A
SNEAK PEEK AT THE GROUPS
A peek
through the groups and the respective squads represented at Brazil ’14
indicates that this will be a very entertaining tournament, full of many intriguing
marchups. Another interesting feature that is unique about the forthcoming
tournament is that it contains two “Groups of Death”
GROUP A
Group A
comprises of hosts and red hot favourites Brazil, Croatia, Cameroon and Mexico.
The
Brazilians are by far the clear favourites to clinch this group. They are
managed by former World cup winning coach Luiz Phillipe Scolari, deputized by
Carlos Alberto Parreira, himself triumphant in ‘94.
Scolari
surprised many with some of the names he left out of his final roster. In a
tentative way any keen observer would have expected him to build his defense on
the tested and proven Atletico Madrid pair of Luiz Felipe and Miranda. David
Luiz, Dante and Danny Alves seem a tid bit cavalier as they are known for
lapses in concentration.
Thiago Silva,
one of the top central defenders in the world, who doubles up as team captain
will shore up the defense like the rock that he is. In an ideal world Silva,
Miranda, Luiz Felipe and Rafinha Alcantara as right back would have formed an
impermeable barrier at the back. The weak link in this side though, will be
right back position with Danny Alves and the ageing Maicon completing the
picture.
Both Scolari
and Parreira prefer the quick counter attacking style which relies on fast
marauding overlapping full backs that bomb forward at every opportunity supported
by fast and dynamic midfielders who are expected to track back and protect the defense.
The dynamism that is expected of their midfield is all the reason why PSG’s vastly
talented Lucas Mouro’s omission was a mystery. But again Scolari is spoilt for
choice: Gustavo, Fernandinho, Paulinho, Ramires, Oscar and Neymar will provide
the ingenuity and spontaneity expected of a Brazilian midfield.
The offense
is built around the creative genius of Neymar, who has yet to impress his paymasters
at Barcelona. He seems to always transform into a force of nature whenever he dons
the yellow and blue national colours!
At the apex of their offense they will rely on
the sheer power and physical strength of the imposing “Hulk”, with Jo and Fred
providing cover. Fred is the type of striker who thrives best in tight spaces.
In goal
tender Julio Cesar they have one of the safest pair of hands in the world.
Like thorough bred horses, Brazilians have the
pedigree, legacy, a winning mentality and fanatical home support making them overwhelming
favourites for the ultimate prize.
The runners-up position seems tailor made for
the Crotians because they have a few match winners in their squad namely Mario
Mandzukic, Luka Modric and veteran Ivica Olic. They are technical and tactically an astute
outfit that relies more on team play and have a strong workman like mentality.
The talented
Cameroonians will be the group’s dark horses as they are quite unpredictable
and on their day can rise to the occasion and give any team a run for their
money. They seem to have outgrown the self destructive tendencies and have
matured into a tactical outfit that can set out a game plan and execute it as
they proved during the qualifiers and pre-tournament friendlies.
They have the
sure feet of seasoned veteran Captain Samuel Etoo and Archilles Webo. One
promising player on the Cameroonian squad is young goalkeeper Charles Itandje
whose cat-like reflexes evoked memories of past legend Thomas Nkono during the
qualifiers. Sadly, however, Cameroon has been revisited by the ghost of
disorganization, a problem which seems to leave their preparations in disarray
at almost every World cup they’ve participated. The squad staged a mutinous sit
in refusing to fly out to Brazil demanding their wages and allowances. With
days to go, what a distraction!
The Mexicans
will be the rank outsiders in this group relying largely on a home based squad.
Interestingly, Mexico boasts a very good record in previous meetings with Brazil;
theirs will be an interesting matchup.
GROUP B
As the first
“Group of Death”, Group B will line up the likes of defending champions Spain,
Netherlands, Chile and Australia. As one of the tournament favourites,
defending champions Spain are tipped to top this group as well.
Despite the vast riches in talent within
Spain, team manager Del Bosque seems a bit complacent as he seems to over rely
on the ageing Barcelona duo of Xavi Hernandez and Iniesta.
This however
is not a feature unique to Spain as defending champions, as has been
symptomatic of almost all prior defending champions who get too comfortable in
their own success and fail to self evaluate, refresh their ranks and tactics.
The current World and European Champions will
obviously need to reignite the fires and stoke the hunger and desire that saw
them surmount the world of football lest they fall like most defending
champions.
