5 reasons not to miss the 2014 Fifa World Cup
With the World Cup draw
over and the finals just six months away, what are the big moments to look out
for in Brazil?
Will the hosts get the
tournament up and running in their opener on 12 June? Can Lionel Messi or
Cristiano Ronaldo finally deliver on the biggest stage of all? And how will
England cope with their trip into the jungle? The British website, BBC
Sport, looks at five reasons to be excited about the finals.
Brazil’s opener in Sao Paulo
Sixty-four years after
Brazil last staged the World Cup, 65,000 fans will scream the hosts on as Luiz
Felipe Scolari’s side open the 2014 tournament against Croatia in Sao Paulo on
Thursday, 12 June. The five-time winners are the bookmakers’ favourites to make
it six titles on home soil and face a Croatia side who only qualified by
beating Iceland in the play-offs.
Expectations in Brazil
have been on the rise since Scolari guided his side to victory in last summer’s
Confederations Cup, when Barcelona’s £48m forward Neymar impressed on the way
to a 3-0 final win over defending World Cup winners Spain. Chelsea trio
Oscar, David Luiz and Ramires could all feature for the Selecao, as could
Tottenham midfielder Paulinho.
Familiar faces which
could be in the Croatia line-up include former Tottenham midfielder Luka
Modric, Everton striker Nikica Jelavic and Southampton centre-back Dejan
Lovren. Croatia finished third in their first World Cup finals in 1998 but have
won just one match since. The two sides met in their opening group game
in Germany in 2006 – when AC Milan forward Kaka scored the only goal.
Defending champions handed tough draw
Spain have won their
last three major tournaments and head to Brazil hoping to become the first
European team to win a World Cup on South American soil. But manager
Vicente Del Bosque saw his team handed arguably the toughest of the groups in
Group B, as Spain were placed up against 2010 finalists Netherlands and Chile.
The Dutch won nine of 10
qualifying games and still have the core of the side which reached the final in
South Africa, with Manchester United striker Robin van Persie and Bayern Munich
forward Arjen Robben in lethal form for their clubs.
Chile, meanwhile, pushed Spain all the way for their 2-1 win in the group stage four years ago and beat England comfortably at Wembley last month.
The champions’ task is
made harder by the fact that the runners-up in their group are likely to face
Brazil in the last 16.
England’s Amazon assignment
England were hoping not
to visit the Amazon jungle during their time in Brazil, but instead they will
have to face four-times winner Italy in their opening match in Manaus in
sweltering temperatures of 30C.
As if that task was not
daunting enough, Roy Hodgson’s boys have been told they are not welcome in
Manaus because of Hodgson’s comments before the draw, where he stated a trip
north would not be ideal. England should probably prepare for a fiery welcome
to the jungle. However, England’s preparations for the tournament are
expected to include two matches in the United States, where Hodgson will base
his team in the humidity of Miami.
But with Italy
experiencing the heat of Brazil during last summer’s Confederations Cup,
England could be left sweating on progress from Group D.
Fortune favours the French
If the draw followed the
same procedures as in 2006, France, as the lowest-ranked team to qualify from
Europe, would have been placed in a group with one of the seeded teams from
South America. Instead, the format for the draw was changed and it was Italy
who ended up in with Uruguay and England.
The French? They will
surely fancy their chances of qualifying from a group containing Switzerland,
Ecuador and Honduras. “It’s true, I won’t hide it from you, it could have been
tougher,” said France coach Didier Deschamps.
The 1998 champions
finished bottom of their group in the last World Cup but with a potential second-round
tie against either Nigeria or Bosnia-Hercegovina on the cards, Deschamps’ men
could be dark horses for a shot in Brazil.
Messi and Ronaldo go for greatness
With over 300 goals for
Barcelona, four Ballon d’or awards, six La Liga titles and three Champions
League winners’ medals to his name, Lionel Messi has arguably already cemented
his place among the sport’s all-time greats. Alongside Cristiano Ronaldo,
he has dominated Spanish and European football for the last four seasons.
But a World Cup title
eludes the duo, and their individual records are poor. Messi has scored just
once in a World Cup finals match for Argentina – the sixth in a 6-0 thrashing
of Serbia in Germany – while Portugal captain Ronaldo can only claim goals
against Iran and North Korea.
Maradona carried
Argentina to the trophy in 1986 while Pele won three titles with Brazil and a
similar display from the modern game’s two leading men may finally end the
argument over who is the better player.
Over the past few years
both men have shone on the international stage. Ronaldo was at his brilliant
best during Portugal’s run to the last four in Euro 2012 and scored a hat-trick
in their play-off win in Sweden which booked their place in Brazil.
Messi scored a hat-trick against Brazil last summer and has finally brought his club form to Argentina, with his record now an impressive 37 goals in 83 caps.
With Messi facing Iran,
Bosnia and Nigeria in Group F, and Ronaldo’s Portugal up against Germany, Ghana
and the United States in Group G, both players will hope that they can lead
their sides to glory next summer.
By bbc.com
3 comments:
Great points from the article, How I wish, tsk, Well, if I really just have the funds that can be use for its cost, I will really go and watch the games live, but since I don't, I'll just stay at home, watch them on my tv and just try to go with some world cup betting stuff..hahaha
Too bad I won't be able to watch the anticipated sports event of the year live but I'll just focus on this year's world cup bet. I'm feeling lucky actually haha
I must try to watch every game of fifa world cup 2014 live.If i can do the work then i will be very lucky.fifa world cup
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