2014 world cup e-book
TRANSCRIPT
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YOUR GUIDE TO THE
2014WORLD
CUP
BRAZIL
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTIONBRIEF HISTORY OFTHE WORLD CUP 05
THE DRAWS 08THE TEAMS 11
THE STADIA 43
Design: www.enejo.com
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INTRODUCTION
One of the most exiting sporting events of
2014, the most excruciating event of theyear; but luckily it is almost over. The 20th
FIFA World cup Kick off in June and Brazil
promises a tournament to remember.
However, the more
closer we are getting to
opening date, so many
questions are swelling
on and off the pitch,
and will Spain the cup
holder be aiming anhistoric quadruple af-
ter wining the pass two
Euros and successfully
defend the World Cup?
And whether the host
country will be ready
on time and even pull
off a safe and successful
world cup which is back
to South America Soil
the fst time in 36 years.
Of course, it is more then
a decade since the last world
cup led and more the 60
years since the last football
show held; a country soccer
loving Brazil will take the cen-
tre stage in June and July 2014.
But unlike South Africa in
2010, the host should at least
get out of their group. They
have been drawn with Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon,
but could face either Spain or Netherlands in the rst
knockout round. The nalists of the last world cup are
both end up in the group B along side Chile and Austra-
lia, a big obstacle to start with Spain becoming the third
country to successfully defend and win the world title.
For this tournament the group D and G who are playing
for this dubious honour: - two former world cup win-
Brazil 2014ners will fall at the rst hurdle after England, Uruguay
and Italy were put together, and in the group G the
three time world cup winner Germany will face their
former world cup winner and their coach Jrgen Klins
mann who is the coach of the United States.
The 2010 quarter nalist
Ghana is also in this group
with Portugal and their Real
Madrid Super Star Christiano
Ronaldo a winner of FIFA
ballon DOr 2014. Interest-ingly, Bosnia Hercegovina
qualied for the rst time in
a short history of world cup
That is in a sharp contrast
of events seen two decades
earlier with the bloody war
the bolkans, where Yougoslav
was split in regards to ethnic
lines. Bosnia Hercegovina
football association was not
ofcially ratied until 1996but despite a population of
less then 4 millions the coun
try is ranked as 13th in the
world in August 2013.
Unsurprisingly Bosnia Herce
govina will be the only debu-
tant of 2014 world cup and
for them to be a successful
tournament, a lot will be ex-
pecting on this Man, their sta
striker - Manchester City Edin dzeko, who scored 10
goals during the qualiers. However, if we refer to the
table they were drawn alongside the tournament hot
favourite of the competition Argentina who is looking t
become the world champion for the third time.
So we will watch football matches for four and half
weeks period, most of them are on the Brazil Atlant
coast line including Sao Paulo, the venue of the open
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match will be held between Brazil and Croatia on
one of the seven newly built stadiums. The other
ve were renovated and the total cost is estimated
nearly 3.5 billions dollars.
Manaus Stadium, is the most Westly and Northern
venue and the site is in the heart of the Amazon
forest with tropical climates, high humidity with
temperature soaring up to 40 degrees Celsius
or more then 100 degrees Fahrenheit and couldcount against certain teams.
However some fans might enjoy the climate and
also the site in Brazilia, the countrys capital since
1960, famous for the iconic buildings designed by
the legendary Architect Oscar Niemeyer.
But it is impossible to ignore the famous Estadio
do Maracana in Rio which is the venue for the
nal, a stadium with the biggest capacity just over
73,500. Despite controversy, health and safety,
delays and even fatalities Brazil is expected to beready on time.2000 tournament and have now been completely
transformed and renamed, Ohene Djan and Baba
Yara stadiums respectively. Furthermore, Gyandu
Park in Sekondi and the Kaladan
stadium in Tamale, both impor-
tant western and northern cities
of Ghana, have been rebuilt to a
very high standard and now stand
out as monuments of Ghanas
sporting ambitions.
The renovation and rebuilding
process in itself had a multiplier
effect on the infrastructure of the
country in general. Hotels, road net-
works, bridges and airports, are all
being improved to cope with the demands of the
2008 Tournament. Tamale, for example, is still one
of the most deprived cities in Ghana. But thanks to
Ghana 2008, the city has beneted from the instal-lation of street lights along 25 kilometres, with a
further 40 kilometres to be completed after the
three-week football tournament. There have also
been gentrication projects involving the Parks
and Gardens, Dakpema roundabout and other key
areas in the northern capital.
Hosting the 26th Africa Cup of Nations has
therefore prompted the Government of Ghana
to devote substantial amounts of money to the
World Cup Hosts Map
infrastructure reconstruction process. This will inevit
bly have a bearing in creating jobs, in a country where
unemployment has become a bone of contention for
the government and the opposition parties.
Given the popularity of soccer throughout Africa,
Ghanaians should be proud to be given the privilege
to showcase the continents talents. From January 20
to February 10 2008, therefore, football scouts, talenthunters and representatives of major clubs such as
Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Barcelona, Real
Madrid, Lyon, Marseille, AC Milan and Bayern Munich
will be buzzing around Ghana, searching for emerging
talents. No doubt, players representing various coun-
tries in the tournament will do their best to catch
the attention of talent hunters. Indeed which African
youth wouldnt like to emulate Michel Essien or Didie
Drogba and be whisked abroad to earn between
50,000 and 100,000 a week, for just playing footba
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No other sporting event
captures the worlds imagi-
nation like the FIFA WorldCup. Ever since the rst
tentative competition took
place in Uruguay in 1930,
with 13 teams par ticipating,
FIFAs agship has con-
stantly grown in popularity
and prestige. A group of
visionary French football
administrators, led in the
1920s by the innovative
Jules Rimet, are creditedwith the original idea of
bringing the worlds stron-
gest national football teams
together to compete for the
title of World Champions.
The original gold trophy
was contested three times
in the 1930s, before the
Second World War put a
12-year stop to the com-petition. When it resumed,
the FIFA World Cup rapidly
advanced to its undisputed
status as the most presti-
gious single sporting event
of the modern world. Held
since 1958 alternately in Eu-
rope and the Americas after
every four years, the World
Cup broke new ground
with the Executive Commit-tees decision in May 1996
to select Korea and Japan
as co-hosts for the 2002
edition.
If Africans were told in the
90s that an event like the
world cup will take place
in Africa in 2010, it would
have been an imagination.
But Africa has grown so fast
in sports so much so thatunexpected sports events
are taking place in the conti-
nent. The FIFA 2010 World
Cup held in Africa was a
great success empowered
by Nelson Mandelas initia-
tive which became a dream
comes through for the
whole African continent.
After all these years and
so many changes, however,
the main focus of the FIFA
World Cup remains thesame - the glistening golden
trophy, which is the
embodiment of every
footballers ambition. The big
show in the event this time
is that its taking place in
South America and particu-
larly in Brazil.
History OfTheTrophyTourThe rst time the Original
FIFA World Cup Trophy
made an unprecedented
tour was in 2006. This is the
third time that the worlds
most coveted symbol of
football is going on tour
around the world. The
2013/14 Trophy Tour will
visit 88 countries during
its 267-day duration The
rst time the Original FIFA
World Cup Trophy made
an unprecedented tour visit-
ing 31 cities in 28 countries
over a three-month stretch
was in 2006, from 7 January
to 10 April, before the FIFA
World Cup in Germany. Th
tour began in Accra, Ghanand nished up in Rome,
Italy, by way of Rio, Mexico
City, Port of Spain, Los
Angeles, Tokyo, Beijing and
London, to name just a few
The 2006 FIFA World Cup
Germany Trophy Tour w
a huge success.
Second time out, the Tou
visited 84 countries and 13
cities all over the World,including 50 African na-
tions, in order to celebrate
the rst ever FIFA World
Cup on African soil. The
Tour lasted from Septemb
2009 to May 2010, go-
ing from Ukraine to New
Zealand, passing by Kazakh
stan, Greece and Venezuela
just to mention a few of it
many stops.
This is the third time that
the Original FIFA World
Cup Trophy is going on
tour around the world. The
2013/2014 Trophy Tour wi
visit 88 countries during its
267-day duration.
The Trophy Tour began it
journey in Rio de Janeiro
on 12 September 2013.Departing from the famou
Christ the Redeemer statu
the FIFA World Cup
Trophy is travelling around
the world for nine months
before returning to the
country that hosts the 201
FIFA World Cup: Brazil.
The total distance cov-
ered during the Tour will b
THE HISTORY
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THE HISTORY
149,576.78 km (92,942.702 miles). In other words, more
than three times the circumference of earth!
The Tour has been developed
through an exclusive partnership
between FIFA and Coca-Cola, one
of FIFAs longest-standing corpo-
rate partners.
