World Cup 2014 groups and guide By Telegraph Sport, and agencies Telegraph Sports guide the 2014 Fifa World Cup group tables World Cup groups Group A Brazil Croatia Mexico Cameroon Brazil Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari Star man: Neymar Tournament best: Winners 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002 Success at the Confederations Cup last summer has raised hopes of a record-extending sixth World Cup triumph on home soil next summer. Scolari has previous after taking them to victory in 2002, and if Barcelona forward Neymar shines then Brazil could be about to witness the mother of all parties. Croatia Coach: Niko Kovac Star man: Mario Mandzukic Tournament best: Third 1998 They may not be the class of 98 standard but there is enough quality within the squad with the talents of Bayern Munichs Mandzukic and Real Madrids Luka Modric supplemented by the likes of Niko Kranjcar, Eduardo and Nikica Jelavic. Mexico Coach: Miguel Herrera Star man: Javier Hernandez Tournament best: Quarter-finals 1970, 1986 They needed the intercontinental play-offs to qualify, but routed New Zealand 9-3 on aggregate once there. A blend of seasoned veterans and emerging stars – built around the focal point of Manchester United striker Hernandez – will make Mexico a dangerous proposition in Brazil. Cameroon Coach: Volker Finke Star man: Samuel Etoo Tournament best: Quarter-finals 1990 They may be a way off emulating the ground-breaking Cameroon side of 1990 but they remain a competitive force. Etoos best days are well behind him but he is still the figurehead for the side, for whom Stephane Mbia, Alex Song and Jean Makoun also play an important role. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group B Spain Holland Chile Australia Spain Coach: Vicente del Bosque Star man: Andres Iniesta Tournament best: Winners 2010 Having enjoyed the best spell in their countrys history there is a sense that Spain are not as strong as they once were as their golden generation loses some of its lustre. However, that does not mean the depth of their talent should be underestimated as the likes of Roberto Soldado, Alvaro Negredo, Jesus Navas and Michu have added new impetus while the quality of Iniesta, David Silva and Xavi remains. Holland Coach: Louis van Gaal Star man: Robin van Persie Tournament best: Runners-up 1974, 1978, 2010 Van Gaal made amends for his failure to lead the Oranje to the 2002 tournament with an impressive qualification campaign, but memories are still fresh of their awful showing at euro 2012. If the egos can be managed they could go far, although getting to the final again seems unlikely. Chile Coach: Jorge Sampaoli Star man: Alexis Sanchez Tournament best: Third 1962 Chile boast a good combination of experienced campaigners like Claudio Bravo, Pablo Contreras and Jorge Valdivia with exciting younger players including Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez and Fiorentinas Matias Fernandez. Demonstrated their potential by playing England off the park in a November friendly at Wembley. Australia Coach: Ange Postecoglou Star man: Robbie Kruse Tournament best: Last 16 2006 The Socceroos qualified from the Asian section but some terrible friendly results, plus a failure to truly refresh an ageing squad, cost German coach Holger Osieck his job. Getting out of the group phase may be the best they can hope for. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group C Colombia Greece Ivory Coast Japan Colombia Coach: Jose Pekerman Star man: Radamel Falcao Tournament best: Last 16 1990 Qualified in relative comfort and playing the finals in South America should also be an advantage to Pekermans side. In Falcao they have a born goalscorer, allied to the creative talents of his Monaco team-mate James Rodriguez, and they will feel well capable of at least matching their best-ever World Cup performance. Greece Coach: Fernando Santos Star man: Georgios Samaras Tournament best: Group stage 1994, 2010 Goals have been a problem and so the pressure will be on the likes of Samaras and veteran Dimitris Salpingidis to deliver up front, particularly if Greece can keep things tight at the back as they have done throughout qualifying. Ivory Coast Coach: Sabri Lamouchi Star man: Yaya Toure Tournament best: Group stage 2006, 2010 The African nation possess plenty of goal threat from Didier Drogba, Salomon Kalou, Wilfried Bony and Yaya Toure but they have struggled to transfer that into success at major tournaments despite regularly being one of their continents standard-bearers. Japan Coach: Alberto Zaccheroni Star man: Keisuke Honda Tournament best: Last 16 2002, 2010 Stormed to qualification in their pool and Zaccheroni has moulded them into a strong squad, but three defeats out of three at the Confederations Cup last summer leaves them open to question about their top-level credentials. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group D Uruguay Costa Rica England Italy Uriguay Coach: Oscar Washington Tabarez Star man: Edinson Cavani Tournament best: Winners 1930, 1950 The Copa America holders struggled to qualify, needing a play-off against Jordan to book their place after narrowly missing out on the top four of the South American qualifying section. With players like Cavani and Luis Suarez, though, they have more than enough ability to cause problems. Won the World Cup the last time it was held in Brazil, back in 1950. Coasta Rica Coach: Jorge Luis Pinto Star man: Bryan Ruiz Tournament best: Last 16 1990 Seized upon Mexicos struggles to follow the United States as the pacesetters in the CONCACAF section, but going any further than the group stage will be a lot to ask. England Coach: Roy Hodgson Star man: Wayne Rooney Tournament best: Winners 1966 England are still looking for the magic formula which will get them past the quarter-final hurdle for only the second time since they lifted the trophy on home soil. Despite concerns raised about the quality of the current squad, they topped their group without losing a game and were among the top four highest scorers in the European qualifying zone. Italy Coach: Cesare Prandelli Star man: Mario Balotelli Tournament best: Winners 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006 Prandellis team performed well in reaching the euro 2012 final and would love nothing more than to equal Brazils record of five World Cup successes on Brazilian soil. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group E Switzerland France Ecuador Honduras Switzerland Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld Star man: Xherdan Shaqiri Tournament best: Quarter-finals 1934, 1938, 1954 Hitzfeld will be one of the most experienced coaches among the 32 finalists, and he oversees a group featuring several star names from the German Bundesliga. A new generation which has impressed at under-age tournaments in recent years – spearheaded by Bayern Munichs Shaqiri – are now poised to strut their stuff at senior level. They arguably had the easiest route to qualification of all the European entrants however. Ecuador Coach: Reinaldo Rueda Star man: Antonio Valencia Tournament best: Last 16 2006 Although Ecuador lost their final qualifier to Chile, they secured automatic qualification on goal difference alone ahead of Uruguay. Their recent successes have come on the back of the emergence of players like Valencia, Cristian Noboa and Felipe Caicedo. France Coach: Didier Deschamps Star man: Franck Ribery Tournament best: Winners 1998 Scraped through qualifying after coming from 2-0 down in the first play-off leg to beat Ukraine. In Ribery they possess a world-class wide man while the likes of Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Valbuena offer additional quality in midfield. Honduras Coach: Luis Fernando Suarez Star man: Wilson Palacios Tournament best: Group stages 1982, 2010 Honduras have undergone several changes since South Africa, but pulled it all together in time to enjoy a successful qualifying campaign, finally sealing their place with a 2-2 draw against Jamaica in the final match. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group F Argentina Bosnia & Herzegovina Iran Nigeria Argentina Coach: Alejandro Sabella Star man: Lionel Messi Tournament best: Winners 1978, 1986 Barcelona superstar Messi will turn 27 during next summers tournament and this looks his best chance to add major international glory to his glittering club successes. Plenty of other attacking options are also available to coach Sabella, but the defence might be a weak link against top-class opposition. Bosnia & Herzegovina Coach: Safet Susic Star man: Edin Dzeko Tournament best: Never qualified The nation born out of the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s is heading into uncharted territory. They will rely heavily on the Champions League experience of Manchester City striker Dzeko and midfielders Miralem Pjanic and captain Emir Spahic while in Asmir Begovic they have a top-class goalkeeper. Iran Coach: Carlos Queiroz Star man: Javad Nekounam Tournament best: Group stage 1978, 1998, 2006 Topped their qualification pool ahead of South Korea and although the side contains players like Nekounam with European pedigree, it is difficult to see them progressing beyond the groups. Nigeria Coach: Stephen Keshi Star man: Victor Moses Tournament best: Last 16 1994, 1998 Moses may only be 22 but has quickly become a key player since making his debut for the Super Eagles in 2012. Goalkeeper and captain Vincent Enyeama provides stability from the back with Chelseas John Obi Mikel their midfield enforcer. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group G Germany Portugal Ghana USA Germany Coach: Joachim Low Star man: Mesut Özil Tournament best: Winners 1954, 1974, 1990 (all as West Germany) Arguably Europes best hope of bringing the trophy back from South America. Lows side is littered with players steeped in top-level experience and this may be the time for Mesut Özil, Thomas Muller, Schweinsteiger et al to make the final step at international level. Portugal Coach: Paulo Bento Star man: Cristiano Ronaldo Tournament best: Third 1966 In Ronaldo Portugal possess a player worthy of gracing the games biggest stage but therein lies their problem as they rely so heavily on the Real Madrid forwards unquestionable star quality. Frequently unstoppable but when the worlds best defenders can isolate him he has few team-mates who can make the difference. Ghana Coach: James Kwesi Appiah Star man: Asamoah Gyan Tournament best: Quarter-finals 2010 Ghana have often been the standard-bearers for African football and their controversial heartbreaking last-eight exit on their home continent at the last World Cup prevented them making history. Captain Gyan provided most of the goals in qualifying but midfielder Michael Essien, despite his injury problems, remains a pivotal player while the likes of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Sulley Muntari and Andre Ayew provide considerable experience. United States Coach: Jurgen Klinsmann Star man: Clint Dempsey Tournament best: Third 1930 Klinsmann struggled initially to make his mark but his team ultimately qualified with comparative comfort. Reaching the quarter-finals looks like a realistic goal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Group H Belgium Algeria Russia South Korea Belgium Coach: Marc Wilmots Star man: Eden Hazard Tournament best: Fourth 1986 Back at the finals over a decade since their last appearance, Wilmots presides over a highly capable generation of players who could go far in Brazil. Algeria Coach: Vahid Halilhodzic Star man: Madjid Bougherra Tournament best: Group stages 1982, 1986, 2010 Scraped through qualifying on away goals against Burkina Faso, who have never made it to a World Cup, and are likely to struggle in Brazil having had a poor showing at the African Nations Cup. Russia Coach: Fabio Capello Star man: Alexander Kokorin Tournament best: Fourth 1966 (as the USSR) Russias recent World Cup record is a story of failure but Brazil offers the 2018 hosts the chance to start redressing the balance. Having missed three of the last four tournaments and not progressed beyond the group stage since 1986, topping Group F ahead of Portugal suggests things may be about to improve with the promise offered by 22-year-old forward Kokorin backed by the experience of the likes of goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev and striker Alexander Kerzhakov. South Korea Coach: Hong Myung-bo Star man: Son Heung-min Tournament best: Fourth 2002 The Koreans hope that 2002 captain Hong can inspire the current crop, but an appearance in the last 16 might be the best they can achieve. The Telegraph
Posted on: Mon, 09 Dec 2013 04:20:28 +0000
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