2014 World Cup Teams: Fixtures, Expected Starting XIs and Group Picks

The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is finally here. The hosts kick things off against Croatia in Sao Paulo on Thursday, and months and months of preparation and speculation can finally be put to the test. 

From the 32 teams who start the tournament, 16 will escape the group stages, and eventually one team will be crowned champions on July 13 after the final at the famous Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Felipe Dana/Associated Press

Brazil are being tipped by many to win the competition on home soil, but Argentina, Spain and Germany could spoil the party if they perform to their best.

There are the so-called "dark horses" in Belgium, Colombia, Uruguay and Italy who could pull of a shock and win the competition.

Then there are the perceived no-hopers, simply happy to be in Brazil, taking part in the biggest competition in the world. These are the likes of Algeria, Japan, Honduras and England.

But whatever the prospects for each side, what is in no doubt is that the month ahead will provide high-quality football, controversial decisions, devastating defeats and euphoric celebrations.

Read on for a look at the full fixture list, expected starting XIs for each side and predictions for which nations are going to make it out of their groups.

Fixtures

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Brazil and Croatia kick off the first of 48 group matches before 16 matches in the knockout rounds whittle the participants down to one winner.

Here is a full fixture list for a month of World Cup football in Brazil.

Date	Time (ET/BST)	Group	Match
June 12	4 p.m./9 p.m.	A	Brazil vs. Croatia
June 13	12 p.m./5 p.m.	A	Mexico vs. Cameroon
June 13	3 p.m./8 p.m.	B	Spain vs. Netherlands
June 13	6 p.m./11 p.m.	B	Chile vs. Australia
June 14	12 p.m./5 p.m.	C	Colombia vs. Greece
June 14	3 p.m./8 p.m.	D	Uruguay vs. Costa Rica
June 14	6 p.m./11 p.m.	D	England vs. Italy
June 14	9 p.m./2 a.m.	C	Ivory Coast vs. Japan
June 15	12 p.m./5 p.m.	E	Switzerland vs. Ecuador
June 15	3 p.m./8 p.m.	E	France vs. Honduras
June 15	6 p.m./11 p.m.	F	Argentina vs. Bosnia-H.
June 16	12 p.m./5 p.m.	G	Germany vs. Portugal
June 16	3 p.m./8 p.m.	F	Iran vs. Nigeria
June 16	6 p.m./11 p.m.	G	Ghana vs. USA
June 17	12 p.m./5 p.m.	H	Belgium vs. Algeria
June 17	3 p.m./8 p.m.	A	Brazil vs. Mexico
June 17	6 p.m./11 p.m.	H	Russia vs. South Korea
June 18	12 p.m./5 p.m.	B	Australia vs. Netherlands
June 18	3 p.m./8 p.m.	B	Spain vs. Chile
June 18	6 p.m./11 p.m.	A	Cameroon vs. Croatia
June 19	12 p.m./5 p.m.	C	Colombia vs. Ivory Coast
June 19	3 p.m./8 p.m.	D	Uruguay vs. England
June 19	6 p.m./11 p.m.	C	Japan vs. Greece
June 20	12 p.m./5 p.m.	D	Italy vs. Costa Rica
June 20	3 p.m./8 p.m.	E	Switzerland vs. France
June 20	6 p.m./11 p.m.	E	Honduras vs. Ecuador
June 21	12 p.m./5 p.m.	F	Argentina vs. Iran
June 21	3 p.m./8 p.m.	G	Germany vs. Ghana
June 21	6 p.m./11 p.m.	F	Nigeria vs. Bosnia-H.
June 22	12 p.m./5 p.m.	H	Belgium vs. Russia
June 22	3 p.m./8 p.m.	H	South Korea vs. Algeria
June 22	6 p.m./11 p.m.	G	USA vs. Portugal
June 23	12 p.m./5 p.m.	B	Netherlands vs. Chile
June 23	12 p.m./5 p.m.	B	Australia vs. Spain
June 23	4 p.m./9 p.m.	A	Croatia vs. Mexico
June 23	4 p.m./9 p.m.	A	Cameroon vs. Brazil
June 24	12 p.m./5 p.m.	D	Italy vs. Uruguay
June 24	12 p.m./5 p.m.	D	Costa Rica vs. England
June 24	4 p.m./9 p.m.	C	Japan vs. Colombia
June 24	4 p.m./9 p.m.	C	Greece vs. Ivory Coast
June 25	12 p.m./5 p.m.	F	Nigeria vs. Argentina
June 25	12 p.m./5 p.m.	F	Bosnia-H. vs. Iran
June 25	4 p.m./9 p.m.	E	Ecuador vs. France
June 25	4 p.m./9 p.m.	E	Honduras vs. Switzerland
June 26	12 p.m./5 p.m.	G	United States vs. Germany
June 26	12 p.m./5 p.m.	G	Portugal vs. Ghana
June 26	4 p.m./9 p.m.	H	South Korea vs. Belgium
June 26	4 p.m./9 p.m.	H	Algeria vs. Russia
June 28	12 p.m./5 p.m.	Last 16	1A vs. 2B (Match 49)
June 28	4 p.m./9 p.m.	Last 16	1C vs. 2D (Match 50)
June 29	12 p.m./5 p.m.	Last 16	1B vs. 2A (Match 51)
June 29	4 p.m./9 p.m.	Last 16	1D vs. 2C (Match 52)
June 30	12 p.m./5 p.m.	Last 16	1E vs. 2F (Match 53)
June 30	4 p.m./9 p.m.	Last 16	1G vs. 2H (Match 54)
July 1	12 p.m./5 p.m.	Last 16	1F vs. 2E (Match 55)
July 1	4 p.m./9 p.m.	Last 16	1H vs. 2G (Match 56)
July 4	12 p.m./5 p.m.	QF	W53 vs. W54 (Match 57)
July 4	4 p.m./9 p.m.	QF	W49 VS. W50 (Match 58)
July 5	12 p.m./5 p.m.	QF	W55 vs. W56 (Match 59)
July 5	4 p.m./9 p.m.	QF	W51 vs. W52 (Match 60)
July 8	4 p.m./9 p.m.	SF	W57 vs. W58 (Match 61)
July 9	4 p.m./9 p.m.	SF	W59 vs. W60 (Match 62)
July 12	4 p.m./9 p.m.	3rd	L61 vs. L62
July 13	3 p.m./8 p.m.	Final	W61 vs. W62

