A large contingent of Barcelona players will be at the prestigious tournament.
The World Cup is under a week away with the teams entering their final preparations while the fans reach pitch fever. This is a nervous time for players, though, because this is the worst possible time to pick up an injury. Argentina’s Manuel Lanzini is the most recent example of this after he suffered a ruptured knee ligament.
Barcelona are in the unique position of having a player in each group. Therefore, there are plenty of matches which are linked to the Catalans in some way as well as a number of individuals to root for.
Here’s a breakdown of which players are in the different groups:
Group A
Luis Suarez will be a key player for Uruguay in what should be an easy group. They are the clear favourites to top the group, with Egypt the team that’s likely to come second. Hosts Russia are also in the group while Saudi Arabia are the final member of the group.
La Celeste finished second in CONMEBOL qualifying as Edinson Cavani and Suarez fired the team to the tournament with 10 and five goals respectively. They have an experienced manager in Oscar Tabarez who has guided them to the last three World Cups as well as Italia 90, and won the 2011 Copa America. He has gradually started to bring through a talented generation of players who have bolstered areas of the squad. Lucas Torreira, Rodrigo Bentancur and Maxi Gomez are players to watch out for in this regard.