Binge Media Sports: 2014 FIFA World Cup-Group C & Group D
Welcome back to Binge Media Sports Coverage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup. A couple of days ago, I gave you a look at the first two groups, so let’s keep it going today as we inch closer to the start of tournament action on June 12th. Today, we look at Group C and Group D, two groups that could prove to be very entertaining and should give us some great matches.
GROUP C
TV SCHEDULE
Saturday, June 14-Colombia v. Greece-Noon Eastern/11:00 Central-ABC
Saturday, June 14-Ivory Coast v. Japan-9:oo Eastern/8:00 Central-ESPN
Thursday, June 19-Colombia v. Ivory Coast-Noon Eastern/11:00 Central-ESPN
Thursday, June 19-Japan v. Greece-6:00 Eastern/5:00 Central-ESPN
Tuesday, June 24-Japan v. Colombia-4:00 Eastern/3:00 Central-ESPN
Tuesday, June 24-Greece v. Ivory Coast-4:00 Eastern/3:00 Central-ESPN2
GROUP PREVIEW: Four continents are represented and this may be the toughest group to predict, as every team has a real shot to advance to the knockout stage.
Colombia is probably the biggest name here, and may be the favorite in Group C, but it may interest you to know that as with every team in this group, Colombia has never advanced beyond the round of 16. They play with a typical South American flair and James Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado will be trying to make up for the loss of the dangerous Radamel Falcao, who is suffering from an ACL injury.
Japan comes in as the reigning Asian champions and they will be looking to put pressure on their opponents at midfield. Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa lead the charge as Japan will be looking for a better showing than they had at the 2013 Confederations Cup.
Greece plays yet another different style where they sit back and wait and then come strong on the counterattack. They only gave up 6 goals in 12 qualifiers, but their offense is known to have its ups and downs. Georgios Samaras and Konstantinos Mitroglou lead the Greek squad into action on June 14th.
Ivory Coast enters this World Cup as the highest ranked team in Africa, but they tend to struggle in games outside of the continent. That’s not quite what you’re looking for in an international competition. Their opener against Japan, also on June 14th, may set the tone for how their tournament will go. Yaya Toure and Didier Drogba are the players to watch for Ivory Coast.
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GROUP D
TV SCHEDULE
Saturday, June 14-Uruguay v. Costa Rica-3:00 Eastern/2:00 Central-ABC
Saturday, June 14-England v. Italy-6:00 Eastern/5:00 Central-ESPN
Thursday, June 19-Uruguay v. England-3:00 Eastern/2:00 Central-ESPN
Friday, June 20-Italy v. Costa Rica-Noon Eastern/11:00 Central-ESPN
Tuesday, June 24-Italy v. Uruguay-Noon Eastern/11:00 Central-ESPN
Tuesday, June 24-Costa Rica v. England-Noon Eastern/11:00 Central-ESPN2
GROUP PREVIEW: Group D may prove to be the most interesting in the first two weeks, and it’s certainly another tough group to predict.
Uruguay finished fourth in South Africa in 2010 and come in as the reigning Copa America champions. They also have one of the most dangerous strikers in the world in Luis Suarez. Edinson Cavani is another player to watch as Uruguay looks to lead this group.
Italy might have something to say about that though. Armed with four World Cup titles and a runner-up finish in Euro 2012, Italy is seen by many as the favorite in Group D. They’ll certainly be looking for a better finish than South Africa, when they finished fourth in a group with New Zealand, Slovakia, and Paraguay. Claudio Marchisio, Giuseppe Rossi, and Mario Balotelli will be key as their match against Uruguay on June 24th may decide who moves on and who goes home.
Not to be forgotten is England, who was never defeated while earning their spot in Brazil. With arguably the most loyal fans in the world, the English are looking to win their first World Cup in 48 years and will be led by Wayne Rooney, Daniel Sturridge, and Jack Wilshere.
The underdogs in the group will be Costa Rica. If any of the three teams I mentioned above move on, nobody would be surprised. But if Costa Rica can find a way to hang around and move on, it will shock the entire world. They didn’t even qualify in 2010, but Joel Campbell and Brian Ruiz have turned this team around and will have their work cut out for them in 2014.
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Check back soon for a preview of Group E and Group F. If you missed the preview for Group A and Group B, click HERE. If you feel the need to justify your picks or just have some thoughts on the World Cup in general, feel free to comment below, or even better, follow me and tweet @THElukenorris.