Ronaldo staring at group-stage exit
Former World Cup coach MILOVAN RAJEVAC, in his first column for TNP, predicts doom for Portugal
They might be European champions, but Portugal may not even make it out of their group in Russia.
Portugal have the reigning Ballon d'Or winner in their ranks, but they will be the first heavyweight to hit the deck once the World Cup kicks off next Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo had a good Euro 2016, but he'll find it much harder to replicate that form at the World Cup.
The 33-year-old will always be a threat up front, but the European champions don't have the same quality in other areas of the team.
In the heart of defence, coach Fernando Santos' options include a 35-year-old Pepe, a 34-year-old Jose Fonte, who now plies his trade in China, Rangers' Bruno Alves, 36, and the untested Benfica centre-back Ruben Dias - who has a solitary cap.
To complicate matters, his team are drawn in a tricky Group B, which features Spain, who are one of the favourites, Asia's top-ranked team Iran and Morocco - whom I believe are the best team in Africa at the moment.
Morocco have been unbeaten since last June and did not lose a game in a tough World Cup qualifying group featuring Ivory Coast, Mali and Gabon.
They might not have the star names of other African teams, like Egypt with Mohamed Salah, Senegal with Sadio Mane and Nigeria's John Obi Mikel, but they attack and defend together as a compact team.
The Atlas Lions have a very good coach in Herve Renard, who is the only man to win the African Nations Cup with two different countries.
He is a friend of mine and I see similarities between his side and my Ghana team in 2010, who were a penalty shoot-out away from becoming the first African team to reach a World Cup semi-final.
Renard has created a good atmosphere within his well-motivated team.
Despite producing talented players, many African teams have fallen apart at the World Cup because the atmosphere in the team is not right.
You cannot underestimate how important having the right team spirit is. Players must feel for one another and fight for one another.
The atmosphere in my Ghana team in 2010 was great. We were like a family, and I think that was an important reason behind our success.
Another team that I'm tipping to do well is my native Serbia.
I know Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho predicted on Wednesday that they won't get out of Group E and Nemanja Matic will get an early rest ahead of pre-season, but I have bad news for him.
Matic won't get much of a break because his side are definitely going to survive a group featuring Brazil, Switzerland and Costa Rica and make it to the knockout rounds, and could then go on to be the tournament's surprise team.
Serbia have a good mix of experienced players like Matic, Dusan Tadic and Aleksandar Kolarov and youngsters from the 2015 Under-20 World Cup-winning side like Milos Veljkovic, Andrija Zivkovic, Golden Glove winner Predrag Rajkovic and Bronze Ball winner Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
Lazio's 1.91m-tall midfielder Milinkovic-Savic, in particular, can be the breakout star of the tournament.
He's skilful, tactically astute and has impressive speed of thought. He's Serbia's most dangerous weapon, and it's no surprise that there is talk of him leaving Lazio for around 100 million euros (S$156.7m).
- Milovan Rajevac coached Ghana at the 2010 World Cup, where they were a penalty shoot-out away from becoming the first African nation to reach the semi-finals. Now coach of Thailand, Rajevac has been tasked with spearheading the War Elephants' charge towards the global stage.
- He was speaking to Dilenjit Singh.
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