Their
midfield is their forte and comprises names that would make any opposing
manager red with envy! Xavi Alonso, Xavi Hernandes, Andres Iniesta, Santi
Carzola, Cesc Fabregas, Juan Mata, Koke, David Silva, quite some fire power!! Call
it overkill if you may.
Pedro,
Fernando Torres, David Villa and Diego Costa complete the striking quartet. In
the Brazilian born naturalized Spaniard Diego Costa, they have one of the most in-form
strikers, whose warrior like demeanour will surely add character and grit to
the nimble “La Rojas”.
Del Bosque has a huge pool of talent at his
disposal and can choose to play the possession based Barcelona system which
he’s replicated time and again or can use his false striker system and flood
the forward line with attacking midfielders, either way, the Spaniards will be
a handful for any opposition.
Spain will have to watch out for the threat
posed by both the Dutch and Chile. The Chileans impressed during the qualifying
rounds in South America play a possession based style of play similar to the
Spanish. They are led by deadly forward Alexis Sanchez who plies his trade at
Barcelona and rely on his speed and creativity backed by the midfield pair of Arturo
Vidal and Eduardo Vargas.
The Dutch as
always seem to churn out talent in droves. The losing finalists in South
Africa, coincidentally to Spain, will be led by the tough, no nonsense master
tactitian Louis Van Gaal. Similar to other Van Gaal teams, the current
“Oranjia” side is built on a tactical discipline, and a proven attacking style.
Captained by
striker Robin Van Persie, they are a decent blend of both youth and experience.
At the heart of their midfield, the creative play will be generated by veteran Wesley
Sneijder while Arjen Robben, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar and Dirk Kuyt will complete
the options upfront.
Australia is
the rank outsiders from the group just to illustrate how tough this group is!
That said, however, the “Socceroos” are no pushovers and any team that
underestimates them will do so at their own peril!
GROUP C
Group C
comprises Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, and Japan.
On paper,
this seems like the most balanced group with all the four teams standing an
equal chance of qualifying.
Colombia will
be at a disadvantage having lost the services of their dependable striker
Radamel Falcao to a long standing knee injury. In his absence the forward line
will be led by Inter Milan’s Freddy Guarin. The Colombians had an impressive
run during the South American qualifiers where they finished a respectable
second behind Argentina.
The Greeks can count on the attacking duo of
Costas Mitroglou and Giorgios Samaras. They are captained by Giorgios Karagounis,
the only surviving member of the squad that defied all odds and won the Euro
’04 in Portugal.
The Greeks
play a very disciplined, defensive style that relies on the counter attack
where the pace of Dimitri Salpingidis in particular can be lethal. They seem to
have internalized this system from their previous German tactician Otto
Rehhagel and will be a tough nut to crack.
The Ivory
Coast team better known as the “Elephants” has been one of the most
persistently disappointing teams to represent the African continent in recent
history. Despite the vast array of talent, the Ivorians have not only flopped
at the last two World cups but have surprisingly been unable to win the African
Cup of Nations faltering severally.
Boasting big
names such as former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, the Toure brothers Kolo and
Yaya, Salomon Kalou, Didier Zokora, Gervinho, Cheikh Tiote etc it beats all
logic why they seem to always implode at the big stage when winning would seem
the natural course of action. Individually their players have always shown
commitment and passion when playing for their clubs but seem not to lack the
same fight when donning the orange jersey.
The Ivorians
can be forgiven though for being unluckily cast in the proverbial “group of
death” twice at successive World cups ’06 and 2010. This time round though, the
draw has been kind to them.
Japan might
prove to be the most entertaining and enterprising team from this group. It
won’t be surprising if they actually take the top spot. Japan has grown from
relative oblivion over the last two decades to a team deserving and worthy of
respect. They are the current Asian Champions and take pride in having won 4
continental titles.
The Japanese
seem to have harnessed their natural industry and discipline and now boast one
of the best drilled sides outside the traditional power houses of Europe and
South America. Their previous Brazilian coach Zico seems to have also imprinted
South American flair on the Japanese game, using their short stature and low
center of gravity to play a style based on quick short passes, dizzying runs,
stamina, and sheer determination.
The Japanese
team is a blend of home based players built around several stars who ply their
trade in Europe such as Captain Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz),
Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United) and Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan).
