Brazil World Cup 2014 - Group C and Group D kickoff

Today we will see the entrance of England into the World Cup! They have only won 2 or their previous 6 opening World Cup matches so hopes are high but reality could soon set in! Last night we saw the Spanish get taken apart but a fantastic Dutch performance, I always felt that the Dutch might win but not by that margin. However first game up today is the first game from Group C - Columbia v Greece. With Chile winning a tighter encounter than the score line suggests against Australia (3-1) the South American teams have started this tournament well. I expect Columbia to carry on that trend today against a reasonable but not electrifying Greece side. Columbia are odds on 10/11 to win the game so I will take a chance on 10/3 for the draw at half time and Columbia to win the game. Following that game we have the opening fixture from Group D Uruguay v Costa Rica here again Uruguay are pretty unbackable at 9/20 to win the game so I expect Uruguay to come out flying and be winning at half time and full time at 21/20. Then the big one! England against Italy, so much has already been written about this game but the stats are the stats! England 2 wins from 6 opening fixtures. In 2010 - 0-0 Algeria, 2006 - 1-0 Paraguay, 2002 - 1-1 Sweden, 1998 - 2-0 Tunisia, 1990 - 1-1 Rep of Ireland, 1986 - 0-1 Portugal So we can't beat European sides in opening games! However I do believe this England side have the ability to win the game the question is will Roy allow them to express themselves and go for it or will he play a system not to lose the game. I'm not sure exactly what I will bet on as I will wait for the teams to be announce (for me the key is whether Wellbeck or Stirling plays) however I think it will be a low scoring game, so I can see 0-0 1-0 or 1-1, I don't think England will lose. Good luck with your bets today, if you want to share them in the comments please do.

Brazil World Cup - Group C Review

Group C

Group C could be considered to be one of the weaker groups in the World Cup this time around although that doesn't make it any easier to pick the qualifiers from this group. Its probably safe to say that these teams won't be contesting the final however it doesn't mean these group games will not be worth a watch.

Columbia are the seeded team in this group however they haven't qualified since 1998 when they were in Englands group losing 0-2 to England on that occasion and failing to get out of the group. They are now ranked 8th in the world and come into the tournament in good form. They have only conceded 2 goals since losing to Uruguay 0-2 in September 2013 which is not a bad record! 

Greece are currently ranked 12 in the world so should give Columbia a good game! Greece came from nowhere to win the European Championships in 2004 when they didn't even qualify then won every game 1-0 to win the whole thing! I can't see this happening again however they could at least beat Japan, if they can get something from Columbia or Ivory Coast they could scrape through.

The Ivory Coast are one of those teams that on paper you would expect them to go quite well, their team is slightly aging but with the likes of Yaya Toure anything is possible. This group does look ideal for them and they could progress if they can get a fast start.

Finally the Japanese side have the skill and technique to run around their opponents all day, they come into this tournament as Asian champions but they lack a potent goal scorer and could struggle to trouble the opponents net.

For me the group will finish

Columbia
Ivory Coast
Greece
Japan

Could be an interesting group to bet on match outcomes as they are well matched as a group of 4.