WORLD CUP
If things go awry during the World
Cup or if the violent crime problems of
Brazilian cities ruin the experience for
visiting fans, people will ask whether
Brazil is also going to make a fist of
the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro
and if it bit off more than it can chew in
hosting the biggest mega-events so close
together.
So Brazil and FIFA, which earns
the vast bulk of its billions of dollars in
revenue from the World Cup, need the
football to shine. There is every reason
to believe that it will, just so long as
players deal intelligently with the tropical
heat and humidity in some cities and, for
some teams, many thousands of miles of
travel.
Of the 32 teams, only a few — Brazil,
Argentina, Spain and Germany, to name
just the top contenders — will genuinely
be expected to win. But plenty of other
teams — Uruguay, Italy, Colombia,
Belgium, Portugal, France, perhaps the
Netherlands, England and a few others
— are good enough or have players
dazzling enough to produce must-watch
games, to upset favored opponents and
go into the knockout stages. For half the
teams, the adventure will stop after three
group-stage matches, with the weakest
possibly going home without a single
point or even a goal.
But even lopsided encounters should
offer insight into whether top teams
are purring or misfiring. Argentina and
four-time world player of the year Lionel
Messi will be expected, for example, to
run rings around World Cup newcomer
Bosnia-Herzegovina in their opening
match on June 15. Messi needs to win
the World Cup, as Pele did three times
and Diego Maradona did in 1986, to rank
alongside those all-time greats.
There’ll be an inquest if Spain
doesn’t score freely against Australia
on June 23 and top its Group B. The
recruitment of Brazilian-born striker
Diego Costa gives a new cutting edge
to the world champion so capably led
by coach Vicente del Bosque, a master
at adapting tactics and formations to his
team’s strengths.
Planet football will wobble in shock if
Spain loses before the semifinals. There,
the Barcelona pair of Xavi Hernandez
and Andres Iniesta could struggle to
counter the attacking threat from their
club teammate Messi. If, that is, his
Argentina side hasn’t fallen first in a
possible quarterfinal match up with
Portugal, although it is heavily reliant
on the individual brilliance of Cristiano
Ronaldo, Messi’s arch-rival at Real
Madrid.
Some games will be intriguing for the
novelty of football between nations that
rarely meet or for old rivalries renewed.
Honduras against 1998 World Cup
champion France on June 15 will be a
first. In the airy Estadio das Dunas near
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t h e g a m e sports magazine
BRAZIL | JUNE 12 - JULY 13, 2014
the surf-tickled beaches of Natal, the
USA will look on June 16 for a first win in
its third ever mat