2014 world cup e-book

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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 began 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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12/52THE TEAMS THE TEAMS

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.


13/52THE TEAMSTHE TEAMS

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.



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



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


16/52THE TEAMS

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


17/52THE TEAMS

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


18/52THE TEAMS

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:


19/52THE TEAMS

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



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



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.


22/52THE TEAMS

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):



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


24/52THE TEAMS

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.


25/52THE TEAMS

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


26/52THE TEAMS

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


27/52THE TEAMS

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,


28/52

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

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