WORLD CUP 2018

PREVIEWING SOCCER’S MARQUEE EVENT | A LOOK AT THE GROUPS, WITH TEAM-BY-TEAM ROSTERS AND OUTLOOKS

Russia

Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev, Vladimir Gabulov, Andrey Lunev. Defenders: Vladimir Granat, Fyodor Kudryashov, Ilya Kutepov, Andrey Semyonov, Igor Smolnikov, Mario Fernandes, Sergei Ignashevich. Midfielders: Yury Gazinsky, Alan Dzagoev, Alexander Golovin, Alexander Erokhin, Yury Zhirkov, Daler Kuzyaev, Roman Zobnin, Alexander Samedov, Anton Miranchuk, Denis Cheryshev. Forwards: Artem Dzyuba, Alexei Miranchuk, Fyodor Smolov. Noteworthy: All but two players on the roster toil in the Russian professional league.

Iran

Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand, Rashid Mazaheri, Amir Abedzadeh. Defenders: Ramin Rezaeian, Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh, Morteza Pouraliganji, Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi, Roozbeh Cheshmi, Ehsan Haji Safi, Pejman Montazeri. Midfielders: Saeid Ezatolahi, Masoud Shojaei, Mehdi Torabi, Omid Ebrahimi, Vahid Amiri. Forwards: Karim Ansarifard, Mehdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun, Ashkan Dejagah, Reza Ghoochannejhad, Saman Ghoddos, Alireza Jahanbakhsh. Noteworthy: Dejagah played for his club team, England’s Nottingham Forest, just once after joining in January.

Australia

Goalkeepers: Mat Ryan, Brad Jones, Danny Vukovic. Defenders: Josh Risdon, Trent Sainsbury, Matthew Jurman, Aziz Behich, Mark Milligan, Milos Degenek, James Meredith. Midfield: Aaron Mooy, Tom Rogic, Massimo Luongo, Mile Jedinak, Dimitri Petratos, Jackson Irvine, Mathew Leckie, Daniel Arzani. Forwards: Tim Cahill, Tomi Juric, Jamie Maclaren, Andrew Nabbout, Robbie Kruse. Noteworthy: Maclaren ended up making the roster even though he was left off the 26-man provisional roster set by Coach Bert van Marwijk.

Argentina

Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Willy Caballero, Sergio Romero. Defenders: Marcos Acuña, Cristian Ansaldi, Federico Fazio, Gabriel Mercado, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Rojo, Nicolas Tagliafico. Midfielders: Ever Banega, Lucas Biglia, Angel Di Maria, Giovani Lo Celso, Manuel Lanzini, Javier Mascherano, Maximiliano Meza, Cristian Pavon, Eduardo Salvio. Forwards: Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala, Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain. Noteworthy: Mauro Icardi, who tied as top goal-scorer in Italy’s Serie A last season, was left off the roster.

Brazil

Goalkeepers: Alisson, Ederson, Cassio. Defenders: Miranda, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Geromel, Marcelo, Fagner, Danilo, Filipe Luis. Midfielders: Casemiro, Fernandinho, Paulinho, Renato Augusto, Philippe Coutinho, Willian, Fred. Forwards: Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino, Taison, Douglas Costa. Noteworthy: There were few surprises in Coach Tite’s final roster, which was announced in mid-May.

Germany

Goalkeepers: Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp. Defenders: Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng, Joshua Kimmich, Jonas Hector, Matthias Ginter, Niklas Sule, Antonio Rudiger, Marvin Plattenhardt. Midfielders: Toni Kroos, Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Thomas Mueller, Sebastian Rudy, Marco Reus, Leon Goretzka, Julian Draxler, Ilkay Gundogan, Julian Brandt. Forwards: Timo Werner, Mario Gomez. Noteworthy: No Leroy Sane for Germany, even after the Manchester City forward was named Premier League young player of the year.

Belgium

Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Koen Casteels. Defenders: Toby Alderweireld, Dedryck Boyata, Laurent Ciman, Leander Dendoncker, Vincent Kompany, Thomas Meunier, Thomas Vermaelen, Jan Vertonghen. Midfielders: Yannick Carrasco, Kevin De Bruyne, Mousa Dembele, Marouane Fellaini, Youri Tielemans, Axel Witsel, Nacer Chadli. Forwards: Michy Batshuayi, Eden Hazard, Thorgan Hazard, Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Adnan Januzaj. Noteworthy: Kompany suffered a muscle injury June 2 in a friendly against Portugal.