GROUP D
Comprising of England, Italy, Uruguay and
Costa Rica, Group D was a team short of being another group of death, but will
interestingly have several intriguing matchups for fans to savor. Four time
champions Italy are the clear favourites leaving the Uruguayans and the English
to fight it out for the second spot.
The Italians
are favoured to advance as group winners. What the “Azzuri” bring to the world
stage is a proven pedigree, a winning mentality, with a historical record only
surpassed by the Brazilians!
The Azzuri
are built around the precision passing skills of veteran midfielder Andreas
Pirlo. Naturally built on resolute defending, their back line will be shored up
by the Juventus pair of Chiellini and Barzagli.
Gianluigi
Buffon is a goalkeeper of legendary proportions. Daniele Di Rossi will bring
experience in the attacking half of their mid, while strike duo of experienced
Antonia Cassano and the unpredictable Mario Ballotelli complete a decent
Italian outfit.
A notable
feature of the current Italian coach Prandelli has been a desire to break away from
the ultra- defensive style of the past, incorporating some attacking flair as
witnessed during the “Euro ’12”. After a disastrous showing in South Africa,
majority of the ageing squad retired ushering a new era for the Azurri, the
current squad therefore has a youthful quality.
Current South
American champions Uruguay, who also finished fourth at the last world cup, is
a battle hardened side with one of the most experienced squads at the finals.
In Liverpool’s
mercurial Luiz Suarez and the imposing Edinson “El Matador” Cavani, their
striking force should instill fear in any opponent. Suarez is currently one of
the most inform strikers on the planet and produced virtually the form of his
career winning the “golden boot” as the English Premier League’s top scorer
with a rich harvest of 31 goals.
To cap that
achievement, Suarez extended the goal fest by topping the scoring charts during
the South American qualifiers with 11 goals.
They also
rely on dead ball specialist and team captain Diego Forlan, blessed with a
brilliant footballing mind, Forlan helps set up play, is lethal with either
foot from distance and can accurately pass from range.
In the widely
travelled Oscar Washington Tabarez, they have a master tactician with a career
spanning 30 years and having coached at the highest level in both South America
and Europe.
England is a
difficult team to quantify because the English Premier league is one of the top
leagues in the world that has over subsequent decades attracted the best talent
from around the globe but the English national team seems to always fall short
of expectations.
The current
“Three Lions” squad has a respectable forward comprising of the valiant Wayne
Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Welbeck and Ricky Lambert.
The midfield
is where it’s going to happen for England with the young Ross Barkley’s
occasional runs exhibiting flashes reminiscent of past star Paul Gascoigne.
Adam Lallana
and Raheem Sterling will provide pace and width while the main creative forces
will be Arsenal pair of Alex Oxlade Chamberlain and Jack Wilshire.
Team Captain Steven Gerrard, deputized by
Frank Lampard should provide the mental grit and experience to guide what looks
like a very youthful side.
The defense
is England’s weakest link. The ideal combination would have been a John Terry
and Tim Cahill central defensive pairing with the vastly experienced Ashley
Cole as left back and Glen Johnson on the right. Chris Smalling and Tim Cahill
will be their best central defensive option because Phil Jagielka has just
returned to full fitness after a long standing injury. However, reliable left
back and dead ball specialist Leighton Baines will be relied on for his
free-kick acumen.
In Joe Hart, England has one of the top
goalkeepers in recent times. The main concern for the England team overall is
how a few of their players fair after long term injuries and how their
inexperienced players cope with playing on the big stage.
GROUP E
After a
perilous journey through the qualifiers and the playoffs, the World Cup soccer “gods”
must have sympathized with their cause as they clearly favoured the French with
a fairly reasonable group.
Consisting of
Equador, Switzerland and Honduras, the French along with the physically
imposing Ecuadorians are favored to advance from this group.
Yet to find
an inspirational leader and replacement for Zidane, the French have found it
difficult to scale the heights seen at the turn of the century.
A lack of
cohesiveness cost them dearly as they joined the Italians for an early flight
home from South Africa. With that disaster a fading memory now, former World
cup winning Captain Didier Deschamps has meticulously crafted a decent team that
combines both physical power, finesse and speed.
In Hugo Lloris they pride in one of the best goalkeepers
in the world.
In Bacary
Sagna, Laurent Koscielny, Eliaquim Mangala, Patrice Evra, Mamadou Sakho, and
Raphael Verane, Deschamps has a healthy pool of talented defenders to choose
from.
