Football is going to its spiritual home. Fantastic football players, lots of drama, crazy skills, override passion for the game, samba atmosphere are all ingredients for a
BRAZILLIANT World Cup.
Here's a quick presentation of the 32 competing teams listed in alphabetical order.
ALGERIA - Although not drawn in a very hard group it is unlikely Algeria will get passed the group stages as they lack squad quality. Players to watch :
Saphir Taïder,
Nabil Bentaleb,
El Arbi Hillel Soudani,
Sofiane Feghouli.
ARGENTINA : It comes down to whether Messi can catch fire for the first time at World Cup after failing to do so at the previous two attempts. Players to watch :
Lionel Messi,
Sergio Agüero,
Ezequiel Lavezzi,
Ángel di María.
AUSTRALIA : Being placed in the same group with the finalists of the last World Cup it is expected for them to make an early exit of the tournament. Players to watch :
Tim Cahill,
Tommy Oar,
Mile Jedinak,
Dario Vidošić.
BELGIUM : With so much quality and talent Belgium has a great chance of becoming the surprise of this tournament. Players to watch :
Eden Hazard,
Marouane Fellaini,
Thibaut Courtois,
Romelu Lukaku.
BOSNIA & HERZEGOVINA : Set for their first appearance B&H could do some damage if they overcome the lack of experience. Players to watch :
Edin Džeko,
Vedad Ibišević,
Senad Lulić,
Emir Spahić.
BRAZIL : Even though this is not the most talented Brazilian team ever, any result other than winning the trophy will be a disaster for the passionate home fans. Players to watch :
Neymar,
Hulk,
Oscar,
Thiago Silva.
CAMEROON : Very strong defensively, "Les Lions Indomptables" will have to produce some attacking display in order to pass the group stage. Players to watch :
Samuel Eto'o,
Benoit Assou-Ekotto,
Alex Song,
Benjamin Moukandjo.
CHILE : The question is whether their huge talent and great offensive line will be enough to send home Spain or Netherlands. Players to watch :
Arturo Vidal,
Alexis Sánchez,
Eduardo Vargas,
Mauricio Isla.
COLOMBIA : At no. 5 in the current world rankings, Colombia hopes that their injured super star Falcao could be healed on time to play at the World Cup. Players to watch :
Radamel Falcao,
James Rodríguez,
Fredy Guarín,
Cristián Zapata.
COSTA RICA : A decent side but it would be a huge surprise if they could get anything out of their group. Players to watch :
Joel Campbell,
Óscar Duarte,
Celso Borges,
Bryan Ruiz.
CROATIA : Blessed with some fine attacking players, Croatia could be one of the hard to beat sides. It also depends on how they will cope with playing the opening match against Brazil. Players to watch :
Luka Modrić,
Mario Mandžukić,
Mateo Kovačić,
Ivan Rakitić.
ECUADOR : Will they feel at home in Brazil ? Unbeaten at home in qualifying, Ecuador struggled to get a single win away from home. Players to watch :
Antonio Valencia,
Felipe Caicedo,
Frickson Erazo,
Christian Noboa.
ENGLAND : Although improving lately, England has a massively hard task in reaching the advanced rounds given the strength of their group. Players to watch :
Wayne Rooney,
Daniel Sturridge,
Raheem Sterling,
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
FRANCE : Having one of the best and most dynamic midfields, France has the potential to be one of the main contenders this summer. Players to watch :
Mathieu Valbuena,
Blaise Matuidi,
Raphaël Varane,
Franck Ribéry.
GERMANY : A superb side in terms of discipline, strength and depth, Germany is, alongside Brazil, the main favourite to win the trophy. Players to watch :
Mario Götze,
Toni Kroos,
Mesut Özil,
Philipp Lahm.
GHANA : Very strong midfield but with less quality in the back and handed a very tough group, Ghana will most likely be set for an early exit. Players to watch :
Kwadwo Asamoah,
Kevin-Prince Boateng,
Sulley Muntari,
Asamoah Gyan.
