World Cup Group E Previews, Tickets & Predictions
The football World Cup in Qatar in December promises to be an amazing spectacle and Safe Ticket Compare are anticipating an extremely high demand for tickets. We look at the games and national teams in Group E (Spain, Germany, Japan and Costa Rica).
Spain
Spain will look back on the last two World Cups with disappointment. However, there is optimism going into this year’s tournament as their young side looks to repeat the heroics of 2010.
Luis Enrique has changed the style of the team, with their ‘pass them to death’ ethos replaced with a more direct style. That’s not to say that they don’t have some stylish footballers though, as Pedri (Barcelona), Gavi (Barcelona) and Yeremi Pino (Villarreal) are amongst the world’s most exciting young players right now.
Spain has failed to make it by the last 16 stage of a World Cup since the aforementioned 2010 win, but their progress to the semi-finals of Euro2020 and the finals of the UEFA Nations League suggest that this is a side that is now tournament ready.
Key Player: Pedri is the envy of world football at present, with the young midfielder constantly getting better. Expect him to control the pace of Spain’s games.
Prediction: 1st
Germany
Germany will want to atone for a poor performance at the last World Cup, where they exited at the group stage after a loss to South Koria. Since then, the Germans have also undergone a disappointing Euros and changed their manager. Hansi Flick now has the reigns, with Joachim Low departed. The change in manager has coincided with an upturn in fortune for the national side, with the team not losing a single game since Flick became the head coach.
That being said, their qualifying group was quite weak, and they will need to reach new heights if they are going to be successful at this year’s tournament.
Key Player: Kai Havertz has been brilliant for Chelsea over the last season, and he will look to bring that guile and work rate to the national side.
Prediction: 2nd
Japan
Japan goes into their seventh successive FIFA World Cup knowing that they will have to take points from at least one of the above two European powerhouses to progress. They lost the 2019 Asia Cup final to Qatar and will have to show form above and beyond that to get out of this difficult group. Their manager Hajime Moriyasu will have high expectations for a side that includes plenty of European-based players.
However, a recent draw with minnows Vietnam would suggest that those expectations are not going to be met in Qatar. Key player: Kyogo Furuhashi has been a revelation since joining Celtic and will have to produce some of the form he has shown in the Scottish Premier League if Japan are going to compete.
Costa Rica
Costa Rica will make up the line-up in this group. The South Americans have such household names as PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas and former Arsenal player, Joel Campbell.We think Costa Rica might have enough to just about get by their New Zealand counterparts in the playoff.
Prediction: 4th
Key Player: Kaylor Navas is one of the top goalkeepers in world football and Costa Rica are lucky to have him.
The biggest demand for tickets are Spain v Germany tickets and Germany v Japan, all of which will take place in Qatar Group stages with the two leaders progressing to the knockout stages.
