World Cup 2014: National Sides the Power Teams Fear

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: November 29, 2013

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With all qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup completed, we now know the 32 sides who will be heading to Brazil next summer.

And we also know how the 32 sides have been split into four different pots, with five-time winners and hosts Brazil joined in Pot 1 by (unsurprisingly) Spain, Germany, Uruguay and Argentina as well as (more surprisingly) Colombia, Belgium and Switzerland.

The three other pots have been determined by region, rather than by some more formulaic design.

World Cup 2014 Draw Qualifying Pots

 POT 1  POT 2  POT 3  POT 4 Brazil (Hosts) Japan Ivory Coast Netherlands Spain Iran Ghana Italy Germany Korea Republic Algeria England Argentina Australia Nigeria Portugal Colombia United States Cameroon Greece Belgium Mexico Chile Bosnia-Herzegovina Uruguay Costa Rica Ecuador Croatia Switzerland Honduras France* Russia *Lowest-ranked UEFA qualifier 

As such, if we assume that the seeded sides are the "Power Teams" here is a look at four sides that the top seeds—those in Pot 1—should fear being paired with in the draw on December 6.

 

Italy (Pot 4)

In 2006 under Marcelo Lippi a largely unheralded Azzurri side came together on the back of Calciopoli and claimed the World Cup for their own.

In 2010, backed under the stewardship of Lippi, they failed miserably in South Africa, failing to qualify through the group stage.

However, with Cesare Prandelli at the helm since, Italy have grown into a team that, (largely) when necessary, finds performances and results—that 4-0 defeat by Spain in the final of Euro 2012 the notable exception.

In recent competitions they have held Spain to two draws, beaten Germany with a certain degree of comfort in a semi-final and have asked questions of Brazil both in a friendly and at the Confederations Cup (albeit without finding a required resul...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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