It’s time! Today at 4pm EST, Brazil will play Croatia in the first match of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Every four years countries from around the world shelf their political differences and step into the world of sports. Whether you’ve converted to the religion of fútbol or are in it for the pitchers of beer, consider this your guide to the World Cup.
How it Works
To understand how the World Cup is structured you should know that there are 32 teams competing for this year’s World Cup trophy. The top 7 teams (Colombia, Spain, Uruguay, Switzerland, Argentina, Germany and Belgium) along with the host country, Brazil, were divided into 8 different groups (Groups A-H). The rest of the remaining teams competing for the World Cup were then placed into “pots” based on their geographical location:
Pot 1: The top seven teams, plus host Brazil.
Pot 2: Africa & South America
Pot 3: Asia & North America
Pot 4: Europe
The teams from these various “pots” were then randomly placed into the different Groups A through H. The four teams in each group will play against each other in the first round with the top two teams of each group (first place and runner-up) moving on. The bottom two teams will be eliminated from the competition. After this first round of games, which will determine the teams that move on to the next level of the World Cup, teams will face single game eliminations. During the course of the summer, teams from around the world will be knocked out of the competition until just two teams are left playing for the World Cup trophy.
The Scoop on FIFA
As one of my favorite comedians, John Oliver, put it: Soccer is a religion. While the World Cup is an amazing event that brings nations together, the FIFA organization is a corrupt business that often leaves host nations in financial ruin once the games are over. It is a love-hate relationship to follow the World Cup since fans are eager to watch the games but wary of supporting FIFA. I will let John Oliver explain-accompanied with hilarious jokes and anecdotes-the inner workings of FIFA.
The Teams & Predictions
While the World Cup is truly anyone’s game and underdog teams can surprise us, there are some strong contenders for the trophy that I anticipate will breeze through the first round of the competition. Here are the predictions for round 1 of the World Cup.
Group A
Brazil, Cameroon, Mexico and Croatia go head to head in Group A with Brazil as a popular prediction for winner of the World Cup. While not much is expected from Cameroon in this group, Mexico and Croatia will face off on June 23rd for runner up to the likely group winner: Brazil.
Group B
Australia, Chile, Netherlands and Spain make up the strong Group B where Spain and the Netherlands will likely prove the top teams. Not to be overlooked, Chile goes head to head with the Netherlands on June 23rd.
Group C**
With a Colombian heritage and birth certificate issued in Bogota, I am rooting for Los Cafeteros (the Colombian National Football Team) to come out on top against Greece, Japan and the Ivory Coast. Thankfully, the prediction is that Colombia will take the lead in Group C leaving the rest of the teams to fight for the runner-up position.
Group D
With Costa Rica, England, Italy and Uruguay making up Group D, any one of these teams could move on to the next round of the competition.
Group E
France, Ecuador, Switzerland and Honduras make up Group E with the French likely to secure a spot in the next round of the competition. Honduras likely will not move on to the next stage, which will leave Ecuador and Switzerland fighting for the runner-up spot.
Group F
Argentina, Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria will go head to head in Group F with Argentina a clear win for the next group. Bets are placed on Bosnia winning against Nigeria with Iran and Nigeria packing their bags and heading home early.
Group G
Poor USA. While I like to root for the underdogs in sports (and the U.S is an underdog here), they are up against Ghana, Germany and Portugal-some of the best teams in the world. Likely Portugal and Germany will advance to the next stage of the competition leaving Ghana and the USA out of the World Cup. While chances are low for the USA to make it past the first round, their coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, is German and led team Germany to the semi-finals in the World Cup of 2006, so there may be hope yet.
Group H
Algeria, Russia, Belgium and South Korea make up the last group of the World Cup. Belgium will be a clear winner of Group H while Russia is a strong contender for the runner-up position of the group.
Getting Excited
If the soccer hysteria, commercials and promises of many happy hours ahead aren’t enough to get you excited for the games, then give the official FIFA World Cup song a listen.
When to Watch
*I do not own the rights to the photos in this post.