Expected Starting XIs and Group Picks 

Eduardo Di Baia/Associated Press

One of the great things about the run up to a major tournament—and during a major tournament, for that matter—is speculation.

Guessing what will happen, hoping for the best, predicting an outrageous winner; all of this goes hand-in-hand with a World Cup.

Who will win? Who will lose? Who will cause an upset? Who will fail to perform? Which team will score the most goals?

At what point will England lose on penalties? At what point will Germany win on penalties? At what point will the French team fall out with each other? 

In this grand tradition then, let's take a look at the expected starting XIs for each side and predict those teams that will make it out of the groups to the knockout rounds.

All expected lineups courtesy of Matt Jones' June 5 Bleacher Report article available here.

Group A

Position	Player
GK	Julio Caesar
RB	Dani Alves
CB	Thiago Silva
CB	David Luiz
LB	Marcelo
CDM	Luis Gustavo
CDM	Paulinho
CAM	Oscar
RW	Hulk
LW	Neymar
ST	Fred

Position	Player
GK	Stipe Pletikosa
RB	Darijo Srna
CB	Vedran Corluka
CB	Dejan Lovren
LB	Danijel Pranjic
CM	Luka Modric
CM	Ivan Rakitic
RAM	Ivan Perisic
CAM	Mateo Kovacic
LAM	Ivica Olic
ST	Mario Mandzukic

Position	Player
GK	Guillermo Ochoa
CB	Rafael Marquez
CB	Francisco Rodriguez
CB	Hector Moreno
RWB	Miguel Layun
LWB	Andres Guardado
CM	Hector Herrera
CM	Carlos Pena
CM	Marco Fabian
CF	Giovani dos Santos
ST	Oribe Peralta

Position	Player
GK	Charles Itandje
RB	Aurelien Chedjou
CB	Stephane Mbia
CB	Nicolas Nkoulou
LB	Benoit Assou-Ekotto
CDM	Alex Song
CM	Joel Matip
CM	Jean Makoun
RW	Benjamin Moukandjo
LW	Pierre Webo
ST	Samuel Eto'o

Brazil look in prime position to wrap up this group and qualify as winners. They should certainly have enough to potentially win all of their group games.

