Group Profiles

As the first 48-team World Cup prepares to get into swing, here are all the matches, venues and times

There might also be more to Uzbekistan than meets the eye

Panama’s ranking suggests they might punch above their weight and surpass their 2018 debut in a tough group

Jordan the rookies and might look like whipping boys, but have a decent world ranking

Les Blues should be outright favourites

Uruguay, with a long and proud World Cup history, are always competitive at a finals tournament

Dark horses Belgium could go far, Pharaohs out to atone for past World Cup disappointments

There will be a super-tight race for second place, and even Holland are not guaranteed to being first

Ecuador could be dark horses, while Curaçao is smallest nation to reach a World Cup

Experts see Group D as 'wide open', making the race for top spots very competitive.

Scotland out to end group stage hoodoo while Haiti are decidedly the underdogs and one of the tournament minnows

Competition set to be tight in a group with no stand-out whipping boys

Switzerland and Bosnia and Herzegovina will make life tough for the co-hosts, and Qatar might not be slouches