You know, I went into a Walmart in Vancouver and I’ve already seen lots of memorabilia and collector’s items already being sold. It’s very exciting to see, but the items are quite expensive. That’s what happens with a World Cup. A lot of keepsakes at a big price.
Moving on, here’s my look at the teams of Group E of this year’s World Cup:
-Germany (10): For a long time, Die Mannschaft were one of the most feared teams in the world. One with an excellent record of consistency and performing well at major tournaments time and time again. Things changed right after their fourth World Cup win in 2014. The following World Cup, they failed to progress past the opening round for the first time in 80 years. Further disappointment came as they again missed qualifying for the knockout round in 2022 and in the last two Euros, the furthest they got was the quarterfinals. It appears like right now is the toughest era for German football.
The German team’s coaching staff is from a mix of European nations but their head coach is German: Julian Nagelsmann. Star players include legendary goalkeeper Manuel Neuer from Bayern Munich, defender Antonio Rudiger from Real Madrid, midfielder Joshua Kimmich also from Bayern Munich and striker Kai Havertz from Arsenal. In these past twelve months, the team had a terrible UEFA Nations League losing to Portugal, France and Slovakia. They would then come back with wins against Northern Ireland, Switzerland and Ghana. This World Cup is the arena where Germany can seize redemption in the world’s eyes.
-Curacao (82): One thing about this World Cup is that we will have teams the never previously had a chance in qualifying in the past make it this time. Increasing it to 48 teams really changes a lot. Curacao is one of four teams competing in its first-ever World Cup. Nicknamed The Blue Wave, Curacao competed as an independent nation after the Netherlands Antilles dissolved in 2010. They’ve qualified for three CONCACAF Gold Cups and won one Caribbean Cup back in 2017. Upon coming first in their qualifying CONCACAF group, Curacao, with a population of just over 155,000, became the smallest country to qualify for a World Cup!
Curacao is making sure they’re team will be ready for the World Cup. Their coaching staff is of mostly Dutch coaches and their head coach Dirk Advocaat will make his fifth World Cup appearance as head coach, for five different teams! Most of the players play for either MLS or the Netherlands’ Eredivisie. Top players include goalkeeper Eloy Room who plays for Miami FC, defender Jurien Gaari who plays for Saudi Arabia’s Abha, midfielder Leandro Bacuna who plays for Turkey’s Igdir and striker Kenji Forre who plays for Israel’s Maccabi Haifa. Their play in the last twelve months have included wins to Jamaica, Bermuda and Haiti. They’ve drawn against Trinidad and Canada. They’ve also lost to Honduras, Australia and China. Whatever the result, the 2026 World Cup will take Curacao and its football to a whole new level.
-Ivory Coast (34): The Ivory Coast, or Cote d’Ivoire, have participated in three previous World Cups. All of them were consecutive from 2006 to 2014 and all of them were out in the Group Stage. In all three previous times, Les Elephants had their most heralded players: defender Didier Zokora and striker Dider Drogba. The team has struggled since those two players retired after World Cup 2014 but a new team has come of age and they have a win at the 2023 African Cup Of Nations to their credit.
The team has a mostly-Ivorian coaching staff. Head coach is Emerse Fae who has played in the 2006 and 2010 World Cup. The team plays for a mix of of European teams. Top players include goalkeeper Yahia Fofana who plays for Turkey’s Caykur Rizespor, defender Ghislain Konan who plays for Portugal’s Gil Vicente, midfielder and captain Franck Kessie who plays for Saudi Arabia’s Al-Ahli, and striker Nicolas Pepe who plays for Villareal. Their play in the last twelve months tell a lot. They’ve had wins to non-African teams like South Korea and Scotland. They’ve had draws to Gabon, Cameroon and Canada. Their losses came to New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The World Cup can be the chance for the Ivory Coast to take their football to a new level.
-Ecuador (23): Hard to believe La Tricolor never participated in a World Cup in the 20th Century. This coming World Cup will be their fifth. Making a name for themselves has been a struggle. Their best-ever World Cup result in the Round of 16 and the best they ever did at the Copa America was a fourth-place finish. Proving themselves in the CONMEBOL is tough for them. Ecuador did prove themselves as a team ready to play well. They succeeded in qualifying for the World Cup despite a three-point deduction for player Byron Castillo having a passport with falsified information.
Their coaching staff is completely made up of Argentineans and their head coach Sebastian Beccacece is a former assistant with the 2018 Argentinean national team. Top players include goalkeeper Hernan Galindez who plays for Argentina’s Huracan, defender Angelo Preciado who plays for Brazil’s Atletico Mineiro, midfielder Moises Caicedo who plays for Chelsea, and striker and captain Enner Valencia who plays for Mexico’s Pachuca. In the past twelve months, they have not had a single loss! They have only had two wins: to New Zealand and Argentina. They’ve had draws to the USA, Mexico, Canada and Brazil to name a few. If there’s one team that pull a surprise at the World Cup, it’s Ecuador.
My Qualifier Predictions: Sometimes you think you know who will qualify. Sometimes it’s all a shocker. I predict Germany will top the group with Ecuador second. I think my third-place pick Ivory Coast will qualify.
And that completes my look at Group E of this year’s World Cup. Sometimes I wonder how I’m able to do all this typing and have it all completed before the first game begins!
Jon The Blogcentric 