Top 10 group games of the 2014 World Cup

5. Uruguay vs. Costa Rica (Saturday, June 14 at 2:30p.m. ET; ABC) 

Uruguay struggled mightily in South American qualifying, needing to earn their spot in the World Cup through a playoff against Jordan. They won that 5-0 going away, and will be looking to build off a third place finish in the 2013 Confederations Cup in Brazil. On the other side is a Costa Rica side that finished second in CONCACAF qualifying, just behind the United States. Uruguay can’t sleep on Los Ticos in this opening game or it could be trouble for the proud soccer nation.

4. Germany vs. Portugal (Monday, June 16 at 11:30a.m. ET; ESPN) 

There may not be a more glamorous group stage game than this one. It’s one of the historically best national teams versus the best player in the world. Germany’s difficult back four versus Cristiano Ronaldo is about as good as it gets in the group stages. Add in the most difficult group in the World Cup, and this game becomes more about the result and less about the glamour by the moment. Win this one and moving on from the “group of death” is in one’s own hands, but lose and one will need to win out to guarantee a spot in the round of 16 — anything less than that result for both of these teams will be seen as failure back home.

3. England vs. Italy (Saturday, June 16 at 5:30p.m. ET; ESPN)

The Euro 2012 matchup between these two heavyweight national teams won’t soon be forgotten, as Italy took the quarterfinal in penalty kicks. With this matchup being the opener in the 2014 World Cup for a group that also features Uruguay, winning sure would help either squads’ hopes of moving on. England just hasn’t been the same team since that defeat to Italy, and needs to prove it has the flare needed to win games once again. Despite the lack of star power from England, this promises to be a very intriguing early group game.

2. USA vs. Portugal (Sunday, June 22 at 5:30p.m. ET; ESPN) 

Of all the second group games of this stage of the World Cup, this one may be the most important matchup. Either squad could be coming off a loss or tie and in need of a win to keep hope of advancing alive. It will also bring back memories of Landon Donovan single-handily beating Portugal in the 2002 World Cup. With Donovan left off the USA roster, you can bet his name will surround this game. Win this one and advance, lose and it could be very tricky getting out of this group.

1. Spain vs. Netherlands (Friday, June 13 at 2:30p.m. ET; ESPN)

The reigning World Cup champions won’t get an easy road to a second-straight title, and that’s because they start off with the always-dangerous Dutch. Oh, and it happens to be the rematch of the 2010 World Cup final too. To say this would be a monumental opening game in Group B would be an understatement. Additionally, either side could answer questions about Spain being on the downside or the Dutch not having enough class very quickly. This could be the opening round game with the most story lines leading up to the World Cup, and for the losing side it could put their fans into panic mode.

About Andrew Coppens

Andy is a contributor to The Comeback as well as Publisher of Big Ten site talking10. He also is a member of the FWAA and has been covering college sports since 2011. Andy is an avid soccer fan and runs the Celtic FC site The Celtic Bhoys. If he's not writing about sports, you can find him enjoying them in front of the TV with a good beer!

Quantcast