Colombia

Goalkeepers: David Ospina, Camilo Vargas, Jose Fernando Cuadrado. Defenders: Cristian Zapata, Davinson Sanchez, Santiago Arias, Oscar Murillo, Frank Fabra, Johan Mojica, Yerry Mina. Midfielders: Wilmar Barrios, Carlos Sanchez, Jefferson Lerma, Jose Izquierdo, James Rodriguez, Abel Aguilar, Mateus Uribe, Juan Fernando Quintero, Juan Guillermo Cuadrado. Forwards: Radamel Falcao, Miguel Borja, Carlos Bacca, Luis Muriel. Noteworthy: Zapata made the cut despite playing in only 12 games for AC Milan this past season.

Saudi Arabia

Goalkeepers: Yasser al-Mosaileem, Abdullah al-Mayouf, Mohammed al-Owais. Defenders: Mansour al-Harbi, Yasser al-Shahrani, Osama Hawsawi, Omar Hawsawi, Motaz Hawsawi, Ali al-Bulayhi, Mohammed al-Burayk. Midfielders: Abdulla Otayf, Salman al-Faraj, Mohammed Kanno, Abdullah al-Khaibari, Hussein al-Moqahwi, Abdulmalik al-Khaibari, Hattan Bahebri, Salem al-Dawsari, Taisir alJassim, Yahya al-Shehri, Fahad al-Muwallad. Forwards: Mohannad Assiri, Mohammed al-Sahlawi. Noteworthy: Apart from three players, everyone here plays in Saudi Arabia’s pro league.

Morocco Denmark

Goalkeepers: Frederik Ronnow, Jonas Lossl, Kasper Schmeichel. Defenders: Andreas Christensen, Henrik Dalsgaard, Jannik Vestergaard, Jens Stryger Larsen, Jonas Knudsen, Mathias Jorgensen, Simon Kjaer. Midfielders: Christian Eriksen, Lasse Schone, Lukas Lerager, Michael Krohn-Dehli, Thomas Delaney, Willian Kvist. Forwards: Andreas Cornelius, Kasper Dolberg, Martin Braithwaite, Nicolai Jorgensen, Pione Sisto, Viktor Fischer, Yussuf Yurary Poulsen. Noteworthy: Striker Nicklas Bendtner was left off because of a groin injury.

Croatia

Goalkeepers: Danijel Subasic, Lovre Kalinic, Dominik Livakovic. Defenders: Vedran Corluka, Domagoj Vida, Ivan Strinic, Dejan Lovren, Sime Vrsaljko, Josip Pivaric, Tin Jedvaj, Duje Caleta-Car. Midfielders: Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Mateo Kovacic, Milan Badelj, Marcelo Brozovic, Filip Bradaric. Forwards: Mario Mandzukic, Ivan Perisic, Nikola Kalinic, Andrej Kramaric, Marko Pjaca, Ante Rebic. Noteworthy: Defender Matej Mitovic was the unlucky player left off from the 24-man provisional roster. He hasn’t played for his Belgian club team since April.

Costa Rica

Goalkeepers: Keylor Navas, Patrick Pemberton, Leonel Moreira. Defenders: Cristian Gamboa, Ian Smith, Ronald Matarrita, Bryan Oviedo, Oscar Duarte, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Francisco Calvo, Kendall Waston, Johnny Acosta. Midfielders: David Guzman, Yeltsin Tejeda, Celso Borges, Randall Azofeifa, Rodney Wallace, Bryan Ruiz, Daniel Colindres, Christian Bolanos. Forwards: Johan Venegas, Joel Campbell, Marco Urena. Noteworthy: The Ticos feature six players from Major League Soccer plus a few more that have passed through the U.S. pro league.

