Group G – Red Devils, King of Egypt and how will Iran be received in the US? | Sports

Seattle, Los Angeles and Vancouver will turn into World Cup Group G battles.

Iran

Although Iran is not classified as one of the great football powers, it is precisely because of this country’s participation in the football championship that the most passions have boiled over in recent months. And it’s still boiling.

As it stands, Iranian soccer players are preparing to play in the World Cup despite continued US military pressure on the Iranian dictatorship.

The participation of the Iranians, drawn in Group G along with Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt, is surrounded by many questions. In March, Iran’s embassy in Mexico said the country was in talks with FIFA to move group matches to the Mexican capital, but soccer authorities said the matches would go ahead as scheduled.

Now the Iranian footballers are training in Turkey, and during the championship they will live in Mexico, from where they will travel to the matches in the United States.

“To be honest, it’s not easy,” Iran’s midfielder Saeid Ezatolahi, who has already played in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, told AP. “It might be a little easier for me and some other more experienced players, but in the end it will be difficult because we follow the news from our country and political events, which can affect the players’ minds.”

Even before the war in Iran, one match in Group G was causing confusion. On June 26, Iran will play Egypt in Seattle, and on the same weekend, a Pride march dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community is scheduled in the aforementioned US city. Representatives of both countries have complained to FIFA about this holiday, which is said to be incompatible with their religion and culture. In Iran, gays and lesbians are severely punished, including the death penalty.

The Iranian national team reached the fourth consecutive world championship, and this championship is greeted with good results – the Iranians, coached by former football player Amir Ghalenoei, lost only one match in the Asian qualifiers.

The team is led by captain Mehdi Taremi, who scored 57 goals in 102 matches played for the national team. Recently, the 33-year-old striker, who represents the Greek club Olympiakos, has played for Porto and Inter Milan. Also look out for midfielder Alirez Jahanbakhsh, who plays for Belgian club Dender.

Vida Press photo/Mehdi Taremi

There is no doubt that the shadow of the war in Iran will surround this team. Ahead of a friendly against Nigeria in March, Iran’s soccer players carried small purple backpacks onto the pitch as they played anthems to pay tribute to the victims of the deadly bomb that fell on a primary school on February 28. Evidence suggests it was a bomb dropped by the Americans.

Despite the war, Iran’s training camp is scheduled for Tucson, Arizona, and the first match against New Zealand will be held in Inglewood, near Los Angeles.

Belgium

Belgium will play in the World Cup for the 15th time, and so far the highest achievement was the third place in 2018, when the Belgian march was stopped in the semi-finals by the French, who became champions after that.

Belgium, which for many years had high ambitions due to the golden generation of players, did not get out of the group in the last championship. Overall, Belgium is the only FIFA-ranked team (climbing to the top in 2015) that has never won a World or European Cup.

It will now feature a mix of rising stars and established veterans.

Among the young players, Manchester City forward Jeremy Doku is the standout, while among the experienced players, none can match the status of Kevin De Bruyne.

Vida Press photo/Kevin De Bruyne

The 34-year-old midfielder, who played for Napoli last season, has scored 36 goals in 117 matches for the national team. He recently returned from injury to start his fourth World Cup.

Romelu Lukaku, who has been recovering from an even longer injury, has raised more questions, but the 33-year-old forward, who also represented Napoli, is included in the squad. R.Lukaku has scored as many as 89 goals in the Belgian national team, including 5 during the World Championships.

ZUMAPRESS.com photo/Romelu Lukaku

In addition, the Belgian goal is defended by Thibaut Courtois, who is considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world and has won the Champions League twice with Real Madrid.

Having beaten the USA national team 5-2 in a rehearsal in March, Belgium is clearly considered the strongest team in Group G. The “Red Devils” coached by Frenchman Rudi Garcia will start the championship on June 15 with a match against Egypt in Seattle.

Egypt

Egyptian footballers have not won a single match in their three appearances at the World Cup.

All eyes were last on national team captain Mohamed Salah in 2018, but the Liverpool star missed the first game with a shoulder injury sustained in the Champions League final.

The Egyptian team is coached by Hossam Hassan, Egypt’s all-time leading scorer with 69 career goals.

Salah will once again be in the spotlight at this World Cup, not least because he announced his departure from the English club after nine seasons at Liverpool, where he became the club’s all-time top scorer.

Reuters photo/Mohamed Salah

M.Salah is the all-time top scorer in the Premier League and also the top scorer in the Champions League by an African.

While the 33-year-old footballer, nicknamed the King of Egypt, is surrounded by unanswered questions about the future, there is no doubt that even more microphones and cameras will be directed at Salah in the championship.

New Zealand

The Oceania team is ranked lowest in the group by FIFA, coming in at 85th position.

By the way, in 2019, the Lithuanian national team beat New Zealand 1:0 during the control match in Vilnius, then won after a goal by Arvydas Novikovs and celebrated a rare victory.

Photo of Elvis Žaldaris/Arvydas Novikovas

Zealanders entered the world championships for the third time, having previously played in 1982 and 2010. Then they failed to move further from the group.

Captain Chris Wood has scored 45 goals, but the 34-year-old striker missed five months last season with an injury that kept him out of action for English club Nottingham Forest.

Vida Press photo/Chris Wood

In New Zealand, it is hoped that the emotional leader of the team will be able to get in the necessary athletic shape for this World Cup.

By the way, Ch. Wood is one of the two remaining players in the national team from 2010, when the Zealanders showed character by playing three matches in a group draw with Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay (they then overtook the Italians in the group, but did not go far themselves). Another New Zealander who played in the tournament 16 years ago is 36-year-old defender Tommy Smith.

In the last test match in March, the Zealanders lost 0-2 to Finland, but beat Chile 4-1.

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