2014 World Cup Preview

         With the World Cup draw officially in the books, it is time to get excited for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Here are the results of the draw as well as a preview of each group and predictions for the knockout stage.

Group A

1) Brazil

2) Croatia

3) Mexico

4) Cameroon

         The host team looks like they will have no problem moving on to the knockout stage, but once they get there they will have the most difficult second round matchup, likely either Spain or Netherlands.
But getting to the knockout stage should be no problem for Brazil. Young players like Neymar and Oscar are expected to lead Brazil to their sixth World Cup victory. If this team can role over Group A and gain some momentum going into the knockout stage, they could find themselves going very deep into this tournament. This team is excellent to begin with, but having the World Cup in Brazil means every game is a home game. Second place is up for grabs in this group where none of the remaining three teams have been overly impressive in qualifying. Mexico, who has been this year’s France with three different head coaches during qualifying and a whole lot of internal issues, got an extremely favorable draw considering they qualified only after being forced to play a playoff with New Zealand, and they only made it to the playoff thanks to last second goals scored by archival USA. Croatia and Cameroon both boast top-league performers such as Luka Modric (Real Madrid) and Samuel Eto’o (Chelsea), respectively but neither has the talent to knock off Brazil from the top of this group. These two teams will likely battle for the runner-up spot.

Prediction:

 1) Brazil

 2) Croatia

 3) Cameroon

 4) Mexico

Group B

1) Spain

2) Netherlands

3) Chile

 4) Australia

         The biggest headline in this group is not which teams will take the top two spots in this group but rather which order they will be in. The two finalists in 2010 World Cup will face each other for their first game in the group. This is no doubt the most exciting matchup of any group and while both teams will likely move on to the knockout stage, this first game is very important because the team that wins this group gets to avoid the host country Brazil in the second round and instead will get an easy matchup against the runner-up of Group A. There is no shortage of star power between the two teams and the key matchup could be Robin van Persie, striker for the Dutch, against the back line of Spain. Whichever team wins this opening game will almost certainly win the group with the loser being runner-up. If it ends in a tie then the group’s winner will be determined by which team will beat Chile and Australia by a greater goal margin.

Prediction:

 1) Spain

 2) Netherlands

 3) Chile

 4) Australia

Group C

1) Columbia

2) Greece

3) Ivory Coast

 4) Japan

         This group does not really have a dominating power but instead has four teams who can win the group. I have not seen anything spectacular out of the top ranked Columbia, who did not have an overly difficult qualifying schedule. Greece and Ivory Coast, who both had very good qualifying games, could sneak in to claim the top spot in this group while Japan, the first team to qualify for the World Cup, should not be slept on as a dark horse runner-up. This group is going to be very competitive because all of these teams are good but I do not know if any of them are great.

Prediction:

 1) Ivory Coast

 2) Columbia

 3) Greece

 4) Japan

Group D

1) Uruguay

2) Costa Rica

3) England

 4) Italy

         There is usually only one ‘Group of Death’ in each World Cup but this group may be the ‘Group of Death 1B.’ There are only two spots available for teams to move on to the knockout round but three teams in this group have a chance to claim those spots. Luis Suarez is the man everyone loves to hate after his goal-stopping intentional hand ball against Ghana last year in the quarterfinals and ensuing missed penalty by Ghana, helped Uruguay move on to the semifinals. Since then he has been suspended numerous times in the Barclay’s Premiere League for reasons such as racist remarks and biting an opponent. The Liverpool striker, however, has become one of the most prolific goal scorers in the world. He will lead a talented Uruguayan team against a tough group. England did not have an easy road to the World Cup, qualifying only after an almost must-win in their final game. Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard are the big names on this team but the success of England may come from their younger, less experienced players. Italy is in the same boat as England. Veterans Gianluigi Buffon and Andrea Pirlo are two of the greatest ever at their respective positions, but a lot of this team consists of young, erratic players starting with perhaps the most erratic player in the world: Mario Balotelli. Balotelli is the kind of player who can win a game for you just as easily as he can lose a game for you. His talent is unquestioned but his maturity brings doubts. If Balotelli and fellow young striker Stephan El Shaarawy can get something going together up front then, along with Pirlo, there should be no shortage of goals for Italy. With Buffon in goal on the other end of the field do not expect them to give up many goals either. Another reason Italy might be a force to reckon with is that, like Spain, their best players all play in the Italian domestic league, which helps create chemistry even though not all play on the same club team. The only reason this group is not the official ‘Group of Death’ is because Costa Rica was never a real threat to move on to the knockout stage even before this unfortunate draw.

