THE ALS WORLD CUP TEAM GUIDE (PART 3)

The 23rd edition of the World Cup is almost upon us, with 48 teams, three host nations, 16 stadiums and 104 matches, it’s the biggest ever. Here’s a brief(ish) overview of every country in Groups G,H and I (here's a link to the second part) at the upcoming tournament and how I think they’ll get on:

BELGIUM

RANKED: 9TH

MY PREDICTION: QUARTER FINAL

They should top their group and get favourable opponents in the first two knockout rounds. It’s generally accepted that Belgium’s golden generation has now come to an end but they still have some decent talents, such as captain Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa), forward Leandro Trossard (Arsenal) and defensive midfielder Amadou Onona (Villa). They also have veterans, namely Kevin De Bruyne and Thibaut Courtois. Their youngest player at this World Cup is 20-year-old goalkeeper Mike Penders, who plays for Chelsea but spent the most recent campaign on loan at Strasbourg. Frenchman Rudi Garcia is the boss, this is his first job at international level after spending his entire managerial career before this in charge of club sides.

IRAN

RANKED: 20TH

MY PREDICTION: ROUND OF 32

At the time of writing, their main obstacle getting out of the group is likely to be their struggles with the USA off the pitch. They won’t be allowed to stay in the United States and thus will have to travel to and from the country (via Mexico) in between games. Still, they should be able to get out of their group. Most of their squad plays their club football in Iran, with most of the foreign based players turning out for teams in the UAE (although they have two squad members in Belgium and one apiece in Greece and Russia). Their two players with the most name recognition to us in the UK are likely to be striker Mehdi Taremi (Olympiacos, formerly of Inter Milan) and winger/attacking midfielder Alireza Jahanbakhsh (Dender, formerly of Brighton and Hove Albion). Their captain is 36-year-old left back Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan) and their youngest player is Amirmohammad Razzaghinia (Esteghlal). Amir Ghalenoei will be in the dugout, he previously led the national team to success at the 2023 CAFA Nations Cup.

EGYPT

RANKED: 29TH

MY PREDICTION: ROUND OF 32

They’ll be one of the third placed teams that go through to the knockouts. You’ll know about their captain, Mohammed Salah, and you’ll have heard about Manchester City forward Omar Marmoush too. The remainder of the squad is mostly contracted to Egyptian clubs. Born on New Years’ Day 2008, striker Hamza Abdelkarim is their youngest squad member. He plays for Al Ahly but has been out on loan in Barcelona’s youth system recently. Manager Hossam Hassan enjoyed a successful playing career with The Pharaohs, winning the Africa Cup of Nations three times and becoming the national team’s all time top goalscorer.

NEW ZEALAND

RANKED: 85TH

MY PREDICTION: GROUP STAGE

After a 4-0 battering at the hands of Haiti in a warmup match, I can’t see New Zealand getting much from this group. Their best player is of course Chris Wood, who is understandably their captain but they also have Ben Waine (Port Vale) amongst their ranks. He’s the one who knocked Sunderland out of the FA Cup last season. You might also be familiar with the name of centre back Tommy Smith, who ‘played’ for Sunderland in 2020, albeit without making a single appearance. Smith is now at sixth tier Braintree Town and also going to a World Cup, which is impressive if anything else. Another centre back, 21-year-old Tyler Bindon of Nottingham Forest, takes the crown of New Zealand’s youngest player at this tournament. Northampton-born Darren Bazeley is their current manager, he won them the 2024 OFC Nation’s Cup.

SPAIN

RANKED: 2ND

MY PREDICTION: THIRD PLACE

Definitely one of the contenders to win it, they’ll just miss out on the final. The last time anyone was able to beat them in 90 minutes was in March 2024 and the last time they were beaten in 90 minutes in a competitive match was a year prior to that. They’ve got a strong contingent of Barcelona players such as, Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal (their youngest player) and Eric Garcia. Despite his injury problems in the last few years, captain Rodri (Manchester City) remains a fantastic player to have and they have a squad mostly under the age of 30 but with experience at the back through the likes of Aymeric Laporte (Athletic Bilbao) and Marcos Llorente (Atletico Madrid). Boss Luis de la Fuente has already won two trophies with them, the 2023 Nations League and Euro 2024.

