City), Grzegorz Krychowiak (West Bromwich Albion), Rafal Kurzawa (Gornik Zabrze), Karol Linetty (Sampdoria), Slawomir Peszko (Lechia Gdansk), Maciej Rybus (Lokomotiv Moscow), Piotr Zielinski (Napoli)

Forwards: Dawid Kownacki (Sampdoria), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Arkadiusz Milik (Napoli), Lukasz Teodorczyk (Anderlecht)

Senegal

FIFA ranking: 28^th 

Star Player: Sadio Mane- the Liverpool forward is their best
attacking threat and will be the man they look to help them repeat their 2002
heroics

WC History: Quarter Finalist 2002

Odds: 200-1

Synopsis: Won their group undefeated an initial loss to
South Africa was annulled after the ref was found guilty of match fixing, the
match was replayed in November 2017 and a 2-0 win seen them qualify. A
hardworking team which have good pace. They will be looking to cause an upset
like 2002 and hopefully get out of their group. 

Squad: 
Goalkeepers: Khadim Ndiaye (Horoya AC), Abdoulaye Diallo (Rennes), Alfred Gomis (Torino)

Defenders: Kara Mbodji (Anderlecht), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Moussa Wague (Eupen), Saliou Ciss (Angers), Youssouf Sabaly (Bordeaux), Lamine Gassama (Alanyaspor), Armand Traore (Nottingham Forest), Salif Sane (Hannover 96)

Midfielders: Pape Alioune Ndiaye (Stoke), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Cheikhou Kouyate (West Ham), Cheikh N'Doye (Birmingham)

Forwards: Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Diao Balde Keita (Monaco), Ismaila Sarr (Rennes), Diafra Sakho (Rennes), Moussa Konate (Amiens), Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke), Mbaye Niang (AC Milan).

Colombia

FIFA ranking: 16^th 

Star Player: James Rodriquez- the star of 2014 WC for them
will also be key for them here. Radamel Falcao will also be looking to put the
2014 injury hit campaign behind him and will be their biggest goal threat.

WC History: 2014 Quarter finalists

Odds: 33-1

Synopsis: Crept over the line to qualify in the end but they
are here and that is all that matters. With the talent they have in their team
they will be looking to top the group and will be hopeful of at least repeating
their 2014 QF place.

Squad: 
Goalkeepers: David Ospina (Arsenal), Camilo Vargas (Deportivo Cali), José Fernando Cuadrado (Once Caldas).

Defenders: Cristian Zapata (Milan), Dávinson Sánchez (Tottenham), Santiago Arias (PSV Eindhoven), Óscar Murillo (Pachuca), Frank Fabra (Boca Juniors), Johan Mojica (Girona), Yerry Mina (Barcelona).

Midfielders: Wílmar Barrios (Boca Juniors), Carlos Sánchez (Espanyol), Jefferson Lerma (Levante), José Izquierdo (Brighton Hove & Albion), James Rodríguez (Bayern Múnich), Abel Aguilar (Deportivo Cali), Mateus Uribe (América), Juan Fernando Quintero (River Plate), Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (Juventus).

Forwards: Radamel Falcao (Mónaco), Miguel Borja (Palmeiras), Carlos Bacca (Villarreal), Luis Fernando Muriel (Sevilla).

Japan

FIFA ranking: 60^th 

Star Player: Keisude Honda alongside Shinji Kagawa are their best creative players and they will be key to
their hopes.

WC History: two round of 16 places in 2002 and 2010

Odds: 250-1

Synopsis: Done enough to qualify and were commanding enough
in the games that mattered but dropping points to UAE and Iraq were blotches on
the copybook. A tough group for them they will looking to at least finish 2^nd
and repeat their Last 16 places of 2002 and 2010.

Squad: 
Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima (Metz), Masaaki Higashiguchi (Gamba Osaka), Kosuke Nakamura (Kashiwa Reysol)

Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo (Galatasaray), Tomoaki Makino (Urawa Reds), Wataru Endo (Urawa Reds), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Hiroki Sakai (Marseille), Gotoku Sakai (Hamburg), Gen Shoji (Kashima Antlers), Naomichi Ueda (Kashima Antlers)

Midfielders: Makoto Hasebe (Eintracht Frankfurt), Keisuke Honda (Pachuca), Takashi Inui (Eibar), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Genki Haraguchi (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Takashi Usami (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Gaku Shibasaki (Getafe), Ryota Oshima (Kawasaki Frontale)

Forwards: Shinji Okazaki (Leicester), Yuya Osako (Werder Bremen), Yoshinori Muto (Mainz)

Edited by lassassinblanc - 04 Jun 2018 at 6:57pm