Oh, to dream. To conjure. To imagine.
With the official draw for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil set to take place on Friday, the soccer staff here at Sportsnet couldn’t help but let their imaginations run wild in dreaming up their ultimate Groups of Death.
Below is a sampling of what our panel came up with, adhering to the actual rules and procedures of the official draw, but without the little plastic balls.
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THE DRAW PROCEDURE
The 32 team-field has been divided into four pots:
Pot 1: Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Uruguay, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland
Pot 2: Algeria, Cameroon, Chile, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Ghana, Nigeria
Pot 3: Australia, Costa Rica, Honduras, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, United States
Pot 4: Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia
As you can see, Pot 4 has nine teams. To start the draw off, one team will be drawn from Pot 4 and placed into Pot 2, thus creating an equal balance of eight teams in each of the four pots.
Pot 1 will then be emptied one by one, with the eight nations spread out over eight separate groups, A through H.
Then the eight nations in Pot 2 will be drawn into the eight groups, but with one caveat. The European nation that moved to Pot 2 from Pot 4 will only be allowed to be placed in a group featuring a South American team (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay or Colombia) from Pot 1. It can’t be put into a group with any of the European nations (Spain, Germany, Belgium and Switzerland) from Pot 2.
Pots 3 and 4 will then be emptied, thus creating eight groups of four teams.
THE PANEL’S PICKS
Gerry Dobson (Sportsnet TV commentator)
Brazil, France, United States and Italy
I’ll go out on the limb and predict that France gets kicked over to Pot 2 from Pot 4, making a dream group like this entirely possible. And you can thank the convoluted, exasperating, head scratching formula that FIFA uses to conjure up the world rankings, on which the World Cup pots are based. Geography is a factor as well. There’s no time to get into any of that here, but the bottom line is that in this fantasy scenario either Italy or France would not survive the group stage. We’ll concede top spot to Brazil here, because Brazil is Brazil. They threw down the gauntlet by winning the Confederations Cup in dashing form earlier this year, and they’re playing at home. Having said that, the hosts will have to travel all over the country as it has been determined that the entire country wants to watch them.
Italy went unbeaten in World Cup qualifying, and an Italian team is always a threat to win the World Cup. Volatile France is hard to predict, but at times hard to resist, as well. They are always dangerous as they proved with an impressive playoff win over Ukraine in qualifying. A united and in-form French team is a legitimate threat.
The United States would be considered the punching bag in this group. And yet, they’re not really punching bags. Confidence bordering on arrogance is an American hallmark. It helps them punch above their weight and upsets are entirely possible which could thwart an Italian or French dream.
Then there’s the weather. Brazil is a big country. Since most of it is below the equator, this is a winter World Cup. While there’s virtually no chance of snow anywhere, night time temperatures in the south could dip close to the freezing point. But in equatorial Manaus the players will be treated to a free sauna, especially if FIFA keeps to their 1pm local time kickoff for the early matches. That’s the wild card that could have a deciding effect. Either way, this group would be fun to watch.
James Sharman (Sportsnet TV commentator)
Switzerland, Algeria, Iran and Greece
Okay, I know this may not be keeping in the spirit of this post, but I figure the potential of some wonderfully difficult groups will be well covered by my colleagues. Instead, this is truly a group of death, as it would likely kill the sport as we know it. Unless you have some heritage from these four nations, surely it is the worst possible group, right? How dreadful would it be to wake up knowing that that massive Algeria vs. Iran match is on later in the day? Listen, all four teams deserve to be in Brazil—they qualified after all—and I have soft spot for Greece. But come on, what an utterly horrendous nightmare of a group this would be. Let us hope the soccer gods decide not to subject us to such cruelty.
John Molinaro (sportsnet.ca reporter)
Argentina, Italy, Mexico and Portugal
Like Dobson, I’ll take a bold step and predict that Italy gets drawn into Pot 2 to start things off.
Much as I would be tempted to include both Italy and Brazil in my Group of Death—as an eight-year-old I watched in awe as my beloved Azzurri upset Brazil at the 1982 World Cup, still one of the greatest games I’ve ever seen—I can’t help put go with Argentina instead from Pot 1. You want the best players in the world to compete in the toughest group at the World Cup. All eyes will be Lionel Messi at this tournament, and if he can lead his country to glory on the home soil of Argentina’s long-time nemesis, this would cement his status as a national hero.