Prediction:

 1) Italy

 2) Uruguay

 3) England

 4) Costa Rica

Group E

1) Switzerland

2) Ecuador

3) France

4) Honduras

         Like Mexico, France scratched and clawed its way into the World Cup by winning a playoff against Ukraine. They were rewarded with the second easiest group. Last World Cup’s biggest disappointment, France’s players literally walked off the practice field in South Africa due to an internal protest, should see their way to the knockout stage this year. France has the physical talent to go far, but is mental aspect there? The biggest rivals of France will be themselves. Switzerland was widely considered to be the weakest ranked team going into the draw but they may be able to scrape by into the next round thanks to a relatively favorable group. Last year they upset eventual champions Spain in their first group game, this year they have to prove that they deserved to be among the top ranked teams. Ecuador and Honduras may be good for an upset in the group and if Switzerland does not live up to their rank Ecuador may be able to get into the second round.

Prediction:

 1) France

 2) Switzerland

 3) Ecuador

 4) Honduras

Group F

1) Argentina

2) Bosnia-Herzegovina

3) Iran

4) Nigeria

         Argentina may have been given the best draw of the World Cup. After what should be an easy road to winning this group, Argentina should get an even easier matchup in the second round against the runner-up in Group E. Messi has not had much luck in the international game. If there was a year he could lead Argentina deep into the knockout stage, it would be this year. Bosnia-Herzegovina, in my opinion, is the most underrated team in this year’s World Cup. Led by striker Eden Dzeko, this team should be locked in as runner-up in this group. Due to the weaknesses of Group E, Bosnia-Herzegovina may be able to extend their first ever World Cup appearance into the quarterfinals. Iran and Nigeria, who face each other in their first game, should probably just be happy to be here.

Prediction:

 1) Argentina

 2) Bosnia-Herzegovina

 3) Nigeria

 4) Iran

Group G

1) Germany

2) Portugal

3) Ghana

 4) USA

         The Group of Death. All four are, at the very least, very good teams and in almost any other group all would be favorites to move on to the knockout stage. However, the draw giveth and the draw taketh away and of these four teams only two can advance. Germany is definitely the favorite to win the group but it will not be a cakewalk. People do not seem to like Portugal very much because they needed four goals in two games by Cristiano Ronaldo in their playoff against Sweden, but when you have Ronaldo in your lineup no team is going to want to play you. Ghana and the USA have created their own mini-rivalry and will play against each other for the third time in as many World Cups. Both games ended 2-1 in favor of Ghana, in the group stage in 2006 and the first round of the knockout stage in 2010. Both teams have the ability to knock off one of the two European teams in this group but it will not be easy as both Germany and Portugal field some of the greatest players in the world. Luckily for both teams, they play each other in the first game and a win for Ghana or the USA could give them the confidence to put up a fight against the other two teams in their group. With a very poor Group H, two teams in this group are very likely to make it to the quarterfinals.

Prediction:

 1) Germany

 2) Portugal

 3) USA

 4) Ghana

Group H

1) Belgium

2) Algeria

3) Russia

 4) Korea Republic

         This has got to be the weakest group in the Cup. Belgium, like Switzerland, is considered a weak ranked team, also received a very favorable group. They are talented but very inexperienced. Belgium and Russia are almost certain to advance, although in which order they finish is up in the air, because Algeria and the Korea Republic should pose almost no threat it could come down to goal differential. Russia, who puts on the pitch a talented midfield, can threaten Belgium for the top spot but with the Group of Death looming in Group G, no team in this group should be expected to get very far.

Prediction:

 1) Belgium

 2) Russia

 3) Algeria

 4) Korea Republic

Knockout Stage Predictions:

Second Round:

Brazil defeats Netherlands

Uruguay defeats Ivory Coast

Bosnia-Herzegovina defeats France

Germany defeats Russia

Spain defeats Croatia

Italy defeats Columbia

Argentina defeats Switzerland

Portugal defeats Belgium

Quarterfinals:

Brazil defeats Uruguay

Germany defeats Bosnia-Herzegovina

Spain defeats Italy

Portugal defeats Argentina

Semifinals:

Germany defeats Brazil

Spain defeats Portugal

Finals:

Germany defeats Spain