Between a rock and a hard place?

By now, every fan has made their assumptions on what group in the 2014 World Cup is the toughest. There are always been groups in the world cup that are deemed more difficult than the others. This is assumption is made on our perception of the teams in contention. We’ve labeled some groups the ‘Group of Death’, but is there any chance of lesser number teams advancing from these groups? No.

It is sometimes tagged to a group with even powered teams. The difficulty for pundits and fans in guessing who survives the group brings about the ‘Group of Death’ labeling. In the usual scenario, the tag is given to the group that has a large number of participants (3) marked as ‘favorites’ to advance further into the competition.

I do not believe that a team that has gained a World Cup qualification, should be considered a weak team. So I shy away from making any calls on these groups. But the flesh is weak, so sometimes I do.

A look into potential ‘Group of Deaths’

The composition of ‘group of death’ is usually traditionally dominant teams, teams that are equipped with world class star players, and teams that are considered to have good team chemistry. Some teams have multiple attributes. At least 3 out of the four team should fit into one of these categories.

In Group B, Spain and Netherlands are both traditionally dominant teams, possessing world class star players, and a good team chemistry.Chile and Australia complete this group. Despite Australia not being considered a threat, the inclusion of Chile raises some doubt. The Chileans have recently displayed a full fledged attacking style of play. This has made them a major threat to traditionally dominant teams that will be playing a bit more conservatively because of the pressure placed on them from their reputation

In Group D, we have 7 out of the world cup won. Uruguay, England, and Italy reside in this group. They are star studded, historically dominant and quite food team chemistry.

For a well balanced group, Group C will be the one to watch. Group C is not necessarily what many fans will call the ‘group of death’, but they are a group that is hard to call. Columbia, Greece, Cote d’Ivoire and Japan make up Group C. There is a good balance of strength and weakness here for each of these teams to capitalize.

A unique ‘Group of Death’ falls in Group G. Germany, Portugal, Ghana and the USA are sharing space in this pod.
With Germany being an international powerhouse, expectations of them advancing from this Group is higher than any of their group mates. It gets a little more complex when the rest of the teams in this group are paired up. Portugal has the current ballon d’or winner on their team sheet. USA and Ghana come in with a team spirit and fan support unlike no other.

Portugal seem to lack team chemistry, and if it was not for the possession of Crisitiano Ronaldo, they might have not been part of this tournament. The issue is, will Ronaldo always have his scoring boots on?. He will need to. Teams like Ghana and USA play with such a superb team chemistry, that can immobilize a star studded sides like Germany and Portugal.

Ghana and USA have created a modern rivalry in international competitions. The gods of futbol have selected these teams to meet again in the Fifa World Cup, for the third consecutive time. They’ve met 4 times in history but USA is yet grab a win from Ghana. Both of their world cup meetings were vital games that ejected team and promoted other. In 2006,  both teams were even on points in the same group, and had to face each other in the last and decisive group game. A win from Ghana advance the team to the Round of 16, and USA was sent packing. The next meeting in 2010 was held in the Round of 16. Again, Ghana eliminated the USA in extra time.

May be the third time will be the charm for USA. Or a 3-0 world cup record goes to Ghana. Unlike previous dates, this will not be a match that will necessarily eliminate any of the two.

Take a look at the World Cup groups and see if you can find your own ‘group of death’.