FIFA World Cup 2018 Group H Prediction & Preview with Betting Tips

Group H

Poland were ranked sixth in the FIFA Rankings at the time of the World Cup draw but, after Colombia progressed to the quarter-finals last time out, it is the South American team tipped to top the group.

Senegal and Japan are the other two teams in the group – the African team appearing for the first time since their surprise run to the quarter-finals in Japan and Korea in 2002.

Read on for the fixtures, group odds and forecasts in Group H....

Teams

Poland

Qualified as winners of European Group E, with eight wins from their ten matches.
Key Players: Robert Lewandowski was top scorer in the whole of European qualifying with 16 goals for Poland – 13 more than any other Polish player. At club level, he has also passed 30 goals for the third consecutive season too, while going past 50 career goals for Poland as well. Behind him, experience and goals are also supplied by Jakub B?aszczykowski, who will hope to be fit again for the World Cup.
Last five results:
- W
- D
- L
- L
- W
Odds to win the tournament: 50/1 (Bet365)

Senegal

Qualified as winners of CAF Group D unbeaten, with four wins and two draws from their six games – once a controversial defeat to South Africa had been overturned due to ‘unlawful influencing’ of the game by the referee.
Key Players: Sadio Mane has enjoyed a great season for Liverpool as one part of their three-pronged attack, and will hope for similar results when he links up with his international team-mates. Diafra Sakho, Mame Biram Diouf and Moussa Sow are among Senegal’s options to join Mane in attack. Cheikhou Kouyate captains the team in midfield, meanwhile.
Last five results:
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
Odds to win the tournament: 200/1 (Bet365)

Colombia

Qualified in the final automatic spot in the South American group.
James Rodriguez was Colombia’s break-out star at the last World Cup, winning the Golden Boot after scoring six times in the tournament – the same amount he scored in qualifying this year. Radamel Falcao missed the last World Cup through injury, and has endured a frustrating road back to fitness, but he has scored more than 50 goals across the last two seasons with Monaco to prove he is back to his best.
Last five results:
- D
- L
- W
- W
- D
Odds to win the tournament: 40/1 (Bet365)

Japan

Qualified as winners of the AFC Third Round Group B, overcoming a tough group that also included Saudi Arabia and Australia.
Key Players: Shinji Okazaki has 50 international goals for Japan and more than 100 caps, with his 2015 Premier League title win cementing his legendary status back in his home country. Namesake Shinji Kagawa, meanwhile, is – like Okazaki – trying to fight his way back into squad contention. Should they not be selected – as they have not been for recent friendlies – then Keisuke Honda provides Japan’s star quality, with 36 goals from his 92 caps to date.
Last five results:
- W
- W
- L
- D
- L
Odds to win the tournament: 300/1 (Bet365)

Group H Fixtures

Colombia

VS12:00 GMTJune 19th

Mordovia Arena, Saransk

Japan

Poland

VS15:00 GMTJune 198th

Otkritie Arena, Moscow

Senegal

Japan

VS15:00 GMTJune 24th

Central Stadium, Yekaterinburg

Senegal

Poland

VS18:00 GMTJune 24th

Kazan Arena, Kazan

Colombia

Japan

VS15:00 GMTJune 28th

Volgograd Arena, Volgograd

Poland

Senegal

VS14:00 GMTJune 28th

Cosmos Arena, Samara

Colombia

Group H Betting Tips & Prediction

Group Betting

Colombia are narrow favourites to win Group H, with Bet365 setting the South American team at 5/4 and Poland at 7/4.

Senegal are 5/1 and Japan are 7/1, relatively short odds considering the expected dominance of Colombia and Poland.

Realistically, however, Colombia’s game with Poland in the second round of fixtures will be the one that decides the group winner.

Poland have only beaten Colombia twice in seven attempts, but their most recent match was in 2006. Nevertheless, Colombia showed their strength in beating France in their friendly in March and are favourites to top the group for a reason.

Group Qualification Yes/No

Despite Colombia and Poland being expected to get through the group stages, there are some comparatively generous prices being offered on the two of them to qualify for the second round.

Bet365 are offering 1/3 on Colombia to qualify for the second round, while Poland are 4/7. Senegal are 11/8 and Japan 2/1.

Senegal shocked the World Cup when they last appeared, but that was back in 2002 and they have a tough group with Colombia effectively the second seeds behind Poland.

Japan, meanwhile, have a poor record against non-Asian opponents of late, and again they are priced surprisingly low considering. Colombia and Poland really should be getting out of this group.

Group Forecast

With that in mind then, a group forecast bet looks another good option, with effectively two choices to pick between if you are backing the favourites to go through.

A 1st – Colombia, 2nd – Poland forecast will return 7/2 with Bet365, while 1st – Poland, 2nd – Colombia is 4/1.

As already discussed, Colombia are favourites to top the group, however, and so the first forecast looks the better pick – and still returns a healthy potential profit.

To Finish Bottom of Group

As with the top end of the group, there are some relatively generous prices to be found at the other end of Group H too. Japan are 6/4 to finish bottom of Group H and Senegal are 2/1. Even Colombia are as low as 5/1 despite impressing four years ago.

Senegal impressed in their only previous World Cup outing, and while that might not be enough to go through this time, they will at least hope to finish ahead of Japan.

Group H Recommended Bet

Given they were the number one seeds in the group and qualified relatively comfortably, you would expect Poland to be priced lower than 4/7 with Bet365 to qualify from Group H.

Group H prediction

1) Colombia (5/4 to win Group H with Bet365)

2) Poland (4/7 to qualify with Bet365)

3) Senegal (8/15 to fail to qualify with Bet365)

4) Japan (6/4 to finish bottom of Group H with Bet365)