South Korea

Goalkeepers: Kim Seung-Gyu, Kim Jin-Hyeon, Cho Hyun-Woo. Defenders: Kim Young-Gwon, Jang Hyun-Soo, Jung Seung-Hyun, Yun Yong-Sun, Oh Ban-Suk, Kim Min-Woo, Park Joo-Ho, Hong Chul, Go Yo-Han, Lee Yong. Midfielders: Ki Sung-Yueng, Jung Woo-Young, Ju Se-Jong, Koo Ja-Cheol, Lee Jae-Sung, Lee Seung-Woo, Moon Seon-Min. Forwards: Kim Shin-Wook, Son Heung-Min, Hwang Hee-Chan. Noteworthy: Winger Lee Chung-Yong, a veteran of two World Cups, did not make the final squad after playing for Crystal Palace last season.

England

Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford, Jack Butland, Nick Pope. Defenders: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ashley Young, Gary Cahill, Phil Jones, Kieran Trippier. Midfielders: Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph. Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck. Noteworthy: Welbeck is heading to Russia even after a lackluster season at Arsenal.

Japan

Goalkeepers: Eiji Kawashima, Masaaki Higashiguchi, Kosuke Nakamura. Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Wataru Endo, Maya Yoshida, Hiroki Sakai, Gotoku Sakai, Gen Shoji, Naomichi Ueda. Midfielders: Makoto Hasebe, Keisuke Honda, Takashi Inui, Shinji Kagawa, Hotaru Yamaguchi, Genki Haraguchi, Takashi Usami, Gaku Shibasaki, Ryota Oshima. Forwards: Shinji Okazaki, Yuya Osako, Yoshinori Muto. Noteworthy: Arsenal’s Takuma Asano and Leeds United’s Yosuke Ideguchi were left off the squad.

Egypt

Goalkeepers: Essam el Hadary, Sherif Ekramy, Mohamed el Shennawy Defenders: Saad Samir, Ahmed Hegazi, Omar Gaber, Ali Gabr, Mohamed Abdel Shafy, Ayman Ashraf, Ahmed Fathy, Mahmoud Hamdy, Ahmed el Mohamady. Midfielders: Sam Morsy, Mohamed el Neny, Tarek Hamed, Abdullah el Said, Mahmoud Hassan, Amr Warda, Mahmoud Abdel Razek, Ramadan Sobhy. Forwards: Mahmoud Abdel Monem, Marwan Mohsen, Mohamed Salah. Noteworthy: Salah has made the final 23, unsurprisingly, even though his shoulder injury is expected to keep him out of the Pharaohs’ opener.

Portugal

Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes, Beto, Rui Patricio. Defenders: Bruno Alves, Cedric Soares, Jose Fonte, Mario Rui, Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro, Ricardo Pereira, Ruben Dias. Midfielders: Adrien Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Mario, Joao Moutinho, Manuel Fernandes, William Carvalho. Forwards: Andre Silva, Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gelson Martins, Goncalo Guedes, Ricardo Quaresma. Noteworthy: Ronaldo and 12 other players who led Portugal to the Euro 2016 title are back.

France

Goalkeepers: Alphone Areola, Hugo Lloris, Steve Mandanda. Defenders: Lucas Hernandez, Presnel Kimpembe, Benjamin Pavard, Benjamin Mendy, Djibril Sidibe, Adil Rami, Samuel Umtiti, Raphael Varane. Midfielders: Blaise Matuidi, N’Golo Kante, Steven N’Zonzi, Paul Pogba, Corentin Tolisso. Forwards: Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, Thomas Lemar, Nabil Fekir, Florian Thauvin, Ousmane Dembele. Noteworthy: The 23 players on the provisional roster in mid-May all survived the final culling.

Iceland

Goalkeepers: Hannes Halldorsson, Runar Runarsson, Frederik Schram. Defenders: Kari Arnason, Holmar Eyjolfsson, Rurik Gislason, Sverrir Ingason, Hordur Magnusson, Birkir Saevarsson, Ragnar Sigurdsson, Ari Skulason. Midfielders: Birkir Bjarnason, Samuel Fridjonsson, Johann Gudmundsson, Aron Gunnarsson, Emil Hallfredsson, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Olafur Skulason, Arnor Traustason. Forwards: Jon Bodvarsson, Alfred Finnbogason, Albert Gudmundsson, Bjorn Sigurdarson. Noteworthy: The squad that smited its way to the Euro 2016 quarterfinals is mostly back.

