FIFA World Cup For Dummies: The Group D Challenge
Thursday, June 12th, 2014
So How Does The World Cup Work?
This year, 32 football teams qualified from all around the world to compete in the FIFA World Cup in this year’s host country – Brazil. In order to whittle the teams down towards the final, they must compete in two stages: the group stage and the second stage – or as it’s better known, the knockout stage.
The Group Stage
The competing nations are separated into eight groups made up of four teams – inventively named groups A-H. Eight teams are “seeded” into the eight groups – this is decided using a not-so-secret formula ,which uses FIFA rankings and past performance in international football as deciding factors. The remaining teams are put into eight pots and drawn at random to fill up each group with four teams. Confused yet?
The teams then compete within their group, each playing against the other three teams. Winners of the group stage are determined based on a points system. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss. At the end of the group tournament, when each of the four teams has played each other, the two teams with the most points proceed to the knockout stage – while the losers pack their bags and head to the airport (let’s hope England aren’t on that flight).
Who’s Playing Who? – The Groups
Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon
Group B: Spain, the Netherlands, Chile and Australia
Group C: Columbia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan
Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England and Italy
Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France and Honduras
Group F: Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria
Group G: Germany, Portugal, Ghana and the United States
Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia and South Korea
The Knockout Stage
The knockout stage is cut-throat – and, as the name suggests, the matches are one-offs – lose a game and you’re going home. FIFA have made a very handy graphic explaining the knockout stage in full, so we’ll spare you most of the details.
“Round of 16”, or the second stage as it’s usually known, consists of the winner of one group playing against the runner-up of another group. From here, the World Cup progresses to the quarter-finals and semi-finals, culminating in the highly anticipated final match – which will be played in Rio De Janeiro on the 13th July.
Is England Screwed?
Maybe. There’s been a lot of talk about England’s chances of success at the World Cup. Numerous footballing sources have stated that England’s main challenge is the first hurdle, the eagerly anticipated first match against Italy on the 14th of June. If we can get through that, we might have gained enough momentum to progress through the competition – although it’s highly unlikely anyone will be putting money on England to win the 2014 World Cup.
The Group D Competition
England vs. Italy 14/06/14
Italy are four-time World Cup champions, winning in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006, only superseded by this year’s host country, Brazil – who have won a total of five times. Italy have strong possession and attack skills and England will need to step up their game from the get-go to get past this first hurdle. Bad luck for England, with their first match being against such a strong team.
England vs. Uruguay 19/06/14
Uruguay have won the World Cup twice – first in 1930 then again in 1950 – and have a strong footballing history. They placed fourth in the last World Cup, held in South Africa in 2010. Football journalists have commented that Uruguay might be past their best, however – with an aging defence, there are doubts as to how far they will go in the competition. No doubt they will get through to the knockout stages, but as the competition gets stiffer, will they be able to keep up?
England vs. Costa Rica 24/06/14
Costa Rica have never won the World Cup, first taking part in 1990, making it through to the first round of the knockout stage. The team are known to have a strong defence and, interestingly, 2014 will be the first time England and Costa Rica have played against each other – who can say what will happen? This one’s still very much up in the air.
It’s clear that England’s future performance in the 2014 Brazil World Cup is a bit of a grey area, and only time will tell how they take to the competition. Come June, it’s sink or swim time.
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