The moment of truth has arrived! Four years of expectation have come to an end, and finally the "World Cup of all World Cups’ will commence in a few hours. This will be the 20th edition of the most important tournament in football. After an absence of 36 years, it will be hosted by a South American nation (Argentina were the last to host it in 1978). Whenever this competition was held in South America, it was never won by a European Side, and since the last couple of editions were won by Italy and Spain respectively, the teams from the other continents will try to end this streak, with Brazil on top of the favourites. This article will help you to get to know in detail all the 8 groups (from A to H), so keep yourself comfortable and let yourself enter in the atmosphere of the World Cup.
Group A:
There is a huge demand to perform well for the Brazil squad, since they are the hosting country. The authorities are cautious both on the performance on the pitch and outside the pitch, where the protests are still going on due to the injustice over the lower class natives. The Brazilian fans are still furious with their coach, Scolari, due to the exclusion of their favourite player, Luis Fabiano. Twelve years ago, Brazil won the cup for the last time and they are considered the sole favourites of being the winners with Neymar, their top player or their "craque’ as they say in Portuguese, being tipped to emulate Pele back in his victorious days.
Croatia’s coach, Niko Kovac is encouraging his squad to consider their inaugural match against Brazil as their last day alive, in order to express their maximum potential. Croatia will depend a lot on their physical midfield and with players like Kovacic, Modric and Rakitic they will surely be a team to beat in this group.
Mexico always produces some great talents, but they never succeed in a World Cup, with their best result being a quarter final back in 1986. Their coach, Herrera, said that they have nothing to lose but their pride and glory, meaning that we will see a highly motivated Mexico in this group.
The calm after the storm began for Cameroon after their disagreements with their association about their bonuses. The Cameroon squad is now in Brazil and with the likes of Samuel Eto’o and Joel Matip in their team; they cannot be put aside in this group.
Group B:
Torres, Diego Costa or "falso nueve’? Probably, this is Del Bosque’s only concern before the upcoming matches of Group B. Together with Brazil, they are the top favourites since they have recently won the last edition of the European Championship, but most of all they are the holders of this tournament since winning the last edition back in 2010, when in the final they met Netherlands and beat them 1-0.
The same Netherlands will be in their group and they will have a repeat of that final on the opening match of the group. Van Gaal, the Netherlands’s coach, has the task of bringing the trophy to the Netherlands for the first time in their history, after losing all finals the played in. If he recovers from the injury, Robin Van Persie, apart from wearing the armband, will be the leader upfront once again.
Chile will be participating in the World Cup for the second time in a row and just like in 2010, they will encounter Spain once again. Chile have a strong squad especially both in midfield and in offensive and with the help of their main man Arturo Vidal (if he recovers just in time) and Alexis Sanchez, they will surely provide some spectacular matches in this group.
Australia’s coach Postecoglu has no pressure to win the tournament or to reach the highest places, but he still wants his team to perform well and with the help of their captain, the highly-experience Tim Cahill, they have all the cards in rule to have a satisfactory tournament.
Group C:
There’s a lot of optimism in Japan’s squad. Against all odds, their star player Keisuke Honda said that they will pass the group without any difficulty. Ambitious and decisive, Alberto Zaccheroni’s squad is ready to defy the odds in this group.
Jose Pekermann is surely not a rookie name in this competition. He will be leading Colombia from the touchline hoping that the “Cafeteros” will produce some enthusiastic football as they showed throughout the qualifying campaign. Their only drawback will be the absence of their prolific striker Radamel Falcao who is out due to a serious injury.
Ivory Coast hope that their rapid development of their style of football and the injection of youth players can help them to achieve more than four years ago, meaning to at least qualify from the group stages.
Noted for its solid defence and physical midfield, Greece will try to defy the odds by challenging for the top places in this group. Despite having won the Euro 2004, it is not one of Europe’s top teams, therefore they should pull up their sleeves in order to gain more respect in European Football. Greece has an ageing team and that could be their main drawback, but upfront they can rely on their prolific striker, Kostas Mitroglou.
Group D:
Repeating the 2006 triumph in Germany is Italy’s main ambition, but their squad is not considered one of the favourites, therefore they have less pressure to achieve their targets. Their last edition was a complete disaster, eliminated from their group with only 2 points. But in the last couple of tournaments, they reached the final in Euro 2012, and last summer they reached the 3rd place in the Confederations Cup. This shows the successful work that Prandelli is doing for this squad…Could he top his work by triumphing in the Maracana on the 13th July? The "Azzurri’ still have a great team and with players like Pirlo, De Rossi and Balotelli, they can surely reach the Last Four.
Roy Hodgson is optimistic about his England young selection. He said that his team is even better than that of Euro 2012. England are trying to end their long streak without a trophy since 1966, despite being called the “founders of football”. In every tournament, the England fans are always optimistic…but this year, they may have better reasons to do it with that squad. England will be led by Steven Gerrard, who after saw his Premier League dreams vanish, will try to motivate the England squad to reach the final in the Maracana….
…but first he must overcome his partner at Liverpool, Luis Suarez, who will be the main danger together with Edinson Cavani in the Uruguay squad. Oscar Tabarez will surely want to see good performances from his team after their recent successes in the Copa America, in the last World Cup (3rd) and in the Confederations Cup (4th).
