FIFA World Cup 2018: Revisiting the past performances of the participating nations
The biggest sporting extravaganza begins in only a few hours.
It can't be denied that the Football World Cup is, without a shadow of doubt, the biggest, most followed and loved sporting event on the planet. Even the Olympic games can't come close to the might of Association Football's biggest contest.
The tournament which began in 1930, will see its 21st edition in Russia. Thirty-two countries from around the globe will take on each other in exciting and action-packed games. The event will last for a month, where Germany will be defending the title which they won back in 2014.
In the subsequent slides, we will be talking about the past performances of the thirty-two nations participating in the latest edition of the World Cup. This will give the readers a better idea about the achievements of their favorite teams on the global stage in previous attempts.
Group A
Russia
The host nation will be appearing in the World Cup finals for the eleventh time and the first as hosts.
Russia's last appearance at the World Cup was in 2014, where they finished at 24th position after being eliminated in the group stages. The team failed to win any game in the previous edition. The fans would be hoping for a better performance from the side this time around. The nation's best performance came back in the 1966 World Cup in England where they finished at the fourth position, while playing as the Soviet Union.
Saudi Arabia
The Arab country from Western Asia will be making their fifth appearance at the World Cup finals. They first qualified for the mega-event back in 1994 when the event was held in the USA while their latest participation was back at the 2006 World Cup in Germany where they were eliminated in the Group Stage without a win. The team's best finish was at the 1994 World Cup when they managed to reach the Round of 16.
Egypt
The 45th ranked side would be appearing the finals for the third time with their best result being the 13th position finish back at the 1934 World Cup. The team, however, would be hoping for a great performance this time around as the expectations are sky-high because of the presence of Liverpool star, Mohamed Salah.
Uruguay
The South American side have previously won the World Cup on two occasions. They were the winners of the very first edition of the Cup back in 1930 while they repeated this feat in 1950 as well. At the 2014 World Cup, the team was eliminated in the Round of 16. This would be their thirteenth appearance at the World Cup finals.