Switzerland

Goalkeepers: Roman Buerki, Yvon Mvogo, Yann Sommer. Defenders: Manuel Akanji, Johan Djourou, Nico Elvedi, Michael Lang, Stephan Lichtsteiner, Jacques-Francois Moubandje, Ricardo Rodriguez, Fabian Schaer. Midfielders: Valon Behrami, Blerim Dzemaili, Gelson Fernandes, Remo Freuler, Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Denis Zakaria, Steven Zuber. Forwards: Josip Drmic, Breel Embolo, Mario Gavranovic, Haris Seferovic. Noteworthy: Nine of the 23 have at least 50 national-team appearances for Switzerland.

Mexico

Goalkeepers: Jesus Corona, Alfredo Talavera, Guillermo Ochoa. Defenders: Hugo Ayala, Carlos Salcedo, Diego Reyes, Miguel Layun, Hector Moreno, Edson Alvarz, Jesus Gallardo. Midfielders: Rafael Marquez, Jonathan Dos Santos, Marco Fabian, Giovani dos Santos, Hector Herrera, Andres Guardado. Forwards: Raul Jimenez, Carlos Vela, Javier Hernandez, Jesus Corona, Oribe Peralta, Javier Aquino, Hirving Lozano. Noteworthy: Guardado, Reyes and Moreno all earned spots despite battling injuries that kept them out of a June 2 friendly win over Scotland.

Tunisia

Goalkeepers: Aymen Mathlouthi, Farouk Ben Mustapha, Mouez Hassen. Defenders: Hamdi Nagguez, Dylan Bronn, Rami Bedoui, Yohan Benalouane, Syam Ben Youssef, Yassine Meriah, Oussama Haddadi, Ali Maaloul. Midfielders: Ellyes Skhiri, Mohamed Amine Ben Amor, Ghaylene Chalali, Ferjani Sassi, Ahmed Khalil, Saifeddine El Khaoui. Forwards: Fakhreddine Ben Youssef, Anice Badri, Bassem Srarfi, Wahbi Khazri, Naim Sliti, Saber Khalifa. Noteworthy: Benalouane was named to the final roster even though he has only three matches of international experience.

Poland

Goalkeepers: Bartosz Bialkowski, Lukasz Fabianski, Wojciech Szczesny. Defenders: Jan Bednarek, Bartosz Bereszynski, Thiago Cionek, Kamil Glik, Artur Jedrzejczyk, Michal Pazdan, Lukasz Piszczek. Midfielders: Jakub Blaszczykowski, Jacek Goralski, Kamil Grosicki, Grzegorz Krychowiak, Rafal Kurzawa, Karol Linetty, Slawomir Peszko, Maciej Rybus, Piotr Zielinski. Forwards: Dawid Kownacki, Robert Lewandowski, Arkadiusz Milik, Lukasz Teodorczyk. Noteworthy: Glik injured his shoulder in practice hours after Poland released its final roster. He would be replaced by Marcin Kaminski.

Uruguay

Goalkeepers: Martin Campana, Fernando Muslera, Martin Silva. Defenders: Martin Caceres, Sebastian Coates, Jose Maria Gimenez, Diego Godin, Maximiliano Pereira, Gaston Silva, Guillermo Varela. Midfielders: Giorgian De Arrascaeta, Rodrigo Bentancur, Diego Laxalt, Nahitan Nandez, Cristian Rodriguez, Carlos Sanchez, Lucas Torreira, Matias Vecino, Jonathan Urretaviscaya. Forwards: Edinson Cavani, Maximiliano Gomez, Luis Suarez, Cristhian Stuani. Noteworthy: Midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro was left off the roster despite playing in the last two World Cups.

Spain

Goalkeepers: David de Gea, Pepe Reina, Kepa Arrizabalaga. Defenders: Dani Carvajal, Alvaro Odriozola, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jordi Alba, Nacho Monreal. Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Saul Niguez, Koke, Thiago Alcantara, Andres Iniesta, David Silva. Forwards: Isco, Marco Asensio, Lucas Vazquez, Iago Aspas, Rodrigo, Diego Costa. Noteworthy: Carvajal had to leave Real Madrid’s Champions League final in the first half because of injury but healed sufficiently to make Spain’s final roster.

