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The most awaited football event in the whole world is about to start and we take a look at the most important matches from each group in the group stages of the tournament.
#1 Brazil vs Croatia (Group A)
The first game of the 2014 FIFA World cup will see the hosts Brazil take on Croatia in a Group A encounter. Brazil, as always, are the favorites to win this year and they will look forward to mount their challenge with a winning start. They were the winners of the Confederations Cup, beating Spain, and now want to win the coveted trophy in their homeland.
Croatia will look forward to emulate their magical campaign of France ’98, where they finishes as second runner up and surprised many pundits of the football world. They have a strong team with players from the top brass of European Clubs and are bound to make things difficult for the Brazilians.
Scolari is known for his attacking brand of football and his star studded lineup will not take want to take it easy in their first outing.
Players to watch out: Neymar, Oscar, Modric, Manduzic.
Date: 13th June 2014
Time: 1:30 AM IST
#2 Netherlands vs Spain (Group B)
Revenge is the purest emotion they say! The Dutch contingent wouldn’t have forgotten the extra time strike from Iniesta to snatch the world cup from their grasp after coming so close to winning it in the normal time. This time they have a chance to set the record straight in the group stages as they are drawn together in Group B.
The Spaniards, though not the favorites to win the competition, will be looking to defend their title with a win and this will be battle between two of the best teams in the tournament. The match is set to revive some old rivalries and surely will be a treat for the fans on the second day of the World Cup campaign.
Players to watch out: Van Persie, Robben, Iniesta, Diego Costa, Ramos
Date: 14th June 2014
Time: 12:30 AM IST
#3 Japan vs Ivory Coast (Group C)
Though this group might not boast of World Cup heavy weights but it is arguably the most unpredictable group in the whole tournament. Japan come into this tournament as Asian champions and have qualified for their 5th straight World Cup. The side is captained by Manchester United playmaker Shinji Kagawa and you can expect them to surprise other teams with their pace and energy.
Ivory Coast or Côte d'Ivoire is not short on talent either, the Les Elephants are captained by Didier Drogba and consists of players like Yaya Toure, Kolo Toure and Gervinho to name a few. Both the teams are considered to be underdogs for this World Cup but within themselves they would want to finish above each other to have a better chance of moving ahead in the tournament. It is difficult to ignore Colombia and Greece and both the teams are equally capable of qualifying to next round, but this encounter will the one to watch as it will be a battle between Asian and African powerhouse.
Players to watch out: Kagawa, Honda, Yaya Toure, Drogba
Date: 15th June 2014
Time: 06:30 AM IST
#4 England vs Italy (Group D)
The Group of death, as it is known, Group D, has the toughest competitions for places in the knockout stage of the tournament. One of the histories oldest football rivals will fight it out to advance in the next round. The fact that Uruguay is the third team to challenge for the places will make this match a do or die battle between the two teams.
The teams had last met in the 1990 World Cup for the third place play off, which Italy had won by 2-1. The Italians are confident to get past the English team and have already branded them as “No competition”. Roy Hodgson has put his faith in the relatively young squad for this World Cup and a win against Italy will boost their confidence to launch a strong challenge for the trophy. After a disappointing campaign in the last world cup where Italy did not even progress from the group stage, they will be looking to bank on a experienced squad for this edition.
Players to watch out: Rooney, Sturridge, Andre Pirlo, Mario Balotelli
Date: 15th June 2014
#5 France vs Switzerland (Group E)
The football pundits will rate this as the easiest group in the World Cup and not many would be surprised if France and Switzerland qualify easily to the next stage. Though many of us would expect France to come over as winners but I should remind you the trouble they had in the last world cup. The Swiss have a very defensive side which consisted only 6 times in the entire qualification round.
Switzerland had stunned the fans by defeating Spain in their first match of 2010 World Cup and have qualified for this edition as group toppers in a difficult European Qualification campaign. France on the other hand had to qualify through the play offs by overcoming a two goal deficit against Ukraine in a memorable night in Paris. The match had ended in 0-0 draw when the last time these sides met in 2006 group stage in Germany but we can expect few goals in this as Switzerland has proved to be a free scoring side in recent years.
Deschamps, the manager of French side, has taken a brave decision by leaving Nasri out of the squad and he will want to prove himself right by reaching the group stage as winners of Group E. It will be interesting to see how the European neighbors battle it out on the World Stage and reach the round of 16 of the tournament.
Players to watch out: Benzema, Pogba, Frank Ribery, Xherdan Shaquiri, Behrami
Date: 21st June 2014
#6 Argentina vs Nigeria (Group F)
The South Americans are considered to be one of the best attacking sides of the world but their team seems to lack the chemistry required to fully utilize the potential of their star players. With Messi, Di Maria, Aguero and Higuain they can be considered to be the favorites to top this group but Nigeria can be a tough nut to break on any given day. The Africans are led by John Obi Mikel and are the current African Cup of Nations champion.
They have a long history in World Cup finals as the two teams have been potted together on three different occasions in the group stage, as recent as in the last edition in South Africa. Argentina has won on all occasions and Nigeria will have a strong reason to go full throttle in this Group F encounter. The two time world champions are one of the contenders of this tournament and will have the continental advantage over the Africans.
Players to watch out: Messi, Aguero, Di Maria, John Obi Mikel, Victor Moses.
Date: 25th June 2014
#7 Germany vs Portugal (Group G)
The two European giants are pitted against each other and this will be a battle to decide who goes to the next round as group winners. The German national side boasts of a formidable midfield but lack options in the striker role as they are taking only one striker to the World Cup who is 35 years of age. Miraslov Klose will be looking to create history by becoming the highest scorer of World Cup goals but might not be picked in the starting lineup by Joachim Low, instead Muller is expected to start as a striker, the Bayern Munich star is the Golden boot winner from the last edition of this tournament.
Ronaldo is fighting to be fit for the tournament and will be the star man for Portugal if he is ready for this encounter on time. The last time these teams met in the world cup was in 2006 to fight it out for the third place, a match which Germany won comfortably. Portugal will be looking forward to put that result behind and cause a dent in Germany’s hope to qualify easily for the second round.
Both the sides love to play attacking football and you can expect a lot of goals and action in this encounter.
Players to watch out: Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Ozil, Mueller, Marco Reus.
Date: 16th June 2014
Time: 09:30 PM IST
#8 Belgium vs Russia (Group H)
Belgium is suppose to have their golden generation of players and is going to Brazil as one of the best teams on paper. The team, led by Vincente Kompany, easily qualified for this edition of the tournament and will be looking to reach the group stage smoothly. The depletion of the Korean team in recent years will see Russia be the contender for the top two positions in this group. The Russians hold the edge in terms of past encounters but the fact that Belgium has not lost to Russia since 1982 completely turn the stats on their head.
In the World Cup’s, the two teams have squared each other on 4 occasions and come out with 2 wins each. Young players such as Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Cortouis will be important for the Belgian Red Devils, whereas Russians will bank on their experienced manager Fabio Capello to deliver on the day when two sides meat to decide who goes on top of the Group H.
Players to watch out: Eden Hazard, Lukaku, Akinfeev, Alexander Kokorin
Date: 22nd June 2014
Time: 09:30 PM IST
