GROUP A PREVIEW

GROUP A - "The group of problems and unproven talent”

Overview: Brazil have it all to lose. They are in a group with three teams with major trouble, although all have talent, experience and ability.

The spirit of this group is very likely Brazil’s march to 9 points, and the battle to clinch second will be the unpredictable and fun aspect.

Croatia, who I have not had time to preview had a terrible 2013 in which they replaced a coach from the 1998 third place team (Stimic) with another veteran (German-born Niko Kovač), but they have significant defensive and confidence problems to overcome.

Cameroon have a solid team, but are burdened by Samuel Eto’o, the often-colossally-lazy prima-dona who can be both an asset and an energy drain.

Mexico nearly didn’t qualify, and lost their last two friendlies 1-0 but for me it’s them that have the least expectations and the best shot at second.

All three have a real chance at second.

This is a group with no weak teams, and if anything happens we shouldn’t be surprised, any of these three could actually upset Brazil (even at home) on that rare, rare day, although the likelihood of it is miniscule.

All four teams play very, very different football.

The Big Question: Which of Mexico, Croatia or Cameroon have the least problems and can clinch second spot?

Teams: (click on team for links to my or other previews)

BRAZIL - "Bug-sized yellow cute smooshy canaries - Canarinhos"

Strengths: Home advantage, one of most talented and efficient teams in the world, experienced players and coach.

Weakness: Weight of expectations, demonstrations outside the stadium, too much pinned on Neymar

Likely formation: 4-2-3-1

Coach: 9.5 – World Cup winner Luiz Felipe Scolari

GK: 7.6

DEF: 9.3

MID: 9.6

ATT: 9.5

The star: Neymar – media darling, diver, creative genius, inconsistent, crowd-motivated, goal scorer

The defender: David Luiz – debated, technical, rapid, daring, careless

The midfield: Paulinho – consistent, ball winner, goal poacher, dynamo

The attack: Fred – connector, team player, goal creator or scorer, recovering from injury

The captain: Thiago Silva – technical, sharp, focused, recovering from injury, consistent

The prospect:

Bernard – skippy winger, technique, goal

Neymar – still a prospect comparing to reputation

CROATIA – “Vatreni – the Ramblers or Blazzers"

Strengths: Talent both young and old, coming off a bad run with nothing to lose, fighting spirit, a number of World Class players

Weaknesses: Recent failures weighing on mind, disciplinary problems (think mistakes and yellows), important players missing, defence is talented but has been shaky.

Likely formation: 4-2-3-1 seems likely although Niko Kovač likes to mix things around

Coach: 8.8 – I think Niko Kovač is brilliant, he has played (well) for the World’s best coaches, knows tactics but lacks experience.

GK: 7.7

DEF: 8.0

MID: 8.8

ATT: 8.0

The star: Luka Modrić – "the Hobbit" not as great as in the past, technical, creative, commanding, pace setter

The defender: Vedran Ćorluka – tactically skilled, massively experienced, physically weakfish, lacking confidence

The midfield: Swiss-born Ivan Rakitić – new Barcelona player, passing, set pieces, long-range-goal

The attack: Mario Mandžukić – suspended for the first game, technical, powerful, tempo-raising, assists or scores, fighter

The captain: Darijo Srna – emblematic captain, aging, fighter, crossing-genius, creator, great underrated player on last hurrah

The prospects:

Ante Rebić – another Croatian hyper-talent, quick feet, technical, good goal ability

Mateo Kovačić – valuable experience from Inter but still has it all to prove, goal scorer, attacking pace-raiser, not yet up to standards

MEXICO - "El Tri"

Strengths: Talented squad, starting from zero expectations given recent bad results, tradition and quality

Weaknesses: inexperienced coach, friendly losses, very young and inexperienced team, many players missing through injury or out-of-favour

Likely formation: 5-3-2

Coach: 7.1 - Miguel Herrera is untested at the international level, but has a good club level, he likely took too many risks with leaving experienced players behind.

GK: 7.9

DEF: 8.4

MID: 8.2

ATT: 8.5

The star: Javier Hernández – terribly bad season for his high standards, unconfident, seems depressed

The defender: Maza Rodriguez – tall, powerful, slowing down, not at his best anymore but still quite a centre back

The midfield: Giovani “Gio” dos Santos – match-winner, big game player, improving with consistency, technical wizard

The attack: Oribe Peralta scores important goals, teamworker, workhorse

The captain: Rafa Márquez – extremely experienced former Barca 

defender, much slower and weaker now, valuably experienced in a young team

The prospects:

Javier Aquino – 24 but coming off a good season with Villareal, fast, tricky, hard working

Raúl Jiménez – tallish, great potential he hasn’t reached yet at 23

Isaác Brizuela – tricky winger

Diego Reyes – very young but very complete defender

CAMEROON – ""Les Lions Indomptables – The Indomitable Lions"

Strengths: Strength, talent especially in the middle and back of the pitch, mix of youth and experience, they are the “forgotten candidate for second,” a very successful long run of form.

Weaknesses: An insane superstar in Eto’o, worse attack than other three teams, occasional lapses of focus

Likely formation: 4-3-3

Coach: 8.5 - Volker Finke an old wolf

GK: 6.9

DEF: 8.0

MID: 8.5 defensivelly 6.0 offensivelly

ATT: 6.0 – 7.5 (if Eto’o and Webo play well)

The star: Sameul Eto’o – prima dona, sometimes-genius, outspoken, overwhelming

The defender: Nicolas N’Koulou – technical, clever, fast, can lose focus

The midfield: Alex Song – experienced, tactical, regista

The attack: Pierre Webó – powerful, penetrating, strong, inconsistent

The prospects:

Fabrice Olinga – very quick, very fast, trained in Spain, unknown

Vincent Aboubakar – strong, talented, powerful

Edgar Salli – technical, very talented, goal scorer

Find the schedule: here

The pick of the games:

Croatia – Mexico

23^rd June - 22h CET – Recife

With likely all still to play for these two sides will likely be battling an early elimination, and their attacking styles of football should provide an entertaining match.

Mexico – Cameroon

13^th June – 18h - Natal

Probably one of the most unpredictable matches of the tournament, with very, very different teams and a key 3 points for both in the mix. The heat should be significant.

The food table:

Mexico wins for the invention of the taco,

Brazil second because of variety of things to serve that are meat, Croatia third thanks to Dalmatian seafood

Cameroon scores no points due to some bad fufu

The dancing table:

A tight race between Brazil and Cameroon ends with the Samba-kings coming out ahead.

Mexico with their umpa-pumpa get a close third

Croatia is forgotten in the corner of the coat room

Here is some rythym all the teams could dance too:

The prediction: Brazil wins, but second place is impossible to predict: Mexican flair and potential, Cameroonian form and strength, or Croatian talent and experience.