With the Fifa World Cup 2018 getting ever closer, the questions that immediately pop into the head is which teams are the favourites and which group are they in, and how does each team in each group stack up?
Well, look no further, because all those questions are answered right here, starting with Groups A and B, with a breakdown of the favourites in each group and the entire squads of all of the teams.
Group A:
Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay:
The one with the hosts, with Russia kicking off what will be an unforgettable World Cup by squaring off against Saudi Arabia on Thursday.
The hosts have been drawn in a relatively comfortable looking group, and while they are not the favourites to finish at the top – that would be Luis Suarez's Uruguay – they will feel relatively confident of making it to the knockout rounds.
Much of that might depend on if Mo Salah, the Liverpool forward coming off a stunning season, is fit for Egypt. If Salah does get fit in time and finds his club form, then Egypt might just threaten the hosts for the second spot, assuming Uruguay play to form and top the group. The main men of the South American side might be on the wane, but the likes of Diego Godin, Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani still have the quality to take their team far.
Saudi Arabia look like the whipping boys, and they are unlikely to spring a surprise and threaten the other three.
Squads:
Russia:
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Club Brugge), Andrey Lunev (Zenit St Petersburg).
Defenders: Vladimir Granat (Rubin Kazan), Fedor Kudryashov (Rubin Kazan), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA), Andrey Semenov (Akhmat Grozny), Ilya Kutepov (Spartak Moscow), Mario Fernandes (CSKA), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit).
Midfielders: Yuri Gazinskiy (Krasnodar), Aleksandr Erokhin (Zenit), Yuri Zhirkov (Zenit), Daler Kuzyaev (Zenit), Roman Zobnin (Spartak), Aleksandr Samedov (Spartak), Anton Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA), Aleksandr Golovin (CSKA), Denis Cheryshev (Villarreal).
Forwards: Artem Dzyuba (Arsenal Tula), Aleksey Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Fedor Smolov (Krasnodar).
Egypt:
Goalkeepers: Essam El Hadary (Al Taawoun), Mohamed El-Shenawy (Al Ahly), Sherif Ekramy (Al Ahly).
Defenders: Ahmed Fathi (Al Ahly), Saad Samir (Al Ahly), Ayman Ashraf (Al Ahly), Mahmoud Hamdi (Zamalek), Mohamed Shafy (Al Fateh), Ahmed Hegazi (West Brom), Ali Gabr (Zamalek), Ahmed Elmohamady (Aston Villa), Omar Gaber (Los Angeles FC).
Midfielders: Mohamed Elneny (Arsenal), Sam Morsy (Wigan Athletic), Ramadan Sobhi (Stoke City), Tarek Hamed, (Zamalek), Abdallah El Said (Al-Ahli), Mahmoud Hassan (Kasimpasa).
Forwards: Marwan Mohsen (Al Ahly), Mahmoud Shikabala (Zamalek), Amr Warda (Atromitos), Mahmoud Kahraba (Al Ittihad), Mo Salah (Liverpool).
Saud Arabia:
Goalkeepers: Mohammed Al Owais (Al-Ahli), Yasser Al-Mosailem (Al-Ahli), Abdullah Al-Mayoof (Al Hilal).
Defenders: Mansour Al-Harbi (Al-Ahli), Yasir Al Shahrani (Al Hilal), Motaz Hawsawi (Al Ahli), Osama Hawsawi (Al Hilal), Omar Othman (Al Nassr), Mohammed Alburyak (Al Hilal), Ali Albulayhi (Al Hilal).
Midfielders: Abdullah Alkhaibari (Al Shabab), Abdullah Ateef (Al Hilal), Taiseer Al Jassam (Al Ahli), Salman Al Faraj, Abdulmalek Al Khaibri (Al Hilal), Hussain Al-Mogahwi (Al Ahli), Mohamed Kanno (both Al Hilal), Hatan Bahebri (Al Shabab), Salem Al Dawsari (Al Hilal), Yahya Al Shehri (Al Nassr).
Forwards: Mohammed Al Sahlawi (Al Nassr), Mohannad Aseri (Al Ahli), Fahad Al Muwallad (Al Ittihad).
