1st: Belgium- 7 Points
World Ranking: 12
Key Players: Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany, Nacer Chadli, Thomas Vermaelen
Belgium is intriguing. They will be exciting to watch; they are a young team on the rise, destined to be Europe’s cream of the crop in the next few years considering the average age of teams like Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. Led by young star Eden Hazard, Belgium has the force on defense and an energetic attack. Kompany and Vermaelen are arguably two of the better defenders in Europe, and Hazard and wing Nacer Chadli provide an exciting young attack. With such a nice balance and weaker competition, Belgium seems poised to make a run deep into the tournament this year.
2nd: Russia- 5 points
World Ranking: 18
Key Players: Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Igor Akinfeev, Roman Shirokov, Victor Fayzulin
With so much having happened involving Russia the past six months, the squad, led by coach Fabio Capello, looks to focus only on the matches at hand. Most players play for their native club teams, like Zenit Saint Petersburg and CSKA Moscow, so there won’t be any of those talented players that play for “European” clubs. However, they do field an interesting team, with its pride on defense. Goalie Igor Akinfeey is in his prime and has not skipped a single minute in the qualifiers. Kerzhakov leads an attack, along with technically gifted midfielders Shirokov and Fayzulin. It will be interesting to see how this team plays out.
3rd: Korea Republic- 4 points
World Ranking: 55
Key Players: Son Heung-Min, Koo Ja-Cheol, Ki Sung-Yeong, Lee Chung-Yong
If you’re Korean or a fan of Korea Republic, one thing will be missing this tournament. Well, one person, that is. Park Ji-Sung. Officially retired from football altogether, Park was a key reason why Korea Republic got anywhere. But it seems like the Taegeuk Warriors will fare well in their first major tournament without him. New captain Lee Chung-Yong looks to make an impact after an injury kept him out from the international stage. Ki Sung-Yeong was the best player last World Cup and pairs with Koo Ja-Cheol to form a dangerous midfield. And to top it all off, youngster Son Heung-Min makes his World Cup debut and hopes to score right away.
4th: Algeria- 0 points
World Ranking: 25
Key Players: Bryan Ruiz, Joel Campbell
Algeria has only three total World Cup experiences, but don’t be fooled by the numbers. They come in very streaky, having lost very few games. There isn’t a particular superstar on this team, meaning the scoring and defending will be almost evenly distributed to the roles each player has. Of course, this can make Algeria to be all the more dangerous as no one will be able to predict who is going to score a goal or assist the goal. With that said, Sofiane Feghouli does have exciting attributes in the midfield, and Madjid Bougherra has great leadership and experience in the defensive line.
Photo Credit: http://worldsoccertalk.com/belgium-world-cup-2014-team-preview/