URUGUAY

RANKED: 16TH

MY PREDICTION: ROUND OF 32

They have a squad capable of going further but they’ll get a tough team in the round of 32 and won’t be able to go deep into the tournament. They have three players who play in England currently, centre back Santiago Bueno (Wolverhampton Wanderers), central midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur (Tottenham Hotspur) and defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte (Manchester United). They also have striker Darwin Nunez, who goes into the tournament as the squad member with the joint most goals for the national team, alongside attacking midfielder Giorgian de Arrascaeta, both with 13 goals. Their youngest player is still 24, Facundo Pellistri of Panathinaikos. Former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa leads them into this World Cup.

SAUDI ARABIA

RANKED: 61ST

MY PREDICTION: ROUND OF 32

The last (and only) time they made it out of their group at a World Cup was in 1994, when the US were last the hosts. I think history will repeat itself. The Green Falcons are capable of making a splash at these tournaments, beating eventual champions Argentina 2-1 last time around. Their entire squad (with the exception of right back Saud Abdulhamid, who plays for Lens) plays in Saudi Arabia. 34-year-old left winger Salem Al-Dawsari (Al-Hilal) is the captain and 22-year-old midfielder Musab Al-Juwayr (Al-Qadsiah) is the youngest. Former Greece international Georgios Donis, who played for Blackburn Rovers, Sheffield United and Huddersfield Town in England, is their manager.

CAPE VERDE

RANKED: 67TH

MY PREDICTION: GROUP STAGE

World Cup debutants Cape Verde have already exceeded expectations by reaching the tournament, with the country being home to just over half a million people. Captain Ryan Mendes (Igdir, formerly Nottingham Forest) is their most capped player and top goalscorer, 98 caps and 22 goals. Other key players include left back Stopira, who plays for Sunderland’s potential Europa League opponents Torreense, and winger Garry Rodrigues (Apollon Limassol). 2025 CAF Coach of the Year, Bubista (he won the award for guiding The Blue Sharks to this tournament), is their boss. 23-year-old Lisbon-born right back Wagner Pina (Trabzonspor) will be their youngest player.

FRANCE

RANKED: 3RD

MY PREDICTION: WINNERS

I think they’ll go one better than last time and win their second World Cup in three tournaments. A world champion twice now, once as a player and once as a manager, Didier Deschamps is now in his 14th year in the dugout for The Blues. Although they do have a number of players in the Premier League such as defenders Lucas Digne (Aston Villa) and William Saliba (Arsenal), they have players all over Europe. Most notably, there’s captain Kylian Mbappe (Real Madrid) but I’d also highlight forward Ousmane Dembele (Paris Saint-Germain) and defender Adrien Rabiot (Milan). Their youngest player is 20-year-old Warren Zaire-Emery (midfielder, PSG).

SENEGAL:

RANKED: 15TH

MY PREDICTION: ROUND OF 16

Senegal are likely to get quite a bit of extra attention from Wearside during the World Cup, with Sunderland’s record signing, Habib Diarra, being named in the squad. They also have other English top flight players, Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham) and Iliman Ndiaye (also Everton) to name but a few. Their captain is defender Kalidou Koulibaly (formerly Chelsea, now Al-Hilal) and their youngest squad member is 18-year-old forward Ibrahim Mbaye (PSG). Pape Thiaw leads them after the latest AFCON, where Senegal were retrospectively made runners up, after winning it on the pitch. He and his team will feel highly aggrieved at that decision and will probably want to progress further than Morocco to prove a point.

NORWAY:

RANKED: 31ST

MY PREDICTION: GROUP STAGE

In a lot of the other groups, I think they would have progressed to the knockouts but due to how tough their actual one is I think they’re doomed to a short tournament. Obviously though, whilst you have Erling Haaland in your team, that’s far from an inevitability and they’ll want to make a decent impression after qualifying for the first time since 1998. Captain Martin Odergaard is a good player as well and they can also call upon Atletico Madrid striker Alexander Sorloth. Former Wolves manager Stale Solbakken manages Red, White and Blue and Antonio Nusa of RB Leipzig is their youngest talent.

IRAQ

RANKED: 56TH

MY PREDICTION: GROUP STAGE

Their first World Cup in 40 years hasn’t given them a kind group, so they’ll be on the plane home quite early you’d have to think. That’s what happened in 1986, when they lost all three of their group games. Ipswich Town forward Ali Al-Hamadi and Zidane Iqbal of Utrecht (formerly Man United) are two names you might be familiar with. Their captain is 35-year-old ‘keeper Jalal Hassan, he’s the oldest in the squad. Comparatively, 22-year-old Norway-born forward Marko Farji is the youngest. Former Australia manager Graham Arnold will hope to make headlines by getting them out of their group.