It is a tradition of sorts at big tournaments to come up with a ‘Group of Death’- a term used to refer to a closely contested group with clear winners or losers difficult to predict. The matches of these groups generate a large amount of buzz with the whole bunch of punditry and media hype surrounding it. The players too know one bad day can lead to the early packing of bags and as such stakes are very high. There is a general belief this time around that Group F consisting of Germany, Mexico, Sweden and South Korea is this edition’s Group of Death.

While defending champions Germany have been poor in the friendlies and come into the tournament with probably less vigor, Sweden and Mexico are unpredictable. These two nations can beat anyone on their day and this means their match on the 27th of June is massive. South Korea also has a pretty exciting squad and if they pull of an upset against any of these three opponents or even a point, things will get tricky. All in all, it will still be safe to put a bet on Germany and Mexico to qualify with Germany topping the group. Let us have a look at some of the Group of Deaths over the past World Cups and how these ended. 2018 FIFA World Cup Dark Horses: Belgium to Portugal, Five Teams That Can Spring a Surprise in Football WC Russia.

2014 World Cup (Group G) - Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA

This group had four quality sides with each one having its own set of qualities and each capable of nicking of a point of another. The Germans destroyed Portugal 4-0 in the opening match while the USA came home with all the three points against Ghana in the opening round. But Ghana did not lose heart with the defeat and shocked Germany with a 2-2 draw to give Portugal and USA real hope with both sides replicating the scoreline when they took on each other. Portugal then met the Ghanaians knowing only a victory with a huge margin could save its cup chances with USA also needing to lose against the Germans. While, the Germans did manage to beat the USA, Portugal could only come up 2-1 win and was eliminated along with Ghana.

2010 World Cup (Group G) - Brazil, Portugal, North Korea, Ivory Coast

Brazil came into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa as favorites but was placed in a pretty competitive group consisting of Portugal, North Korea and the Ivory Coast. Since the World Cup was played in Africa, Ivory Coast had added boost to perform and were excellent coming into the cup. They met Portugal in the opening match which ended in a 0-0 stalemate while Brazil huffed and puffed needing a Maicon special to overcome the North Koreans 2-1. In the second round, Portugal humiliated the Asian side 7-0 to boost their goal difference, while Brazil secured passage to next round with a win over Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast victory over North Korea in the last match by a margin of 3 goals did little to lift their mood as they crashed out along with their opponents.

2006 World Cup (Group C) - Argentina, Netherland, Serbia, Ivory Coast

Two extremely lethal opponents in Argentina and Netherland squared off and had Serbia and Ivory Coast as opponents who were no pushovers. While Argentina started off with a win over Ivory Coast, Netherland’s Arjen Robben 18th minute finish against Serbia was enough to grab all three points. Probably the biggest talking point from the group came in Argentina’s 6-0 win over Serbia where Esteban Cambiasso’s goal is still considered as one of the best team goals ever. Netherland on the other hand secured qualification too with a 2-1 win over Ivory Coast. Thus, in the end the two stronger teams had their way but the group produced some great footballing moments.

2002 World Cup (Group F) - Argentina, Nigeria, England, Sweden

The 2002 edition of the World Cup saw a tough fight between Argentina, Sweden, England and the Nigeria with each one having decent World Cup record under its belt. Sweden and England qualified from this so-called group of death with 5 points each with Sweden finishing on top due to superior goalscoring record. England defeating Argentina in the second group game with the help of a David Beckham penalty is considered the turning point of the group as Argentina too were in the fray as they finished with 4 points.

While the Group of Death historically has given viewers quite the drama and entertainment, the heartbreak they leave the players with who fail at vital points is also cruel, to say the least. We look forward to some fast paced action from Group F in Russia.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 04, 2018 03:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).