World Cup: Group B Preview

MATCHES (EDT)

Friday, June 15 - 11:00 a.m: Morocco v. Iran
Friday, June 15 - 2:00 p.m: Portugal v. Spain
Wednesday, June 20 - 8:00 a.m: Portugal v. Morocco
Wednesday, June 20 - 2:00 p.m: Iran v. Spain
Monday, June 25 - 2:00 p.m: Iran v. Portugal
Monday, June 25 - 2:00 p.m: Spain v. Morocco

There is plenty of star power in Group B, highlighted by Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who you've probably heard of. If you haven't, only know that he's arguably the best player in the world. Ronaldo just led Real Madrid to their third consecutive Champions League trophy, which came after he won the Ballon d'Or (FIFA's player of the year award) in both of the last two seasons, as well as in 2014, 2013 and 2008 (he was runner up to Lionel Messi in 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015). Oh, and Portugal won the 2016 UEFA European Championship, though it's worth noting that despite having Ronaldo lead the attack, Portugal were actually a pretty defensive team, scoring multiple goals just once in the knockout phase, and twice overall in the tournament. They've been better in World Cup qualifying and their subsequent friendlies, as some younger attackers have become larger contributors, but the rest of the group will put those offensive players to the test.

Speaking of defensive strengths, Morocco used theirs to clinch a spot in Russia ahead of the Ivory Coast, a team those who follow the World Cup regularly are used to seeing. In fact, the Moroccans' defense was so good that they didn't allow a single goal during qualifying, and their 11 goals scored were the third-highest. However, their three wins in six games were the fewest among the four African teams to qualify for the World Cup, and while their 11 goals sounds impressive, six came against a Mali side that was down to 10 men after 57 minutes and nine men after 67. Ultimately, they'll be looking to rely on their defenders, including two who play for Juventus and Real Madrid, respectively, to potentially contain the top two teams in the group while making sure they bring out the attack for their match against Iran.

Getting a result against Iran is expected for Morocco, but it won't be easy against a side that allowed just two goals in 10 qualifying matches, with a defense that helped them finish ahead of South Korea in their group (Japan and Saudi Arabia were in the other Asia qualifying group). The defense may be able to hang with Morocco for a bit, but slowing down Portugal and Spain is likely to be way more than they can handle. If you're researching the Iranian national team, you'll come across Sardar Azmoun fairly quickly because he's been described as "The Iranian Messi"; no, really. Iranians have already pegged him to one day be the best player the country has ever produced, and while that may be the case one day, it's unlikely to be enough for him to be a valuable fantasy piece this summer. The names Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Ashkan Dejagah are likely to be the ones we talk about more.

And finally, the favorites of the group are Spain, who have the fourth-best odds in the tournament to win their group and the third-best odds to win the World Cup. The winners of the 2010 World Cup, Spain shockingly failed to get out of their group in 2014, but roster turnover has helped make them much younger and they should be in for a long run in Russia. They have elite players at every level and scored 36 goals in 10 qualifying matches (third-most in Europe) while allowing a federation-low three. Oh, and they smoked Argentina 6-1 back in March (I know, I know, Messi didn't play). The match against Portugal could be tough, but this group is absolutely Spain's to lose.

OFFICIAL ROSTERS

ODDS REPORT

Odds via bet365.com

PLAYER GOAL ODDS

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Iran: Playing against the Spain and Portugal defenses will be really tough, but the match against Morocco will get plenty of people looking at Alireza Jahanbakhsh, who had a league-high 21 goals and 12 assists (third-most) in 33 starts for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie this past season. While it's known to be a very offensive league, it's still impressive to average 4.5 shots, including 2.0 on goal, 5.1 crosses, 2.5 chances created, 2.1 fouls suffered and 2.2 tackles won per 90 minutes. With a role on set pieces and that kind of finishing ability, Jahanbakhsh could still be usable against the European powers if the price is right thanks to his peripheral stats. Reza Ghoochannejhad will also grab some looks (and not just because his surname has 14 letters) after scoring nine goals in the Eredivisie, but if there's a player to consider after Jahanbakhsh it's Ashkan Dejagah, who spent some of his career with Wolfsburg and Fulham and actually bagged a penalty in Iran's recent 2-1 loss to Turkey (Jahanbakhsh had already subbed off).

Morocco: The Moroccans have a few attacking options, though fantasy players will absolutely want to focus on Hakim Ziyech, who was dominant for Ajax this season, scoring nine goals and assisting 15 others in 34 starts. Again, the Eredivisie is a defense-optional league, but 4.9 shots, including 1.4 on goal, 10.1 crosses and 4.2 chances created per 90 minutes cannot be ignored. A good amount of those opportunities come from set pieces, but luckily Ziyech takes them for Morocco, too.

Portugal:Cristiano Ronaldo is the best player in the group, but Ricardo Quaresma is the one who could take a lot of Portugal's set pieces, as long as they're not direct free kicks because Ronaldo refuses to give those up. Portugal have a number of good attacking pieces, it's just a matter of whether they'll be let loose. If Quaresma doesn't start, fantasy players could turn to Manchester City's Bernardo Silva, who took corners recently when Quaresma was rested. The team is actually packed with players who take set pieces for their clubs, including Joao Moutinho (AS Monaco), Joao Mario (West Ham) and Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP) in addition to Quaresma and Silva. The upside will always be with Ronaldo, and we just have to hope the lineup situation makes it clear who will be on set pieces.

Spain: If you think Portugal have a lot of potential set-piece takers, Spain have five players who could take them at any point. While Manchester City's David Silva is probably the front-runner, he surely won't have a monopoly, so locking him in on a site like DraftKings isn't necessarily a must. Focusing more on open-play value, Isco could be the key contributor, as he's very active in the attack while still being very good on set pieces when he's on them. Thiago Alcantara, Koke and Marco Asensio are all options as well, though Silva and Isco are probably more likely to get the starting minutes. For those looking at who is going to score all the goals, the Spain line will probably be led by Diego Costa, but don't sleep on Iago Aspas if he gets a start, as he finished this recent La Liga season with more goals than anyone except Messi, Ronaldo and Luis Suarez.

EXPECTED CORNER TAKERS

Iran: Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ashkan Dejagah
Morocco: Hakim Ziyech, Younes Belhanda, Mbark Boussoufa
Portugal: Ricardo Quaresma, Bernardo Silva, Joao Moutinho, Joao Mario
Spain: David Silva, Koke, Thiago Alcantara, Isco

EXPECTED PENALTY TAKERS

Iran: Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ashkan Dejagah
Morocco: Hakim Ziyech
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo
Spain: David Silva, Sergio Ramos, Diego Costa

ROUND OF 16 OPPONENTS

• Winner of Group B plays runner-up in Group A (Egypt, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uruguay)
• Runner-up of Group B plays winner of Group A