Like Colombia, Belgium return to the World Cup as one of the favourites having been seeded in a very straightforward group. Will it be a race for 2nd or could Belgium's Premier League stars fall victim to fatigue?
Belgium
Squad -
GK - Thibaut Courtois, Simon Mignolet, Sammy Bossut, Koen Casteels
DF - Toby Alderweireld, Thomas Vermaelen, Vincent Kompany, Jan Vertonghen, Daniel van Buyten, Nicolas Lombaerts, Laurent Ciman
MF - Axel Witsel, Kevin de Bruyne, Marouane Fellaini, Eden Hazard, Kevin Mirallas, Steven Defour, Moussa Dembele, Adnan Januzaj, Nacer Chadli
FW - Romelu Lukaku, Dries Mertens, Divock Origi
Star Player - Kevin Mirrallas - Eden Hazard might be most people's choice for star player out of this team of stars, but Hazard was hampered by injury late in the season - affecting Chelsea's title challenge. Hazard and coach Marc Wilmots are also still working on their relationship. On the other hand, Mirrallas has had a highly consistent season for Everton and has been ever present for the Red Devils. A good tournament might very well see Roberto Martinez face a fight for the services of this winger of Greek descent.
Prognosis - It's been a while since you could really call a side a real all-star team, and on paper, this Belgian side ticks all the boxes, brimming with names familiar to Premier League fans. That could be a real blessing or a real problem. They should make it out of a fairly straightforward group but lack of recent tournament experience could be their downfall against Argentina or Portugal. Quarterfinals at best.
Algeria
Squad -
GK - Rais M'Bolhi, Mohamed Zemmamouche, Cedric Si Mohamed
DF - Madjid Boguherra, Rafik Halliche, Djamel Mesbah, Carl Medjani, Essaid Belkalem, Liassine Cadamuro-Bentaiba, Faouzi Ghoulam, Aissa Mandi
MF - Medhi Lacen, Hassan Yebda, Mehdi Mostefa, Sofiane Feghouli, Saphir Taider, Abdelmoumene Djabou, Yacine Brahimi, Nabil Bentaleb, Riyad Mahrez
FW - El Arbi Hillel Soudani, Islam Slimani, Nabil Ghilas
Star Player - Saphir Taider - The former French international has committed his future to Inter and Algeria. At the Milanese club, Taider has had a very consistent season in midfield and will be a vital part of the black and blues' quest to return to the summit of Serie A.
Prognosis - A young and suprisingly talented squad, Algeria have always had the potential to surprise and in such an open group, they will fancy their chances. 2nd round is as far as Bentaleb, Taider, et al will go though.
Russia
Squad -
GK - Igor Akinfeev, Yuri Lodygin, Sergey Ryzhikov
DF - Sergei Ignashevich, Vasili Berezutski, Dmitri Kombarov, Andrey Yeshchenko, Aleksei Kozlov, Vladimir Grant, Georgi Shchennikov, Andrei Semyonov
MF - Yuri Zhirkov, Igor Denisov, Roman Shirokov, Alan Dzagoev, Denis Glushakov, Viktor Fayzulin, Aleksandr Samedov, Oleg Shatov, Aleksei Ionov
FW - Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Aleksandr Kokorin, Maksim Kanunnikov
Star Player - Viktor Fayzulin - Zenit St Petersburg's heart, Fayzulin has done his reputation no harm at all in the Champions League this season. A good performance from him will be key to Russia making the 2nd round for the first time since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Prognosis - A very average squad with lots of homegrown players. They have a chance in an open group but might come up short against more talented sides. Early exit.
South Korea
Squad -
GK - Jung Song-Ryong, Kim Seung-Gyu, Lee Bum-Young
DF - Kwak Tae-Hwi, Hong Jeong-Ho, Kim Young-Gwon, Park Joo-Ho, Lee Yong, Kim Chang-Soo, Hwang Seok-Ho, Yun Suk-Young
MF - Ki Sung-Yeung, Lee Chung-Yong, Koo Ja-Cheol, Kim Bo-Kyung, Ha Dae-Sung, Park Jong-Woo, Han Kook-Young
FW - Park Chu-Young, Lee Keun-Ho, Kim Shin-Wook, Ji Dong-Won, Son Heung-Min
Star Player - Son Meung-Hin - Bayer Leverkusen's surprise package up front, Son is currently on many clubs' shopping lists this summer particularly after a prolific season in front of goal - 12 goals for Bayer Leverkusen. A good performance here will be good news for the German club in the summer transfer window as they may look to cash in on their Oriental superstar.
Prognosis - Always hard working, Korea has never had so many players of talent and recognition in Europe's biggest clubs. 12 years on from their incredible performance in their home World Cup, Korea would love to make it out of the group away from home for the 2nd year running and they would fancy their chances in this particular group. However, they may fall short against the star-studded Belgians and the unpredictable Algerians.
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