Group B

Portugal: Seattle Seahawks

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

A free spirited, flamboyant offensive team that plays out of structure and relies on one of the most dynamic players in his sport to score points, backed by an aging defense with a veteran coach. Which did I just describe to you, the Portuguese national team or the Seattle Seahawks?

I wouldn’t say that Portugal is nothing without Christiano Ronaldo just like I wouldn’t necessarily say the same thing about Russell Wilson for the Seahawks. But, when you considered the fact that off-script is usually the script because of how good those individuals are for their teams, they’re pretty similar, regardless. As for the defense, Portugal’s defense, led by 35-year-old Pepe, will be surrounded by Bruno Alves (36) or Jose Fonte (34), both who have seen better days in their younger years. That, to me, represents the recently crumbled Legion of Boom as well as a soccer squad could. And finally, since arriving as Portugals’s head coach in 2014, Fernando Santos has established consistent success, but might be on the down slope of it now coming off his 2016 Euro Championship. Such a takeover and success mirrored that of Pete Carroll in Seattle with the 2014 Super Bowl and now trying to salvaging what’s left.

The time is coming for a last hurrah with their current crop of talented players before both squads begin to turn the page.

Spain: Pittsburgh Steelers

For a very long time now, Spain has been a constant success in the soccer world. This has also been the case with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL, and both of their success habits have been similar. For Spain, they were crowned World Cup Champions in 2010 in South Africa and EUFA Champions in 2008 as well as 2012. As for the Steelers, they were crowned Super Bowl Champions in 2005 and 2008 and were AFC Champions in 2010.

As far as 2018, Spain is led by a veteran group, as are the Steelers. Veteran midfielders Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta and David Silva allow Spain to do what they do best and that is control the pace of play, often forcing even the most talented opponents to play under their control of the match. Much like Spain boasts a big three, the Steelers do as well with Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown often dictating the pace of play. However, for both Spain and the Steelers, turning that control into points can sometimes be their downfall. The Steelers were the fourth best team in the NFL in terms of time of possession in 2017, but were only seventh in touchdowns and points scored.

With talent and experience, Spain and Pittsburgh are threats to win a title every tournament or postseason they’re in.

Morocco: Baltimore Ravens

When you think of the Baltimore Ravens, what do you picture? Defense, right? Such can be said about a Moroccan team that did not allow a single goal in six of their qualifying matches. Even if you think the Ravens have fallen off from the defensive pedigree they have boasted in the past, they were ranked 5th in 2017 in terms of total points allowed, which is pretty on par with what Morocco does from a soccer standpoint.

On offense, Khalid Boutaib scores in bunches for the Moroccan national team, meaning he’ll go hot and cold on you every now and then, but when he does, it’s big. To me, that’s just like Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco. Flacco has the potential to change the game with his big arm, but, at this point in his career, it’s about as on and off as Boutaib’s scoring regularity. Coach Jon Harbaugh for Baltimore and manager Herve Renard for Morocco are both defensive-minded coaches that have an air-tight scheme that may only need one goal or one touchdown to ultimately be called the victors in a match.

Iran: Cleveland Browns

QB Baker Mayfield (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Fighting for pride. Something that both the Iranian national team and the Cleveland Browns will be doing in 2018 – something they haven’t had much of recently, either.

Four years ago, Iran was the worst team at the World Cup in Brazil, losing all three of their group stage matches and scoring just one goal. After going 1-31 over the past two seasons, the Browns can relate to the failure. Both squads have been known more for their defense than their offense. The Browns, even in their struggles, have put together decent defensive groups here and there, but scoring points as alluded them for a long time. A reason for that is due to a void of offensive talent. Now things look to be different, or at least show signs of life for both Iran and Cleveland in that category.

For Iran, their young goal scorer Alireza Jahanbakhsh is looking to bring life to an Iranian offense that hasn’t existed in some time. Coincidentally enough, so is Baker Mayfield, the 2018 NFL Draft’s number one overall pick.