Group C Team Previews of the 20th FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014.
Colombia (FIFA Ranking- 8th)
They have made 4 previous appearances and will look to qualify for the round of 16 as they meet Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan in their group. They finished 2nd in qualifying and will make their 1st appearance since France 1998. Their best performance has been a round of 16 qualification at the 1990 tournament in Italy.
Star players- Cristian Zapata (AC Milan)
James Rodriquez (Monaco)
Jackson Martinez (Porto)
Adrian Ramos (Borussia Dortmund)
Finishing top of their group will be a challenge as Ivory Coast will also be aiming to qualify as table toppers.
Progress– They will qualify for the last 16 but their progress from thereon will depend on their opponents. The loss of Radamel Falcao will also be a big blow.
Greece (FIFA Ranking- 12th)
Having made 2 appearances previously, they finished 2nd in their qualifying group. They met Romania in the playoff and beat them 4-2 on aggregate to book their tickets to Brazil. Despite having won EURO 2004, they have failed to impress in their 2 previous world cup appearances.
They will find it difficult to progress as they will have to do battle with Ivory Coast and Colombia.
Star players- Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borrusia Dortmund)
Costas Manolas (Olympiakos)
Giorgos Karagounis (Fulham)
Georgios Samaras (Celtic)
Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham)
Progress– They have every right to be hopeful of progressing past the group stages but will have to be at their best.
Ivory Coast (FIFA Ranking- 23rd)
The Elephants had a good opening phase of qualifying but were not that convincing in their playoff against Senegal but eventually secured qualification. They have failed to reach the round of 16 in their 2 previous appearances and in fairness, their opponents have not been the easiest.
Star players- Didier Drogba (Galatasaray)
Kolo Toure (Liverpool)
Yaya Toure (Manchester City)
Wilfried Bony (Swansea)
Salomon Kalou (Lille)
Gervinho (AS Roma)
They will certainly fancy their chances of progression but will have to deal with Colombia to top their group.
Progress– They can be expected to reach the quarterfinals but their relative lack of experience could be their Achilles’ heel.
Japan (FIFA Ranking- 46th)
The Samurai Blues have made 4 previous appearances and qualified for the tournament without many serious issues. They have reached the round of 16 on 2 occasions and will hope for a repeat.
Star players- Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan)
Keisuke Honda (AC Milan)
Shinji Okazaki (Mainz)
Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United)
They will find it hard to progress to the last 16 as their defense is their biggest weakness. Games against Ivory Coast and Colombia will be tough and Greece will also be competitive.
Progress– They will crash out at the group stage
