NOTICE: Mid-Season Review

As we come to the end of a fantastic yet poignant 12 months of football, I will be publishing a review of the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League Season so far, in the coming weeks. Individual team reports and their transfer targets will be part of the agenda.

Wishing all readers a Merry Christmas

FIFA World Cup 2014 Draw: Assessment/Initial Predictions

Friday's draw for the 20th FIFA World Cup tournament saw a lot of surprises and shocks. The focus turns to all 32 teams who are taking part in Brazil next summer, as well as their chances at this early stage of prediction.

England. The eye of the nation is on the Three Lions who, it is fair to say, have been drawn into a tough group. In Group D, they are up against Italy, who last won the tournament in 2006 against France on penalties in Berlin's Olympiastadion, as well as Uruguay who claimed the final place for next summer's tournament beating Jordan in the play-offs. Joining the Three Lions are Costa Rica, with the two teams having never met each other before. Judging by current status, it would be hard to see England progress from the group stages. A win against Italy would at this rate, bring about complacency against Uruguay in Sao Paulo on June 19th and in effect, they could stutter against Costa Rica. They are in a group in which they will be up against world-class players such as Suarez, Cavani, Balotelli and Pirlo (if fit), and will therefore need to prepare well in advance, ensuring that injury does not cost them of their key players. Travel is a key issue, with The Three Lions having to embark on a 2,650 mile journey from their base in Rio de Janeiro to Manaus, for their match against Italy.

2,650 miles: But how far will Roy's boy's really go in Brazil?

The focus on key group games include the repeat of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final in Group B, as Spain take on The Netherlands, whom they defeated 1-0 in that tense, hotly-contested match on the 11th July 2010 in Johannesburg's Soccer City (now FNB) stadium, in the group's opening game. This time, in Salvador, Spain will need to prove that they still have an edge to their game and silence the critics after a humiliating 3-0 defeat to hosts Brazil in the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup Final. The Dutch on the other hand, will be looking to prove that they are still a top team after bowing out of the group stages of Euro 2012 with 0 points. The "Group of Death" title belongs to Group G, where Germany, Portugal, Ghana and the USA will lock horns with each other. The bookies fancy the Germans and the Portuguese, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, to progress into at least the Round of 16, although Ghana, who also faced Germany in the 2010 tournament's group stage (losing 1-0 on that occasion), will arguably be the strongest African nation at next summer's tournament. Jurgen Klinsmann comes face-to-face with Joachim Low who was his assistant when he was Germany manager from 2004 to 2006.

Brazil: A nation expects

Before all of that, the tournament's inaugural game kicks off on the 12th June in Sao Paulo, where Brazil will open the first of 64 matches in their Group A game against Croatia, before facing Mexico 5 days later in Fortaleza; and will look to seal progress into the knockout stages by the time they play Cameroon in the capital city of Brasilia. They are firm favourites to win the tournament but will need the full vocal support of fans at matches to be a strong influence on team spirit and players' mentality. Neymar, Paulinho, Bernard and Fred are, so far, likely to be in Luiz Felipe Scolari's 23-man squad, with Philippe Coutinho, Alexandre Pato and Leandro Damiao also vying for a chance to represent Brazil on home soil. The Selecao could face The Netherlands or Spain in the round of 16 and in their best interests, will wish to avenge the "national tragedy" of the 1950 FIFA World Cup, where they lost 2-1 to Uruguay at the Estádio do Maracanã, and add a 6th star to their jersey.

Rest In Peace: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

Aside the preparations for the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the football world remembers Nelson Mandela, who sadly passed away on Thursday at the age of 95. Not only was he a pivotal figure in South Africa's successful bid (and tournament) for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but also a genuinely wonderful world leader and humble gentleman all round. He will be deeply missed. 

CREDITS:

Picture of Roy Hodgson: http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02238/roy_hodgson_2238648b.jpg

Picture of Christ The Redeemer statue: http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/060/cache/brazil-christ-redeemer_6011_600x450.jpg

Picture of Nelson Mandela: http://images.smh.com.au/2013/12/06/4985450/dh_mandela2-20131206092256146309-620x349.jpg

FIFA World Cup 2014: The Draw

As customary for football fans all across the world, it is this time in the year prior to the FIFA World Cup in which we can start to make predictions about the winners and losers. This Friday, the official 2014 World Cup draw will take place in the city of Costa do Sauipe (near Salvador), Brazil. All eyes will be on who England will draw in their group, as well as the big guns such as Brazil themselves, and Germany and Spain. The possibilities are in some ways, endless.

The stage is set: Or almost, anyway

The worry of the nation is who England will face in their group. Having been confirmed as an unseeded team (and rightly so), it is possible that the Three Lions could be moved to Pot 2 via a random draw, with the likes of Germany, Spain and Argentina. They currently lie in Pot 4, alongside France, Italy and débutantes on the world stage, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Should England remain in Pot 4, they will avoid such teams until at least the last 16. On the other hand, they will definitely face a Pot 1 team in the group stages, and will look to avoid the hosts, the Germans, Argentina and current world and European champions, Spain, at all costs. If England are moved to pot 2, they will definitely face a South American seed. The following are the best and worst-case scenarios for England:

BEST-CASE SCENARIO:

Pot	Team	FIFA World Ranking (28/11/2013)
1	Switzerland	8th
2	Cameroon	51st
3	Australia	59th
4	England	13th

WORST-CASE SCENARIO:

Pot	Team	FIFA World Ranking (28/11/2013)
1	Brazil	10th
2	England	13th
3	USA	14th
4	Portugal	5th

Without doubt, Roy Hodgson will be hoping that England face the teams of the first category rather than the latter. However, anything could happen and when looking at the worst-case scenario, England may well be in the "Group of Death".

Another "Group of Death" could see Brazil, Italy, France and Mexico in the same group. Furthermore, The Netherlands, Argentina, Ivory Coast and Japan are aware that they could be playing each other in the first round. No group may have more than two countries from the same continent face each other. In that case, it would be impossible for England, Spain and Portugal to be in the same group, despite what some fans may be hoping (or not hoping) for.

The view from other nations will be slightly different. Whoever Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Germany face, they will been safe in the knowledge that they are the favourites to lift the World Cup trophy on 13th July in Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium. But victory is never a guarantee and either of the favourites know very well that they could bow out of the tournament as early as the quarter finals - something Brazil have experienced in the last two tournaments. Moreover, there could be surprise packages, the most likely of which is Belgium, who took qualification by storm and are in Pot 1 for Friday's draw. The likes of Mignolet, Hazard, Fellaini, Kompany, Witsel and Lukaku will be fighting long and hard for the remainder of the 2013/14 season in order to get on Belgium's plane to Brazil, come June.

Besides the draw, the preparations in Brazil are in turmoil. Last week's crane collapse in Sao Paulo, which killed 2 workers will have delayed the Arena Corinthians' completion date by a considerable number of weeks (or even months). Several other stadiums look unlikely to meet FIFA's end-of-year deadline and social unrest over infrastructure and public services still remains present, at large.

Nevertheless, Friday's draw is at the subject worldwide attention and will be watched with anticipation. Do not miss it.

Tune in to BBC2 on Friday at 1630 (4:30pm) for the draw


CREDITS:

Draw stage picture: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25153780