FIFA WORLD CUP 2018

SERBIA FIFA World Cup™ finals history Serbia played their first official international match as an independent nation on 16 August 2006, beating Czech Republic 3-1 away. Before then, they had been part of two countries that now no longer participate: Yugoslavia and Serbia and Montenegro. Serbia's inaugural independent FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign was for South Africa 2010, and they surprisingly booked their ticket to the tournament after emerging from a group with France, Austria, Lithuania, Romania and Faroe Islands. However, once there, the  Beli Orlovi  (White Eagles) were unable to make it past the group stage. Serbia failed to reach Brazil 2014, but will return to the global finals at Russia 2018 after winning qualifying Group D. They were defeated just once on the road to Russia, in their penultimate game in Austria, and saw off the challenge of the Republic of Ireland and Wales to finish top of the standings. The team Much like their predecessors, the curre

RUSSIA FIFA World Cup™ finals history As the Soviet Union,  Sbornaya  reached the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals at Sweden 1958, Chile 1962 and Mexico 1970. The Eastern Europeans went one better at England 1966, when, inspired by goalkeeper Lev Yashin and forward Igor Chislenko, they topped their group and edged a formidable Hungary, before losing 2-1 to both West Germany in the semis and Portugal in the play-off for third place. The side have been eliminated at the first hurdle in their three World Cup appearances competing as Russia (1994, 2002 and 2014). They made their mark in the States though, with a crushing 6-1 defeat of Cameroon in which Oleg Salenko scored five goals en route to ending the tournament as joint-leading marksman. After Korea/Japan, they failed to reach the finals until seeing off Portugal to top their Brazil 2014 qualifying group. Despite their impressive qualification, they headed home early from the tournament itself with two draws to their name.

PORTUGAL FIFA World Cup™ finals history Portugal missed out on the first seven FIFA World Cup competitions before making a very impressive tournament debut at England 1966, where a golden generation headed by Eusebio finished in third place.  A   Seleção das Quinas  have appeared in five more world finals since then, with varying degrees of success. Knocked out in the group phase at Mexico 1986, Korea/Japan 2002 and Brazil 2014, they advanced to the Round of 16 at South Africa 2010, before falling to eventual champions Spain, and reached the last four at Germany 2006, losing in the semis to France and missing out on third place against the hosts. The team National icon Cristiano Ronaldo is the man around whom the Portugal team is built. The hero of his country’s Brazil 2014 play-off defeat of Sweden, the insatiable goalscorer is the very obvious linchpin of a side that is solid at the back, thanks to the presence of the vastly experienced Pepe. A team built well in defe

POLAND FIFA World Cup™ finals history Poland have participated at seven FIFA World Cups in total (1938, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 2002, 2006). In 1972 they won gold at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in Munich and defeated Brazil in the Play-off for Third Place at the World Cup in Germany two years later. The eastern Europeans earned the bronze medal once more with victory over France at Spain 1982. However, after the 1986 tournament it was another 16 years before they participated at a World Cup again, but they failed to advance beyond the group stage at Korea/Japan 2002. Poland did not fare any better at Germany 2006, where a shock 2-0 opening defeat against Ecuador was followed up with a 1-0 reverse against the hosts in their second outing, ending their hopes of progression to the knockout rounds.  Bialo-czerwoni  (the White and Reds) did not qualify for South Africa 2010 or Brazil 2014. The team Poland boast great quality throughout their squad, the majority of wh

ICELAND Oualification history In the space of four short years Iceland went from last place in their group in the qualifiers for South Africa 2010 to the play-offs for Brazil 2014, where defeat to Croatia denied them a maiden FIFA World Cup™ appearance. On the back of that massive improvement in performance, the talented Icelanders maintained their staggering upward trajectory to become the smallest ever nation to qualify for a World Cup, winning Russia 2018 qualifying Group I. They ended up top of a very tough pool, seeing off the challenge of Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey, to pip Trinidad and Tobago in 2006 as the smallest country by population to reach the global showpiece. The team Following the retirement of gifted veterans such as the former Barcelona man Eidur Gudjohnsen, the exciting new generation that fared so well in the qualifiers for Brazil 2014 will spearhead Iceland’s push for a berth in Russia. The goalscoring nous and talent of the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson

GERMANY F IFA World Cup™ finals history After winning their long-awaited fourth title at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, Germany are tied with Italy as the second most successful footballing nation on the planet, with only five-time champions Brazil ahead of them. Germany’s first win came at Switzerland 1954, where they achieved the ‘Miracle of Bern’ despite going into the Final as underdogs. A second triumph followed on home soil in 1974 and they lifted the trophy for a third time at Italy 1990. Germany have reached the World Cup Final eight times, finishing as runners-up on four occasions (1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002) and taking the bronze medal at the 1934, 1970, 2006 and 2010 editions. No other country has played more games at the tournament than the 106 Germany have contested, and they will add to that at Russia 2018 having qualified as Group C winners with a game to spare. Their place was secured on 5 October 2017 with a 3-1 win in Northern Ireland. The team The reign