Article Written By: Manny Alcala
The wait is finally over! The World Cup group stage is set! All of the excitement accumulated while we saw that the draw was nearer and what a draw it was, it couldn’t have turned more exciting. Here are the official results:
Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon.
Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia.
Group C: Colombia, Greece, Cote d’ Ivoire, Japan.
Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy.
Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras.
Group F: Argentina, Bosnia-herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria.
Group G: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA.
Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia, Korea Republic.
Analysis:
For the first time that I can remember we practically have three or possibly four groups of death. Those groups are group B, D, and G. Depending on how you view it, you can also add group A to the list of groups of death. When you have teams like Spain and Netherlands playing against each other you think of the 2010 World Cup when they faced in the final, now they will play against each other in the group stage. Some of the group stage matches that really stand out are Uruguay vs. England, England vs. Italy, Spain vs. Netherlands, Germany vs. Portugal, USA vs. Germany, and Brazil vs. Mexico. All of these matches are worthy of being quarter final, semi-final, or even final matches, but we are fortunate to see this happen during the group stage. It is was certainly a very successful draw, possibly the best one yet. We are ready to see the soccer stars shine at the biggest stage!
Countdown: 188 days, 1 hour, 42 minutes
Key Dates:
June 12, 2014. Brazil vs Croatia. (Inaugural game)
June 13, 2014. Mexico vs Cameroon.
June 16, 2014. Ghana vs USA.
June 28, 2014. Start of the second round.
July 13, 2014. Final game of the World Cup.
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