The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, and every four years, we see a team take their opportunity on the global stage with both hands and shock the tournament. In 2010, Ghana’s incredible run was only stopped by some dastardly play by Luis Suarez for Uruguay. In 2014, Costa Rica sprawled to the quarter-finals and took the Netherlands to penalties.
Now, in 2018, we have a new batch of underdogs ready to upset the order of world football. These are the three nations ready to escape their groups and defy the odds.
3Egypt, Group A
Coming into the tournament, Uruguay are natural favourites to top the group. Russia are second-favourites to qualify from Group A, likely because they are playing on their home turf. However, the record African Cup of Nations winners, Egypt, are set to enter the tournament with a far more dangerous team. With Uruguay and Russia well under evens to escape the group, Egypt’s 6/5 looks to be the making of a slick World Cup bet.
Mohamed Salah has proven himself to be a skilled finisher and major threat in the attacking end for Liverpool. Now, one man doesn’t make a team, as Salah himself attests to, so it’s a good thing that Egypt and their star man play with a strong team dynamic.
Egypt opt to play defence-first football, which some fans do not enjoy. But, it has proven to be effective. Strong defensive players like Ahmed Hegazi and Mohamed Elneny allow for the flair-filled attackers like Salah to push on when they seize possession.
