Group D will bring together Argentina, Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria.
Group D Calendar 16. 06 Argentina - Iceland (Opening Arena, Moscow) 16. 06 Croatia - Nigeria (Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad) 21. 06 Argentina - Croatia (Stadium Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod) 22. 06 Nigeria - Iceland (Volgograd Arena, Volgograd) 26. 06 Nigeria - Argentina (Stadium St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg) 26. 06 Iceland - Croatia (Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don) Status: Ukraine could be in their place ... In the group D, the opponents of the Ukrainian national selection team - Croatia and Iceland, will compete with Argentina and Nigeria. The first place will almost certainly be given to South Americans, but how it will be distributed all the other positions in the quartet is difficult to predict. Iceland was stronger than Croatia in the qualifying round, but the individual class of the Balkans is an order of magnitude higher. The Greeks in the play-offs already felt how "checkered" played after coming to the coaching bridge Zlatko Dalicha. Nigeria, too, should not be discounted - Africans are strong and are quite capable of sending representatives of Europe home after the group round.
Starring Lionel Messi No matter how much talent in Argentina, but it's still the team of Lionel Messi. In the course of the qualifying campaign, the Argentines were trained by three coaches. The team was close to the shameful 5th place in the selection for the World Cup and the need to play in the play-offs, but at the last moment Elo Leo said his weighty word: a hat trick on the field of Ecuador - and the Argentineans get a direct ticket to the World Cup. Do not forget that, like Ronaldo, Messi is no longer young and it's not known whether he will play at the next World Cup, and if he plays - then in what form will he be. Messi has long written his name in the history of world football in gold letters, but in order to make this picture perfect, he had only one small touch to add.
Gilfi Sigurdsson Iceland is a star team, but that does not mean there is no place for star players. there is. This is Gilfi Sigurdsson. Yes, together with Everton, he failed the start of the campaign in the Premier League, but this does not negate the fact that Gilfi is vitally important for Icelanders.
Luka Modric Opportunities Real Madrid midfielder long known - on the football field, he knows almost everything that is required of the player his role. What is important, Luka is not lost in important matches - for example, in the Champions League final against Juventus (4: 1) he played so that Chicharito called to hand the Golden Ball to the Croats.
John Obi Mikel Ex-player Chelsea - the most football member of the "superorlov". One can not doubt that at a decisive moment his experience will come in handy for Nigeria. Yes, now Mikel does not speak at the highest level - unless, of course, you consider such a Chinese Tianjin Teda. But on the other hand - you can expect that for the World Cup it will fit less tired than other important executors of "superorl" - Victor Moses and Alex Ivobi.
Eugene Music, Football. ua.