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One of the most exciting groups of the World Cup will see England, Italy and Uruguay fight for a place in the next round. Surely Costa Rica must be the pummel horse in one of Brazil 2014’s groups of death. There is also a catch here: first place is extremely important, as the second placed team will most likely have to face Brazil in the R16.
England, oh England. The mighty football nation is struggling so much in the big competitions for decades, to the dismay of their fans, failing to reach the final stages since the Euro 1996 semifinal loss to Germany at penalties. England seems to have a bit of a re-energized squad this year with the likes of Sterling, Sturridge, Wilshere, etc. and has played pretty good lately, but Roy Hodgson’s ability to lead this team to success is still questionable. Also England will miss Walcott a lot, and they must overcome the likes of Italy or Uruguay just to reach the knockout stage. It remains to be seen if England can carry their good form from the qualifiers and recent friendlies into the World Cup but I think this mix of experienced and young players is good enough to at least go past the group stage – despite the bookmakers rating them as the 3rd favorites to win the group.
- Key players: Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard
- Strong spots: Good mix of youth and experience, Midfield, Defense
- Weak spots: Manager, Failure to perform on the big stage, Attacking depth
- Odds to qualify: 1.62 @ Winner
Italy is surely a team on an uptrend. While they lack the star power they had in the last decades, the Italians managed to put together a very good team that reached the final at the last major competition, Euro 2012. This came with a change of playing style, as the Italians have forfeited their famous “catennacio” in favor of a much more attacking and fast paced approach. The qualifying campaign went pretty well for Italy, who topped the group, but there are massive worries about the latest form of the Squadra Azzura: 6 draws and 1 loss in the last 7 games, including a horrible 1-1 draw with Luxembourg at home (!!!) in the last friendly prior to the World Cup, a match in which Cesare Prandelli used pretty much his projected first 11 for Brazil. The World Cup might be a different story but this group does not allow any time to fix problems, so if Italy does not improve a lot and fast, look for them to lose the opener against England and exit the competition early. I find it hard to explain why the bookmakers are rating the Squadra Azzura as a favorite to win the group.
- Key players: Andrea Pirlo, Gianluigi Buffon
- Strong spots: Midfield, Keeper position
- Weak spots: Form, Inconsistency, Individual quality in attack
- Odds to qualify: 1.44 @ Ladbrokes
Much of Uruguay‘s campaign will depend on whether Luis Suarez will be fit for the group stage matches. The South Americans might have sufficient quality even without the Liverpool striker, but against Italy and England he could be the one to make a difference. The good news for Uruguay is that he is expected to play, so they will look to build on their recent good form but also avoid repeating the performances in the qualifying campaign – which saw them finishing 4th and needing a playoff against Jordan in order to reach Brazil 2014. A strong point for Uruguay is that the 4th place in the 2010 World Cup and the 2011 Copa America winning campaign proved they have what it takes to challenge the best in the world on the biggest stage. The South Americans have no obvious weak spots and I reckon they should be able to top the group with a little bit of luck and a healthy Luis Suarez.
- Key players: Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani
- Strong spots: Offense, Ability to perform on the big stage
- Weak spots: Midfield depth
- Odds to qualify: 1.57 @ William Hill
Costa Rica might well declare 6 December as a national mourning day, as that was the date they were drawn in one of World Cup’s groups of death. Costa Rica played some great football to finish 2nd in the Central American World Cup qualifiers and could have even finished first with a little bit of luck. However, the terrible draw seems to have taken any hope out of them as they went on to lose 4 of the last 5 matches they played, putting in some lackluster performances as well. There`s little hope for Costa Rica to avoid the last place and if they don`t improve their recent level of play I can be confident in tipping them to finish with 0 points.
- Key players: Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell
- Strong spots: Offense
- Weak spots: Individual quality, Defense, Form, Depth
- Odds to qualify: 12.40 @ Betfair
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