Expect Croatia to qualify in second place as they should not lose to Mexico or Cameroon, while El Tri should finish third.

Predicted Finish: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon

Group B

Position	Player
GK	Iker Casillas
RB	Cesar Azpilicueta
CB	Gerard Pique
CB	Sergio Ramos
LB	Jordi Alba
CDM	Xabi Alonso
CDM	Sergio Busquets
CM	Xavi
RAM	David Silva
LAM	Andres Iniesta
CF	Cesc Fabregas

Position	Players
GK	Michel Vorm
CB	Stefan de Vrij
CB	Ron Vlaar
CB	Bruno Martins Indi
RWB	Daryl Janmaat
LWB	Daley Blind
CM	Jordy Clasie
CM	Jonathan de Guzman
CM	Wesley Sneijder
ST	Arjen Robben
ST	Robin van Persie

Position	Player
GK	Claudio Bravo
CB	Gonzalo Jara
CB	Gary Medel
CB	Jose Rojas
CDM	Arturo Vidal
CDM	Marcelo Diaz
RM	Mauricio Isla
LM	Jean Beausejour
RW	Alexis Sanchez
LW	Eduardo Vargas
ST	Mauricio Pinilla

Position	Player
GK	Mathew Ryan
RB	Ivan Franjic
CB	Matthew Spiranovic
CB	Ryan McGowan
LB	Jason Davidson
CDM	Mile Jedinak
CM	Mark Bresciano
CM	Mark Milligan
RM	Ben Halloran
LM	Tommy Oar
ST	Tim Cahill

A tough group to call with the reigning champions Spain up against beaten 2010 finalists the Netherlands, as well as Chile and Australia.

Spain should top the group with the Netherlands looking at an early exit as Chile go through to the last 16 in second place.

The Socceroos find themselves in the unenviable position of being in one of the tournament's toughest groups and will do well to pick up a point.

Predicted Finish: Spain, Chile, the Netherlands, Australia

Group C

Position	Player
GK	David Ospina
RB	Camilo Zuniga
CB	Cristian Zapata
CB	Mario Yepes
LB	Pablo Armero
CDM	Abel Aguilar
CDM	Fredy Guarin
RAM	Juan Cuadrado
LAM	James Rodriguez
ST	Jackson Martinez
ST	Adrian Ramos

Position	Player
GK	Orestis Karnezis
RB	Vasilis Torosidis
CB	Sokratis Papastathopoulos
CB	Kostas Manolas
LB	Jose Holebas
CDM	Alexandros Tziolis
CDM	Giannis Maniatis
RM	Dimitris Salpingidis
CM	Giorgos Karagounis
LM	Georgos Samaras
ST	Kostas Mitroglou

Position	Player
GK	Boubacar Barry
RB	Serge Aurier
CB	Kolo Toure
CB	Souleymane Bamba
LB	Arthur Boka
CDM	Didier Zokora
CDM	Cheick Tiote
CM	Yaya Toure
RW	Salomon Kalou
LW	Gervinho
ST	Didier Drogba

Position	Player
GK	Eiji Kawashima
RB	Atsuto Uchida
CB	Maya Yoshida
CB	Yasuyuki Konno
LB	Yuto Nagatomo
CDM	Yasuhito Endo
CDM	Makoto Hasebe
RAM	Keisuke Honda
CAM	Shinji Kagawa
LAM	Yoichiro Kakitani
ST	Shinji Okazaki

Colombia should top this group, and the much-touted Ivory Coast look set to finally make it out of the group as they qualify in second spot. 

However, the Ivorian squad is ageing and Greece present a tricky opposition to break down. Meanwhile, Japan have quality in their side, including the likes of Shinji Kagawa, but the Elephants should have enough to make it through. 