The midfield
will be led by the gifted Yohan Cabaye and Paul Pogba, with Blaise Matuidi and
Valbuena providing further options upfield.
Mousa
Sissokho and Loic Remy will provide speed and width, while Karim Benzema and
the lofty Olivier Giroud complete a respectable strike force.
Play will
swivel upon the passing and vision of Cabaye and the youthful exuberance of an
imposing Pogba whose thunderous shots with either foot will be an asset.
Equador play
a typical South American game, topped up with hefty muscle. The squad is mix of
South America and Europe based players.
Led by the
workman like character and versatility of Manchester United’s Antonio Valencia,
Equador vs France will be the match to relish from this group. Another notable
player in this squad is long serving striker Felipe Caicedo.
The Swiss are
largely an unknown quantity which may actually work to their advantage. If the
recent form of Swiss champions F.C Basel is anything to go by, then the Swiss
will surely unruffled a few feathers.
Their best
player is Bayern Munich’s forward Xhedran Shaqiri, with a blend of players
plying their trade across the length and breadth of Europe.
Honduras’
most notable players are defender Maynor Figueroa who’s played at Wigan
Athletic for a number of seasons, and defensive midfielder Wilson Palacios.
Majority of the squad is based in the M.L.S league in the U.S
GROUP F
Group F
consists of Argentina, Nigeria, Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Argentina is by
far the strongest team from this group and is also one of the sides tipped to
win the ultimate prize.
The current generation is so richly endowed
with talent that it almost rivals the Maradona led side at Mexico’ 86. Led by
multiple “World Player of the Year” Lionel Messi, the length and breadth of
their offense oozes of class! Maxi Rodriguez, Angel Di Maria, Rodrigo Palacio,
Sergio “Kun” Aguerro, Gonzalo Higuain and Ezequiel Lavezzi complete an arsenal
that rivals both Brazil and Spain.
Uncunningly
similarly to Maradona, Lionel Messi’s strength is his ability to take on
defenders with ease on the dribble, using his low center of gravity to maneuver
and weave his way through a forest of legs if necessary!
To illustrate
the bounty at his disposal, national coach Alejandro Sabella even had the
luxury of leaving out Juventus striker Carlos Tevez from his final squad.
With such a
talented and technical gifted pool of players the only system that compliments
their natural abilities is a one based on the short, quick, triangular passes,
laced with plenty of nicks, dinks and tricks easy on the eye, similar to
Spanish game. They effortlessly topped the South American qualifiers.
Bosnia is a
talented squad that brings a mixture of Eastern European grit, graced with good
technical ability and a team mentality similar to their Croat cousins.
Their
offensive line will be led by the VFB Stuttgart’s Vedad Ibisevic, and
Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko. Another notable player is goalkeeper Asmir
Begovic. This is a team that shall fully exploit the “underdog” tag to deadly
effect.
The “Super
Eagles” of Nigeria comes to the world stage as African Champions. Unlike the
vastly talented team at ’94 and ’98 football jamboree, the current squad’s biggest
asset is discipline. Stephen Keshi has painstakingly built a team based on team
play because the biggest challenge at prior outings was dealing with the “super
egos” therefore eliminating the egotistical star players and forging a team
that would fight for country first, was imperative. This team’s game is based
on the typical West African physical strength and speed.
Peter
Odemwingie, Shola Ameobi, John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses, and team Captain Joseph
Yobo are some of the exceptional players in the squad.
Iran is
largely unknown outside Asia. With that said, having qualified from the tough
Asian continental rounds, they should be a tough proposition.
The only
notable player is Fulham’s Ashkan Dejagah. He was raised in Germany and even
represented Germany at various youth levels but opted to play for Iran. Dejagah
is a gifted forward who can play as an attacking midfielder of a right winger.
GROUP G
Group G forms
the second “group of death”. Germany, Portugal, Ghana and the U.S.A, this group
is as tough as it gets. Even group favourites, the much fancied Germany will
require their “A” game to guarantee progression.
Germany’s
coach Joachim Loew has a drawn the vast majority of his squad, 15 players, from
the two top German clubs Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.
In Manuel
Neuer and Roman Weidenfeller, Germany has two of the best goalkeepers in world
football.
The defensive
lynchpin is central defender Matt Hummels, ably assisted the towering Per
Mertesecker. The defense also consists of team Captain Philip Lahm, Jerome
Boateng, and Kevin Grosskreutz.
