Group A Team Previews of the 20th FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014.
Brazil
As hosts of the tournament, Brazil automatically qualified for the World Cup. The South American giants have made 19 appearances and are the only country to have featured in every world cup. They have won the coveted title on 5 occasions. They are currently ranked 4th in the FIFA international rankings.
Star players– Neymar & Dani Alves (Barcelona)
David Luiz, Ramires, Oscar & Willian (Chelsea)
Thiago Silva (PSG)
Hulk (Zenit St. Petersburg)
Coached by Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Brazilians are up against Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon in their group. They are favourites to top the group.
Progress– Nothing but the trophy would suffice for the fans and Brazil can be expected to reach the final.
Mexico (FIFA Ranking- 20th)
The Mexicans have made 14 appearances and are currently ranked 20th. They almost lost out on qualification and secured a playoff berth thanks to other results going their way. They beat New Zealand 9-3 on aggregate to eventually qualify.
Star players- Javier Hernandez (Manchester United)
Giovani Dos Santos (Villarreal)
Andres Guardado (Bayer Leverkusen)
Progress– They were the least convincing in qualifying and should finish bottom of their group. Croatia and Cameroon will look to secure maximum points when they meet Mexico.
Cameroon
The Lions qualified with 13 points from 6 games and beat Tunisia 4-1 on aggregate in the playoffs to reach the World Cup. They have made 6 appearances and are ranked 50th in the FIFA international rankings. They are the first African country to qualify for the quarterfinals of the world cup which they did in 1990. This was their best performance in this tournament.
Star players– Samuel Eto’o (Free agent)
Alex Song (Barcelona)
Progress– They have every right to fancy their chances of progressing past the group stage but are faced with a tough task as they will meet hosts Brazil with Mexico and Croatia also being formidable opponents. They may finish second behind the hosts in the group.
Croatia
Currently ranked 20th, the Croats have made 3 previous appearances with their best finish being 3rd in 1998. They finished 2nd behind Belgium in their qualifying group and beat Iceland in the playoffs. They could have easily qualified but a poor second phase of qualifying resulted in a nervy finish.
Star players- Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Luka Modric (Real Madrid)
Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla)
Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich)
Progress– They face Brazil in the tournament opener and may finish 3rd in their group.