But just to make things interesting, I’ll throw Portugal into the mix to give (hypothetical) fans the chance to see Messi lock horns with Cristiano Ronaldo on the international stage. What fun! Mexico is coming off a laboured qualifying campaign and was lucky to draw New Zealand in the intercontinental playoffs to book their trip to Brazil. But El Tri are no soft touch, and in striker Oribe Peralta they have a potential breakout star of the tournament.
A group with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo, not to mention the mercurial Mario Balotelli, would more than liven up next year’s festivities in Brazil.
Jamie Doyle (Senior editor, Sportsnet magazine)
Spain, Chile, United States and the Netherlands
Might as well go with the mightiest group possible, by current FIFA rankings. Spain (first in the world) are defending World Cup champs and have claimed back-to-back European titles. They are the class of world soccer, and the natural starting point for any Group of Death. This may be the last gasp of Spanish supremacy, and they’ll go out in a blaze of glory, win or lose.
The natural choice after Spain is the Netherlands (8th)—you just know Robin van Persie and company are dying to avenge their loss in the 2010 finals. And why wouldn’t they be–they’re good enough. Undefeated in qualifying, with nine wins and a draw, the Oranje are in form. A rematch against Spain has the potential to be a true classic. And maybe the Dutch can do it without anyone drop-kicking anyone.
The Chileans (12th) are an offensive dynamo (they scored 29 goals in 16 games in qualifying) who tend to forget to they’ve got to defend also (they allowed 25 goals in that same span). Perfect. Put them against the world’s very best and you’ll get a group that at least promises the death of sound defending.
The Americans (13th) would be the real wild cards in this hypothetical group. There’s a buzz around this U.S. team, a feeling that given the run they’ve been on they could just maybe finally establish themselves amongst the world’s best. They’ll be hoping for a challenging-but-doable group stage. For entertainment purposes—and because I’m Canadian and disposed to root against the Yanks at every turn—I’d rather throw them in at the deep end and see if they sink or swim. Either way, it would make for one hell of a group stage.
Dan Riccio (Sportsnet 590 The FAN radio commentator)
Brazil, Ivory Coast, Japan and Italy
Would there be a better way to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the 1994 World Cup final than to pit Brazil and Italy in the group stage? I don’t think so. The Azzurri will have much to prove in Brazil, coming off an awful performance at the 2010 World Cup. And when you consider how they tend to play down to opponents, being drawn into the Group of Death may not be a bad thing for the Italians.
It would be an unfortunate draw for Ivory Coast, as they had to deal with Brazil and Portugal in 2010, falling just shy of the knockout stage. But this is still a team that can do some damage. Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure—the star power is there. With a dangerous combination of power and speed, this team will cause fits for any opponent.
Then there is Japan, who under the tutelage of former Juventus, Inter Milan and AC Milan manager Alberto Zaccheroni cruised through qualifying. And if I’m being honest, I’d really like to see a repeat of that seven-goal thriller between Italy and Japan at the Confederations cup.
Upsets, star power, rivalries, and endless possibilities of brilliance ensure this would be the ultimate group of death.
Thomas Michalakos (sportsnet.ca contributing writer)
Uruguay, Ghana, Japan and England
Of all the possible variations for a group of death—and there are many—this pack of four intrigues me the most. The reigning Copa America champions and semi-finalists in South Africa 2010 might have taken the longer route to Rio, but Uruguay has grown accustomed to doing things the hard way. Don’t be fooled by their position in the FIFA rankings, as la Celeste are a mixed bag, even with the lethal strike force of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.
Perennial underachievers, England are loaded with talent on paper and quite capable of making a run. But they’re equally likely be beaten by any of their potential opponents in this group. African heavyweights Ghana provide an interesting challenge as well, and are at the top of their continental food chain. The Black Stars were quarter-finalist four years ago, and only an infamous Suarez handball away from becoming the first African nation to advance into the last four.
Rounding out the group are the defending and four-time Asian Cup champions Japan, under the stewardship of Italian manager Alberto Zaccheroni. The Blue Samurai had a poor showing at the Confederations Cup last summer, but should never be taken lightly or overlooked. The Japanese are beginning to reap the rewards of a decade-long developmental overhaul which has unearthed and honed a collection of top talent that currently ply their trade in some of Europe’s best leagues.