France

2014 FIFA World Cup: Group E

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Group E will provide a mixture of entertainment, ecstasy, exasperation, exhilaration and Ecuador. The South American country is one of the dark horses to go through to the knockout stages along with FIFA World Cup 1998 winners, France.  Switzerland will also be a force to be reckoned with based on their FIFA ranking alone. Touted the “group of life” by football pundits, this group is one of the more open groups in the World Cup. Ecuador have a fantastic record in their own continent, and this may spur them on to greater things. Honduras will also look to impress and could cause an upset over the unpredictable French. The one who plays accurate football with the least mistakes will come out on top in this group.

France

Unpredictable Les Bleus ready to face destiny or disaster

France were one of the lucky teams during the qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. They scraped through a tough group that included World Champions Spain, and then faced Ukraine in the playoffs. France lost to Ukraine in a woeful first leg display that had the French public with their heads in their hands, and football pundits calling it one of the worst displays by a French team. Strangely enough, in the second leg at home, France made a 180 degree turn and beat the Ukraine 3-0 to book their place in Brazil. This was also the only time a side had turned a 2 goal deficit around in the playoffs. A truly lucky escape, after one of the goals came from an offside goal from star striker Karim Benzema.

France will either win the whole tournament or go out in the first round of their group or early in the knockout stages, as they are struggling for consistency, especially against the smaller nations. This is when they seem to let their guard down. The group will be easy for France if they play with the correct mental attitude. No ego’s, no team fights (remember 2010) and no player meltdowns.

The pack of cards that France will likely use at their disposal lies in their creative midfield and strong attacking threat up front. The ace’s in the pack are midfielders Paul Pogba, Yohan Cabaye, Mathieu Valbeuna and striker Olivier Giroud.

Pogba has been in immense form for Juventus and with his Mohawk will try to make a fashion statement as well to all the colourful Brazilians football crazy fans. Yohan Cabaye has showed his skill at Newcastle and is now making a name for himself in the strong PSG side.

The King in France’s deck is undoubtedly the little maestro Franck Ribery. The 30 year old playmaker of Bayern Munich is now at the peak of his powers and there is no better way for the European Footballer of the year to show his pedigree than at Brazil. Ribery has never tasted international success, with the closest being second spot in Germany in 2006.

Coach, Didier Deschamps has revitalised the national team’s spirit, and knows how to win, as a former World Cup and European championship winning captain. He has played down his team’s chances and this may be a good move to lift the pressure from his players’ shoulders. Captain Hugo Lloris is also enjoying a successful time at London club Tottenham Hotspur. He has a penchant for the acrobatical, but is also prone to the odd bit of French madness in goal.

The French are either fantastic or frail.

Key Players:

Franck Ribery (Midfielder)

Age: 30

Matches Played (goals scored): 81 (16)

Club:  FC Barcelona

Paul Pogba (Midfielder)

Age: 21

Matches Played (goals scored): 8 (1)

Club:  Juventus

Karim Benzema (Striker)

Age: 26

Matches Played (goals scored): 65 (19)

Club:  Real Madrid

 

Switzerland

Sweet success for Switzerland is South Africa or will their challenge melt away?

Switzerland is ranked number six in the world and with good reason. They have been consistently competitive under German coach Ottmar Hitzfeld and has a combination of young attacking players and experienced defenders. This World Cup may be their time to shine, especially since they have been drawn in one of the easier groups.

Switzerland’s challenge is built on their success in the under 17 and under 19 World Cup’s with a clear focus on producing young talent through the respective age group categories. One of these players is Bayern Munich star Xherdan Shaqiri, who has Albanian heritage. Shaqiri has been an influential figure in the Swiss team since his debut in 2010. Alongside playmakers Tranquillo Barnetta and Granit Xhaka, nicknamed “young Einstein” for his intelligence on the field. The Swiss enforcer is the ever dependable Gokhan Inler who links play with experienced centre-backs Johan Djourou and Philippe Senderos who are both former Arsenal players.

Diego Benaglio is a dependable goalkeeper, who is supported well by Switzerland’s solid back four. Stephan Lichtsteiner is a menace on the right hand side of defence, and his marauding runs down the flank will cause problems for the defence. These runs have earned him the nickname Forrest Gump. He is also a no nonsense tackler, and is sometimes hated by the opposition for his desire to push the rules on defence.

