World Cup: Group G Preview

MATCHES (EDT)

Monday, June 18 - 11:00 a.m: Belgium v. Panama
Monday, June 18 - 2:00 p.m: Tunisia v. England
Saturday, June 23 - 8:00 a.m: Belgium v. Tunisia
Sunday, June 24 - 8:00 a.m: England v. Panama
Thursday, June 28 - 2:00 p.m: England v. Belgium
Thursday, June 28 - 2:00 p.m: Panama v. Tunisia

Most groups in the World Cup have a obvious top team and then a somewhat clear no. 2, or maybe two teams fighting for the second spot in the knockout round. Group G is not like that, as Belgium and England are far and away above Panama and Tunisia in terms of talent, skill and, most importantly, odds to advance. With some of the best attacking players in the world playing for those two countries, they figure to absolutely punish the weaker teams in the group while battling each other on the last day of the group stage to see who can finish on top.

Panama are arguably the worst team in the entire tournament, as their 94.1 percent chance of being eliminated in the group stage is the highest among all teams, ahead of even Saudi Arabia (92.3 percent) and Iran (90.0 percent). Playing in their first World Cup, Panama come in with zero players from a top European league and will likely do their best to clamp down defensively and grind out points. Unfortunately, the attacks of Belgium and England are likely to be way too strong for Panama to have any hope of securing a top-two spot in the group.

While Panama have the highest odds of being eliminated in the group stage, Tunisia are tied for fourth (with Morocco), partially because of their team and partially because of Belgium and England's expected dominance. They'll be relying heavily on the playmaking abilities of Wahbi Khazri, who can be looked at in a similar vein as Christian Eriksen for Denmark except he's not as good, his teammates aren't as good and his group is much harder.

Followers of the English Premier League will be very familiar with the England team, as all 23 players come from the domestic league. Utilizing a three-man back line, the England wingbacks could be good sources of crosses, and there's no questioning Harry Kane's goal-scoring upside after he bagged 29 Premier League goals for the second-consecutive season. Add in attackers Raheem Sterling (18 goals and 11 assists this past season) and Jesse Lingard, who is likely to start ahead of Dele Alli, and the England attack can certainly put up some goals.

Speaking of excellent attacking exploits, Belgium come in with some of the games' best, including Kevin De Bruyne (eight goals, 16 assists for Manchester City), Romelu Lukaku (16 and seven for Manchester United), Dries Mertens (18 and six for Napoli) and Eden Hazard (12 and four for Chelsea). Additionally, Belgium boast a strong group of centerbacks to control their back line, with the only hesitation being that Roberto Martinez is in charge of leading them to World Cup glory.

Belgium and England are the clear favorites to qualify for the knockout rounds, with 86.42 percent and 84.21 percent chances of moving on, respectively, but it's worth recognizing that Belgium have an 8.3 percent chance of winning the tournament while England comes in at 5.3 percent.

OFFICIAL ROSTERS

ODDS REPORT

PLAYER GOAL ODDS

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Belgium: As mentioned above, Belgium have some of the world's elite attackers, but it's tough seeing them play dominant football without Kevin De Bruyne being involved. He doesn't necessarily have the goal upside of Lukaku, Hazard or Mertens, but with those three fully capable of turning it on in any given game, choosing which one to pick becomes increasingly difficult. Instead, fantasy players are probably best paying up for De Bruyne because of his role on set pieces and ability to dominate in open play to set up his teammates.

England: England's goal upside is clearly with Harry Kane and, to a lesser degree, Raheem Sterling, but they do have a number of players who can be rotated in who can score as well -- heck, Jamie Vardy won't sniff the starting XI after scoring 20 goals this past season for the second time in the last three years. Figuring out who is on set pieces might be tough given the lineups, but if he's in the first XI then it'll be tough to fade Kieran Trippier, who was one of the most consistent corner takers during qualifying and is also an excellent open-play crosser who just happens to be sending in those crosses to his club teammate, Kane. He isn't likely to be cheap in many formats, but he's arguably the safest English player when he starts.

Panama: When you're the fourth-best team in a group of four that includes Tunisia, there's probably not a ton of fantasy upside on your roster. Nevertheless, the match against Tunisia shouldn't be that one-sided, so fantasy players could certainly take a long look at Gabriel Torres, who took a majority of corners during qualifying and could be up for the task in Russia too. With every player on the roster coming in with a fairly low fantasy floor, regardless of format, Torres at least comes in with some upside and potentially 100 percent of the three set pieces they'll have.

Tunisia: Plenty of people will turn to Wahbi Khazri when Tunisia play Panama after he averaged 3.04 shots, including 0.98 on goal, 2.99 crosses and 2.43 fouls drawn per 90 minutes this past season for Rennes, but they should also strongly consider Naim Sliti, who averaged 2.27 shots, including 0.98 on goal, 4.39 crosses and 2.59 fouls drawn for Dijon over the same time. Sliti took a few corners during World Cup qualifying, and while Khazri is expected to take most, if not all of them, during the tournament, Sliti has shown that he can produce in open play during his club appearances, and he's likely to play on the attacking wing for Tunisia, unlike Khazri who'll be in the no. 10 role.

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Belgium: Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Dries Mertens, Yannick Carrasco
England: Kieran Trippier, Ashley Young, Marcus Rashford, Danny Rose
Panama: Gabriel Torres, Anibal Godoy, Alberto Quintero
Tunisia: Wahbi Khazri, Anice Badri, Naim Sliti

EXPECTED PENALTY TAKERS

Belgium: Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku
England: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy
Panama: Luis Tejada, Gabriel Torres
Tunisia: Wahbi Khazri, Yassine Meriah

ROUND OF 16 OPPONENTS

• Winner of Group G plays the runner-up of Group H (Colombia, Poland, Senegal, Japan)
• Runner-up of Group G plays the winner of Group H