Group F

Germany: Minnesota Vikings

There are not many teams in the NFL that can compare to how good Germany is. Manager Joachim Low and the defending World Cup champions finished Group C with a 100 percent record, beating Northern Ireland, Czech Republic, Norway, Azerbaijan and San Marino at home and away. They scored 43 goals during their qualifying matches while only giving up four.

Germany in 2014 (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

One of the only teams in the NFL that can boast such offensive and defensive dominance is the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings were a Top 10 offensive team while also the No. 1 defense in the NFL in 2017.

Thomas Muller and Marco Reus as Germany forwards mirror the striking, home run power that Dalvin Cook and Stefan Diggs have in Minnesota. Midfielders Mesut Ozil and Toni Kroos are similar to Kirk Cousins and Adam Thielin when it comes to controlling the pace of play. And defender Mats Hummels as well as goalkeeper Manuel Neuerfor the Germans can run paralell to the show stopping defensive work of Xavier Rhodes and Harrison Smith.

Germany and Minnesota are talented at the top and deep in depth beyond that. Simply put, they are an elite team capable of winning a title.

Mexico: Oakland Raiders

When it comes to a mix of talent and potential versus the reality of what is, the Mexican national team and the Oakland Raiders line up similarly.

Mexico is not a team that will possess the ball as well as other team. Their style of play is what you would call more boom or bust in the game of soccer, and they often rely on their talent more than their tactics to gain victories. Young striker Hirving Lozano would be what Derek Carr is to the raiders. Both have a lack of experience, but even in their youthfulness, have shown talent to play with the big boys.

Mexico, like Oakland, will likely not be winning first place in their group, but they should put up a good fight for that second spot and a chance to advance. Oakland can do the same in the AFC West.

Sweden: Denver Broncos

The parallels between striker Zlatan Ibrhimovic for his national team and quarterback Peyton Manning for the Broncos make this an easy one. When each squad had their star, they could put up points with any team in the world. But, now without them, they are left with an identity crisis.

For Sweden, things a bit easier. not having to rely on the ball going to one man’s feet all the time (Ibrahimovic) has brought a better sense of camaraderie among the Swedish national team; each player feels as though they are more involved. The Broncos have yet to get there. They’re at talented group at certain positions, but when it comes to a plan, they’re still searching.

Sweden is moving on a little better than Denver has, but both have a ways to go.

South Korea: Detroit Lions

Quarterback Matthew Stafford (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

Do you trust the Detroit Lions to win a game? Because I don’t. It doesn’t seem to matter who they’re playing. That’s the case with South Korea. Though I would say the Lions, as a squad, are more talent than South Korea is compared to their competition, but teams have a way of playing up to and down to their level of competition game by game.

On offense, South Korea boasts Son Heung-Min, who has starred for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League and UEFA Champions League this season. They also have Ki Sung-Yeung, Lee Jae-Sung and Kwon Chang-Hoon as staples in the midfield to continue generating attacks. When these pieces happen to click, the points can come in bunches. That’s the case with Stafford and company, as well.

Just like South Korea, where there are good things on offense, there seems to be a trade off on defense for Detroit. The Lions finished near the bottom in terms of points and yards given up in 2017, something that seems to be a theme during the Stafford era. Similar identities yield similar ceilings, and South Korea likely cannot defend well enough in this group to advance, as the Lions likely cannot in the NFC North.