Predicted Finish: Colombia, Ivory Coast, Japan, Greece

Group D

Position	Player
GK	Fernando Muslera
RB	Maximiliano Pereira
CB	Diego Lugano
CB	Diego Godin
LB	Martin Caceres
RM	Christian Stuani
CM	Nicolas Lodeiro
CM	Alvaro Rios
LM	Cristian Rodriguez
ST	Edinson Cavani
ST	Luis Suarez

Position	Player
GK	Keylor Navas
CB	Johnny Acosta
CB	Giancarlo Gonzalez
CB	Michael Umana
RWB	Christian Gamboa
CDM	Celso Borges
CDM	Yeltsin Tejeda
LWB	Junior Diaz
CAM	Bryan Ruiz
CAM	Christian Bolanos
ST	Joel Campbell

Player	Position
GK	Joe Hart
RB	Glen Johnson
CB	Gary Cahill
CB	Phil Jagielka
LB	Leighton Baines
CDM	Steven Gerrard
CDM	Jordan Henderson
RAM	Adam Lallana
CAM	Wayne Rooney
LAM	Danny Welbeck
ST	Daniel Sturridge

Position	Player
GK	Gianluigi Buffon
RB	Ignazio Abate
CB	Leonardo Bonucci
CB	Giorgio Chiellini
LB	Mattia De Sciglio
CDM	Andrea Pirlo
CM	Marco Verratti
CM	Daniele De Rossi
CAM	Claudio Marchisio
ST	Mario Balotelli
ST	Antonio Cassano

Fourth-placed in 2010, Uruguay may be looking at an early exit in Brazil with Italy qualifying top of the group and England taking second place.

While Costa Rica are unlikely to make it out of this group, they could be the key team in deciding who goes through out of the other three teams. A slip-up against Jorge Luis Pinto's side could spell the end for Italy, Uruguay or England.

Predicted Finish: Italy. England, Uruguay, Costa Rica

Group E

Position	Player
GK	Diego Benaglio
RB	Stephan Lichtsteiner
CB	Fabian Schaer
CB	Steve von Bergen
LB	Ricardo Rodriguez
CDM	Gokhan Inler
CDM	Valon Behrami
RAM	Xherdan Shaqiri
CAM	Granit Xhaka
LAM	Valentin Stocker
ST	Josip Drmic

Position	Player
GK	Hugo Lloris
RB	Mathieu Debuchy
CB	Raphael Varane
CB	Mamadou Sakho
LB	Lucas Digne
CDM	Yohan Cabaye
CM	Paul Pogba
CM	Blaise Matuidi
RW	Mathieu Valbuena
LW	Franck Ribéry
ST	Karim Benzema

Position	Player
GK	Alexander Dominguez
RB	Juan Paredes
CB	Jorge Guagua
CB	Frickson Erazo
LB	Walter Ayovi
CDM	Segundo Castillo
RM	Antonio Valencia
CM	Christian Noboa
CM	Fidel Martinez
LM	Jefferson Montero
ST	Felipe Caicedo

Position	Player
GK	Noel Valladares
RB	Arnold Peralta
CB	Osman Chavez
CB	Victor Bernardez
LB	Maynor Figueroa
RM	Oscar Boniek Garcia
CM	Wilson Palacios
CM	Roger Espinoza
LM	Emilio Izaguirre
ST	Jerry Bengtson
ST	Carlo Costly

France and Switzerland should see off the two South American sides to make it through to the knockout stages.

However, the Swiss look best equipped to top Group E unless France can find some consistency that so often eludes them. Ecuador should have enough to see off Honduras to prevent a fourth-placed finish.

Predicted Finish: Switzerland, France, Ecuador, Honduras

Group F

Position	Player
GK	Sergio Romero
RB	Pablo Zabaleta
CB	Federico Fernandez
CB	Ezequiel Garay
LB	Marcos Rojo
CDM	Javier Mascherano
CM	Fernando Gago
CM	Angel Di Maria
CF	Lionel Messi
ST	Gonzalo Higuain
ST	Sergio Aguero

Position	Player
GK	Asmir Begovic
RB	Mensur Mujdza
CB	Emir Spahic
CB	Ermin Bicakcic
LB	Sead Kolasinac
CDM	Sejad Salihovic
CDM	Muhamed Besic
RM	Izet Hajrovic
LM	Senad Lulic
CAM	Miralem Pjanic
ST	Edin Dzeko

Position	Player
GK	Rahman Ahmadi
RB	Pejman Montazeri
CB	Steven Beitashour
CB	Mohammad Khanzadeh
LB	Hashem Beykzadeh
RM	Khosrow Heidari
CM	Andranik Teymourian
CM	Javad Nekounam
LM	Ehsan Hajsafi
CAM	Ashkan Dejagah
ST	Reza Ghoochannejhad

Position	Player
GK	Vincent Enyeama
RB	Efe Ambrose
CB	Godfrey Oboabona
CB	Joseph Yobo
LB	Elderson Echiejile
CDM	Ogenyi Onazi
CDM	John Obi Mikel
RM	Victor Moses
CM	Michael Babatunde
LM	Ahmed Musa
ST	Emmanuel Emenike

Argentina will be looking for a clean sweep of victories in Group F and will surely take top spot with Bosnia and Herzegovina the other survivors going though to the last 16.

