World Cup Football 2014

The 2014 FIFA Football World Cup has commenced in Brazil on 12th June 2014.

Football World Cup 2014

After a gap of 36 long years, a South American nation gets the honor to host the biggest sporting event in the world - The Football World Cup. 

A total of 32 countries get the honor of competing for the trophy. These include 13 from Europe, 6 from South America, 5 from Africa, 4 from Central & North America and 4 from Australasia.

The group stages will be played till 26th June 2014, before the start of the knockouts. The knock out will start with the Round of 16 on 28th June 2014, and will culminate with the finals on 13th July 2014, in Rio de Janerio.

The 32 countries are divided into groups of 4 each. Each country will play against all other countries in the same group, and the top 2 teams will move into the round of 16.

Football World Cup Groups

Brazil will look to have a dream run in their easy Group A. The finalist from the last edition in 2010, Spain and Netherlands will slog it out in Group B, but both of them can go through into round 2 with the other two teams being relatively weaker. 

Group C and Group H promises to be anybody's baby, with no particular team being the favorites. France and Argentina will look to top their respective groups E and F.

Group D and Group G are the groups of death. With all strong teams in the fray, with the exception of Costa Rica, the favorites Italy, Germany, England and Portugal will have to work really hard to move onto the next stage.

The Derby matches in the group stages are listed below 

13 Jun - Spain Vs Netherlands

14 Jun - England Vs Italy

19 Jun - Uruguay Vs England

20 Jun - Switzerland Vs France

16 Jun - Germany Vs Portugal

24 Jun - Italy Vs Uruguay

After the competition enters the round of 16, it will a game by game evaluation, which is better left to that stage itself.

Spain is the reigning champion. However, Brazil is the title favorites, playing on their home ground. 

Germany, Portugal, Argentina are also in the running and are bound to put up a brilliant performance. The Netherlands and England are the dark horses, and a couple of good performances in the crucial matches could put them in the reckoning. 

The World Cup is not without its stars. Neymar from Brazil is the rising star on the horizon. You also have Lionel Messi from Argentina, and Christiano Ronaldo from Portugal, who have made their mark on the canvas of World Football.

However, none of them have been able to lay their hands on the glorious trophy.

World Cup Top Players

Van Persie from The Netherlands, and David Villa, Iniesta, Xavi, and Casillas from Spain are all set to make an impression. War horses Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard, and Wayne Rooney from England will carry the dreams of their nation. Klose, Schweinsteiger, and Ozil from Germany are bound to impress one and all with their flawless attacking football.

All of them will be playing for the Cup, plus the below trophies.

Football World Cup Awards

With the players come their wives and girlfriends. While the players weave their magic with the ball in the park, the ladies up the ante in the stands. Supermodels, singers, journalists - you have them all.

Football World Cup WAGs

Brazil is spending close to 14 Billion US$ for this tournament. The prize money at stake is around 576 Million US$, with the winner getting 35 Million US$. The tournament is expected to boost tourism in Brazil.

With the World Cup being played more than half way across the world, the matches will be played at late nights for Indian fans. The first match of the day starts at 9.30 PM IST. You can get the entire schedule here. 

Don't be surprised if you find people walking bleary eyed into the offices the next morning.

In its 19 editions, the Cup has been won only by 8 countries. Brazil leads the pack with 5 wins, the latest in 2002, closely followed by Italy with 4 wins and Germany with 3 wins. 

While most people are predicting Brazil to win the World Cup, I think its a bit difficult to forecast a winner at this stage. I would choose Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Spain to be the front runners.

It promises to be an exciting world cup, played in a country which is most passionate about football. It will be a heady mix of Brazilian Samba and classy football. May the best team win.