During the Trophy Tour, fans
have been given the chance
to enjoy a rare close-up
view of the authentic FIFAWorld Cup Trophy. Free
tickets to the 2013/2014
Trophy Tour were made
available to consumers
via Coca-Cola pro-
motions in countries
on the route.
At events in each city, fans had
the opportunity to have a souvenir photo
taken of themselves with the trophy, view a special holo
gram animation showcasing memorable moments of thFIFA World Cup, participate in interactive displays and
enjoy other entertainment.
Fuleco, the Ofcial Mascot of the 201
FIFA World Cup Brazil, is als
accompanying the Tour at
several stops on its journey.
F The rst time the Origi-nal FIFA World Cup Troph
made an unprecedented tou
visiting 31 cities in 28 countrieover a three-month stretchwas in 2006, from 7 January to
10 April, before the FIFA WorldCup in Germany. This tour began
in Accra, Ghana, and nished up inRome, Italy, by way of Rio, Mexico
City, Port of Spain, Los Angeles, TokyBeijing and London, to name just a
few. The 2006 FIFA World Cup Ger-many Trophy Tour was a huge succes
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Second time out, the Tour visited 84countries and 130 cities all over the
World, including 50 African nations, in or-
der to celebrate the rst ever FIFA WorldCup on African soil. The Tour lasted fromSeptember 2009 to May 2010, going fromUkraine to New Zealand, passing by Kazakh-stan, Greece and Venezuela, just to mention afew of its many stops.
This is the third time that the Original FIFA WorldCup Trophy is going on tour around the world. The2013/2014 Trophy Tour will visit 88 countries duringits 267-day duration.
The Trophy Tour be- gan its journey in Rio deJaneiro on 12 Septem- ber 2013. Depart-ing from the famous Christ theRedeemer statue, the FIFA
World Cup Trophyis travelling around
the world for ninemonths beforereturning to thecountry thathosts the 2014FIFA World
Cup: Brazil. The totaldistancecoveredduring
the Tour willbe 149,576.78 km(92,942.702 miles). In otherwords, more than three times thecircumference of earth!
The Tour has been developed through an exclusive
partnership between FIFA and Coca-Cola, one ofFIFAs longest-standing corporate partners.
During the Trophy Tour, fans have been given thechance to enjoy a rare close-up view of the au-
thentic FIFA World Cup Trophy. Free tickets to the2013/2014 Trophy Tour were made available toconsumers via Coca-Cola promotions in countries on
the route.
At events in each city, fans had the opportunity tohave a souvenir photo taken of themselves with the
trophy, view a specialhologram animationshowcasing memorablemoments of the FIFA
World Cup, participatin interactive displaysand enjoy other enter-
tainment.
Fuleco, the Ofcial Mascot of the 2014 FIFA WorldCup Brazil, is also accompanying the Tour at severstops on its journey.Shangai Construction Company, the contractors, of-cially handed over the stadium to the governmentof Ghana early November 2007. Essipong Stadiumwill host Group B matches involving Nigeria, Cote
dIvoire, Mali and Benin. It also now replaces SekondGyandu Park as the home ground for Sekondi Hasaacas FC.
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THE DRAWSCosta do Sauipes rst opportunity to showcase its
readiness for global sports biggest showpiece, the
World Cup 2014 was hosting the nal draw on 6
December 2013. The Costa do Sauipe in the Brazilian
state of Bahia, sand dunes, palm trees, lagoons, rivers,
the diversity of the Atlantic Forest and the Atlantic
Ocean lying adjacent next to it. On that day, the plan-
et Football was at its eyes trained, and FFIFA Secretary
General Jerome Valcke took control shifting balls from
pots to pots to draw the eight groups.
France legend Zinedine Zidane, who won the World
cup in 1998, was among the attendee, Brazil super star
Pele was present and even was asked to take par t in
the draw, but turned down the opportunity meanwhile
his compatriot the former winning Brazilian captain Kafu
accepted the invitation and actively took part.
The day witnessed the presence of The Brazilian Presi-
dent Dilma Rousseff and FIFI President Joseph S. Blatter
whom at some stage of the ongoing event, were anked
by Rodrigo Hilbert and Brazilian actress Fernanda Lima.
It also welcomed the worlds media, broadcasters andFIFA football family, including the coaches of all the quali-
ed teams such as Fabio Capello, Stephen Keshi, Jrgen
Klinsmann, Roy Hodgson England manager, and others
The subject of the draw itself this time, came with a
twist as the 32 teams qualied were placed in balls and
assigned to 4 different pots on the basis of sporting and
geographical criteria.
Pot-one contained the host team Brazil, plus 7 high-
est of FIFA 2013 ranking: - Spain Germany, Argentina,Columbia, Belgium, Uruguay and Switzerland. The team
in pot two, three and four were assigned on geographic
basis, in occurrence, pot-two contained teams from
Africa: -
Algeria, Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Nigeria plus
the remaining 2 South American teams Chile and
Ecuador. In pot-three, 4 teams from Asia: - Australia,
Iran, Japan Korea Republic plus 4 teams from North and
Central America; - Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico and
the USA. Lastly in the pot-four the remaining teams
from Europe: - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, England,
France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Russia.
The twist in this 2014 draw was the mystery of a fth
pot bearing the principles of the draw, which have a
practical purpose; Principle of separation where no team
from qualication zone shouldnt be drawn in the same
group; as there is 13 teams from Europe, but only 8
groups, therefore, there was an exception where 2 Euro
pean teams should be drawn to any other group.
Secondly, following specic order, teams were drawn on
by one from the pot to ll the group from A to H untilthe pots were empty of balls.
The overall observation of the draw was that it was fair
enough for Brazil the host team and African teams poin
of view. Concerning the host, Mexico will be a big chal-
lenge as they beat they recently and I remember Cam-
eroon eliminating Brazil in 2000 Olympic Games when
Cameroons were down to 9 men. Therefore there was
an interesting mixture but denitely Brazil should do we
But, one thing the draw has brought up is the prospect o
Brazil meeting Spain relatively in the early stage of roundsixteen of the competition.
Argentina should be happy with their draw in terms of
their opponents and in terms of location of the games.
They will end their group matches with Nigeria who is a
ways provocative; looking back to the last game of Diego
Maradona in the 1998 World Cup.
The most intriguing event of the draw was the group B!
A fantastic set up and a fantastic game to kick off : The
Netherlands V Spain, this should be a must watch game,
with a lot of good players and stars alike, but also a re-peat of the nal 4 years ago. A bad tempered nal, a n
that a poor referee Howard Webb had to control.
In terms of African teams, this time Africa needs to
improve massively to reach the nal and bring the cup
home. We know that African teams are not the best in
the world but they need to play basic attacking football
in African way; - Power Speed and resolute. Whateve
the weather will be there, it going to be a big test on th
legs, therefore African teams should tr y hard to keep the
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ball for a period of time, and if possible play one player
in front, solid midelders and play counterattacks football
against better sides. Remember we are going there - to
win it!!!
Otherwise how long it should take for African teams to
bring the cup to Africa continent? The task is now set for
Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Algeria and Ivory Coast to
represent the continent and now that they know who
they will be playing, this task arguably is the toughest one.Sorry! Youve got to do it!
Cameroon: - Cameroon have been to seven World Cups
but lost all three of their group games in South Africa
2010. The Indomitable Lions have been to more World
Cups than any other African nation and were the rst
from the continent to reach the quar ter-nals in 1990.
Nigeria:- African champions Nigeria will be pleased with
their draw at their fth nals. They face Iran before taking
on Bosnia-Hercegovina and will nish against Argentina
as they attempt to reach the Last 16, as they did in both
1994 and 1998. The African champions also have theadvantage of having experienced the conditions in Bra-
zil before, having taken part in the Confederations Cup
earlier last year.
Algeria: - Algeria have been given a tricky group and open
against a Belgium side that has a vast array of talent, The
Desert Foxes then face South Korea and Belgium as they
aim to get to the knock-out stages for the rst time.
Ghana: - Ghana are at their third straight nals and have
made it past the group stages on both their previous
appearances - but they face some quality opposition in
Brazil. In South Africa four years later, a missed penalty in
the dying minutes of their quarter-nal against Uruguay
saw them fail to become the rst ever African side to
reach the last four.
Ivory Coast: - Ivory Coast will be happier with their draw
at their third consecutive nals. This time around they
play Japan, Colombia and Greece and they will have high
hopes they can progress from the group for the rst
time.
Whatever the situation might be, it is time to do
something. Come on! Africa! Last world cup 2010 inSouth Africa, there was a disappointment, missed of the
opportunity and a failure to meet the expectation of
the continent. This time without complacency African
players should say to themselves this is our time for the
Europeans are excluding themselves already because
they have never wont in American continent therefore
they will not win it.