Probably one of the teams, if the not the most team, who actually is not being given too much publicity and exposure. Costa Rica are surely the underdogs of this group, and they will try to transform the lack of attention on them in a surprising journey throughout Group D. Joel Campbell could not be a popular name with the football fans, but he may change his status if he performs up to his standards — he is on the Arsenal FC books as well.
Group E:
In recent years, Switzerland have made some important developments, which put them on map of European Football. They will try to do better than 2010, when they got eliminated in the group stages despite beating Spain on Match Day One! Stephan Lichsteiner, Xherdan Shaqiri and Xhaka are some of the most popular Swiss names who will try to lead their national side to achieve its targets.
With Antonio Valencia being their only main top player, Ecuador will still be a tough challenge in Group E. They are noted for their rapid football when being in the offensive and for their rough challenges when being in the defensive area.
“Les Blues” are one of the favourites for the final victory in this year’s edition. And with the likes of Benzema, Giroud, Varane and probably the youngest best midfielder around, Pogba, no one can blame the French if they are very optimistic. They showed some great football in the friendly matches, and probably Deschamps will demand the same style of football in the World Cup.
Luis Fernando Suarez, Honduras’s coach said that his players know their targets and are highly focused on the tournament. Most of the Hondurian journey will depend on the promising Andy Najar, who plays for Anderlecht FC. He is considered as pure talent, and there would be no surprise if he puts up some great performances in display.
Group F:
Unbeaten in qualifying with the exception of their dead-rubber finale with Uruguay in Montevideo, Alejandro Sabella will be hoping to lead Argentina to their first World Cup triumph since 1986. Having only progressed beyond the quarter-finals once since then, La Albiceleste have a lot to prove. Ambitions within the camp are high, captain Lionel Messi is the same age now as Diego Maradonna was in 1986, which is reason enough for some to suggest a third star will be knitted above the team crest.
The only debutants in the tournament, the combined forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina will be hoping to leave an impression and announce themselves to world football. Safet Susic’s attacking style will be a breath of fresh air to a tournament that has become increasingly defensive and tactical in years gone by. The Bosnians took their qualifying group by storm, winning eight and losing only one of ten games, scoring a whopping 30 goals in the process, and with players like Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic they will sure provide some pretty displays on the pitch.
Coach Stephen Keshi, referred to as a God back in Nigeria, has impressed at the helm since taking over in 2011. Capturing the hearts of a nation with his amazing motivational skills, Keshi led The Super Eagles to their third African Cup of Nations success in 2013. Favouring a squad of local players, as well as the household Premier League names, he has successfully eliminated any trouble makers from the squad, creating a healthy atmosphere between the 23-man squad.
Together as a squad since March, there won’t be a player in the Iranian squad who doesn’t know their job when they line up for their opener with Nigeria. Carlos Querioz’s detailed planning will ensure Iran will still have a say in Group F. Backed by passionate supporters who flooded the streets after qualification was secured, the Iran team will be hoping to give them even more reason to celebrate at the tournament.
Group G:
Germany are always one of the team to beat in a World Cup, and even when they are not amongst the favourites; in most cases they always reach the Last Four. Their last triumph dates back to 1990, and in their last 3 outings, they lost the final once and got eliminated from the semi-finals twice. The team will be led by Phillip Lahm, and together with his fellow partners, they will try to bring the trophy back to Berlin.
Kevin Prince Boateng has put Ghana under the spotlight by stating that the Black Stars can win the World Cup this summer. Probably, he forgot that Ghana must face Portugal, the USA and Germany in Group G. Despite this, Ghana can still be a tough team to beat since having many players who play in the top leagues around Europe, and just like four years ago, they will try to advance at least till the quarter finals.
Cristiano is the name, Ronaldo is the surname. He is Portugal’s top player without any doubts and the Portugal fans are all hoping that he will produce the same performances that he produces with Real Madrid. But apart from Ronaldo, there are other players on whom Portugal can count. Portugal have always produced great players but always fail in achieving an international success, and this World Cup could be a huge occasion for them.
Have you ever imagined the USA without Landon Donovan? Well, this summer you can watch them without him rather than imagining it. Klinsmann has injected some youth players together with the experienced players, including Julian Green who has only played once in senior football. Klinsmann himself admitted that it is difficult to win the World Cup, but dreams cost nothing (so could be this the secret towards an "American Dream?’)
Group H:
Belgium have made a huge improvement in its football policy in recent years. The result? A highly talented squad, if not the golden generation of Belgium football history. Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel and Romelu Lukaku are some of the names who can help the "Red Devils’ to achieve success in Brazil.
Russia has a new star, called Fabio Capello. With his strict rules and a disciplinary attitude, Capello will hope that their journey in Brazil lasts longer than their actual flight to Brazil.
Korea Republic can be considered as a regular participant in the World Cup despite rarely advancing through the final phases of the tournament – except in 2002 when they reached the semi-final in a highly controversial way. Their coach, Hong Myung Bo, gave orders to hold the training sessions between closed doors, in order to keep his tacticts as a secret. What does Hong Myung Bo have in store for his opponents?
After their participation in the 2010’s edition, Algeria will try to achieve better results, and despite their stronger opponents in this group, they will still try to give a tough challenge they are capable of delivering, since they have players who play in the top leagues around Europe, such as Taider, Mesbah and Belfodil.