Pre-season highlights: The biggest talking points of FIFA World Cup ’18

ome 14 July and the whole world will go football mad. The day will mark the inauguration of FIFA World Cup 2018, being hosted in Russia. Thirtytwo national teams will be competing for top honours in the month-long tournament, and every game is likely to be watched by millions worldwide.

Can Germany maintain their dominance on the pitch? Will the old favourite Brazil emerge the winner this time round? Or would some unlikely victor take us all by surprise? There’s no telling which way the tide might turn. But football isn’t simply about winning and losing. There are other aspects of the beautiful game that are worth the attention. Here, for example, are five sub-narratives of the larger story of FIFA 2018 that every football fan will be following. On 16 June, Iceland will play their opening match against Argentina in FIFA World Cup 2018. So it’s straight to the big stage for the most promising underdog of the tournament.

Iceland surprised the world with their performance in UEFA European Championship 2016 by defeating Austria and England, and making it to the quarter finals. The football team representing one of the world’s smallest nations had emerged as a force to reckon with.

For World Cup 2018 will be a challenge for Iceland. For one thing, they have been allotted a tough—facing the might of Argentina and Croatia in the league stage. But Iceland have surprised us before, and there’s no reason they can’t surprise us again.