African team should not give chance to Brazil who are
apparently the favourite but relaying on one person
Naymar (Barcelona) or Oscar (Chelsea) and moreove
we should not give a chance to other South America
team Argentina with Messi (Barcelona) and Uruguay.
Whosoever African team plays against it should not be
a problem in this tournament, but heat humidity and
travel will be the main problem and African must face
and deal with it for it has been a long awaiting situatio
- winning the World Cup for Africa.
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THE GROUPS
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Austria, and a draw or an Austrian
win would eliminate. At last Germany
qualified and Algeria did not reach
the second round. In Mexico, at
the 1986 World Cup, the Algerians
were not able to pass the first round
once again in a group that included
Northern Ireland (11 draw), Brazil
(10 loss), and Spain (30 loss). Onlyone Algerian managed to score
during this competition: Djamel
Zidane. From thereon, Algeria failed
to qualify for another World Cup
until 2010.
On 11 October 2008, Algeria
returned to the top 20 African teamsby finishing first in their group ahead
of Senegal, Gambia, and Liberia for
the second round on the combined
2010 World Cup and 2010 African
Cup of Nations qualifications. In
the third and final round of the
qualifiers, Algeria was joined by
Zambia, Rwanda, and Egypt. In July
2009, Algeria made their return
amongst the worlds top fifty after a
31 win against the double Africanchampions Egypt and a 20 away
win against Zambia. Beating Zambia
in Blida 10 followed by a 31 win
against Rwanda, Algeria ensured
that the qualification for the World
Cup would go down to the wire with
a final encounter against Egypt in
Cairo, where nothing less than a loss
by three
goals would stop the Fennecs from
going to South Africa. This run of
results also saw Algeria move to the
29th position in FIFA ranking one
place behind Egypt in the October
2009 ranking.
Prospects: Algeria which is ranked
11th on FIFA ranking, Qualification
for the World Cup marked a dramatic
upturn in fortunes after their failureto reach the 2012 Africa Cup of
Nations and becoming the first
side to be knocked out of this years
edition. Algeria were bottom of their
group at their last two World Cup
finals, and any
improvement is
dependent on
the successful
i n t e g r a t i o n
of emergingplayers such
as Inter Milan
pair Saphir
Taider and Ishak
Belfodil. It also
three years since
they played
outside Africa.
Algeria exceeded all expectations
in qualifying for the 2010 finals held
in South Africa. Their battle against
Egypt in the qualifiers was a veritable
World Cup 2010 final for them.
This time during the qualification,
Algeria were the last African
qualifiers, beating Cup of Nations
finalists Burkina Faso 1-0 in the
second leg of their play-off to
advance on away goals after a 3-2
first-leg defeat. They won all but one
game in the previous group stage.
COACH:
Bosnian Vahid Halilhodzic, 61,
took charge in July 2011 and the
disciplinarian has cast aside several
established players in favour of a
new generation, many of whom
represented France at youth level.
Brazil will be his World Cup bow as a
coach, having been sacked by Ivory
Coast three months before the 201
finals.
Key Player:France-born Sofiane Feghouli, 2
is an attacking midfielder or wing
who was described by Arsen
manager Arsene Wenger a ye
ago as exceptional and a physic
beast.
Karim Ziani (VfL WolfsburgAged 31 and plays in the midfiel
French born Ziani is representativ
of the vast majority of Algeria
players, who are born in France t
immigrant parents and have opte
to play for the north African natio
The diminutive Ziani threw in h
lot with Algeria before coming
prominence at Lorient, where h
was voted Ligues 2nd best playe
and later Sochaux and Olympiqu
Marseille
Mourad Meghni (Lazio): Aged 2
and plays in the midfield. A rece
change to the FIFA statutes h
allowed this former French Unde
21 international to
play for Algeria.
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ARGENTINA:
La Seleccion as they are called has
won more international titles than
any other national team - 20, a
record shared with Uruguay. It is
one of the most
successful national football teams in
the world, and is currently eighth in
the FIFA world rankings.
The team has twice won the FIFA
World Cup, in 1978 and 1986 andhas appeared in four World Cup
finals, including the first final in
1930, which they lost 4-2 to Uruguay.
They won in their next final in 1978,
beating the Netherlands 3-1. The
team, led by Diego Maradona beat
West Germany 3-2 in the World cup
finals in 1986. Their most recent
World Cup final was in 1990, which
they lost 1-0 to Germany by a much
disputed penalty.Argentinas World Cup winning
coaches are Csar Luis Menotti
in 1978 and Carlos Bilardo in
1986. Argentina has been very
successful in the Copa Amrica,
winning it fourteen times and also
winning the extra South American
Championships in 1941, 1945 and
1946. The team also won the FIFA
Confederations Cup and the Kirin
Cup, both in 1992, and an
Argentine team (with only
three players of over 23 years
of age included in the squad)
won the Olympics football
tournaments in Athens 2004
and Beijing 2008. Argentina
also won six of the fourteen
football competitions atthe Pan American Games,
winning in 1951, 1955, 1959, 1971,
1995 and 2003. In
March 2007, Argentina reached
the top of the FIFA World Rankings
for the first time. Argentina was
eliminated at the group stage at
Korea/Japan 2002 FIFA World Cup,
although they had been among the
pre-tournament favourites. There
was a high expectation of a betterperformance in the Germany
2006. They were also eliminated
at the quarter final stage by host
west Germany in the 2006 World
cup. Argentina and France are the
only national teams which have
won the three most important
mens titles recognized by FIFA: the
World Cup, the Confederations Cup,
and the Olympic tournament. They
have both also won their respective
continental championship (Copa
Amrica for Argentina, and UEFA
European Football Championship
for France). The race to get a ticket
to South Africs was not an
easy one for Argentina under their
head coach and former player Diego
A Maradona. This time, the team
with top World player like Messi will
not take this World cup lightly anddue to the fact that they have not
been able to reach another final for
24 years, it is going to be a do or die
come June. For 2014 qualification,
Argentina qualified easily. They were
the only side to win in Colombia, beat
Chile twice, and impressed in home
victories against Uruguay (3-0) and
Ecuador (4-0). A first ever defeat by
Venezuela, home draw with Bolivia
and meaningless final-game loss
Uruguay were rare blips.
Coach:Alejandro SABELLA:-earned his chance after guiding
Estudiantes to victory in the Copa
Libertadores. The ex-Sheffield
United player was part of
Argentinas backroom staff atFrance 98, and spent much of his
coaching career as assistant to
Daniel Passarella.
Key Players:
Lionel Messsi (Barcelona):
Plays forward,
World best player who has beenvery instrumental to his club
side. A very tactical player with
magnificent scoring abilities and
will be coming with full force to
grab his first World cup title. Often
accused of failing to reproduce his
Barcelona form at international
level, Lionel Messi had gone 16
competitive matches without
scoring prior to the appointment
of Sabella in 2011. However, thecoachs decision to hand Messi, 26
the captaincy has proved inspired
- he has 20 goals in his last 20
Argentina games.
Angel Di Maria (R. Madrid): A
very fascinating striker who plays
a very great role for his club side
Real Madrid. He will be of much
importance to the Argentina team
because of his striking abilities.
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Javier Mascherano (Barcelona):
A very hard midfielder who is not
easy to penetrate.
Prospects: Argentina as from
December 2013 is 3rdin FIFA World
ranking and is one of the favourites.
AUSTRALIA
The Socceroos as the Australians
are called has not been in its best
performances as far as World cup
is concerned. It has appeared only
three time in world cup tournament,
in 1974 and in 2006 and south Africa
2010. The team has been four-time
Oceania Football Champion and
14th is its highest ever FIFA World
ranking. Their best performance
came when they moved up to the16th round of the world cup 2006.
In their campaign for South Africa
2010, they were drawn into a group
comprising of Qatar, Iraq and China
with the media dubbing it the group
of death in the third round. Majority
of the squad consisted of European
based players.
Prospect: Australia are the lowest
ranked country to qualify, and
the remit for new coach Ange
Postecoglou is to bring through
the youth. His predecessor Holger
Osieck was sackedin October after
back-to-back 6-0 defeats to Brazil
and France, having been accused of
staying too loyal to the Socceroos
ageing players.
Now firmly established as an Asian
Football Federation member, the
Socceroos qualified automatically
behind Japan but their passage
to Brazil was not easy. Winless in
their first three matches, they went
unbeaten over the last five and
secured their place seven minutes
from time in the final game against
Iraq
HEAD COACH: Ange Postecoglou
stated when your country calls,
you answer after signing a five-
year deal. As a player, Greek-born
Postecoglou won four Australia
caps. He is a former national youth
team coach and led Brisbane Roar
to two A-League titles. Hes forged a
reputation for starting and reviving
numerous careers.
