Brazil, Spain favored in Group A and B

Host Brazil and defending champion Spain are definitely the teams to watch in the preliminary matches of the first two groups in next month’s 2014 World Cup.

Brazil leads Group A and will be up against Croatia, Mexico, and Cameroon, while Spain is in Group B along with the Netherlands, Chile, and Australia.
The host team is the highest-ranked in its group at No. 4, Croatia and Mexico are at the No. 20 and 19 in the world rankings, respectively, while Cameroon is at the 50th spot—the lowest in the bracket and third the lowest in the entire 32-team field.

Besides the home crowd support, history is on Brazil’s side. It is the only team with the most World Cup titles (5), the squad that has competed in every World Cup since 1930 and when it failed to win the championship trophy, it still made it to the podium on four occasions—runners-up in 1950 and 1958 and third in 1938 and 1978.

As for its roster, Brazil boasts a talented crew led my Neymar. An explosive player whose skills are compared to that of his compatriot Ronaldinho, Neymar will be supported by Thiago, Hulk, and Fred. Thiago (Silva) is a solid defender and the team captain, while Hulk (Givanildo Vieira de Souza) is a forward/winger, who was once named top scorer in the Europa League. Fred (Frederico Chaves Guedes) is a striker and scored the most goals (5) in Selecao’s title conquest in the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup. Brazil won over Spain, 3-0, behind Fred’s two goals and one from Neymar. The Confederation Cup champion was coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari, who will be back to call the shots for Selecao next month along with veteran goalkeeper Julio Cesar.

If there’s any team that has a strong chance to beat Brazil for the top spot in Group A, it will be Mexico, which stunned the host in the finals of the 2012 Olympic Games, 2-1. The El Tri will be led by Olympic Games hero Oribe Peralta, who will be joined by a bunch of overseas-based players.

Croatia also has several players playing in the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga and the Croats will lean on them and captain Darijo Srn to pull off an upset. Cameroon is the dark horse in Group A, but is the only African team to have made it to the quarterfinals (1990).

In Group B and the entire tournament, Spain is the highest ranked at the No. 1 spot. The La Selección is bringing back the core of the team that won against the Netherlands, 1-0, in the 2010 finals in South Africa. This includes the deadly midfielder trio of Xavi, Andres Iniesta, and Xabi Alonso, and the ever-reliable goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas. Also back for the defending champion is coach Vicente del Bosque.

Having an early rematch against Spain in the group stage, the No. 15 ranked Netherlands will use its touted offense when it squares off anew against the defending champion. The Dutch are Europe’s highest-scoring team (tied with Germany) during the qualification, drilling 28 goals. Leading the charge for the Netherlands is striker Robin van Persie, who scored the most goals for Manchester United with 11.

While the Netherlands are picked to join Spain in the Round of 16, you cannot count the No. 13 Chile out. Chile, like the Netherlands, is known as a team that loves to attack, as evident in the former’s 25 goals scored (the second most in the CONMEBOL) in the qualifying games.

The No. 59 Australia had a bumpy ride en route to the 2014 World Cup and it is expected to face another tough challenge to make it past the group stage only for the second time. The Socceroos made their first Round of 16 appearance in 2006 in Germany before losing to eventual champion Italy.