The midfield will be anchored by the tough
Sami Khedira with midfield dynamos Mesut Ozil, Bastian Schwansteiger, Mario
Goetze, Toni Kroos, Julian Drexler, and Andre Schurrle offering endless options.
The vastly
experienced Miroslav Klose at his fourth World Cup and Lucas Podolski completes
a formidable striking duo.
What the
Germans always bring to any contest is ruthless efficiency, mental strength,
and a self-belief rivaled by none. They bring a pedigree only surpassed by the
Brazilians and the Italians.
They were losing semi-finalists at the last two
World cups and losing finalists in 2002.
Loew has such a vastly talented squad full of
dynamism and versatility as most of his charges can play at different positions.
He even has the luxury of choosing what system
to play depending on the circumstances at hand. He can opt to play the possession
based play favored at Bayern Munich or the counter-attacking style preferred by
Borussia Dortmund.
They join Brazil,
Argentina and Spain as one of the tournament favourites.
Portugal is
technically gifted side built around the super human talents of current World
Footballer of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo. The current Portuguese team has yet
to reach heights of the Luis Figo led “golden generation” of yore, but have
enough quality to give any team a run for their money.
Ghana is the
most complete team out of the five qualifying teams from the African continent.
The core of
the current team has been together since winning the F.I.F.A World under 20
Championships in ’09.
Known as the “Black
Satellites”, the same team was largely kept together and incorporated into the senior
team the “Black Stars”. They then represented Ghana at the Africa Cup of
Nations and the 2010 World cup.
Now in their
mid 20’s, matured and vastly experienced, they will be a handful to any
opposition. To compliment the youthful talent, team Captain Michael Essien, and
Sulley Muntari shall provide the stewardship to ensure they progress from this
group.
Upfront the technically gifted Ayew brothers
Jordan and Andre, speedy wingers Christian Atsu and Kwaduoh Asamoah, and German
born Kevin Prince Boateng complete a vastly talented squad.
Team U.S.A
comprises of a squad largely based in the M.L.S. The quick footed Jorzy
Altidore and goalkeeper are exceptions who ply their trade in English Premier
League. Jurgen Klinsmann has built a team reminiscent of the German side he
represented two decades ago, reliant on their athletism and tactical
discipline.
GROUP F
Group F
consists of Belgium, Russia, Algeria, and South Korea. This is a well balanced
group similar to group C, with tournament dark horses Belgium as the exception.
The vastly
talented Belgians have one of the most talented squads in Europe. Led by
Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, their forward boasts of an offense second only to
Germany in Europe. Chelsea’s Romelo Lukaku, Everton’s Kevin Mirallas, Maroune
Fellaine and Adnan Januzaj both based at Manchester United, Tottenham’s Musa
Dembele, Axle Witsel, Wolfburg’s Kevin DeBruyne, and a promising Divock Origi
from Lille.
The defense
is led by the tough tackling team Captain Vincent Kompany from Manchester City assisted
by Totenham Hotspurs’ Jan Vertonghen, Bayern Munich’s Daniel Van Buyten, and a
versatile Thomas Vermalen from Arsenal.
Tharbout
Courtois is arguably the best young goalkeeper in the World and is deputized by
the exceptionally talented Simon Mignolet from Liverpool. This choice in exceptional
goalkeepers is equaled only by Germany.
Coached by
former Captain Marc Wilmots, this is a side that if properly motivated can be
unleashed upon the World cup to deadly effect.
Russia is
another side that is difficult to quantify. The young squad is largely based in
the Russian league with former Chelsea player Yuri Zhirkov who plays anywhere
on the left wing and long serving national team goalkeeper and team Captain
Igor Akimfeev as two notable players.
The Koreans
have a new generation of players with most of the squad led by Guus Hiddink delighted
many at the 2002 edition having eased off into retirement. The bulk of the
squad are home based with Sunderland’s Ki-Seung Yeung (KISSY) as the
exceptional talent of note.
The Algerian
national team better known as the “Desert Warriors” are a quite a decent outfit
led by Sofiane Feghouli who represented France at various youth levels but
switched allegiance at senior level.
Other notable
players are Majid Bougherra and Adlene Guardiora. Algerian football went into
limbo during the civil war but has seen resurgence in recent years. This
particular squad was largely put together during the qualifiers to South Africa
2010 and has a lengthy familiarity to rely on.
Algerians
play a Mediterranean style, touch and go Latin football and should be a delight
to watch.
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