The eyes of the sporting world will descend upon Brazil this summer for the festival of football that is the World Cup. The cream of the world’s football talent will be competing for the biggest prize of all during the month-long competition. But who will be crowned world champions on 13 July in Rio de Janeiro?
Given that no European team has ever won the World Cup in South America, Brazil and Argentina are perhaps the most logical favourites to become the World Cup winners. There will undoubtedly be huge expectations on Luis Scolari’s Brazilian side in front of their home crowd. Their victory in last year’s Confederations Cup will have given them the taste for success, but will the pressure be too much for the home side and in particular star striker Neymar, on whose young shoulders Brazilian hopes will rest? Arch-rivals Argentina would love nothing more than to plunder the World Cup from beneath the noses of their Brazilian neighbours. They certainly have a mouth-watering attacking line up of four-time World Player of the Year Lionel Messi and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero. Argentina will also be buoyed having been handed a relatively easy group draw.
If there is to be a European winner making history, then look no further than Germany. When it comes to a big tournament, you can be sure that the Germans will put in a strong performance and there is no doubt that Joachim Loew’s side have an exciting blend of youth and experience this time round. The bulk of their team – Goetze, Neuer, Muller, Lahm, Kroos, Schweinsteiger – and others all play for arguably the best club sides in Europe, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. They are a formidable side. Current World and European champions Spain will also hope to make a strong defence of their title. Vicente del Bosque has retained the core of the side which won the 2010 World Cup. However, it is a side running on depleted firepower with neither Fernando Torres nor David Villa the goal scoring force that they once were.
If you are looking for more of an outside bet, then there are plenty of options. Italy is another side which usually produces the goods when it comes to the big stage. Although midfielder Andrea Pirlo is coming towards the end of an illustrious career, he can still pull the strings to any football match. For the Italians, much will pretend on unpredictable striker Mario Balotelli. Colombia is another side which should not be overlooked. They qualified very impressively to reach Brazil and in Radamel Falcao, they have one of the top strikers in world football. Another outside bet could be Belgium, who have developed one of the most exciting and attractive sides in European football. In players such as Eden Hazard, they have the talent to unlock any defence and the bustling strike partnership of Romelu Lukaku and Christian Benteke is likely to prove a handful for the world’s toughest centre-backs.
All in all, the World Cup promises to be an exciting and somewhat unpredictable competition. Whatever happens, you can be sure that the team which eventually wins Brazil 2014 will include tomorrow’s stars and future legends of the game.
