Group B Team Previews of the 20th FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014.
Spain (FIFA Ranking- 1st)
The current holders have made 13 appearances and are the best team in the world according to the ranking system. Winning 6 and drawing 2, the Spanish topped their group which also included France. This will be their 10th consecutive world cup appearance and after their success in 2010, their best performance came in 1950.
Star players- Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos & Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid)
David De Gea & Juan Mata (Manchester United)
Gerard Pique, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta & Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona)
David Silva (Manchester City)
Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid)
Fernando Torres (Chelsea)
They will face Netherlands, Chile and Australia in their group and are most likely to top their group.
Progress– At least a semifinal finish must be the end for the La Roja as they surely aim to defend their crown. They will strive to reach the final and will hope that it will not be a repeat of last year’s Confederations Cup final.
Netherlands (FIFA Ranking- 15th)
Last edition’s runners up will make their 10th appearance this year and their ranking does not truly reflect the fear factor they create. Their qualifying campaign was a breeze as they swept aside all their opponents with relative ease to become one of the first teams to qualify for the world cup.
They have been in the final on 3 occasions (1974, 1978 & 2010) but lady luck has never smiled at them.
Star players- Robin van Persie (Manchester United)
Nigel de Jong (AC Milan)
Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray)
Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke)
Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce)
They will face Spain, Chile and Australia and will most probably finish 2nd in their group behind Spain but will surely have to be wary of Chile.
Progress– They will most likely get past the group stages and a quarterfinal berth looks probable for the Oranje.
Chile (FIFA Ranking- 14th)
Having made 8 previous appearances, the South Americans will surely look to make a mark. They had a mixed qualifying campaign which started promisingly but had a poor phase in the middle. They needed a strong finish to ensure qualification. Their best finish was 3rd in 1962 when they hosted the world cup.
Star players- Arturo Vidal (Juventus)
Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona)
They will find it tough against Spain and Netherlands and will look to earn 3 points from their match against Australia.
Progress– They can fancy their chances of progressing to the last 16 but their run could end there as their defensive prowess is not something to go by.
Australia (FIFA Ranking- 62nd)
The Socceroos will make their 4th appearance and are considered to be outsiders in a rather competitive group. They failed to emulate their comfortable qualification for the previous tournament as they were far from convincing.
Star players- Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace)
Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls)
They will surely pack their bags after the group stage and should try to avoid humiliation at the hands of Spain and Netherlands after embarrassing friendly losses to Brazil and France.
Progress– They will crash out at the group stage
