2014 World Cup Preview: Group Fixtures, Top Squads and More

The 2014 World Cup is set to begin, and legacies are on the line across world football, as the top players look to assume glory for their respective nations.

Brazil kick things off as the host country with a Saturday opener against Croatia, and what follows is two weeks of at least three World Cup matches per day. It's a packed slate full of enticing fixtures that are sure to entertain as we head toward the knockout phase of the tournament.

With a number of tough groups that feature more than two nations deserving of advancement, there should be plenty of surprises throughout the two weeks as the top-32 nations decide who will make the cut to 16. 

Here's a glance at every upcoming World Cup group-stage fixture and a breakdown of the top teams:

Date	Match	Group	Time (ET)	Venue	TV
June 12	Brazil vs. Croatia	A	4 p.m.	Sao Paulo	ESPN
June 13	Mexico vs. Cameroon	A	12 p.m.	Natal	ESPN2
June 13	Spain vs. Netherlands	B	3 p.m.	Salvador	ESPN
June 13	Chile vs. Australia	B	6 p.m.	Cuiaba	ESPN2
June 14	Colombia vs. Greece	C	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte	ABC
June 14	Uruguay vs. Costa Rica	D	3 p.m.	Fortaleza	ABC
June 14	Ivory Coast vs. Japan	C	6 p.m.	Recife	ESPN
June 14	England vs. Italy	D	6 p.m.	Manaus	ESPN
June 15	Switzerland vs. Ecuador	E	12 p.m.	Brasilia	ABC
June 15	France vs. Honduras	E	3 p.m.	Porto Alegre	ABC
June 15	Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina	F	6 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro	ESPN
June 16	Germany vs. Portugal	G	12 p.m.	Salvador	ESPN
June 16	Iran vs. Nigeria	F	3 p.m.	Curitiba	ESPN
June 16	Ghana vs. United States	G	6 p.m.	Natal	ESPN
June 17	Belgium vs. Algeria	H	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte	ESPN
June 17	Brazil vs. Mexico	A	3 p.m.	Fortaleza	ESPN
June 17	Russia vs. South Korea	H	6 p.m.	Cuiaba	ESPN
June 18	Australia vs. Netherlands	B	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre	ESPN
June 18	Cameroon vs. Croatia	A	3 p.m.	Manaus	ESPN
June 18	Spain vs. Chile	B	6 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro	ESPN
June 19	Colombia vs. Ivory Coast	C	12 p.m.	Brasilia	ESPN
June 19	Uruguay vs. England	D	3 p.m.	Sao Paulo	ESPN
June 19	Greece vs. Japan	C	6 p.m.	Natal	ESPN
June 20	Costa Rica vs. Italy	D	12 p.m.	Recife	ESPN
June 20	Switzerland vs. France	E	3 p.m.	Salvador	ESPN
June 20	Ecuador vs. Honduras	E	6 p.m.	Curitiba	ESPN
June 21	Argentina vs. Iran	F	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte	ESPN
June 21	Germany vs. Ghana	G	3 p.m.	Fortaleza	ESPN
June 21	Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Nigeria	F	6 p.m.	Cuiaba	ESPN
June 22	South Korea vs. Algeria	H	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre	ABC
June 22	United States vs. Portugal	G	3 p.m.	Manaus	ABC
June 22	Belgium vs. Russia	H	12 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro	ESPN
June 23	Australia vs. Spain	B	12 p.m.	Curitiba	ESPN2
June 23	Chile vs. Netherlands	B	12 p.m.	Sao Paulo	ESPN
June 23	Brazil vs. Cameroon	A	4 p.m.	Brasilia	ESPN
June 23	Croatia vs. Mexico	A	4 p.m.	Recife	ESPN2
June 24	Italy vs. Uruguay	D	12 p.m.	Natal	ESPN
June 24	Costa Rica vs. England	D	12 p.m.	Belo Horizonte	ESPN2
June 24	Japan vs. Colombia	C	4 p.m.	Cuiaba	ESPN
June 24	Greece vs. Ivory Coast	C	4 p.m.	Fortaleza	ESPN2
June 25	Nigeria vs. Argentina	F	12 p.m.	Porto Alegre	ESPN
June 25	Bosnia-Herzegovina vs. Iran	F	12 p.m.	Salvador	ESPN2
June 25	Honduras vs. Switzerland	E	4 p.m.	Manaus	ESPN2
June 25	France vs. Ecuador	E	4 p.m.	Rio De Janeiro	ESPN
June 26	United States vs. Germany	G	12 p.m.	Recife	ESPN
June 26	Portugal vs. Ghana	G	12 p.m.	Brasilia	ESPN2
June 26	South Korea vs. Belgium	H	4 p.m.	Sao Paulo	ESPN
June 26	Algeria vs. Russia	H	4 p.m.	Curitiba	ESPN2