Nigeria could pose quite a threat in this group but will likely have to settle for third as Iran prop up the group.

Predicted Finish: Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Nigeria, Iran

Group G

Position	Player
GK	Manuel Neuer
RB	Philipp Lahm
CB	Per Mertesacker
CB	Mats Hummels
LB	Erik Durm
CDM	Bastian Schweinsteiger
CDM	Sami Khedira
RAM	Thomas Mueller
CAM	Mesut Ozil
LAM	Marco Reus
ST	Miroslav Klose

Position	Player
GK	Rui Patricio
RB	Joao Pereira
CB	Pepe
CB	Bruno Alves
LB	Fabio Coentrao
CDM	William Carvalho
CM	Joao Moutinho
CM	Raul Meireles
RW	Luis Nani
LW	Cristiano Ronaldo
ST	Helder Postiga

Position	Player
GK	Adam Kwarasey
RB	Samuel Inkoom
CB	Rashid Sumalia
CB	Jonathan Mensah
LB	Daniel Opare
CDM	Michael Essien
CDM	Sulley Muntari
RM	Andre Ayew
CM	Kevin-Prince Boateng
LM	Kwadwo Asamoah
ST	Asamoah Gyan

Position	Player
GK	Tim Howard
RB	Geoff Cameron
CB	Matt Besler
CB	John Brooks
LB	Timmy Chandler
CDM	Michael Bradley
RM	Graham Zusi
LM	Fabian Johnson
CAM	Jermaine Jones
ST	Jozy Altidore
ST	Clint Dempsey

Potentially the toughest group in the competition, Germany should finish top of the pile to see themselves through to the last 16.

Portugal will look to Cristiano Ronaldo for inspiration, and his presence alone should be enough to seal second place. Although Ghana, 2010's best-performing African nation, could be a serious threat.

The United States are no pushovers either as they proved in South Africa when they qualified for the last 16 as group winners.

Predicted Finish: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, United States

Group H 

Position	Player
GK	Thibaut Courtois
RB	Toby Alderweireld
CB	Vincent Kompany
CB	Daniel Van Buyten
LB	Jan Vertonghen
CDM	Axel Witsel
CM	Steven Defour
CM	Marouane Fellaini
RW	Kevin Mirallas
LW	Eden Hazard
ST	Romelu Lukaku

Position	Player
GK	Mohamed Zemmamouche
RB	AIssa Mandi
CB	Carl Medjani
CB	Madjid Bougherra
LB	Faouzi Ghoulam
RM	Sofiane Feghouli
CM	Medhi Lacen
CM	Nabil Bentaleb
LM	Yacine Brahimi
CAM	Saphir Taïder
ST	Islam Slimani

Position	Player
GK	Igor Akinfeev
RB	Andrey Eshchenko
CB	Vasili Berezutskiy
CB	Sergey Ignashevich
LB	Dmitry Kombarov
CDM	Igor Denisov
CM	Roman Shirokov
CM	Victor Faizulin
RAM	Alan Dzagoev
LAM	Alexander Kokorin
ST	Alexander Kerzhakov

Position	Player
GK	Jung Sung-ryong
RB	Kim Chang-soo
CB	Kim Young-gwon
CB	Kwak Tae-hwi
LB	Yun Suk-young
RM	Lee Chung-yong
CM	Ki Sung-yueng
CM	Park Jong-woo
LM	Ji Dong-won
CAM	Son Heung-min
ST	Park Chu-young

Hipster's choice Belgium have one of the tournament's easier groups and should go through as winners. However, do not expect them to make it much further in the tournament. 

Russia look well-placed to take second spot as Algeria and South Korea pose no great threat to Fabio Capello's side.

Predicted Finish: Belgium, Russia, South Korea, Algeria