THERE'S always a Group of Death and this year it's quite aptly Group D featuring Argentina, Croatia, Nigeria and Iceland.
Let's start with favourites Argentina and once again Lionel Messi will be looking to add the greatest prize to his collection.
He's often been the bridesmaid with his country and team-mates simply can't set him up in forward areas the way his Barcelona pals do.
Argentina struggled through qualifying until Messi worked his magic against Ecuador. They say there are no easy games at the finals and while that's not strictly true there are unlikely to be any in Group D with Croatia, Nigeria and Iceland all capable.
Messi's men will hope to bank five or six points and rely on the others beating each other and tipping who'll go through with the South Americans isn't easy.
Croatia are second seeds and have some brilliant performers such as Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic, Ivan Perisic and Mario Mandzukic. They should have enough quality to finish second but like France there are sometimes factions and in Russia everyone will need to be united.
Nigeria are a young side with some top players and their main problem could be keeping sides out. Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, John Obi Mikel and Wilfried Ndidi are their star turns and I expect them to give all their opponents trouble.
Iceland were the bottom seeds everyone wanted to avoid after their performance at Euro 2016 was followed by a first World Cup qualification.
Gylfi Sigurdsson is their star turn but they rely more on teamwork and set-pieces and often score fron long throws and corners. It's not pretty but it's pretty effective.
Recommended Bets
- Iceland to bt Nigeria (9-5, BetStars)
- Nigeria to finish bottom (8-5, Black Type)
World Cup 2022 Coverage
- What's coming up? View a list of upcoming World Cup Fixtures.
- Missed a match? Check out our World Cup Results for all the latest full-time goals.
- Think you know who will win outright? Then View our World Cup Odds comparison tables from top UK bookmakers.
- Betting Offer: We have collected world cup betting offers all in one place so you don't have to.
- Group by Group Betting Tips; Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F, Group G, Group H.
- World Cup Betting Tips; Golden Boot, Golden Glove, Group Stage Acca, Dark Horses and Outright Winners
- Highbet: Sportsbook and online casino with 30+ sports, 100's of betting markets and competitive betting odds.
Resident football tipster at Scotland's most read newspaper, the Daily Record, for over 20 years and proud host of one the best betting communities on the web with daily betting tips.
GambleAware
Strange, very strange indeed. Nigeria double chance against Iceland
Couldn’t get a more diverse cultural game.
Nigeria from Africa and Iceland.
Could be the fire and ice derby !!