Today's Game (All times Eastern):
Group A: Brazil vs Croatia (4:00 PM)
Below are the 8 groups in this World Cup. Each team will play every other team in its group. The top 2 finishers based on points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss) will advance to the knockout round, where it will be 4 rounds of single elimination. If teams are tied after their 3 games the tie will be broken via goal differential first, then goals scored.
Note: The numbers in parentheses are the current FIFA World Ranking of each team.
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GROUP A
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||||||||
|
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
|
Brazil (3)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Croatia (18)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Mexico (20)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Cameroon (56)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
GROUP B
|
||||||||
|
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
|
Spain (1)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Chile (14)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Netherlands (15)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Australia (62)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
GROUP C
|
||||||||
|
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
|
Colombia (8)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Greece (12)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Ivory Coast (23)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Japan (46)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
GROUP D
|
||||||||
|
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
|
Uruguay (7)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Italy (9)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
England (10)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Costa Rica (28)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
GROUP E
|
||||||||
|
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
|
Switzerland (6)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
France (17)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Ecuador (26)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Honduras (33)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
GROUP F
|
||||||||
|
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
|
Argentina (5)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Bosnia-Herzegovina (21)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Iran (43)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Nigeria (44)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
GROUP G
|
||||||||
|
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
|
Germany (2)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Portugal (4)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
United States (13)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Ghana (37)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
GROUP H
|
||||||||
|
TEAM
|
GP
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GD
|
GF
|
GA
|
PTS
|
|
Belgium (11)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Russia (19)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
Algeria (22)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
|
South Korea (57)
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
There will be just one game today, but for the rest of the group stage there will be 3 or 4 games per day. I will keep a running update of what has transpired and what games will be played as close to daily as I can (much like I have been doing for the NBA/NHL playoffs). And if I'm lucky enough to catch particular games, I will include a few thoughts on the games as well (unlike the NBA/NHL playoffs).
My quick picks to advance:
|
Group
|
Picks
to Advance
|
Notes
|
|
Group A
|
Brazil
Croatia
Mexico
Cameroon
|
I’m tempted to pick Mexico as the second team here. Despite their
dysfunction, they always show up come World Cup time, and they always find a
way out of their group. But their struggles to score will doom them this time
around.
|
|
Group B
|
Spain
Chile
Netherlands
Australia
|
Yes, I have last World Cup’s finalist the Netherlands bowing out in
the group stage. But remember, this is the same Netherlands team that
collapsed out of the 2012 UEFA championships in 3 group stage games.
Australia will be the most overmatched team in this World Cup, if they are
still mathematically alive after 2 games, it will be a major victory for
them. In another group I could see Chile winning the group and launching a long knockout stage run, but they won't beat Spain.
|
|
Group C
|
Colombia
Japan
Ivory Coast
Greece
|
Greece plays a (to put on my Englishman hat) dreadfully negative game
(they sit behind the ball and hope to convert one of their few counter
attacks) that tends to get them qualified but at the World Cup their
opponents are simply too good. The Ivory Coast has been talked up as a
darkhorse at the last 2 World Cups and have failed to deliver both times, so
I’m through believing the hype.
|
|
Group D
|
Italy
Uruguay
England
Costa Rica
|
Would it be a World Cup if England didn’t disappoint their fans? Italy and Uruguay simply have too much skill
for either of the other two teams to mount a credible challenge.
|
|
Group E
|
France
Switzerland
Ecuador
Honduras
|
South American teams will do well on South American soil, but Ecuador
isn’t good enough to join their brethren in the knockout stage. And Honduras
is simply happy to be here.
|
|
Group F
|
Argentina
Bosnia-Herzegovina
Nigeria
Iran
|
I thought Nigeria could challenge for the second spot in this World
Cup until I saw their performance against the US in the final tune up game.
That Nigeria team could lose to Iran, who has only ever won one World Cup
game ever. Of course, it was against the United States as part of the
disastrous 1998 World Cup campaign.
|
|
Group G
|
Germany
United States
Portugal
Ghana
|
My head says Portugal advances based on goal differential, but I do
believe this US team is ready to rise to the occasion, so I’m picking them to
shock many and advance out of the group of death.
|
|
Group H
|
Belgium
Russia
South Korea
Algeria
|
While Russia tends to underachieve on the World Cup stage, I don’t
believe either Algeria or South Korea are good enough to push them.
|
Enjoy the greates spectacle in sports!
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