World Cup 2018: Top 10 Teams to Watch
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off on 14 June with the first match being played between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia. 32 teams will be vying for the trophy in order to be crowned World Cup Champions.
Germany are the current holders of the cup after they beat Argentina 1-0 in 2014. The win in Brazil was Germany's fourth World Cup triumph, equalling Italy's record of 4 titles and taking them to one behind Brazil, who lead with 5.
This year's World Cup has already sprung a massive surprise without even having kicked off. Italy, four-time World Cup winners failed to qualify for the finals for the first time since 1958! The Azzurri failed to make the cut in the qualifiers and were knocked out by Sweden in the qualification playoff spot.
We have 32 of the world's best teams going head to head in the biggest competition in football. National pride is at stake and tempers will flare, rivalries will be revisited and tension will be in the air.
Let's have a look at the top 10 World Cup teams on paper.
#10 Colombia
Los Cafeteros will be ready to prove to the world that their performance in the last World Cup was no one-time wonder. They are a talented bunch who will do everything possible to outdo themselves this year.
Colombia are never considered world beaters but they have already proven their mettle in the past at the biggest stage of them all and will be a handful for any team. The Colombians will start as favourites to top Group H in which they will face Poland, Senegal and Japan.
They do have a tricky group but one would expect them to definitely go through with ease into the knockout rounds.
Colombia had a fantastic run in the 2014 World Cup with James Rodriguez winning the Golden Boot for top scoring with 6 goals in the 5 games. The Bayern Munich star will be a focal point in the Colombia attack alongside their captain Radamel Falcao who is a goal machine.
The onus will be on these two stars to shine for Colombia to make it deep in to the tournament. Colombia have a handful of top quality players who have experience of playing football in the top leagues around the world.
The World Cup stage should not bog them down and we can expect some fireworks from this team from South America.