The World Cup is upon us! For all of my non-stop poo-pooing of the tournament, that all-too familiar World Cup fever is nevertheless beginning to creep into my bones. I am 100% excited for it and I’m going to watch as much of it as I can. I suppose that is the magic of football, that even a tournament run by an organization as grotesquely corrupt and evil as FIFA can still captivate you.

I know we have fans of many different countries here at Fear the Wall, but we are all Dortmund fans, and there will be many players and teams to root for among those with a Dortmund-tinted viewing interest. Let’s break down which Dortmund players are appearing for whom, and what each team’s path to the Jules Rimet looks like:

Players: Waldemar Anton, Nico Schlotterbeck, Maximilian Beier, Felix Nmecha

Germany vs Curaçao – Sunday June 14, 1:00 PM EST

Germany vs Ivory Coast – Saturday June 20, 4:00 PM EST

Ecuador vs Germany – Thursday June 25, 4:00 PM EST

Germany should have a straightforward path to the knockout rounds. With all due respect to Curaçao, that game will likely be a total beatdown. While the Ivory Coast and Ecuador are much stronger opponents, Germany will still be favorites against both. Once it gets to the knockouts, things will get trickier. I think Germany are probably outside favorites compared to some of the stronger teams such as Spain, France, or Portugal.

For the four BVB players involved, Schlotterbeck should start the most. He will be playing alongside Bayern’s Jonathan Tah in the back line. Nmecha should start as well, while Anton and Beier will likely start most games on the bench.

Players: Marcel Sabitzer, Carney Chukwuemeka

Austria vs Jordan – Wednesday June 17, 12:00 AM EST

Argentina vs Austria – Monday June 22, 1:00 PM EST

Algeria vs Austria – Saturday June 27, 10:00 PM EST

Like Germany, Austria has one game that should be a beatdown, and that’s against Jordan. I don’t know what compelled FIFA to schedule a west-coast game to start at 9:00 pm local time other than to shield the eyes of the world from such a game. Unfortunately for the Austrians, the other two matches are much harder. Because of the ludicrous rules that allow eight of the twelve teams that finish in third place to advance to the knockouts, Austria should still qualify, but it will be tough.

Marcel Sabitzer will probably start every game, while Chukwuemeka will probably start on the bench like he did against Tunisia last week.

Player(s): Ramy Bensebaini

Argentina vs Algeria – Tuesday June 16, 9:00 PM EST

Jordan vs Algeria – Monday June 22, 11:00 PM EST

Algeria and Austria will probably battle it out for second place behind Argentina. Bensebaini would be behind Rayan Ait-Nouri at left-back on the depth chart, so he will probably feature at center-back. He didn’t play in Algeria’s tuneup friendly against Netherlands last week, but I would be shocked if he doesn’t see the pitch at some point given that he was a staple of the Algeria squad at AFCON this year.

Player(s): Julian Ryerson

Iraq vs Norway – Tuesday June 16, 6:00 PM EST

Norway vs Senegal – Monday June 22, 8:00 PM EST

Norway vs France – Friday June 26, 3:00 PM EST

Many people seem to consider Norway a bit of a dark horse. They certainly have plenty of star power with Erling Haaland, Martin Ødegaard, and of course, star Bundesliga playmaker Julian Ryerson. Unfortunately, they are arguably in this tournament’s group of death, with potential favorites France and a very strong opponent in Senegal. I’ve seen many people point to France vs Norway as the best single matchup of the group stage, and I tend to agree with them.

And then, as always, there a total traffic cone in Iraq.

Player(s): Daniel Svensson

Sweden vs Tunisia – Sunday June 14, 10:00 PM EST

Netherlands vs Sweden – Saturday June 20, 1:00 PM EST

Japan vs Sweden – Thursday June 25, 7:00 PM EST

Norway’s neighbors to the east also have quite a difficult group. ESPN’s odds have Sweden making it over Tunisia but behind Japan, although it all is fairly close. Sweden definitely has a strong squad with Aleksander Isak and Viktor Gyökeres leading the attack. Svensson should be penciled in at right back for most of the tournament.

Player(s): Gregor Kobel

Qatar vs Switzerland – Saturday June 13, 3:00 PM EST

Switzerland vs Bosnia and Herzegovina – Thursday June 18, 3:00 PM EST

Switzerland vs Canada – Wednesday June 24, 3:00 PM EST

Switzerland should advance to the knockouts relatively easily. They are likely favorites to win their group, although an away match against Canada could be difficult. After years of playing behind Yann Sommer, Gregor Kobel is finally the #1 man between the sticks for the Swiss, and will play a major role no matter how far they go.

So other than Salih Ozcan who will be leaving in the summer, that’s every BVB player who will be featuring in the World Cup this year. Now is the part where we pick our winners! I’ve created a public league for Fear the Wall that anyone can join here. I’ve picked Spain to beat Argentina in the final.

Happy hunting!