KEY PLAYERS:
Australias Player of the Year, Mile
Jedinak, will surely have to play a
vital role as chief midfield protector
if the Socceroos are to enjoy a fruitful
World Cup. In the prime of his career,
the Crystal Palace captain can also
play in defence.
Mile Jedinak: Midflder
Tim Cahill (USA): Aged 33 and plays
in the Midfielder. The pivot of theteam who scored 2 goals in both
matches with Japan in the 2010
qualification and
has scored numerous goals for his
team.
Mark Schwarzer (Chelsea): Aged 41
and is the goalkeeper. He is the most
capped player and has appeared 73
times in the national team. Australia
occupies the 21st position in FIF
ranking as of Nov 2009 but this tim
they are 59th. The team was able
make it up to the last 16 in 2006 an
could make it to the second round
again this time. They have enoug
experienced players to trouble an
opponents but possibly lack th
depth
BELGIUM
Belgium gave a series of controlle
and powerful displays througho
qualifying. Disciplined defensive
they are prepared to be patient b
look to break with pace.
A feature of their usual 4-2-3
system is the frequent position
interchanging between the thre
attacking midfielders. Belgiu
are a physically imposing side an
seldom outmuscled. They also hav
an abundance of versatile attackin
players and, crucially, a tight-kn
team spirit instilled by coach Ma
Wilmots.
Belgium National Team
Belgium are arguably the emerging
European nation. They have an
amazing array of talented players
- with many of them playing in the
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Premier League. Belgium qualied
for six straight World Cups from
1982 to 2002, reaching the knockout
phase ve times and coming fourth
in 1986.
Coach:
Marc Wilmots
A celebrated player, and then a less
successful politician, Marc Wilmots
became national coach in June 2012
after three years as an assistant. His
managerial CV was restricted to
undistinguished spells at Schalke
and Belgian side St Truiden, but he
has guided Belgium from 54th to a
best-ever fth in the Fifa rankings.
Key players:
Eden Hazard (Chelsea)
Chelseas Eden Hazard, 22, has
generally ourished under Wilmots
after a previously underwhelming
contribution to the national side. A
superb technician with an explosive
turn of pace, the playmaker is
Belgiums key creator.
Diminutive, dynamic and fond
of a dribble, 17-year-old Zakaria
Bakkali has been likened to team-
mate Hazard by coach Wilmots. In
August, the PSV Eindhoven player
became the youngest scorer of a hat-
trick in the Dutch top ight. He won
his rst senior cap two months later,
against Wales.
Prospects:
In emphatic fashion, registering a
national record seven successive
qualifying wins during an unbeaten
campaignand they are ranked 11th
on FIFA world classification.
BOSNIA-
HERCEGOVINA
Prospects:
Expect the adventurous Bosnians
to attract plenty of support from
neutrals. Their tally of 30 goals
was the fourth highest in Europeanqualifying, while no strike duo can
match the total of 18 goals shared
by Edin Dzeko and Vedad Ibisevic
(albeit in a fairly weak group).
However, defensive weaknesses
ensure goalkeeper Asmir Begovic
is kept busy. Reaching the last 16
would be a success. They managed
to qualify but beaten in the play-offs
by Portugal in their previous two
qualifying campaigns, the Bosnians
were determined to top their group
this time round. They edged out
Greece on goal difference following
a nal-game win in Lithuania
Coach:
Voted the best player in Paris Saint-
Germain's history, Safet Susic
represented Yugoslavia at the 1982
and 1990 World Cups. He says of his
cavalier approach: "We know that
we expose ourselves too much and
that there is a huge risk in the way
we play - but that is the price we ar
willing to pay. In the end, we play t
score more goals than the oppositio
and it has paid off so far." Bosnia is
21st in world ranking.
Key Players:Playmaker Miralem Pjanic, 23,
has been in outstanding form for
Roma this season. His family ed
Bosnia's civil war when he was a
baby, settling in Luxembourg, who
he played for at youth level before
switching allegiance. He burst into
tears after World Cup qualication
was achieved
Miralem Pjanic
Edin Dzeko (Manchester City): A
very power full striker who helped
Bosnia to qualify for the world cup
nals by scoring 13 goals during th
qualifying stage.
CAMEROON
The Indomitable Lions, as they a
called is Africas most successf
side as far as the World football
concerned; Cameroon has qualifie
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for the FIFA World Cup six times - in
1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and
2010- more than any other African
nation. They were the first African
team to reach the quarterfinals of
the World Cup, in 1990, losing to
England in extra time. They have
also won 4 Africa Cup of Nations,
as well as the gold medal at the2000 Summer Olympics. Cameroon
qualified for its first FIFA World Cup
in
1982 alongside Algeria to represent
Africa in Spain with the increase of
the number of teams from 16 to 24.
They were drawn into group 1 with
Italy, Poland, and Peru. In their first
game Cameroon faced Italy and
held on to a surprising 1-1 draw.
Cameroon held Peru and Polandto 0-0 draws but failed to qualify
for the second round. Cameroon
qualified for the 1990 World Cup
by surpassing Nigeria and beating
Tunisia in the final round playoff.
In the final tournament Cameroon
were drawn into group B with
Argentina, Romania, and the Soviet
Union. They shocked the world by
defeating holders Argentina 1-0
with a goal scored by Omam Biyick.
Cameroon later defeated Romania
2-1 and lost to the Soviet Union 4-0,
becoming the first side
to top a World Cup Finals group with
a negative goal difference. In the
second round Cameroon defeated
Colombia 2-1 with Roger Milla
scoring two goals in
the extra time. In the quarter finals
Cameroon faced England. TheLions were defeated 3-2 by England
Cameroon qualified in 1994, 1998
and 2002 but
could not make it to the second
round. In the 2006 World Cup
qualifying round Cameroon were
drawn into group 3 with Cte
dIvoire, Egypt,
Libya, Sudan, and Benin. They led
the group for most of time until
their final game. On October 8, 2005
the Lions drew with Egypt 1-1 while
Cte dIvoire defeated Sudan 3-1.
This result prevented them from
making
the World Cup. The race to the World
cup 2010 was not a very
smooth one for Cameroon. They
were in same group with Gabon,Togo and Morocco. After a slow start
in their campaign, with a shocking
loss to Togo, and drawing Morroco,
the coach of Cameroon, Otto Pfister
was fired and Frenchman Paul
Le Guen appointed. Le Guens
appointment caused an up rise in
Cameroons spirits as they got a win
against Gabon in Libreville, followed
by another win against The Panthers
four days later in Yaound. Onemonth later they defeated Togo in
Yaound by 3 goals. On November
14, 2009, Cameroon defeated The
Atlas Lions of Morroco 2-0 in
Fez in their last match of their
campaign. Both results caused
Cameroon to qualify for the 2010
FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Brazil
will be their seventh World Cup - an
African record - but Cameroon haveonly won one match in four editions
since reaching the quarter-nals in
1990.
The nadir came in 2010 when they
lost all three group matches for the
rst time.
Team Cameroon
This time Cameroon managed to
qualified when they received
World Cup lifeline in June whe
Fifa awarded them a 3-0 win v Tog
who had fielded a suspended play
Cameroon had lost the match 2
but the ruling put them top of the
group. They then beat Tunisia 4-1
their play-off
Coach: - Little-known GermaVolker Finke was named in May
Cameroons seventh permanent
interim coach in four years. The 6
year-old was in charge at Freiburg f
16 years from 1991, making him th
longest-serving manager in Germa
league history.
Key Players: - Samuel Etoo is t
captain and a four-time AfricaFootballer of the Year but it is o
the eld that his inuence could
most telling. The Chelsea forwar
32, briey retired from internation
football in September in the wake o
dispute with coach Volker Finke, an
in the latest fallout with team-mates
then claimed there was a plot amon
them not to pass him the ball in t
World Cup play-off against Tunis
Etoo has had a distinguished careincluding
three Champions League winner
medals with Barcelona and Int
Milan.
Samuel Etoo (Chelsea)
Jean Makoun (Rennes): Aged
and plays in the Mid field. Makou
is the driving force for Cameroo
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and has considerable tournament
experience at three Nations Cup
nals. A 14 million signing by Lyon
in 2008, Makoun initially made his
name at Lille.
BRAZIL
The Host
Brazil as far as the world cup is
concerned has recorded the best
performances. It is the only team that
has taken part in all 18 World cup
competitions and has registered the
highest number of successes in the
nal; 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002.
They also were runners up in 1950
and 1998. Its indeed a great team in
world football.
