In 2014, the 20th FIFA World Cup final tournament will be held in Brazil where 32 nations will compete. Many are speculating on the World Cup sleeper teams. Do you agree? Disagree? Who do you think has a chance?
There are 12 cities that will host matches. They include Recife, Curitiba, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Cuiaba, Fortaleza, Natal, Manuas, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre and Sao Paulo. The final game will be played at the Estádio Mário Filho, more commonly known as Maracanã, which was the stadium where the 1950 Brazil World Cup concluded. All four previous World Cups in South America – Uruguay in 1930, Brazil in 1950, Chile in 1962 and Argentina in 1978 – have been won by teams from that continent.
The 2014 Brazil world cup is set to kick off shortly with the Brazil team taking on Croatia in Sao Paulo. The Croatians are thought to be one of the sleeper teams, with a real shot at rattling one of the title favorites, but there are definitely others as well.
With 32 teams set to battle it out for the 2014 World Cup each team is beyond average, well deserving of the spot they have in the tournament. If any one team underrates the skills and abilities of an opposing team it can be deadly, as every one of these teams worked very hard to get there. Let’s look at the three teams that stand a chance of winning the tournament should one of the main teams become eliminated.
Belgium
At this stage of the game, it really seems like the Red Devils have moved up from ‘sleeper team’ to ‘contender.’ Odd Sharks has listed the Belgium team as the 5th favorite to take the World Cup, which seem like preposterous odds for such a young team with so little experience.
When you look at the predictions for the World Cup it seems like Odd Sharks isn’t alone. Many see a similar pattern. The prediction is that Belgium is going to win Group H, and then in the Round of 16 runs into Portugal or Germany, bringing their tournament to an end.
The strongest strength that Portugal has is in its wing play, which does a great job of disguising the physically lighter than average midfield triangle. Germany’s defensive midfielder position is said to be injury plagued.
While everyone’s busy talking about Eden Hazard and how he’s impacted the Red Devils, their true strength lies in their central axis. Marouane Fellani, Axel Witsel and Steven Defour – the midfield trio made up of ex-Standard Liege players – boasts more physicality than similar triangles and they have a reputation for winning back the ball fast and being able to setup the attack just as fast – this makes Belgium a dangerous team.
France
It’s hard to understand how France is still being dismissed as if they are little more than a bunch of scrubs. The French midfield is lead by Paul Pogba, one of the exciting football talents. Karim Benzema is the leading striker for Champions League Winners Real Madrid. Hugo Lloris is a strong presence in goal, and with Mamadou Sakho, Patrice Evra, Raphael Varane, and Eliaquim Mangala playing in front of him that makes his job that much easier.
As for France’s wingers, I bet most teams wouldn’t mind having Franck Ribery and Antoine Griezmann on their side.
This World Cup they will have to navigate Ecuador, Honduras, and Switzerland – a manageable group – of course, a slip in the stages could happen, but once Les Bleus makes it to Round 16 they can be a dangerous squad.
If Switzerland wind Group E, it’s a possibility that France will be playing Argentina. For all their offensive firepower the Argintine defense really wasn’t put to the test during qualifications.
Nigeria, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Iran should not cause the team too much trouble, which has the potential to lead to complacency. With no one paying much attention to France’s chance past the group stages, Argentina could be facing a real nightmare come the Round of 16 meeting.
Chile
There will be no one looking forward to playing the Chile squad especially Jorge Sampaoli. If they can get past Holland, who always has a tricky side, the rest of the teams will have to look out. Chile’s one of those teams that can come out of the background without any pressure and if they play one of their perfect games they could be trouble for Brazil. Mauricio Isla, Alexis Sanchez, and Arturo Vidal are all great players, but Chile doesn’t need to rely on star power to make a difference. With no selfishness in this squad, the Chilean players work rate is pretty incredible.
The two teams have a rivalry going on, but not to worry, it’s a healthy one, and with the chance of a Round 16 encounter this will really excite the Chileans. After all, taking out the Brazilians on home ground would certainly be a huge triumph. If Chile gets the chance they’ll take it.
The Brazilians remain the favorite to take the 2014 Word Cup, but their path is not going to be an easy one. There is some stiff competition to be dealt with.
