Group D Team Previews of the 20th FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014.
Uruguay (FIFA Ranking- 7th)
The current South American champions have made 11 appearances and have won the world cup twice (1930 & 1950) and finished 4th in 2010. Their qualifying campaign started terribly with 2 points coming from 6 matches but recovered to earn a playoff berth. They then beat Jordan 5-0 on aggregate to seal their place in the tournament.
Star players- Luis Suarez (Liverpool)
Maximiliano Pereira (Benfica)
Diego Lugano (West Bromwich Albion)
Diego Godin & Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid)
Edinson Cavani (PSG)
Diego Forlan (Cerezo Osaka)
They will have to deal with Italy and England in order to secure progression and Cost Rica could also prove to be a test.
Progress– They can be expected to qualify but it is difficult to predict the top 2 in the group.
Costa Rica (FIFA Ranking- 28th)
Having made 2 previous appearances, they qualified in convincing style thanks mainly to their miserly defending and impregnable home form. They reached the round of 16 in 1990 in Italy.
They are most likely to finish bottom of the group but are capable of creating an upset or two.
Star players- Joel Campbell (Olympiakos)
Bryan Ruiz (PSV)
Progress- They will crash out at the group stage.
England (FIFA Ranking- 10th)
The three lions won their only world cup in 1966 and have made a total of 13 appearances. They qualified as group leaders but had to wait till the last day when they beat Poland at Wembley.
Star players- Joe Hart (Manchester City)
Leighton Baines & Ross Barkley (Everton)
Luke Shaw & Adam Lallana (Southampton)
Steven Gerrard & Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool)
Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
They are under immense pressure to perform with their every move scrutinized by the English media. They will not find it easy especially against Italy and Uruguay with Costa Rica also being a bit tricky.
Progress– They can be expected to reach the quarterfinals but their boring style of play and inconsistency may stand against further progress.
Italy (FIFA Ranking- 9th)
They have won 4 titles and have made 17 appearances in the tournament. They qualified in fine form as group leaders and remained unbeaten.
Star players- Gianluigi Buffon, Claudio Marchisio & Andrea Pirlo (Juventus)
Daniele De Rossi (AS Roma)
Thiago Motta & Marco Verratti (PSG)
Mario Balotelli (AC Milan)
They are expected to get through the group but will have to tackle England and Uruguay in particular.
Progress– They should reach the quarterfinals.