Uruguay:
Goalkeepers: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Silva (Vasco da Gama), Martin Campana (Independiente).
Defenders: Jose Gimenez (Atletico Madrid), Sebastian Coates (Sporting Lisbon), Diego Godin (Atletico Madrid), Maxi Pereira (FC Porto), Martin Caceres (Lazio), Gaston Silva (Independiente), Guillermo Varela (Penarol).
Midfielders: Rodrigo Bentancur (Juventus), Lucas Torreira (Sampdoria), Nahitan Nandez (Boca Juniors), Matias Vecino (Inter Milan), Carlos Sanchez (Monterrey), Giorgian de Arrascaeta (Cruzeiro), Diego Laxalt (Genoa), Cristian Rodriguez (Penarol), Jonathan Urretaviscaya (Monterrey).
Forwards: Cristian Stuani (Girona), Maxi Gomez (Celta Vigo), Edinson Cavani (PSG), Luis Suarez (Barcelona).
Group B:
Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Iran:
Two big teams in this group – one the world champions from eight years ago and the other the reigning European champions. The group will also see Cristiano Ronaldo come up against many of his Real Madrid teammates, and that should be a fun watch. The marquee game – Spain vs Portugal – will be played in the first round of fixtures in Group B, and while Morocco and Iran have their strengths, this group should be all about the two European heavyweights.
Portugal did really well to get to the final of Euro 2016 and then beat the favourites France, that too after Ronaldo had to go off injured, but considering the World Cup is a different beast, it would take an effort of metronomic proportions (read Ronaldo scoring and scoring and scoring) for them to reach the semifinals last four.
Spain, though, will consider anything less than the semifinals a failure, having struggled miserably in defending their World Cup title last time around. They might not be the world beaters they were eight years ago, but they still have the quality, particularly in defence and midfield, to beat any side.
For the goals, they will be over-reliant on Diego Costa.
Squads:
Spain:
Goalkeepers: David de Gea (Manchester United), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Athletic Bilbao), Pepe Reina (Napoli).
Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Nacho (Real Madrid), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Alvaro Odriozola (Real Sociedad).
Midfielders: Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), David Silva (Manchester City), Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Isco (Real Madrid), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid).
Forwards: Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid), Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo), Rodrigo (Valencia).
Portugal:
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon), Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Beto (Goztepe).
Defenders: Jose Fonte (Dalian Yifang), Pepe (Besiktas), Bruno Alves (Rangers), Cedric Soares (Southampton), Mario Rui (Napoli), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Ricardo Pereira (Porto), Ruben Dias (Benfica).
Midfielders: Joao Moutinho (Monaco), William Carvalho (Sporting CP), Adrien Silva (Leicester), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon), Joao Mario (West Ham), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Manuel Fernandes (Lokomotiv Moscow).
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Andre Silva (AC Milan), Gelson Martins (Sporting Lisbon), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas).
Iran:
Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Mohammad Rashid Mazaheri (Zob Ahan), Amir Abedzadeh (Maritimo).
Defenders: Majid Hosseini (Esteghlal), Ramin Rezaeian (Ostende), Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh (Padideh), Morteza Pouraliganji (Alsaad), Pejman Montazeri (Esteghlal), Milad Mohammadi (Akhmat Grozny), Rouzbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal).
Midfielders: Ehsan Haji Safi (Olympiacos), Masoud Shojaei (AEK Athens), Saeid Ezatolahi (Amkar Perm), Mehdi Torabi (Saipa), Omid Ebrahimi (Esteghlal), Karim Ansarifard (Olympiacos), Vahid Amiri (Persepolis).
Forwards: Saman Ghoddos (Ostersunds), Ashkan Dejagah (Nottingham Forest), Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (AZ Alkmaar), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Heerenveen), Mehdi Taremi (Al Gharafa).
Morocco:
Goalkeepers: Munir Mohamedi (Numancia), Yassine Bono (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger).
Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (Lille), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Manuel da Costa (Istanbul Basaksehir), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce).
Midfielders: Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Amine Harit (Schalke), Moubarak Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Faycal Fajr (Getafe).
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax), Youssef En Nesyri (Malaga).