GREECE : Sturdy and well built defensively but lacks creativity and brilliancy. Their international experience might help them get to the last 16. Players to watch :
Kostas Mitroglou,
Giorgos Samaras,
Lazaros Christodoulopoulos,
Vasilis Torosidis.
HONDURAS : Their goal is to win their first WC game but that might not be the case this year as they lack star quality in every single area. Players to watch :
Wilson Palacios,
Andy Najar,
Jerry Bengtson,
Carlo Costly.
IRAN : This is one of the weakest teams and it will be a huge surprise if they qualify to the second round. Players to watch :
Reza Ghoochannejhad,
Ashkan Dejagah,
Mohammad Reza Khalatbari,
Masoud Shojaei.
ITALY : Will the mix of new and old players work out for them ? As always, Squadra Azzura has a great defensive game but will their offensive line deliver as well ? Players to watch :
Andrea Pirlo,
Mario Balotelli,
Ignazio Abate,
Leonardo Bonucci.
IVORY COAST : The Elephants have an incredible collection of superstars, however their lack creativity and mental strength could stop their dreams once again. Players to watch :
Yaya Touré,
Lacina Traoré,
Gervinho,
Didier Drogba.
JAPAN : This very technical and hard working team could cause some upsets in the tournament if they will find a way to overcome their lack of a true striker. Players to watch :
Shinji Kagawa,
Shinji Okazaki,
Keisuke Honda,
Yūto Nagatomo.
MEXICO : After an almost disastrous qualifying campaign El Tri will have to improve their game to stand a chance. Players to watch :
Javier Hernández,
Andrés Guardado,
Oribe Peralta,
Giovani dos Santos.
NETHERLANDS : After a miserable Euro 2012 Orange Clockwork are expected to bounce back and make their way into the later stages of the competition although they are part of a very tough group. Players to watch :
Robin van Persie,
Arjen Robben,
Nigel de Jong,
Wesley Sneijder.
NIGERIA : The champions of Africa are blessed with a multitude of young and talented players led by one of the top goalkeepers in the world. Players to watch :
Victor Moses,
John Obi Mikel,
Sunday Mba,
Vincent Enyeama.
PORTUGAL : An inconsistent team will be relying massively on the form of their captain, the best player in the world in 2013. Players to watch :
Cristiano Ronaldo,
Fábio Coentrão,
João Moutinho,
Nani.
RUSSIA : It will be Russia's first World Cup in 12 years and, despite lacking superstars the odds are they will make it to the last 16. Players to watch :
Aleksandr Kerzhakov,
Alan Dzagoev,
Viktor Fayzulin,
Vasili Berezutski.
SOUTH KOREA : After an unconvincing qualifying campaign, "The Reds" made it to their 8th consecutive World Cup but they will have to improve their game to get pas the group stage. Players to watch :
Park Chu-Young,
Kim Bo-Kyung,
Son Heung-Min,
Koo Ja-Cheol.
SPAIN : "La Furia Roja" is one of the top contenders of the tournament; however, it could be an uphill battle as they face tough opponents in their group and they have little experience playing in South America. Players to watch :
Andrés Iniesta,
David Silva,
Diego Costa,
Juan Mata.
SWITZERLAND : Despite their excellent form and a group of talented youngsters, Switzerland might fail to qualify from a tricky group. Players to watch :
Granit Xhaka,
Xherdan Shaqiri,
Valon Behrami,
Haris Seferović.
USA : The Yanks were drawn in the "group of death" with two of the world's top ten teams therefore making it to the last 16 would be a huge achievement for them. Players to watch :
Landon Donovan,
Jozy Altidore,
Sacha Kljestan,
DaMarcus Beasley.
URUGUAY : Although facing two former world champions in their group, "La Celeste" has the faith tradition, experience and two fantastic strikers could lead to success . Players to watch :
Luis Suárez,
Edinson Cavani,
Diego Godín,
Cristian Rodríguez.
Good luck to all the teams and the best experience for all the fans around the world!
