Tuesday, May 20, 2014

World Cup Preview 2014: Part II

Yesterday we posted Part I of IV in our World Cup preview series which gave an overview of each confederation that competed to qualify for the championship, and which teams made it from each region.  Today's entry reviews the first four groups in the competition (A, B, C, D), giving some color behind each team's past success, and what to look for in this year's World  Cup.











16-May


PRIOR WORLD CUP FINISHES

FIFA

REGION
2010
2006
2002
1998
1994

RANK
GROUP A








BRAZIL
CONMEBOL
QF
QF
WIN
2ND
WIN

4
CROATIA
UEFA

G
G
3RD


20
MEXICO
CONCACAF
16
16
16
16


19
CAMEROON
CAF
G

G
G
G

50

Brazil heads into this year’s competition as the host nation & clearly the favorite to hoist the trophy – especially considering the pounding they put on Spain in Brazil last summer.  Brazil has failed to meet expectations in each of the last two World Cups bowing out in the QF round each time – and will be a hungry nation this year – in a relatively weak group expect them to advance.  The 2nd team to advance from this group could really be any of the other three, with Cameroon the least likely.  Mexico has reached the knockout stage in each of the last 4 World Cups and thus is likely the favorite to finish 2nd – however they certainly played a less than inspiring qualification having to compete vs. New Zealand in a playoff to earn the final spot.  Croatia missed out on the last World Cup & has failed to reach the knockout stage since their 1998 team lost in the semifinals – but they are the only UEFA team in this group which could give them a small edge in chances of advancing.  I expect that second spot to come down to the final game of group stage, June 23rd between Mexico & Croatia and give Croatia the edge.








16-May


PRIOR WORLD CUP FINISHES

FIFA

REGION
2010
2006
2002
1998
1994

RANK
GROUP B








SPAIN
UEFA
WIN
16
QF
G
QF

1
NETHERLANDS
UEFA
2ND
16

4TH
QF

15
CHILE
CONMEBOL
16


16


13
AUSTRALIA
OFC
G
16




59

In one of the stronger groups sans Australia Group B will be very competitive with Chile likely trying to bounce one of the two UEFA powerhouses to reach the knockout stage.  Australia did shock the world by advancing to the knockout stage in 2006 Germany, but the deck is really stacked against them this time around.  Defending World Cup & UEFA Champions Spain are currently ranked #1, and despite more failures than successes in the World Cup they finally broke through in South Africa to win the title – and thus with virtually the same team have to be considered one of the favorites again.  Netherlands, who lost to Spain in the 2010 Championship game, are the 2nd UEFA team in this group but actually have a lower FIFA rank than Chile; these two figure to battle it out for the 2nd knockout stage bid from this group, and Chile may have the slight advantage with lots of home fans & what figures to be a weather edge playing in some hot & steamy conditions most likely.








16-May


PRIOR WORLD CUP FINISHES

FIFA

REGION
2010
2006
2002
1998
1994

RANK
GROUP C








COLOMBIA
CONMEBOL



G
G

5
GREECE
UEFA
G



G

10
IVORY COAST
CAF
G
G




21
JAPAN
AFC
16
G
16
G


47

Group C is clearly one of the weaker groups on paper with a team reaching the knockout stage in just 2 of 20 chances (going back 5 World Cups) – and one of those was the year the Cup was played in Japan & Japan advanced losing in the Round of 16.  No team has reached the Quarterfinal round of the World Cup since at least 1990 – so we will have two very happy countries once this year’s group stage is played out.  Colombia is the top ranked team according to FIFA checking in at #5 in the World, yet they have not played in a World Cup since 1998 France!  Greece checks in at #10 in the World & has had some recent success reaching the group stage in 2010 South Africa & being the last team not named Spain to win Euro (2004).  But let’s be honest – that success isn’t overbearing or too relevant considering that Euro title was 10 years ago!  Ivory Coast has reached the group stage in each of the last two competitions, but has failed to advance.  Japan is the only team that has advanced past a group stage, doing so last time in 2010 South Africa & in 2002 Japan – but they easily have the worst FIFA ranking checking in at #47.  This group really is wide open but at this moment I would give the edges to advancing to Greece & Colombia considering CAF has only had one team advance in each of the last 5 World Cups (I believe Nigeria & Cameroon have better chances at advancing than Ivory Coast), and Japan seems to have overachieved in 2 of the last 3 World Cups meaning they may fall back some.








16-May


PRIOR WORLD CUP FINISHES

FIFA

REGION
2010
2006
2002
1998
1994

RANK
GROUP D








URUGUAY
CONMEBOL
4TH

G



6
COSTA RICA
CONCACAF

G
G



34
ENGLAND
UEFA
16
QF
QF
16


11
ITALY
UEFA
G
WIN
16
QF
2ND

9

Group D is the 2nd strongest when taking a pure average of the FIFA rankings, but on paper they certainly have the most name recognition and dangerous squads – but are the teams as good as the names suggest this time around?  I am not so sure.  Uruguay figures to be a dangerous squad with how well Suarez is playing, their success in 2010 South Africa & the fact this year’s competition will take place in South America – but how come they struggled so mightily in qualification, needing to win a playoff to secure their spot?  England & Italy are two powerhouse names from UEFA, but when taking a closer look outside Italy’s win in 2006 Germany neither has advanced past the Quarterfinal round since Italy’s 2nd place finish in 1994 USA.  Italy has a lot of roster turnover of late, especially when comparing to their 2006 Championship team, and may be too young & inexperienced to battle for a championship this year.  England also has a changed roster from recent competitions, but some of their key pieces are still in place – albeit aging.  Costa Rica could be a dangerous team in this group, clearly perceived as the worst of the group having missed out on qualifying from the last World Cup & being eliminated in the group stage in the two Cups before that.  This is another tough group to call, but right now I will give the edge to Uruguay to win the group, with Italy likely to secure the other bid to the knockout stage – but I frankly would not be shocked seeing any of these 4 teams advance to the next stage.

Check back tomorrow for Part III where we breakdown groups E, F, G, H in detail.  And continue checking back for more analysis & betting suggestions on the 2014 World Cup as we lead up to it's commencement on June 12th!


Email me directly: boss@thesportsboss.com
Visit my website: www.thesportsboss.com
Follow me on Twitter: @SportsBoss
Follow me on Facebook: The SportsBoss
Leave comments here on the blog

COPYRIGHT: THE SPORTSBOSS, 2014

No comments:

Post a Comment