Fantasy World Cup Preview Group H

Fantasy World Cup Preview Group H

GROUP H RUSSIA, SOUTH KOREA, BELGIUM, ALGERIA

Our World Cup previews conclude with Group H and we would like to extend a very warm welcome and thank you to Potty as he gives us his take on Group H, the teams involved, which players you should pick and who is likely to progress.

We hope you have enjoyed reading all of the group previews over the last week or so and we would like to sincerely thank all eight of the writers for making this possible and for all of their time, research and effort.

Some of you will have registered already but if not the site that we are using for this years game is Mcdonalds Fantasy World Cup, you can register here. You can register now and you can begin to pick your squad from June 8th ahead of the big kick-off on June 12th. We will publish the FF247 league codes as soon as the league option is open on there. In the meantime we encourage you to plan ahead and as such here’s Group H for you all…

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Algeria
Overview
1000/1 to lift the World Cup.
So firstly my knowledge on Algeria is that on my Freeview they have a bloody News feed which has helped me no end! The Dessert Foxes as they are affectionately known in the Potty household may just become the cannon fodder of this group. In their most recent tournament, the African Nations Cup in 2013, they did not make the knockout stages in the heat of South Africa so all bodes well for the cool climate of Brazil (I think not).
The strengths of this Algerian squad lies within the inclusion of many French born youth Internationals of Algerian descent and the feeling within the camp is that they will play with much pride and endeavour. Their coach Vahid Halilhodzic aged 61 is no mug as in 2010 he guided the Ivory Coast to the World Cup finals, his preferred line-up is a 4-2-3-1 formation and all the squad know exactly what he wants from them.

Fantasy player perspective
Carl Medjani (central defender).
Plays his football for the French side Valenciennes and aged 28 he is at his peak in football terms. He made 8 appearances in the qualifiers playing 720mins and scored once, he is the rock of the back four.
Sofiane Feghouli (attacking midfielder).
This lad is good and don’t be surprised if you see him in the Premier league next season. Turning in great performance’s in La Liga for Valencia this past season, his belief in taking his game to the opposing side may cause the odd upset by Algeria in this group. 3 goals in 7 qualifiers and 600mins under his belt makes this pocket dynamo a very appealing asset to one’s own team.
Islam Slimani (centre forward).
Play’s as the lone hit man upfront and has the nickname “slice salami” plus he has his 26th birthday while in Brazil. He will be key to everything good that Algeria do and on route to Rio he appeared in 7 games, clocked up 472mins but more impressively he hit the net 5 times. Islam is a nice back-up forward to employ at what I imagine to be a low price.

Fixtures
Algeria’s Matches are,
June 17th v Belgium.
June 22nd v South Korea.
June 26th v Russia.
Potty’s View; The Foxes could upset South Korea but will get no change from Belgium or Russia, in all seriousness they will struggle and an early exit is predicted.

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Belgium
Overview
14/1 to lift the World Cup.
My memory of Belgium is normally a blurry one due to many glasses of Stella Artois but that’s another story folks!
Talk of winning the competition is rife on the cobbled streets of Brussels and why not? Back in 2007 they were ranked 71st in the official FIFA rankings and now 7 years later they sit 5th which is a mighty fine rise and food for thought! The entire Belgium squad ply their trade in the top European leagues making them a serious contender for that golden trophy as Belgium are now a major force in World Football.
The manager Marc Wilmots a former national team striker himself for Belgium is a curious character indeed and complex. Now a warning for us all, what Wilmot says happens, so be wary when selecting your squad as in the qualifiers on numerous occasions he benched the likes of Hazard, Fellaini and Dembele and will do this again over in Brazil.

Fantasy player perspective
Players with FF points potential are….no need to mention Hazard, Lukaku or Kompany as we know all about them and what they can deliver so below are two to consider.
Thibaut Courtois (goalkeeper).
As you read this the Atletico Madrid shot stopper may be wearing a Champion’s League medal around his neck in what has been a brilliant season for him (he isn’t!). Aged 22, with hands like shovel’s he is now world class, he featured in 10 qualifying games and helped book the Belgians a slot in the summer’s finals. He won’t be cheap but the defence in front of him means he is to be my No1.
Kevin De Bruyne (attacking midfielder).
In many eyes Kev failed at Chelsea but don’t let this put you off regarding his wonderful talent. Wilmots is a true fan of his skilful play and he will be given a key role to play. 10 appearances and 4 goals in the qualifying matches mean a fine World Cop is in store for De Bruyne.

Fixtures
Belgium’s matches are,
June 17th v Algeria.
June 22nd v Russia.
June 26th v South Korea.
Potty’s View; Well the Belgians will get out of this group with ease, not maximum points but 7 at least, gained by good all round team play.

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Russia
Overview
66/1 to lift the World Cup.
Over in Moscow, famous for Sergei the Meerkat and hundreds of vodka filled Ruskies doing a funny dance, they believe they can lift the world Cup! Well with every Englishman’s favourite coach, Fabio Capello, running their side, I must disagree! 12 years have passed since they last played in this tournament and the squads ageing players will struggle in the Brazilian heat. On route to Rio they did beat Portugal, Israel and Northern Ireland to name a few so Fab may have a glimmer of hope.

Fantasy player perspective
Roman Shirokov (central midfield).
Only recently given the Captaincy by the coach which may prove to be a masterstroke, he is a playmaker with much ability to hurt teams as his goals in the Russian’s campaign to Rio showed, one hell of a Fantasy must have.
Aleksandr Kokorin (centre forward).
Plays for Dynamo Moscow and this star knows where the onion sack is! His record in the qualifiers was 8 starts, playing 503mins, scoring 4 goals and with a constant supply of ammunition from Samedov and Zhirkov he will worry many a defender in this group.

Fixtures
Russia’s matches are,
June 17th v South Korea.
June 22nd v Belgium.
June 26th v Algeria.
Potty’s View; Only one outcome for the Russians and that’s an early flight home, with Belgium and South Korea inflicting defeats on them their sole win versus Algeria will offer little comfort and will result in Capello receiving yet another P45.

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South Korea
Overview
500/1 to lift the World Cup.
The key to a footballer’s mindfulness and fitness is a healthy diet and in their World Cup base of Cuiaba it will feel like home due to the streets being rife with stray cats, now onto the football.
Managed by Hong Myung-Bo and aided by his bilingual specialist Bench and his “benchish” the language barrier is now overcome. Also Bo himself has played in 4 World Cup Finals and his young team will show us all how this game should be played, with the youngest and fastest group of players out in Brazil they will do well.

Fantasy player perspective
Kim Young-Gwon (defender).
Only 24 and already a versatile accomplished defender amongst the Koreans back 4 unit, great in the air and with a decent turn of pace this lad will be a nailed on starter that’s for sure, a must have.
Park Chu-Young (centre forward).
Recently clocked to be faster than Ronaldo and playing in England for Watford he truly is a remarkable striker, with 7 appearances in qualifiers and 6 goals too, Park Chu is bang in form and bang in my team.

Fixtures
South Korea’s matches are.
June 17th v Russia.
June 22nd v Algeria.
June 26th v Belgium.
Potty’s View; Pleasing on the eye, fast and talented, the South Koreans will make the final 16 with smiles on their faces and I can’t wait to watch them.

That’s the last of The World Cup Group Preview’s.
Bring the action on I say.
Potty.

Thanks for reading Fantasy World Cup Preview Group H this article was written by Potty