2018 World Cup, Group D: Argentina Clear Frontrunners, Croatia Hoping To Make A Mark

The FIFA World Cup is always an incredible spectacle as it gathers all the best players in the world for a football festival that lasts one amazing month. Hosts Russia will take on Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the quadrennial event in which 32 teams will fight for the title to be called world's best. The teams have been divided into eight groups of four each and Group D will be one of the most entertaining to watch as it contains arguably the greatest football player of all time. This group appears to be the so-called 'Group of Death', with Argentina, Croatia, Nigeria and Iceland all fighting to reach the knockout stages.

Group D teams: Argentina, Croatia, Iceland, Nigeria

Now, let us get to know more about this collection of teams that make up perhaps the most entertaining group of the tournament.

Argentina

A turbulent qualification campaign saw Argentina book their place at the last opportunity with a victory over Ecuador, but the losing finalists in 2014 will be looking to go one better. However, a Lionel Messi-less side's 1-6 loss to Spain in March suggests that this is a big ask. They are most certainly not a one-man team but Lionel Messi scored at least five more goals than any other Argentinian in qualification and will, of course, be marked heavily in every game that Argentina play.

Chelsea's Willy Caballero, following an injury to Sergio Romero, is Argentina's first choice goalkeeper and is protected by former Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano and Manchester City's Nicolas Otamendi.

Captain: Lionel Messi

Head coach: Jorge Sampaoli

FIFA ranking: 5

World Cup appearances: 16

Best finish: Champions in 1978 and 1986

Players to watch: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala

Fixtures

16 June: vs. Iceland at Spartak Stadium, Moscow 
21 June: vs. Croatia at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod 
26 June: vs. Nigeria at Saint Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg

Croatia

Since reaching the semi-finals at France 1998, Croatia have failed to make it out of the group. Ivan Rakitic, Luka Modric and Ivan Perisic are exciting creative options for coach Zlatko Dalic, who was brought in at the end of qualification to steer Croatia to Russia. They have made it to the quarter-finals of the European Championships twice but have never won an international tournament.

Croatia's midfield is one of the best in international football containing Real Madrid's Modric and Mateo Kovacic along with Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic and Inter Milan's Ivan Perisic and Marcelo Brozovic.

Captain: Luka Modric

Head coach: Zlatko Dalic

FIFA ranking: 18

World Cup appearances: 4

Best finish: Third place in 1998

Players to watch: Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic

Fixtures

16 June: vs. Nigeria at Kaliningrad Stadium in Kaliningrad
21 June: vs. Argentina at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod 
26 June: vs. Iceland at Rostov Arena, Rostov-On-Don 

Iceland

The smallest nation by population ever to qualify for the World Cup finals, Iceland followed up their Euro 2016 heroics by topping a group featuring Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey. However, Everton star Gylfi Sigurdsson's knee injury is an unwanted concern heading into the tournament.

Incredibly, this is only Iceland's second-ever appearance at an international tournament, their first at the World Cup. They may have very few household names but they will definitely be ready to cause an upset.

Captain: Aron Gunnarsson

Head coach: Heimir Hallgrimsson

FIFA ranking: 22

World Cup appearances: None

Best finish: 2018 is Iceland's debut

Players to watch: Gylfi Sigurdsson, Alfred Finnbogason, Kolbeinn Sigborsson

Fixtures

16 June: vs. Argentina at Spartak Stadium, Moscow 
22 June: vs. Nigeria at Volgograd Arena, Volgograd 
26 June: vs. Croatia at Rostov Arena, Rostov-On-Don 

Nigeria

An impressive qualifying campaign booked Nigeria's place in Russia. The Super Eagles have only missed one of the last seven tournaments but 2014's victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina was their first since 1998. Nigeria have never made it past the last 16 at the World Cup and were knocked out four years ago in Brazil by France.

This will be Nigeria's 6th World Cup and they will be desperate to please the millions of African fans supporting them from around the world.

Captain: John Obi Mikel

Head coach: Gernot Rohr

FIFA ranking: 47

World Cup appearances: Five

Best finish: Round of 16 in 1994, 1998 and 2014

Players to watch: John Obi Mikel, Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi.

Fixtures

16 June: vs. Croatia at Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad 
22 June: vs. Iceland at Volgograd Arena, Volgograd 
26 June: vs. Argentina at Saint Petersburg Stadium, St Petersburg 

Topics mentioned in this article

Argentina Croatia Nigeria Iceland Lionel Messi Luka Modric Football 2018 FIFA World Cup