On June 14th, the most anticipated sports event of the year begins - the 2018 World Cup. In Russia, for over a month, the 32 strongest teams on the planet will compete for the main tournament trophy - the golden cup. In these championships, the most representatives come from Europe - 14 national teams. Following are five representatives from three other continents - Africa, South America, and Asia. North and Central America have three representatives - Costa Rica, Mexico, and Panama. In total, 32 teams are divided into eight groups - starting from A to H. As always, in each group, each team plays against each other, and then the knockout matches begin - from the round of 16 to the final. The World Cup will be spread across the whole of Russia - matches will take place in 11 different cities. The opening match will be played at the 81,000 seater stadium "Luzhniki" in Moscow. There will also be the most important tournament matches - the fight for the champions title. The most popular country's football news portal "EuroFootball.com" will also provide the most interesting and intense news from Russia throughout the championship. With not much time left until the end of the championship, we present an overview of Group F, where Germany, Mexico, Sweden, and South Korea will compete. Germany Business card: Confederation: UEFA (Europe) Coach: Joachim Löw (German) Captain: Manuel Neuer ("Bayern") Top scorer: Miroslav Klose (71) Most matches played: Lothar Matthäus (150) FIFA ranking: 1 Highest achievements in WC: winners (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014) The road to the World Cup: Germany in the qualifiers to Russia was simply unstoppable - Joachim Löw's team won all possible 10 victories and confidently remained in the first position in their group. The Germans scored even 43 goals and only conceded four accurate shots into their goal. J. Löw's coached team is heading to the World Cup again as one of the main favorites to win the competition. Team's star: Undoubtedly, the star of the German national team is Thomas Muller. Despite having players like Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos in Germany, T. Muller's performance for the national team is incredibly important. He scored five goals both in the 2010 and 2014 World Cup. J. Löw uses the representative of Munich "Bayern" as a winger in his team. T. Muller started the season...
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... Mexico Business card: Confederation: CONCACAF (North and Central America) Coach: Juan Carlos Osorio (Colombian) Captain: Andres Guardado ("Real Betis") Top scorer: Javier Hernandez (49) Most matches played: Claudio Suarez (177) FIFA ranking: 15 Highest achievements in WC: quarterfinals (1970 and 1986) The road to the World Cup: Mexicans did not face difficulties in their quest for a ticket to the World Cup - they failed to win only once in the qualifiers. One of the best North and Central American teams showed superiority over Honduras, Canada, and El Salvador in their group. Team's star: Javier Hernandez is the leader and star of this team. Being the all-time top scorer of the Mexican national team, the forward had the opportunity to try his skills in famous European clubs such as "Manchester United" and "Real Madrid". J. Hernandez is distinguished by his excellent positioning - both in Manchester and Madrid, he was appreciated for his excellent coordination in the attack. Called "Pea," the sniper hopes to lead the team forward in Russia. Doubts may only arise about the player's form - the 30-year-old striker wore the "West Ham" team shirt last season, but, like the club itself, did not show good results: eight goals scored in 33 matches. Team's experience: Football legend Rafael Marquez, 39, is not only the most experienced player in this team but also among all footballers participating in the championship. Being able to play in the position of defender and defensive midfielder, R. Marquez performs important roles beyond the pitch - although he is not assigned a role in the main eleven, his sports anger and impulse will be needed by the team. Team's coach: 57-year-old Juan Carlos Osorio is well known in his country as a strict football specialist. He has led his country's youth teams and has been the assistant coach of the men's national team for a while. Becoming the head coach of the Mexican national team last summer. South Korea Business card: Confederation: AFC (Asia) Coach: Shin Tae-yong (Korean) Captain: Ki Sung-yueng ("Swansea") Top scorer: Cha Bum-kun (59) Most matches played: Cha Bum-kun (138) FIFA ranking: 57 Highest achievements in WC: fourth place (2002) The road to the World Cup: South Korea made its way to Russia quite easily - in the first round of qualifiers, they won all possible eight victories in their group, and in the third round, where teams were divided into two groups of six, South Korea only bowed to Iran and secured a place directly in the World Cup. Team's star: In the world of South Korean football at least one man is well known - Tottenham Hotspur's winger Son Heung-min, who had a fantastic season in England. Son, who can play both in the attack and on the wing, played superbly before arriving at Tottenham in well-known Bundesliga clubs - Hamburg and Bayer Leverkusen. The 25-year-old player was an essential part of Mauricio Pochettino's system - he scored 18 goals and made 11 assists in 53 matches. Son can be the savior of South Korea not only in this championship but also one of those players that the biggest European clubs will pay attention to after the tournament. Team's experience: Ki Sung-yueng, who has been playing for Swansea City since 2012, has already played 101 matches for the national team. His performance in the national team is much more important than in the "Swans" ranks - the 29-year-old midfielder, with excellent field vision and ball control, will be a crucial part of the team in this championship. Team's coach: Shin Tae-yong is a well-known football specialist in his country. He has coached his country's youth teams as well as been an assistant coach to the national team for a while. Becoming the head coach of the national team last summer.
