The drawing of groups for the much anticipated Brazil World Cup 2014 is officially over and we already know which teams are up against each other. But like any other tournament, we have come up with our predictions on which teams are advancing from the groups. Additionally, we also quoted the thoughts of the coaches after the draw.
Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon
We obviously can't deny the fact that the host nation is the most competent team to win given the skilled players it has, but we also like to think that Croatia is next in line for this group given that Luka Modric is Croatia's knight in shining armor. We'd like to see how this goes though.
Between the two countries, it was Luiz Felipe Scolari who poured out his thoughts for his Brazilian team now that they are to play against the aforesaid three. "We can't worry too far ahead past the group stage. If you start thinking about the second round you forget about the teams in the first round, which are important. We have to worry about these teams first," Scolari said.
Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia
For this group we have chosen or rather we are predicting that Spain and the Nethrlands are advancing. For Spain, we already know that the team has proven its competency as the defending champion which began slowly in 2010, although we'd also like to note that the team has lost to Switzerland in the first game. Then, there's the Netherlands who emerged as a runner-up back in 2010, but it was obvious that other teams were afraid of this team since then.
Spain's Vicente del Bosque said this week, "I told some close friends this morning that we would get the Netherlands in the first game and that is how it turned out. The Netherlands have changed the way they play but have still got (Rafael) Van der Vaart, (Arjen) Robben and (Robin) Van Persie." Meanwhile, coach to the Netherlands team, Louis van Gaal voiced out a brave statement by saying, "We have to play the world champion, we have to play Australia who we have never beaten and Chile was 3-0 up recently against Colombia before it ended 3-3, so that is not a weak team. The opponents are tough, but for the playing conditions it is not too bad."
Group C: Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan
We'd like to think that for Group C the teams that are advancing are Colombia and Ivory Coast. Why Colombia? Because we believe that Radamel Falcao is more than eager to lead his team to victory. As for the Ivory Coast, we're thinking that Didier Drogba's reappearance for one last time is going to make a big difference for the team.
Colombia's Jose Pekerman revealed that his team is going to be more cautious this time to prove its worth. "I really respect Japan, Cote d'Ivoire and Greece. It's been a long time since Colombia has been in a World Cup. We hope to do our part. We performed well in the qualifiers but that is now in the past. Anything can happen in the group phase so we have to be careful."
Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy
We've chosen Italy and Uruguay as the teams that are expected to advance to the next round. We all know that Italy has definitely made a mark by emerging champions in 2006 while the Uruguay team has managed to make it to the semis four years ago, which is enough to imply that this team might be making it to the finals.
After the drawing for the Brazil World Cup 2014, Cesare Prandelli of Italy uttered what his team's goal is all about for the upcoming competition. "Our target is to win every match we can. If we had drawn three not very good teams everybody would have thought we were favourites, but with a big team like England or Uruguay we have to suffer. We remember the match against England in the (2012) Euros. We played a fantastic match but England is now a different team, a more technical team. In any case, England versus Italy is the most fascinating match you can imagine in a town like Manaus." Additionally, Sebastian Bauza, who aside from being Uruguay's coach is also the president of the football federation, also dished his thoughts on the teams they are competing against. "It's obvious that we have a tough group and I don't think anybody would envy us for the rivals we will be up against. But I'm sure that if you ask the coaches of Italy and England they will also tell you that they are not overly happy about having to play Uruguay."
Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras
Our beats go to Ecuador and France for Group E mainly because the former has managed to clinched a World Cup spot for the third time while the latter is showing strong potential with a playoff comeback and at the same time the eagerness to atone for its humiliating 2010 campaign.
Sadly, we didn't get any statements from the coaches of both teams, but we managed to get a statement from Ottmar Hitzfeld, the coach of the Switzerland team, which is considered as th weakest team at this point in time. "It's an interesting group with high level teams that have different styles. France is a very tough opponent but all the teams pose a threat. Now we have to make the most of the time we have to prepare for the conditions that we're going to face," Hitzfeld said.
Group F: Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria
For this group, our hopes go to Argentina and Nigeria. It's obvious that with Lionel Messi heading the Argentina team, we can expect that they might be securing the title for the Brazil World Cup 2014. Meanwhile, although considered as one of the youngest teams in the tournament, the Nigeria team packs in young players that are not be underestimated.
Alejandro Sabella of Argentina has recently spoken about his plan to study his team's competitors as part of their preparation for the string of tournaments. "It is positive that we didn't get the Group of Death and we will be playing in favourable locations like Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and Belo Horizonte. Now I have to start doing my homework and study the rivals. From now we have to study every detail from an individual and collective viewpoint," said Sabella.
Group G: Germany, Ghana, United States, Portugal
Although Cristiano Ronaldo has proven himself as an asset to Portugal's team, we have to say that we are predicting that Germany and the United States are the teams that are advancing from this group. Germany has managed to snag the third spot in 2010 while the U.S. team is obviously the strongest team given the fact that it topped the CONCACAF group.
Germany's Joachim Loew dished about his team's preparations this year saying, "In our preparations, we have to get used to the humidity and high temperatures. I have already been to Fortaleza and Recife, where we will conditions difficult to acclimatize to. We will have to adapt our preparations."
Group H: Belgium, Russia, Algeria, South Korea
Finally, for the final group, we can sense that South Korea and Belgium are the teams that are advancing in the competition. We chose Belgium because the team has reached its first World Cup since 2002 and has even shown its improvement from its past records. On the other hand, South Korea may be the underdog between the two, but it has shown its spirit to win by booking a place on goal differential.
Meanwhile, when Belgium's Marc Wilmots was asked on his thoughts on his group, he expressed his team's main objective for this round. "It's an interesting group," said Wilmots. "There are no world-class players within our opponents. I'm not saying it will be an easy group, but our first objective to reach the round of 16 is still the same."
What do you think about our predictions for the Brazil World Cup 2014? Do you agree or disagree? Sound off in the comments section below.
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