The Swiss though have not yet found a suitable replacement for Alexander Frei, who is their leading goal scorer of all time. Erin Derdiyok has had many opportunities to fill this gap, but has blown hot and cold of late. This is one problem the Swiss will have especially against tougher opposition, when they are a goal or two behind. The Swiss should come second in this group, as their combination of exciting young players should be able to withstand the challenge of the Ecuadorian and Honduran contingent.

 Xherdan Shaqiri (Midfielder)

Age: 22

Matches Played (goals scored): 31 (8)

Club:  Bayern Munich

Stephan Lichtsteiner (Defender)

Age: 30

Matches Played (goals scored): 61 (4)

Club: Juventus

Granit Xhaka (Midfielder)

Age: 21

Matches Played (goals scored): 24 (4)

Club:  Borussia Monchengladbach

Ecuador

South Americans have an immaculate record on their continent

Ecuador burst onto the scene during the 2002 FIFA World Cup as they picked up a win against Croatia. Four years on in 2006, they qualified for the knockout stage before going down to a Beckham-inspired England. Ecuador surprisingly failed to qualify for South Africa 2010, but have returned back in 2014. Gone are the stars of the 2006 World Cup journey and in are the youngsters ready to break into the international consciousness.

Colombian coach Reinaldo Rueda, who lead Honduras to the World Cup in 2010, is now in charge of Ecuador and faces his old team in the group stage. This gives the Ecuadorians a distinct advantage as they will have inside knowledge on their Central American opponents.

Ecuador also boast a variety of talented players who will thrive in the well-known South American conditions. Veterans Edison Mendez and Walter Ayovi will be crucial in acting as teachers to the younger players on the field. Captain Antonio Valencia has been an inspiration to his team, with his experience at Manchester United doing the national team a world of good. Jefferson Montero on a good day is near unstoppable as his electrifying pace will be used to good effect against tired opponents. Ecuador are used to the conditions and will need to use their knowledge of the high altitude and humidity to good effect against superstar teams like France.

The untimely passing of Christian Benitez last year due to a heart failure shocked the Ecuadorian football community and do not be surprised to see players paying respect to their former team mate. Benitez would have surely been part of the World Cup team in Brazil, and his presence will be sorely missed.

Edison Mendez (Midfielder)

Age: 35

Matches Played (goals scored): 108 (18)

Club: Santa Fe

Antonio Valencia (Midfielder)

Age: 28

Matches Played (goals scored): 69 (8)

Club: Manchester United

Jefferson Montero (Midfielder)

Age: 24

Matches Played (goals scored): 37 (7)

Club:  Morelia

Honduras

Honduras ready to make a statement in 2014

Honduras are the true underdogs of this group, but because of the unpredictable nature of this group they might see themselves as having a real opportunity to cause some surprises.

They are once again facing Switzerland, just like they did in their previous World Cup in 2010. It is a case of familiar foes in a not so familiar environment. Whether Honduras has the capability to contain the likes of Shaqiri, Ribery and Benzema will have to be seen.

Interestingly, Honduras’ coach was in charge of Ecuador during their successful 2006 FIFA World Cup run. Roles have been swapped and teams have been changed, but results have been no different. The Honduras versus Ecuador contest will be one of the highly anticipated contests in this group with bragging rights on the line in the battle of the Americas.

Honduras’ star player is undoubtably former Tottenham midfielder Wilson Palacios. Palacios now plays for Stoke City in the English Premier League and will look to add defensive metal in the midfield. Another Premier League star, Maynor Figueroa will be key to Honduras’ chances especially from set pieces. The left back has a deadly left foot and can strike the ball from range.

Strikers Carlo Costly and Jerry Bengtson will be the team power up front with the experienced Costly linking up well with the lively Bengtson, the latter playing his football in the United States with New England Revolution.

Honduras surprised many pundits during CONCACAF qualifying and secured automatic qualification beating Mexico away in the process. The players and coaching staff will look to do the country proud and emerge with a goal and a win – two things they couldn’t manage from their previous World Cup outing.

Wilson Palacios (Midfielder)

Age: 29

Matches Played (goals scored): 92 (5)

Club:  Stoke City

Carlo Costly (Striker)

Age: 31

Matches Played (goals scored): 68 (30)

Club:  Real Espana

Maynor Figueroa (Defender)

Age: 30

Matches Played (goals scored): 102 (3)

Club:  Hull City