Yahoo Sports' 2018 World Cup preview hub

The 2018 World Cup has begun. This page will be your home for all of Yahoo Sports’ content. We will go team by team and group by group. We will hit on the most compelling stories and topics. And as we do, this page will be updated with links to all of it.

Team previews

Group A: Russia | Saudi Arabia | Egypt | Uruguay
Group B: Portugal | Spain | Morocco | Iran
Group C: France | Australia | Peru | Denmark
Group D: Argentina | Iceland | Croatia | Nigeria
Group E: Brazil | Switzerland | Costa Rica | Serbia
Group F: Germany | Mexico | Sweden | South Korea
Group G: Belgium | Panama | Tunisia | England
Group H: Poland | Senegal | Colombia | Japan

Group previews

Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F | Group G | Group H

Nuts and Bolts

• All 32 final rosters | Surprising roster decisions | Breakdown by league

• Group stage schedule | Team-by-team schedules

• Latest World Cup news

• The Bushnell World Cup Prop Bet Challenge

Rankings

• Henry Bushnell’s World Cup power rankings: March 29 | Nov. 15 | June 11

• Group stage games, ranked by watchability from 1-48

• Top 100 players at the World Cup

• Top 100 breakdowns: 1-20 | 21-50 | 51-100

• Top 40 under-23 players at the World Cup

• Ranking the 25 best players not at the World Cup

• FC Yahoo staff power rankings

• Group difficulty rankings

Features/Columns

• How will Russia’s societal problems affect the actual World Cup?

• How Mexico is recruiting the other type of dual national: U.S.-born fans

• Get to know Fox Sports’ secret World Cup weapon, Fernando Fiore

• Looking back on 1986, the last men’s World Cup without the U.S.

• How Vladimir Putin can use the World Cup to his benefit

• Ramadan dilemma for World Cup-bound Muslim players: faith or football?
  

• Messi’s biggest World Cup obstacle might be his Argentinean teammates

• Jurgen Klinsmann, Bruce Arena dish on USMNT’s qualifying failure

• How Mohamed Salah rose from Chelsea benchwarmer to Ballon d’Or candidate

• Welcome to Putin’s World Cup – with FIFA’s explicit permission

• Jurgen Klinsmann: “Almost impossible” for Germany to repeat

• Why Messi doesn’t need a World Cup to retain GOAT status

• What would the USMNT roster have looked like at the 2018 World Cup?

Soccer for Dummies

New to soccer? Or back after a three-year, 11-month absence? We’ve put together a three-part series to get novices up to speed before the World Cup.

Part 1: Soccer terminology
Part 2: Rules of the game
Part 3: A tactical guide to the 2018 World Cup

The Mixer

Twice a week throughout the month leading up to the World Cup, FC Yahoo’s writers and editors will engage in a series of debates and discussions on a variety of topics.

May 14: Staff power rankings debate
May 17: Messi vs. Ronaldo: Who’s better?
May 21: Consequences of the USMNT’s qualifying failure
May 25: Rankings the USMNT’s 1990-2014 World Cup squads
May 29: Is VAR a welcome advancement? Or a travesty?
June 1: Orange cards, abolishing the offside law, other rule change proposals
June 4: Should U.S. fans root for Mexico? If not, then who?
June 8: Predictions roundtable
June 12: How important is the 2026 bid?

World Cup Touchline

From December to June, Henry Bushnell’s World Cup Touchline column bridged the gap between the end of the qualifying cycle and the beginning of the tournament itself.

November: The story of qualification
January: How to enjoy the 2018 World Cup as a grieving USMNT fan
February: Goodbye, PyeongChang; Hello, Russia
March: Pre-World Cup friendly takeaways
May: What the 2017-18 club season told us about the upcoming World Cup