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!
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