Group A	Group B	Group C	Group D
Group E	Group F	Group G	Group H
Brazil	Spain	Colombia	Italy
Croatia	Netherlands	Greece	Uruguay
Mexico	Australia	Japan	England
Cameroon	Chile	Ivory Coast	Costa Rica
France	Argentina	Germany	Russia
Switzerland	Bosnia-Herzegovina	Portugal	Belgium
Honduras	Iran	United States	Algeria
Ecuador	Nigeria	Ghana	South Korea

Top Squads

Brazil

No nation in the World Cup is generating more excitement as a favorite heading into the event than the host country.

The Brazilians have built toward 2014 for some time, and it's finally here. They arrive with a star-studded lineup that features dominance at every position, and they have the advantage of always playing in front of their home fans.

It's Neymar's first World Cup, but he's been a staple of the national team for years with 47 caps and 30 goals in his short career. With him out left, Oscar in the middle, Bernard on the right and Fred as the striker target with more options available on the bench, Brazil's attack figures to be potent at all times and unstoppable at other moments. 

Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Marcelo in the back proves daunting for any attacker, and that speed on the outside allows them to inject life into the offense through a counter-attack and with extra bodies out wide. Most important of all is that Silva and Alves, along with reserve Maicon, are three of the five players on the current roster who played in the 2010 World Cup. 

Experienced attackers Kaka and Robinho were left off the squad entirely, but it already was known that Brazil were going with a young look in the attack. The defense is where the experience lies, and that's an important thing if Brazil are serious about advancing to the final.

Argentina

Brazil aren't the only South American nation looking to validate its status as a World Cup favorite right in its own continent.

After traveling a few thousand miles north, the Argentinians have embarked upon Brazil looking to make 2014 just the third time ever that they have hoisted the World Cup trophy.

As was the case in 1986, when Argentina touted Diego Maradona, there's an unquestioned leader of the team that also doubles as the world's best player: Lionel Messi.

Natacha Pisarenko/Associated Press

Messi's incredible career at Barcelona has already spanned a decade and has included 243 goals. His ability to find his way open in the box and get on the finishing end of passing displays is only one-upped by his constant threat to score every time the ball is on his foot within 25 yards.

He won't be without comrades in Brazil, however. Sergio Aguero is getting back to fitness after an injury-plagued season, and with Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria also in the attack, Messi has his hands full with weapons at his disposal.

Head coach Alejandro Sabella had this say about the entire squad's need to step up and help Messi, per Daily Mail's Tom Sheen:

"

There is a team which must help Messi. We cannot put all the responsibility on his shoulders. He is happy. He feels sheltered by his teammates. Messi has a different leadership role, in his own way. Leo is the leader with his footballing experience, which makes the whole world fall at his feet.

"

There are questions about the defense at times, and there's no true man in the midfield, which could be detrimental against teams like Spain or Germany, who both play primarily through the middle. Still, there's no doubt that Argentina can put up goals on par with just about anybody.

Germany

Eight years ago, Germany couldn't make it to the World Cup final on their home soil. In 2010, they saw their status as one of the tournament's favorites squashed once again with a semifinal loss to Spain.

Now in Brazil for a chance at redemption, the Germans arrive with a stacked roster that could simply tear through every nation en route to a fourth-ever World Cup title if it all comes together perfectly.

Michael Probst/Associated Press

No team boasts both the experience and in-prime firepower that Germany does. Bastian Schweinsteiger is the constant in a plethora of young studs in the midfield, which also includes Mario Gotze and Mesut Ozil, who can run wild and set up sequences.

In the defense, captain Philipp Lahm and Per Mertesacker run things, while already established world-class defenders like Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng are ready for the biggest international action of their career. 

It's still up in the air whether 35-year-old Miroslav Klose—who can break the all-time World Cup goals record with two in Brazil—still has what it takes to finish chances at a high-enough level to get past the elite teams they will have to face deep in the tournament.

But at the very least, Germany's sheer blend of experience and talent will see them into the latter stages of the tournament.