There are 32 national teams participating in the Russian World Cup 2018, divided into eight groups. The tournament kicked off last Thursday, June 14 – the inaugural game was between Russia and Saudi Arabia, ending in a five-nil victory for the hosts. Morocco was the first team to be kicked out of the contest on Wednesday June 20, with a record-breaking goal from Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
While the football pundits have their favourites, we’ve examined the offerings with a different aim – which of the four stock markets in each group offers the best chance for investment returns? The goal? To win a place in your portfolio.
Over the next couple of weeks, we will reveal our favourites – sometimes aligning our views with the bookies, sometimes deviating considerably when it comes to comparing sporting prowess and investment prospects.
Group A
Russia/Saudi Arabia/Egypt/Uruguay
The bookies’ favourite is Uruguay, but we prefer undervalued Russian equities
Group B
Portugal/Spain/Morocco/Iran
We agree with the pundits here and have both plumped for Spain
Group C
France/Australia/Peru/Denmark
The best prospect for both the tournament and your portfolio in this Group is France
Group D
Argentina/Iceland/Croatia/Nigeria
While the bookmakers favour Argentina, we explore the investment outlook for Nigeria
Group E
Brazil/Switzerland/Costa Rica/Serbia
Five-time winners Brazil get our vote – and are ranked second in the tournament
Group F
Germany/Mexico/Sweden/South Korea
Germany is favourite to win the World Cup according to FIFA, and our investment pick too
Group G
Belgium/Panama/Tunisia/England
Belgium is the bookies’ favourite, while we prefer the FTSE 100 – and explore domestic stocks
Group H
Poland/Senegal/Colombia/Japan
This group has divided the critics – with some saying Colombia will move forward, others plumping for Poland. We prefer Japanese equities