Welcome to the fourth installment of the World Cup Cheat Sheet! There is less than 100 days to go (!) before the start of the tournament; it’s time to cram.
This week we will be going over two groups:
GROUP E: Switzerland | Ecuador | France | Honduras
GROUP F: Argentina | Bosnia –Herzegovina | Iran | Nigeria
Group E
Switzerland
- Pro Tip: The Swiss, who had a surprised seeding for the draw, will be a darkhorse-turned-powerhouse of the tournament. And, remember when they beat Spain in the last World Cup? Yeah, that was awesome! Disclaimer: this writer will be waving the giant square flag whenever/where ever she can.
- Player to Watch: Xherdan Shaqiri; the rising star is the poster child for the next generation of Swiss players. Fast, agile, and able to make a name for himself at Bayern Munich, the 22 year old is becoming world class.
- Jersey to Wear: Gökhan Inler; the Napoli midfielder is one of the few remaining members of the old guard of the Swiss national team. He also took over the captaincy from Alexander Frei and immediately began to lead the team in a new direction. A direction which involves winning!
Ecuador
- Pro Tip: While the team did not qualify for the 2010 World Cup, they did manage their best result in the 2006 World Cup, making it to the Round of 16.
- Player to Watch: Frickson Erazo; though he may not be a household name yet, the defender is gaining a lot of attention. Since the January transfer window, he has been in Brazil playing with Flamengo, so he’ll have a bit of home turf advantage come the summer.
- Jersey to Wear: Antonio Valencia; the 28 year old winger has played over 100 games for Manchester United and has won such honours as being voted as a player for the Professional Footballers’ Association Team of the Year in his debut season.
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France
- Pro Tip: The French have not been doing as well on the world stage as of late, so bet on them to try to fight for their rightful place back among the soccer elite.
- Player to Watch: Paul Pogba; the Juventus player has had several highlight-reel-worthy goals this season and is just getting comforting with his position on the national team.
- Jersey to Wear: Any; but purely for aesthetic reasons, it’s the nicest jersey of the year.
Honduras
- Pro Tip: In 2010, Honduras lost every game of the group stage except to one team, which they drew. They meet this team again this year, in the same group, for the rematch grudge match. Switzerland, watch out!
- Player to Watch: Carlo Costly; the son of former Honduras National Anthony Costly, he has already surpassed his father in caps for the national team.
- Jersey to Wear: Palacios; there’s three brothers who have played for the Honduras National Team—all three played during the 2010 World Cup. So whether you wear Jerry, Johnny, or Wilson, you’re set.
Group Winners: Switzerland and France (but they won’t make it out of the group in that order).
Group F
Argentina
- Pro Tip: The Argentines were less than impressive in the last World Cup, under the management of former player/demi-god, Diego Maradona. The two-time World Cup winners will be looking for redemption this year.
- Player to Watch: Sergio Agüero; the Man City forward is arguably one of the best players in England and he’ll want to try and to show he’s one of the best in the world, especially when compared to an all-star line up of team mates.
- Jersey to Wear: Lionel Messi, arguably the best contemporary player in the world (though, this author would argue that he’s actually ranks third), the Argentine is also the second top goal scorer for his country (second to Gabriel Batisuta), with 37 goals in 83 games.
Bosnia-Herzegovina
- Pro Tip: This will be Bosnia-Herzegovina’s first appearance at the World Cup; considered an underdog, count of them to give a strong performance. This is a team you should be watching.
- Player to Watch: Miralem Pjanić; the Roma midfielder has worked hard to earn his position for his club level team and will hopefully be a leader for his national team. Also, all of social media goes nuts pun’ing his name.
- Jersey to Wear: Asmir Begović; the keeper has Canadian roots, he moved to Canada as a kid and played for the U20 Canadian national team, before moving to England, where he currently plays for Stoke. Plus, he’s also scored this goal, which is reason enough alone.
Iran
- Pro Tip: Iran finished first in their qualifying group, only having lost one game to Uzbekistan.
- Player to Watch: Steven Beitashour; the MLS player was just signed to the Vancouver Whitecaps, earlier this year. He is also new on the Iranian national team, having received his first call up last year.
- Jersey to Wear: Javad Nekounam; while Beitashour is the new guard, Nekounam is certainly the old, claiming over 130 caps for the national team and—despite his defensive midfielder position—is one of the team’s leading goal scorers.
Nigeria
- Pro Tip: Nigeria is coming into the World Cup as the most recent African Cup of Nations winners.
- Player to Watch: Efe Ambrose; the Celtic centre back was named onto the African Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament due to outstanding performance in 2013.
- Jersey to Wear: Bright Dike; he plays for Toronto FC and recently scored against the Italian National Team, while playing with Nigeria. Unfortunately, a recent injury has sideline the up-and-coming player, but you can still show your support.
Group Winners: Argentina and Bosnia-Herzegovina
If you missed previous cheat sheets, you can check out Groups A and B here, Group C here, and Group D here.
The next—and final—Cheat Sheet will examine both Groups G (Germany, Portugal, Ghana, United States) and Group H (Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea).
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