In their qualication race under their
coach and former player Dunga,they sailed through the potentially
tricky South American world cup
group, booking some away win like
in Uruguay, Venezuela and the 3-1
defeat over Argentina. Their biggest
problems were at home facing massed
defences like Argentina, Columbia
and Venezuela. Their only defeats
in the 18 matches were against
Paraguay and Bolivia. By then, they
had already grabbed a ticket to SouthAfrica 2010.
Statistically, one in three hosts win
the World Cup - and you would hardly
bet against Brazil next summer. They
have excellent players, of course,
albeit without the proliferation of
world-class stars that have graced
the very best Brazilian sides. Only
Neymar really stands out. But
their performances in winning the
Confederations Cup this summer were
better than anticipated and if they can
maintain the fabulous work ethic they
demonstrated in that tournament then
they have a real chance. Brazil are the
only nation to have played at every
World Cup, winning the competition
a record ve times, latterly in 2002.
Coach:Reappointed in Novemberlast year, 2002 World Cup-winning
coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has
recovered from a poor start to his
second spell in charge to shape
Brazil into a side he is 100% sure
will be the champion next summer.
The 65-year-old previously led
Portugal to the Euro 2004 nal, 2006
World Cup semi-nals and last eight
at Euro 2008. Brazil is the host teamis the favourite to win the cup.
Filipe Scolari (Brazil Team Coach)
Key Players:Believe the hype;Neymar is pivotal to Brazil. Full of
energy and deft touches, and able
to dribble at incredible speed, he is
the player most capable of changing
a game for Scolaris side. The 21-
year-old World Cup poster boy - who
joined Barcelona in the summerfor
48.6m - appears unfazed by the
public expectation, scoring 10 time
in his last 15 caps.
Neymar Junoir Da Silver
Luis Fabiano (Sevilla): Aged 31anplays forward, was Brazils top
scorer in the world cup campaign
and is very powerful and accurate
Julio Cesar (QPR): Aged 34 and
is a fabulous goalkeeper, has
been in the record of the worlds
top goalkeepers. He made many
outstanding saves.
CHILE
Chile which is also an old namein World football has been in
seven appearances in the World
cup and occupied the third place
in 1962 which is so far their best
performance in the World cup
In the race to South Africa, Chile
finished second in the 10-team
South American group, only one
point behind Brazil. The highlight
of their 18-match campaign was a
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1-0 win over Argentina, their first-
ever against their neighbours in a
competitive game. Two of their four
defeats came against Brazil while
they managed home-and-away
wins over Colombia and old rivals
Peru.
PROSPECTS: New coach Jorge
Sampaoli has brought a swaggerback to Chiles football, combining
aggressive pressing with a fluent
passing game. Fun to watch,tt
tough to play against, La Roja have
the potential to reach the quarter-
finals for only the second time in
their history - if their best 11 stay
fit. To qualify they finished third in
South American qualifying despite
a mid-campaign wobble which sawthem lose four games in a row. A
change in coach halted the slump,
and they recovered to win five of
their last six games.
Coach: Jorge Sampaoli replacedClaudio Borghi midway through
qualifying, quickly reviving Chilean
fortunes. A self-confessed disciple
of fellow Argentine Marcelo Bielsa
(who led Chile in 2010) he is apassionate, energetic touchline
presence. Early in his career he was
blocked from watching his lower
league team play, so climbed a
nearby tree, from where he bawled
instructions at his players.
KEY PLAYERS:Lightning quick
Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez,
24, has hit a rich vein of goalscoring
form for club and country of late.
Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona)
Arturo Vidal (Juventus): Aged
26 and plays in the midfield.
Versatile player who can hold
his own in defence or midfield,Vidal is one of the countrys most
promising footballers. He was the
teams leading scorer at the South
American Under-20 championship
in 2007 and helped Chile reach
the semi- finals of the World Youth
championship later the same and is
equally indispensable.
COLOMBIA
The squad is top-heavy withattacking talent playing for leading
European clubs - so much so that
Portos Jackson Martinez and Inter
Milans Fredy Guarin struggle
to get a game. Conditions in
Brazil may also suit them. They
played qualifiers in the sweltering
Caribbean port of Barranquilla,
opting for mid-afternoon kick-offs
in the belief rivals would wilt in the
heat.
Colombia National Team
The potential absence of Falcao
would be a huge blow - he scored
a third of their qualifying goals.
Falcaos usual partner, River Plate
Teolo Gutierrez, has questionable
pedigree, so Jackson Martinez is th
best alternative to lead the line.
And while Colombia conceded
fewer goals than anyone else in
South American qualifying, there
is a dilemma at centre-back. Mario
Yepes, 38 in January, lacks any pac
but is the captain. In four campaign
theyve reached the last 16 only
once, losing to Cameroon in 1990.
Painful memories still linger from
USA 94; defender Andres Escobar
was murdered in his hometown of
Medellin after scoring a crucial own
goal at the tournament.
Coach: Carlos Valderrama says
Jose Pekerman, the Cafeteros rst
foreign coach for over 30 years, has
given Colombian football its identit
back - a sense of adventure, funand source of national pride. The
Argentine replaced Leonel Alvarez
after Colombia made a stuttering
start to qualifying for Brazil. He led
his native country to the last eight o
the 2006 World Cup
KEY PLAYER:
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Radamel Falcao (Monaco)
Radamel Falcao, 27, scored nine
times in qualifying and has 151 goals
in 193 club games since coming to
Europe. He can drift out of games
when starved of service, but his
predatory instincts are undeniable.
The fourth best player in the world,according to FourFourTwo, El
Tigre made a surprising move to
Monaco this summer for a 51m
fee, but tore his anterior cruciate
ligament in January and is a major
doubt for the World Cup
PROSPECTS:
While Falcao invariably grabs the
headlines, it is James Rodriguez, 22,who makes Colombia tick. He has
seamlessly adapted to international
football since making his debut in
2011. The gifted attacking midelder
cost Monaco 37.5m this summer
but has been ordered by Claudio
Ranieri to work harder defensively
COSTA RICA
They made a winning World Cup
debut against Scotland in 1990,
going on to reach the last 16. Group
exits have followed in 2002 and
2006.
They nished comfortably as
runners-up in the nal group stage,
with their ve wins all coming at
home. They only conceded sevengoals in the nal phase, fewer than
any other team.
Coach:Reappointed in September 2011,
Jorge Luis Pinto has fared far better
than his rst spell in charge in 2004-
05. The 60-year-old Colombian
has concentrated on establishing
a settled side, with eight players
starting seven or more of the nal 10
qualiers.
Key PlayersKeylor Navas (Lavante in Spain)
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas has
already reached a half century of
caps at the age of 26 and he kept
seven clean sheets in 14 qualifying
matches. He is now rst choice for
Levante in Spains top ight, with
bigger clubs taking an interest.PROSPECTS:
The Central American side are
defensively organised, with an
emphasis on pressing the opposition.
At the other end of the pitch, they
will need key contributions from the
likes of talented but erratic captain
Bryan Ruiz and promising Arsenal
forward Joel Campbell if they are to
reach the knockout stage. They are
ranked 31stin FIFA ranking table.
CROATIA
Croatia memorably nished third
on their World Cup debut in 1998
but they failed to progress from the
group stage in 2002 and 2006.
Croatia were level on points with
group leaders Belgium after earning
ve wins and a draw from six
matches, but they only managed
one point from the remaining four
xtures beforebeating Iceland in a
play-off.
Coach:Former Croatia captainNiko
Kovac was appointed head coach in
October after Igor Stimac resigned.
He guided his country though a
two-legged play-off against Iceland
and will be heading to his third
World Cup, having played in 2002
and 2006. Kovac had only become
Croatias Under-21 boss in January
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KEY PLAYER:
Mario Mandzukic
(Bayern Munich)Mario Mandzukic, 27, has averaged
better than a goal every other game
in 2013, helping Bayern Munich win
a historic treble and top scoring for
Croatia with four goals in qualifying.Munich coach Pep Guardiola says
there is no one better in the air in
the world than the striker, but his
red card for a studs-up lunge in the
play-off win over Iceland could limit
his World Cup involvement.
PROSPECTS:
Croatia lack the depth of talent
associated with their golden
generation of the late 1990s but they
remain capable of bloodying the
nose of most sides.
ECUADOR
Ecuadors rst World Cup was 2002,
when they nished bottom of their
group. Four years later, they won
two group games but lost to England
in the last 16.
