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world cup 2014 preview
There are just 14 days left before the World
Cup kicks off in Brazil, so here is the AWOL
guide to the group stages of the competition
and our predictions as to who will progress
to the knockout stages.
Group A
(Brazil, Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico)
This should be a straightforward group for
the hosts to negotiate, but second place is
harder to predict. It could well come down to
goal difference but we think Mexico should
be able to squeak through.
Group B
(Australia, Chile, Netherlands, Spain)
One of several very tough groups that
could all be labelled ‘groups of death’, but
Spain are the standout favourites to top it.
A lot will depend on how the Dutch gel, as
they have frequently had squad fallouts at
this tournament, but assuming they don’t
implode, we think they will progress.
Group C
(Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan)
Most pundits favourites for this group are
Colombia, but it looks like their star player
Falcao is ruled out through injury which is a
big blow. We still think they will have enough
to get through, alongside the Ivory Coast,
with Didier Drogba and Yaya Toure in their
last ever World Cup.
Group D
(Costa Rica, England, Italy, Uruguay)
This is probably the hardest group both to
predict and for the teams in question to get
out of. All of them are capable of doing so,
but are equally capable of key mistakes that
could cost them. It is rare that England fail to
qualify for the knockout stage but we think
they will fail this time, and Italy and Uruguay
to progress we think.
Group E
(Ecuador, France, Honduras, Switzerland)
This is likely to be another closely contested
group and should favour Ecuador due to the
climate conditions which they will be used to.
No clear favourite though and we are going to
plump for France and Ecuador to progress.
Group F
(Argentina, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran,
Nigeria)
Clear favourites in this group and to at least
reach the semi finals are Argentina, and we
think it will be between Bosnia and Nigeria
for second spot, and we are plumping for the
latter to make it.
Group G
(Germany, Ghana, Portugal, United States)
Another collection of teams that has been
dubbed a group of death with all capable of
beating the others. Despite that, the pedigree
of Germany installs them as automatic
favourites and the presence of Ronaldo puts
Portugal in line for the other spot - however
we are going to pick Ghana to finish behind
the Germans.
Group H
(Algeria, Belgium, Korea Republic, Russia)
This should be a relatively straightforward
group with the strong squad of Belgium
favourites, being followed by the well
disciplined defensive unit that is Russia,
although both of the other teams are capable
of taking points off these two.
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world cup 2014 predictor
AWOL has set up its own game on our
website for readers to try and predict the
results of all the matches in the 2014 World
Cup. You will need to be a registered user on
the AWOL website (free to join) and logged in
to play; you can register and log in using your
Facebook, Twitter, Hotmail, Gmail and many
other social or email networks. Go to www.
awolonline.net to register/log in, and then
click on ‘Play World Cup 2014 Predictor’
Full details of the game rules and scoring
system can be found on the site.
fantasy world cup
We have now chosen a World Cup Fantasy
Football game to form an AWOL private league
in - many of the games are not operational yet
so we have chosen the game by FanXT.
To join the game you need to register (free and
can be done with your Facebook account) at
the following web address -
fantasyworldcup.fanxt.com
and then go to the following web address to
join the AWOL Challenge league -
fantasyworldcup.fanxt.com/invite.
php?lid=410&flid=308823
As well as the fame you can achieve locally
in the AWOL competition, there will be some
prizes on offer from the game organisers, to
be announced soon.
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