The World Cup has begun, and with it have come lots of super exciting games and some surprises. It really isn't as action-packed as I thought it would be because some of us are rooting for Lionel Messi and Argentina, who lost their opening game to Saudi Arabia.
The World Cup as we all know has put a brief stop to our Fantasy League but that doesn't seem to be stopping us as we have the Hive Fantasy World Cup that we are having fun with. Yes, the rules seem a bit confusing for now but we are definitely getting a hang of it.
Groups G and H are one of my favourite groups with very interesting matchups. we will be trying to give us all a preview of what Group G and H are about.
Group G
Group G is comprised of Brazil, who are also the most decorated World Cup nation with 5 trophies under their belts; European nations Switzerland and Serbia; and lastly, African giants Cameroon. Let's take a closer look at the teams in the group starting with Brazil.
Brazil
The Brazillian national team or Selacao as it is nicknamed are the most decorated team in the World Cup and is the only team to have been present in every World Cup tournament since its inception of the tournament, and have the best world cup record with 73 wins, 18 draws and 18 losses.
Unfortunately, Brazil haven't had World Cup Success in the last 20 years with their best performance since 2022 coming in the 2014 world cup which they hosted. They ended up being heavily thrashed by Germany in the semifinal 7 goals to 1.
This year seems to be different for the Brazillian team as they have even been dubbed tournament favourites with a 16% chance of winning the title. They have very strong teams with a few veterans trying one last time to win the coveted competition for their country before they finally retire.
Brazil would be a force to reckon with in this competition and I might even go all the way, but first, they need to qualify from their group.
Serbia
The Serbian national team is a breakout of former Yugoslavia, and although this nation has had its fair share of unrest and sanctions that made it miss out on some UEFA and FIFA competitions in the past they have always been a footballing nation to reckon with.
Serbia or Serbia and Montenegro as they were known before the independence and eventual division, qualified for the 2006, 2010 and 2018 World Cup but always couldn't get out of the group stages.
The 2022 World Cup would hopefully be different for the Balkan nation as they have a squad that has been together for a while and important players like Aleks Mitrovic of Fulham and Juventus top man Dusan Vlahovic.
Switzerland
The Swiss team is the second European side in this group and also a team well-known for its defending prowess. They hold the record in the World Cup for the longest a team has stayed without conceding a goal in 2010 when they conceded their first goal in the tournament in the round of 16 against Chile, a goal that resulted in their elimination. They are also the only team to have been eliminated from the World Cup without conceding a goal in the 2006 World Cup.
Besides their defensive strengths, the Swiss team have always proved to be a very balanced team who always put a very strong representation of themselves as a footballing nation. In 1994 with English Manager Roy Hodgson in charge, they rose to 3rd in the FIFA Men's Team ranking.
The Switzerland team would be led by their captain and Arsenal's midfield maestro Granit Zhaka, a view many Premier League fans would love to see and hopefully enjoy. Also, the very creative Xherdan Shaqiri is a member of this solid Switzerland team and hopefully, they could qualify from the group stage once more as they used to in their early World Cup appearances.
Cameroon
The Indomitable Lions of Cameroon have been arguably one of Africa's best footballing exports by constantly giving a good representation of themselves and showing the World that African teams are not just layovers.
The Cameroon national team have qualified for the World Cup eight times, with 4 consecutive appearances between 1990 to 2002. Unfortunately, they have only qualified from the group stages once even though they are the first African team to qualify for the quarter-final of any World Cup competition.
The 2022 World Cup team of Cameroon is quite interesting with very interesting talents like Bryan Mbuemo of Brentford and Maxim Choupo-Moting of Bayern Munich. The team comprises many interesting footballers who ply their trade in every corner of the World, and hopefully, we would see the Indomitable Lion try to stay unconquered in this tournament.
Group H
Portugal
The Portugues team has always been one to reckon with even though they are yet to win the competition, they have constantly been a team that gave a lot of the other teams and sometimes eventual champions a headache. The Portuguese team has had very prolific players who have been adjudged the best in the world at one time or the other in players like Eusebio, Figo and very recently Christiano Ronaldo.
Their best performances in a World Cup has come in 2006 and 1966 where they were both times beaten in the semifinals by France and England respectively.
Portugal at the moment has one of football's GOAT still playing the game in Christiano Ronaldo. He might have a lot on his plate with the drama surrounding him and his employers Man Utd at the moment and the fact that he isn't as young and vibrant as he was in his first World Cup appearance in 2006 but he is still indeed a great leader and hopefully, with this very strong Portuguese team they could go all the way.
Portugal has one of the best midfield duo in Bernando Silva and Bruno Fernandes at the moment as well as Defensive genius Cancelo. The Portuguese team do not seem to be lacking in any department and should indeed do well in this competition.
Ghana
The Black Stars of Ghana have only qualified for 3 World cup tournaments before the Qatar 2022 World Cup but are also one of the only 4 African nations to make it to the quarter-finals.
Ghana's best outing in a World Cup was in 2010 were they were a spot kick away from making it into the semi-finals but their captain couldn't keep a level head and convert the penalty.
This Ghana team is filled with so much talent, with members of the squad playing their trade in good teams all around the world. Hopefully, they would be able to show the world that they have a lot up their sleeve.
Uruguay
Uruguay are arguably one of the most successful teams in the history of this tournament having won the maiden event in 1930 and the second title in 1950. The Uruguay team has qualified for the World Cup 14 times and was in 2010 semi-finalists, only losing by a one-goal difference to the Netherlands.
This would seem like the last chance of glory for veterans like Luis Suarez and Edison Cavani to salvage the last parts of their careers by doing their country proud in this competition.
Liverpool's superfast and lethal striker Darwin Nunez is also a part of the Uruguay team and is expected to be an instant success in this competition.
South Korea
The South Korean team are a major football powerhouse in Asia since the 1980s and have had a lot of success in the continent to show their domination. They have participated in 10 consecutive World Cups and 11 in total.
They are the only Asian team to reach the semifinals in this competition when in 2002 they were co-hosts with Japan and made it as far as the semifinal of the competition. They lost to Germany by a single goal in what has been Asia's best performance in any World Cup.
South Korea would be captained by one of their greatest exports in Tottenham's Son Heung-Min and hopefully, they could go all the way this time in the competition, but first, they need to qualify from this very difficult group