Ecuador were second in the South
American standings after 10 matches
but only won one of their last six
matches. Crucially, that victory
in the penultimate xture was
against nearest rivals Uruguay to
all-but secure the last automatic
qualifying spot. Coach Rueda
dedicated the achievement to key
forward Christian Benitez, who died
suddenly in July from heart failureCoach:Colombian Reinaldo Rueda only
played at amateur level but he has
the Midas touch as an international
coach. He built an excellent
reputation with Colombias youth
teams and senior side before guiding
unheralded Honduras to the 2010
World Cup, for which he was
granted citizenship of the Central
American country. Ecuadors SportsMinister has recently suggested a
similar honour.
KEY PLAYER:
Jefferson
MonteroMexico-based left winger Jefferson
Montero can be unplayable. He
scored three goals during the
qualifying campaign and attracted
interest over the summer from a
host of Premier League clubs, with
Cardiff making a failed bid.
PROSPECTS:Theres no doubting Ecuador have
talented attacking players but there
are a paucity of top-class defenders.
Their results away from Quito, the
altitude sickness-inducing capital,
do not bode well either. They only
dropped two points at home, against
Argentina, but failed to win a single
away qualier, taking just three
points from those eight games.
ENGLAND
England is one of seven national
teams to have won the FIFA World
Cup, which they did in 1966
when they hosted the finals. They
defeated West Germany 42 in
extra time in the Final. England
share with France the
record of having one World Cup
victory. Since then Englands
best performance at a World Cup
was reaching the semi-finals in1990, losing to West Germany on
penalties. They remain a prominen
team on the global
stage, rarely dropping outside
of the top ten rankings of FIFA.
England also reached the semi-
finals of the UEFA European
Championship in 1968 and 1996.
They were the most successful of
the Home Nations in theBritish Home Championship with
54 wins (including 20 shared
wins) before the competition.
Traditionally, Englands greatest
rivals have been
Scotland, who were their
opponents in the first-ever
international football match in
1870. Since regular fixtures agains
Scotland came to an end in the lat
1980s, other rivalries have becomemore prominent.
Matches with Argentina and
Germany have produced
particularly eventful encounters.
Englands home ground is Wemble
Stadium in London.
Before Wembley, London was
opened and England had no
permanent home ground. England
joined FIFA in 1906, playing its
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first ever games against nations
from outside the British Home
Championship on a tour of Central
Europe in 1908. However, the
relationship between the two was
strained, resulting in the British
nations departure from FIFA in
1928, before rejoining
in 1946. As a result, England didnot compete in a World Cup until
1950, in which they were beaten
in a 10 defeat against the United
States, failing to get past the first
round. Englands first ever defeat on
home soil to a non-UK team was a
02 loss to Ireland on 21 September
1949 at Goodison Park, Liverpool.
A 63 loss in 1953 to Hungary was
Englands first ever defeat to a
non-UK team at Wembley. In thereturn match in Budapest, Hungary
won 71, which still stands as
Englands worst ever defeat. Sven-
Gran Eriksson took charge of the
team between 2001 and 2006 and
was the first non-English manager
of England. Despite controversial
press coverage of his personal life,
Eriksson was consistently popular
with the majority of fans and
England enjoyed some success with
top qualifying place in two World
Cup tournaments and Euro 2004,
losing only five competitive
matches during his tenure and
rising to a (joint) record FIFA No.4
world ranking for the English
national team during the 2006
World Cup under his guidance.
Erikssons contract was extended by
The FA by two years to include Euro2008 prior to being terminated by
them at the conclusion of the 2006
FIFA World Cup. Steve McCLaren
was appointed as the head coach
following the 2006 World Cup.
The reign was marked with little
success, with England failing to
qualify for the 2008 European
Championships. Mc-Claren left
on 22 November 2007, after only
16 months in charge and making
him the shortest tenured full time
England manager ever since the
inauguration of
the post in 1946. He was replaced
on 14 December 2007 by the
former
Real Madrid and AC Milan manager
Fabio Capello. The Italian is thesecond foreign manager to coach
England, after Eriksson, and took
charge of his first game on 6
February 2008 against Switzerland.
England won 21. England have
enjoyed more success under
Capello, having won all but one of
their qualifying games for the 2010
World Cup.
England ranked 13thin the world,
nished their qualifying campaign
unbeaten and conceded just four
goals. However, they left it to the
last game to secure their ticket to
Brazil, despite their opposition
not being the strongest. Laboured
draws against Ukraine, Poland and
Montenegro were a tough watch
COACH: Roy Hodgson, 66, lostjust one of his rst 22 matches in
charge prior to the defeats by Chile
and Germany. This is the fourth
national side he has managed after
Switzerland, who he took to the last
16 at the 1994 World Cup, Finland
and the UAE. Englands 13th
permanent manager was appointed
in May 2012.
KEY PLAYERS:
Wayne Rooney (Manchester
united): Plays at the forward and i
currently topping the list of goals
scoring in the English premier
league. He has been a very
instrumental player for his
country with a very high
scoring ability.
This will be Wayne Rooneys
third World Cup and he
admits the previous two hav
been far from successful.
Nonetheless, seven goals
in just six qualifiers helped
him nudge ever closer to
Sir Bobby Charltons Englandrecord of 49. England will need him
at the top of his game - and to kee
his cool - in Brazil.
PROSPECTS:
England with one of the Worlds
most capped players will be comin
to Brazil to make it for another tim
Optimism is not high among fans
and media alike that England can
make much headway in Brazil. A
mixed qualifying campaign ended
strongly but back-to-back friendly
defeats at Wembley to Chile and
Germanywere a reality check. Asid
from at left-back, England arguably
do not have top-class cover in any
position.
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FRANCE
France was one of the four European
teams that participated at the
inaugural World Cup in 1930 and are
one of seven national teams to have
won the competition, which they did
in 1998 when they hosted the Cup
by defeating the almighty Brazil 3-0
in final. France and England share
the record of having one World Cupvictory. France has also won two
UEFA European Football
Championships, winning the first
in 1984, led by Ballon dOr winner
Michel Platini, and the most recent
in 2000, led by FIFA World Player of
the Year Zindine Zidane. Following
Frances 2001 Confederations Cup
victory, they became, along with
Argentina, the only national teams
to win the three most importantmens titles organized by FIFA: the
World Cup, the Confederations
Cup, and the Olympic Tournament.
France struggled in the qualifiers
for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. This
prompted Domenech to persuade
golden generation members
Claude Makll, Lilian Thuram, and
Zinedine Zidane out of international
retirement to help the national team
qualify. This was
Frances first successful World Cup
qualification since 1986 (France
received automatic berths in 1998
and 2002, as hosts and defending
champions).
The team was greeted with modest
expectations as it entered the World
Cup tournament. The team had a
slow start in the group stage and
were in danger
of being eliminated drawing their
first two matches. However, France
found their form and won their final
group match to advance to the
knockout rounds.
There, Zidane scored or assisted in
every game of the knockout rounds
contributing to the teams appearqualiance in the final. France took
on Italy in the final and despite
controversial disruptions in extra
time, France failed to get on the
score-sheet and Italy eventually
won the penalty shoot-out 53 to
be crowned 2006 World Champions.
France started its qualifying round
for UEFA Euro 2008 strong and
qualified for the tournament,
despite two shocking defeats toScotland. Despite high expectations
from supports, France bowed out
during the group stage portion
of the tournament after having
been placed in the group of death.
Frances performance
at Euro 2008 effectively marked the
end of its golden era with Patrick
Vieira and Thierry Henry remaining
with the team following the
uneventful Euro
performance. Despite pressure
from supporters and world
media, alike, to fire Domenech,
the federation retained him as
manager. Frances campaign for
2010 World Cup qualification got
off to a disappointing start with the
team suffering disastrous losses and
earning uninspired victories. France
eventually finished second in thegroup and earned a spot in the
UEFA play-offs against the Republic
of Ireland for a place in South Africa.
In the first leg,
Team FranceFrance defeated the Irish 10 and
the second leg procured a 11 draw
via controversial circumstances,
qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
They became the rst European sid
to overturn a two-goal decit in th
play-offs, beating Ukraine with a
impressive 3-0 home win - albe
beneting from an offside goal fro
striker Karim Benzema. Prior to th
second leg, 84% of French fans h
predicted failure. France went into th
play-offs after nishing three poin
behind Spain in their group.
HEAD COACH:
Didier DeschampsEx-Monaco, Juventus and Marseil
boss Didier Deschamps took ov
in 2012, and recently extended h
contract until 2016. Dubbed Th
Water Carrier during his playin
days, he captained France to victo
at the 1998 World Cup.
KEY PLAYERS
Franc Ribery (forward)
Franc Ribery (Bayern Munich):
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very tactful player
who has been performing very well
in the Bundes Liga
Paul Pogba (Juventus): Age20, has established himself as
one of Europes nest midelders
since joining Juventus, combining
athleticism, skill and goal threat.
