The defending World Cup champions from Germany are the highlight of Group F, and they are by far the class of the group. The real fun comes in the battle for second place as Mexico and Sweden are very close together, and South Korea isn’t going to be an easy game for anyone.
Germany
Odds To Win Group F: 1.38
Germany’s win in 2014 was their fourth as they also won 1954, in 1974 at home and in 1990. They have been third place or better in each of the last four World Cups, and they won their group by 11 points, the biggest margin in UEFA. Germany is relatively young as they should be represented by most of the players that have featured in either the last World Cup or the European Championships, by Toni Kroos, Mats Hummels, Mesut Ozil and Manuel Neuer in goal. They’re also very deep, winning the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017 with what was essentially their “B” team. Anything less than the semifinals will be a massive disappointment, and Germany should be considered a favorite to win it all.
Mexico
Odds To Win Group F: 6.00
Mexico has reached the quarterfinals twice, both at home in 1970 and 1986, and they have gone out in the round of 16 in each of the last six World Cups. They have some talent up front with Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez and Carlos Vela leading the way, Andres Guardado is still solid enough to lead Mexico to winning CONCACAF and they have experience at the back. But this isn’t a group that could break Mexico out of their round-of-16 slump and they might need to win their group-stage finale against Sweden just to get to the round of 16.
Sweden
Odds To Win Group F: 6.5
Sweden has missed the last two World Cups, and their best finish was second in 1958 at home. They beat Italy in a two-legged playoff in UEFA to go to Russia, and Emil Forsberg scored four goals from midfield to lead the way. Sweden is disciplined and they don’t try to do things that they can’t, and they’re very good at frustrating teams into making a mistake. They also got six goals from defenders Andreas Granqvist and Mikael Lustig, and the rest of the group will have to take that into account against Sweden.
South Korea
Odds To Win Group F: 15.00
th in the World Cup in 2002 when they shared hosting duties with Japan, and they made it to the round of 16 in 2010. They finished second in their AFC group to go to Russia, and no player scored more than two goals in their qualification phase, which could be their downfall. But like Sweden, South Korea is a disciplined team and they’re going to try and hit on the counterattack against the other teams. They do have a pair of dangerous midfielders in Ki Sung-yueng and Koo Ja-cheol, and Son Heung-min can play either up front or in midfield. They shouldn’t have much luck against Germany, but against Mexico and Sweden, you could do worse than laying a few on South Korea.
Looking for the odds to win the 2018 World Cup? Check out Play Shangrila to get the odds for Group F and all sorts of other lines for the FIFA World Cup.