Peru

Goalkeepers: Pedro Gallese, Carlos Caceda, Jose Carvallo. Defenders: Aldo Corzo, Luis Advincula, Christian Ramos, Miguel Araujo, Alberto Rodriguez, Anderson Santamaria, Miguel Trauco, Nilson Loyola. Midfielders: Renato Tapia, Pedro Aquino, Yoshimar Yotun, Paolo Hurtado, Christian Cueva, Edison Flores, Andy Polo, Wilder Cartagena. Forwards: Andre Carrillo, Raul Ruidiaz, Jefferson Farfan, Paolo Guerrero. Noteworthy: Midfielder Sergio Pena was cut to make room for Guerrero, the team captain whose doping ban was temporarily lifted in late May.

Nigeria

Goalkeepers: Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Daniel Akpeyi, Francis Uzoho. Defenders: William Troost-Ekong, Shehu Abdullahi, Leon Balogun, Kenneth Omeruo, Bryan Idowu, Chidozie Awaziem, Elderson Echiejile, Tyronne Ebuehi. Midfielders: Mikel Obi, Ogenyi Onazi, John Ogu, Wilfred Ndidi, Oghenekaro Etebo, Joel Obi. Forwards: Odion Ighalo, Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, Alex Iwobi, Simeon Nwankwo, Victor Moses. Noteworthy: Nwankwo was selected despite only having one match of international experience, May 28 in a friendly against Congo.

Serbia

Goalkeepers: Vladimir Stojkovic, Predrag Rajkovic, Marko Dmitrovic. Defenders: Aleksandar Kolarov, Branislav Ivanovic, Dusko Tosic, Antonio Rukavina, Milos Veljkovic, Milan Rodic, Uros Spajic, Nikola Milenkovic. Midfielders: Nemanja Matic, Luka Milivojevic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Marko Grujic, Adem Ljajic, Dusan Tadic, Filip Kostic, Andrija Zivkovic, Nemanja Radonjic. Forwards: Aleksandar Mitrovic, Aleksandar Prijovic, Luka Jovic. Noteworthy: Central defender Matija Nastasic, a regular starter, was left off the roster because of a knee injury.

Sweden

Goalkeepers: Robin Olsen, KarlJohan Johnsson, Kristoffer Nordfeldt. Defenders: Mikael Lustig, Victor Lindelof, Andreas Granqvist, Martin Olsson, Ludwig Augustinsson, Filip Helander, Emil Krafth, Pontus Jansson. Midfielders: Sebastian Larsson, Albin Ekdal, Emil Forsberg, Gustav Svensson, Oscar Hiljemark, Viktor Claesson, Marcus Rohden, Jimmy Durmaz. Forwards: Marcus Berg, John Guidetti, Ola Toivonen, Isaac Kiese Thelin. Noteworthy: Jakob Johansson, who scored the goal that sent Sweden into the World Cup during European qualifying, will miss the tournament with a knee injury.

Panama

Goalkeepers: Jose Calderon, Jaime Penedo, Alex Rodriguez. Defenders: Felipe Baloy, Harold Cummings, Eric Davis, Fidel Escobar, Adolfo Machado, Michael Murillo, Luis Ovalle, Roman Torres. Midfielders: Edgar Barcenas, Armando Cooper, Anibal Godoy, Gabriel Gómez, Valentin Pimentel, Alberto Quintero, Jose Luis Rodriguez. Forwards: Abdiel Arroyo, Ismael Diaz, Blas Perez, Luis Tejada, Gabriel Torres. Noteworthy: Jose Luis Rodriguez is just 19 and made his national-team debut in late May against Northern Ireland.

Senegal

Goalkeepers: Khadim Ndiaye, Abdoulaye Diallo, Alfred Gomis. Defenders: Kara Mbodji, Kalidou Koulibaly, Moussa Wague, Saliou Ciss, Youssouf Sabaly, Lamine Gassama. Midfielders: Pape Alioune Ndiaye, Idrissa Gana Gueye, Salif Sane, Cheikhou Kouyate, Cheikh N’Doye, Alfred Ndiaye. Forwards: Sadio Mane, Keita Balde, Ismaila Sarr, Diafra Sakho, Moussa Sow, Moussa Konate, Mame Diouf, Mbaye Niang. Noteworthy: Forward Oumar Niasse (Everton) was left off the final roster. From wire reports