Quite why former manager Sir AlexFerguson gave him so few chances at
Manchester United is increasingly a
mystery
Prostests: At the last four WorldCups theyve either failed to win a
game (2002, 2010) or reached the
nal (1998, 2006). That Jekyll and
Hyde streak remains. Daily sports
newspaper LEquipe asked, Is this
the worst French team in history?after defeat in Ukraine.The headline
which then followed a rousing
second-leg comeback read simply:
Respect.
GERMANY
Germany is one of the three most
successful national teams at
international competitions, after
Brazil and Italy, having won a total of
three World Cups and three Europeanchampionships. They are also one
of the most consistent teams. They
are also one of the most consistent
teams. Aside from winning three
world and continental titles, they
were also runners-up three
times in the European
Championships, four times in the
World Cup and won 3rd place in
the World Cup three times as well.
The German FA could not afford
to travel to Uruguay for the first
World Cup staged in 1930 during
the Great Depression, but finished
third in the 1934 World Cup in their
first appearance in the competition.
After Austria became part of
Germany in the Anschluss of March
1938, that countrys national team one of Europes better sides at the
time due to professionalism was
disbanded despite having already
qualified for the 1938 World Cup. In
the 1938 World Cup that began on
4 June, the German team managed
only a 1-1 draw against Switzerland,
and then lost the replay 2-4 in front
of a hostile crowd in Paris, France.
That early exit stands as Germanys
worst ever World Cup result. Afterthe Second World War, Germany
was banned from competition in
most sports until about 1950, with
none of the three new German
states, West Germany, East Germany
and Saarland, entering the 1950
FIFA World Cup qualifiers as the
German Football Association was
only reinstated as full FIFA member
after this World Cup. In 1971, Franz
Beckenbauer became captain of
the national side, and he led West
Germany to great success as they
became both the European and
World Champions. They won the
European Championship at their
first attempt in Euro 72, after beating
the Soviet Union 3-0 in the final.
Then as hosts of the 1974 World Cup,
they won their second World Cup,
after beating the Netherlands 2-1in the final at the Olympiastadion.
Two matches in the 1974 World Cup
stood out for West Germany. The first
group stage saw a politically charged
match as West Germany played a
game against East Germany. Both
teams already were qualiance fied
for advance to the next round, and
the East Germans
won 1-0. After being eliminated
in the first round of Euro 84, Fran
Beckenbauer returned to th
national team as coach to replac
Derwall. In the 1986 World Cu
West Germany finished as runner
up for the second consecutiv
tournament, after again beatin
France 2-0 in the semi-finals, b
losing to the Diego Maradona-leArgentina 3-2 in the final. In Euro 8
West Germanys hopes of winnin
the tournament on home soil we
spoiled by the Netherlands, as th
Dutch gained revenge of their lo
in 1974 by beating
them 2-1 in the semi-final. In th
1990 World Cup, West German
finally won
their third World Cup title in th
unprecedented third consecutivfinal appearance. Beckenbauer, wh
won the title as captain in 1974, th
became the second person (aft
Mrio Zagallo) to have won th
World Cup as both a player and
coach, and the first as both a capta
and a coach. Germany won their fir
major international title after th
reunification at Euro 96, becomin
European champions for the thi
time. They defeated England, wh
were the hosts, again on penal
kicks (6-5, after a 1-1 draw) in th
semi-finals, and the Czech Repub
2-1 in the final. However, in th
1998 World Cup, Germany w
again eliminated by a less heralde
opponent in the
quarter-finals, this time in a 3
rout by Croatia. Entering the 21
century, Germanys standing one of the best national sides in th
world, and as of a team that almo
always reaches the later rounds
major tournaments, was starting
be discouraged by disappointin
results.
In Euro 2000, the aging team we
out in the first round after failin
to win any of their three matche
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including a 1-0 defeat to rivals
England and an embarrassing 3-0
loss to a second-string Portugal side.
The Germans success was based on
deep reserves of experience, finely-
honed tactical know-how, and the
ability to rise to the occasion when
the chips are down.
Their qualifying campaign merelyserved to emphasise the enduring
nature of those attributes. Michael
Ballack will be utterly determined
to lead his country to a major
international title after the runners-
up spot at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
Korea/Japan, third on home soil in
2006, and another second place
at UEFA EURO 2008 in Austria and
Switzerland.
Blessed with far more air than many
Germany sides of the past, their uid
4-2-3-1 is underpinned by Bastian
Schweinsteiger and the currently
injured Sami Khedira anchoring the
side from the base of mideld.
Ahead of them lies creative fulcrum
Mesut Ozil, who is usually anked
by the dangerous Marco Reus and
Thomas Muller. Germany breezedthrough their qualifying group, only
dropping points in a bizarre 4-4
draw with Sweden- having led 4-0.
They scored 36 times in 10 matches,
with seven of their attacking players
totalling three goals or more.
COACH: Joachim Low. At the helm
since 2006, Joachim Low signed a new
contract until 2016 earlier this year
but the pressure is on to win a trophy
after some agonising near misses. His
win percentage of 68% is the highest
of any Germany manager.
KEY PLAYERS:
Bastian SchweinsteigerBastian Schweinsteiger s glittering
CV has one glaring omission -
international silverware - and its
something the 29-year-old is desperate
to rectify. The winger-turned-centralmidelder has been described as
the brain of the national team by
coach Joachim Low, and he is no less
inuential at Bayern Munich.
GHANA
The black stars as they are known
had not been an old name in world
senior football until 2006 that they
qualified for their first world cup.
Ghanaian teams has enjoyedconsiderable success in FIFAs age-
restricted tournaments. The Ghana
U17 team, the Black Starlets, have
won the FIFA Under-17 World Cup
title twice and finished as runner-
up twice. The Ghana U20 team, the
Black Satellites, became the first
African country to win the FIFA
Under-20 World
Cup in Egypt in 2009. In the Final,
they beat Brazil 4-3 on penalties.
They have also finished twice as a
runnerup in the tournament. The
Ghana Olympic Team, the Black
Meteors, became the first African
Country to win
a medal in Football at the 1992
Summer Olympics. After going
through 2005 unbeaten, Ghanawon the FIFA World Rankings Most
Improved team of the year award
and they reached the second roun
of the 2006 Germany World Cup.
Ghana slipped to 89th place in
the FIFA World Rankings in 1992.
A new generation of players who
went to the 2001 FIFA World Youth
Championship final became the
core of the team at the 2002 Africa
Cup of Nationsand the 2004 Olympic Games, and
were undefeated for a year in 2005
and reached the finals of the 2006
FIFA World Cup, the first time the
team had reached the global stage
of the tournament. Ghana started
with a 2-0 defeat to eventual
champions Italy, but wins over the
Czech Republic (2-0) and USA (2-1
saw them through to the second
round, where they were beaten
3-0 by Brazil. On 5 September 200
they beat Sudan national football
team 2-0 and grabbed a ticket
to their second World cup event.
Ghana as one of the giants of Afric
will be appearing in the world cup
with it young stars
in a grand style. They shocked eve
African by reaching the finals of th
2010 African nations cup.
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Black Stars of Ghana
In 2010, Ghana seemed certain
to become the first African semi-
finalists after Uruguays Luis Suarez
was sent off for handling on the
line in the dying seconds of extra-
time. However, Gyan missed the
spot-kick and Ghana then lost the
penalty shootout. Brazil will be theirthird successive finals, having first
qualified in 2006 when they went
on to reach the last 16.
Having won their group with five
wins out of six, Ghana thrashed
Egypt 6-1 in the home leg of their
play-off to ensure a 2-1 loss in the
return leg was academic. They
ended as the top scorers in African
qualifying with 25 goals and ranked24thin the world.
COACH: Kwesi Appiah
Former Ghana captain James
Kwesi Appiah, 53, was promoted to
head coach in April 2012 after four
years as assistant and occasionalcaretaker boss. Softly-spoken and
unassuming, he was not initially a
popular - or suitably high profile
- appointment with many fans
but he has now become the first
Ghanaian to lead the nation to the
World Cup finals.
KEY PLAYERS
Michael EssienMichael Essien (AC Milan): Aged
31 and plays in the midfield. Is
African most capped midfielder
who has been nominated to run
the race of African best player three
times although he has always been
third. He is the pivot of Chelsea
football club who is always a very
difficult barrier to cross.
Assamoah Gyan:Former
Sunderland striker Asamoah
Gyan, 28, continues to lead from
the front for Ghana. His six
goals in as many qualifying
appearances all came from
open play and he averages
more than a goal per game
for his club side Al Ain in theUnited Arab Emirates.
