World Cup Schedule 2014: Group Fixtures Info, TV Coverage and Picks

National teams from around the globe worked for the past four years to reach this point. Now they have three games in the group stage to show they belong among the final 16, which would also put them within four wins of glory at the 2014 World Cup.  

The format is conducive to high drama. Since it's only single round-robin play in the group stage, there's added pressure to showcase top form right away. That's why there's usually a couple surprise exits. Certain sides just aren't able to reach their peak at the right time.

With that in mind, let's check out a complete schedule for the opening round of play, starting with the host nation of Brazil taking on Croatia. It's followed by predictions for the group winners and a look at some teams who could be heading home early.

Group Fixtures

Date	Time (ET)	Group	Match	TV
June 12	4 p.m.	A	Brazil vs. Croatia	ESPN
June 13	12 p.m.	A	Mexico vs. Cameroon	ESPN2
June 13	3 p.m.	B	Spain vs. Netherlands	ESPN
June 13	6 p.m.	B	Chile vs. Australia	ESPN2
June 14	12 p.m.	C	Colombia vs. Greece	ABC
June 14	3 p.m.	D	Uruguay vs. Costa Rica	ABC
June 14	6 p.m.	D	England vs. Italy	ESPN
June 14	9 p.m.	C	Ivory Coast vs. Japan	ESPN
June 15	12 p.m.	E	Switzerland vs. Ecuador	ABC
June 15	3 p.m.	E	France vs. Honduras	ABC
June 15	6 p.m.	F	Argentina vs. Bosnia-H.	ESPN
June 16	12 p.m.	G	Germany vs. Portugal	ESPN
June 16	3 p.m.	F	Iran vs. Nigeria	ESPN
June 16	6 p.m.	G	Ghana vs. USA	ESPN
June 17	12 p.m.	H	Belgium vs. Algeria	ESPN
June 17	3 p.m.	A	Brazil vs. Mexico	ESPN
June 17	6 p.m.	H	Russia vs. South Korea	ESPN
June 18	12 p.m.	B	Australia vs. Netherlands	ESPN
June 18	3 p.m.	B	Spain vs. Chile	ESPN
June 18	6 p.m.	A	Cameroon vs. Croatia	ESPN
June 19	12 p.m.	C	Colombia vs. Ivory Coast	ESPN
June 19	3 p.m.	D	Uruguay vs. England	ESPN
June 19	6 p.m.	C	Japan vs. Greece	ESPN
June 20	12 p.m.	D	Italy vs. Costa Rica	ESPN
June 20	3 p.m.	E	Switzerland vs. France	ESPN
June 20	6 p.m.	E	Honduras vs. Ecuador	ESPN
June 21	12 p.m.	F	Argentina vs. Iran	ESPN
June 21	3 p.m.	G	Germany vs. Ghana	ESPN
June 21	6 p.m.	F	Nigeria vs. Bosnia-H.	ESPN
June 22	12 p.m.	H	Belgium vs. Russia	ABC
June 22	3 p.m.	H	South Korea vs. Algeria	ABC
June 22	6 p.m.	G	USA vs. Portugal	ESPN
June 23	12 p.m.	B	Netherlands vs. Chile	ESPN
June 23	12 p.m.	B	Australia vs. Spain	ESPN2
June 23	4 p.m.	A	Croatia vs. Mexico	ESPN
June 23	4 p.m.	A	Cameroon vs. Brazil	ESPN2
June 24	12 p.m.	D	Italy vs. Uruguay	ESPN
June 24	12 p.m.	D	Costa Rica vs. England	ESPN2
June 24	4 p.m.	C	Japan vs. Colombia	ESPN
June 24	4 p.m.	C	Greece vs. Ivory Coast	ESPN2
June 25	12 p.m.	F	Nigeria vs. Argentina	ESPN
June 25	12 p.m.	F	Bosnia-H. vs. Iran	ESPN2
June 25	4 p.m.	E	Ecuador vs. France	ESPN
June 25	4 p.m.	E	Honduras vs. Switzerland	ESPN2
June 26	12 p.m.	G	United States vs. Germany	ESPN
June 26	12 p.m.	G	Portugal vs. Ghana	ESPN2
June 26	4 p.m.	H	South Korea vs. Belgium	ESPN
June 26	4 p.m.	H	Algeria vs. Russia	ESPN2

Picks for Group Winners

Group	Winner
A	Brazil
B	Spain
C	Ivory Coast
D	Italy
E	France
F	Argentina
G	Germany
H	Belgium

Early-Exit Alert

Portugal

If the draw had been more kind to Portugal it would have likely been a lock to advance. Instead, the Seleccao ended up in the "Group of Death" alongside a dominant German squad and two sides with the talent to advance in Ghana and the United States.

The tough group puts a lot of pressure on Cristiano Ronaldo to perform like the best player in the world right away. He's certainly motivated, as illustrated in comments passed along by ESPN UK from French outlet So Foot Junior about what a World Cup title would mean to him:

"

That would crown a great career. I know it will be difficult, but everything is possible with work.

I have always watched the players who performed the best, and by observing them I understood one thing—what makes the difference between good players and stars is their work. I have played with footballers who had incredible talent, and it's difficult to say if they were better than me, but where they fell down was in consistency.

"

Starting against Germany is also a disadvantage. It means there's a good chance Portugal ends up losing while either Ghana or the United States earn all three points. That will put the talented but not incredibly deep side in an early hole that will be very difficult to dig out of over the next two matches.

Netherlands

The reigning champions from Spain are highly likely to secure a berth in the knockout rounds. It leaves one spot coming out of Group B for either Chile or the Netherlands with Australia probably relegated to a spoiler role. It's a worrisome situation for the Dutch.

Not only is Chile one of the tournament's most underrated sides, but the Oranje are entering the event without their usual strength in the midfield. The absence of Kevin Strootman and Rafael van der Vaart is going to make it very difficult to control the pace of the match.

Furthermore, the Netherlands' defense lacks experience with just one player having more than 15 international appearances. It's hard to imagine the attack, led by Robin van Persie, will be enough to overcome the question marks elsewhere in such a tough group.

Uruguay

There are certainly strong cases that can be made both for and against Uruguay. On one hand, the Celeste are a side with plenty of very experienced international players and have the potential to feature one of the most dynamic offenses, featuring Luis Suarez.

Yet, the concern is they don't have enough talent elsewhere on the roster to survive a group that also includes Italy and England. As Paul Carr of ESPN notes, the outlet's Soccer Power Index rates Group D as the toughest in the tournament:

The high-end talent up front in Suarez and Edinson Cavani is a major weapon, but it takes more than strength in one area to advance. Unless some of the supporting cast shows improved form, Uruguay could be making an early trip home.