Prospects
On the face of it, Ghana are one of
the strongest African sides. Semi-
finalists at each of the last four
Africa Cup of Nations, only a cynical
Luis Suarez handball prevented
them from reaching the same stage
at the 2010 World Cup.
They were significantly
strengthened during the latter
stages of the 2014 qualifying
campaign by the return from self-
imposed exile of brothers Andre
and Jordan Ayew, Michael Essien
and Kevin-Prince Boateng. Keeping
that quartet on board will be vital..
GREECE
Greece spent most of their histo
in relative obscurity, havin
participated only twice in the fin
tournaments of the FIFA Wor
Cup and the UEFA Europea
Championship, in 1994 and 198
respectively. The teams success
qualifying for the 1994 FIFA Wor
Cup in the USA, marked the first timthey had made it to the FIFA Wor
Cup finals. Greece finished first and
undefeated in their qualifying grou
surpassing Russia in the final game
But it was in the UEFA Euro 200
when Greece were crowne
European champions in on
their second participation in th
tournament, in one of internation
footballs greatest surprises. Sinc
then, Greece have received sever
distinctions for their triumph an
have reached a higher status
international football. They hav
also been proven more competitiv
than
they used to be and often reach hig
places in the FIFA World Rankings.
Furthermore, the team attracts larg
numbers of fans not only at hom
matches, a rare phenomenon in thprevious years, but even when the
play abroad, providing the tea
with great support. For instance,
friendly clash between Australia an
Greece in 2006 at the Melbourn
Cricket Ground, in Melbourn
Australia, set a stadium attendanc
record for association footba
attracting 95,103 fans, a portion
whom originated from the larg
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Greek Australian community.
From 1994, they never appeared in
the World cup until 2009 that they
secured a place to the 2010 World
cup. By way of the November 2007
FIFA World Rankings, Greece was
seeded in Pot A for the European
zone
group stage draw for 2010 FIFA WorldCup qualifying. For the qualification
race, they were drawn into Group
2 with Israel, Switzerland, Moldova,
Latvia and Luxembourg. Greeces
group stage campaign began
and ended with matches against
Luxembourg on 6 September 2008
and 14 October 2009. While earning
only three clean sheets in ten
qualifying games,
Greece relied heavily upon the
scoring prowess of Theofanis Gekas,
who led all Europeans in scoring with
10 goals. Two losses to Switzerland
placed the Greeks one point behind
the Swiss group winners, leaving
Greeces 2010 World Cup hopes to
be decided in a play-off with Group
6 runner-up Ukraine. A 0-0 tie in
Athens preceded a 0-1 second-leg
Greek triumph in Donetsk to securea ticket in the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa. Their two previous
campaigns (1994 and 2010) ended at
the group stage.
They did at least claim their rst
victory in South Africa, beating
Nigeria, but bowed out following
defeat by Argentina in Rehhagels
nal game in charge.
Greece ranked 12th, nished as
runners-up to Bosnia in Group G
but were seeded for the play-offs,
andbeat Romania 4-2 on aggregate,
thanks largely to Mitroglou.
COACH:
Portuguese coach Fernando Santos
took over in 2010, but admits the
legacy of predecessor Otto Rehhagel,
under whom Greece won Euro 2004,
remains an identity that is not easy
to change. Weve tried to play a
different way [but] then we slipped
back into our comfort zone, our
defensive strength.
KEY PLAYERS:
Kostas MitroglouTarget man Kostas Mitroglou has
been in incredible form for club and
country. He scored three goals in twoplay-off matches against Romania
and a hat-trick for Olympiakos at
Anderlecht - which made him the rst
Greek to score a Champions League
treble
Prospects
Greece conceded four times in their
qualifying group, a record bettered
only by Spain. They are not the most
thrilling team, but they do get the most
out of limited resources. The bookies
rate them as Europes weakest side in
Brazil but it is worth recalling they
upset Russia to reach the quarter-
nals at Euro 2012.
HONDURAS
Honduras has not been a well known
name in the World cup because
appeared in only once in 1982
Spain and was eliminated at grou
stage.
The team obtained their ticket
South Africa by piping throug
Costa Rica to a third place with
good away win over CONCACA
rivals El Salvador.They failed to win a game (D3, L
in their two previous campaign
(1982 and 2010). While they failed
score in South Africa they were n
embarrassed in losses to Chile an
Spain, and salvaged pride with a dra
against Switzerland.
They nished third in the nal roun
of qualifying despite keeping just tw
clean sheets in 10 games. Highligh
included 2-1 wins at home to the USand away to Mexico, before a 2
draw in Jamaica sealed qualication
Coach:Colombian coach Luis Fernand
Suarez took charge in 2011. A
well as overseeing World Cu
qualication, he took the Honduran
to the semi-nals of the two mo
recent Gold Cups and led their unde
23 squad to the quarter-nals of th2012 Olympics. The 53-year-o
has previous World Cup experienc
having helped Ecuador reach the la
16 in 2006.
Key player:
Carlos CostlyStrike duo Carlos Costly and Jer
Bengtson netted a combined total
16 qualifying goals, but the form
is the most likely starter if Hondur
opt for a lone centre forward. The 3
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year-old has had a nomadic career,
and is currently playing for Guizhou
Zicheng in the Chinese second
division
PROSPECTS: The Hondurans
have qualied for back-to-back
World Cups for the rst time in their
history but it would be a major shock
if they avoid an early exit. The squadlacks real pedigree, and they are one
of the tournaments outsiders. Their
lack of technical ability could be
partly compensated for by familiarity
with the hot and humid conditions
expected in parts of Brazil.
IRAN
Iran have failed to progress from
the group stage in their three
appearances (1978, 1998, 2006),
with their only win coming against
the USA in 1998.
Having made serene progress in the
early stages, Irans qualifying hopes
were in jeopardy after managing
just two goals and two wins in their
opening ve matches of the nalgroup stage. But they ended the
campaign with three successive
victories, latterly beating South
Korea away to top the group.
Coach:
Carlos Queiros
Former Manchester United assistant
manager Carlos Queiroz was sacked
as head coach of his native Portugal
in 2010, taking charge of Iran the
following year. His reward for
securing World Cup qualication
was a contract extension until after
the nals next summer
KEY PLAYER:
Javad Nekounam (Liege)Midelder Javad Nekounam, 33, is
captain and talisman, but the new
golden boy is Reza Ghoochannejhad
- an Iran-born, Dutch-raised and
Belgium-based forward. The 26-
year-old Standard Liege player made
his international debut last year and
has scored six goals in as many
games in 2013.
PROSPECTS:
A predominantly domestic-based
squad will do well to improve on
Irans World Cup record of one
win in nine attempts. They only
conceded twice in eight matches
during the nal qualifying phase but
stronger opponents lie ahead.
ITALY
Italy is another giant as concerns
World football and are the current
holders of the world cup. Italy
has appeared in the World cup
tournament 16 times. Their
triumphant win over France in 200
finals gave them the trophy, the
fourth time. They were winners of
the final in 1934, 1938, 1982 and
2006 meaning they are the second
to have won the World cup trophy
up to four times after Brazil. They
were also runners-up in 1970 and
1994. Their ticket to the World cup
2010 in South Africa came when
they finished top of their qualifyin
group
without losing a game. Butthree draws and some lacklustre
performances from the ageing
team led to media criticism. A
handful of younger players could
make the World Cup 2010 squad.
Team Italy
Italy are four-time world champion
(1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006); only
Brazil (ve wins) have won more.
The two-time runners up have
reached eight semi-nals in 19
previous World Cups. However,
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the Azzurri went home without a
win to their name when defending
champions four years ago.
Arguably too easily. Italy qualied
with two matches to spare, along
with the Netherlands becoming the
rst European nation to book their
place. Prandelli experimented for the
nal two matches - both games weredrawn, crucial ranking points were
dropped, and Italys seeding hopes
dashed.
COACH:
KEY PLAYERS:
Mario Balotelli
AC Milan forward Mario Balotelli,
23, heads to the World Cup as a
maturing performer. He inspired
Italy to the Euro 2012 nal,
scoring twice in the semi-nal
against Germany, and top scored
in qualifying with ve goals.Balotelli has managed 12 goals in 29
appearances - and Italy have never
lost when he has scored.
Andrea Pirlo : Aged 38 and plays in
the midfield. The World Cup winner
has recently played much further
forward for Italy than Milan and is
the
sides main creative force.
Prospects
Italy are a possession-based team
with a dynamic attacking threat.
Their 2013 Confederations Cup
experience could prove to be a
trump card in dealing with the heat.
Recent defensive frailties at crosses
and high balls are a concern but the
bookmakers predict Italy will reach
the last eight.
IVORY COAST
Ivory Coast which is one of th