Brazil 2014: Group A Preview
Group A contains the countries of Brazil, Croatia, Mexico and Cameroon, the 3rd easiest group according to FIFA rankings. The tournament kicks off with the group with Brazil playing Croatia.
Teams
Brazil. The host nation, under much pressure to win the tournament and having won it 5 times 
previously remain one of the favourites to win it in 2014. A tight defence maybe too much for the other Group A teams. The Chelsea players will play a key part in this team though some expectation that David Luiz will at some point provide for some calamity in defence.
Star player. Neymar is expected to the lead man. The Barcelona forward will capitalise on the work of the fluid midfield and could be the tournament leading scorer. Unexpected hero? Could well be Oscar.
Croatia. This will be Croatia’s 3rd appearance in the finals of the World Cup and surprised many by 
coming 3rd in 1998. However, they disappointed in 2002 and 2006 being unable to progress pass the group stages. Their warm-up matches have been good for their morale, but they’re ranked 20th by the bookies to win the tournament.
Star player. Luka Modric of Real Madrid. The former Spurs midfielder has had a good season with Real, and manager Niko Kovač will look to use this player to unlock the opposition. Unexpected hero? 20 year-old midfielder Mateo Kovacic, who plays for Internazionale.
Mexico. This will be Mexico’s 14th appearance in the finals of the World Cup but have never been 
able to get pass the quarter-finals (1970 and 1986). They’ve lost a couple of friendlies in the last fortnight, against other World Cup finalists, so confidence will not be that great.
Star player. previously the fall guy, Miguel Layun , will be key in defence for Mexico. the Club America defender has not featured too often, but Miguel Herrera will use more in this tournament. Unexpected hero? Villarreal’s forward Giovani Dos Santos.
Cameroon. This will be Cameroon’s 7th appearance in the finals, with their best finish being in the 
quarter-finals in 1990 when they lost to England. Mixed set of results in their recent friendlies that included losing 5-1 to Portugal, but drew 2-2 with Germany. Not expected to progress pass the group stage.
Star player. Obviously Chelsea’s Samuel Eto’o. The 33 year-old has scored 55 goals for Cameroon in 117 internationals. Can he unlock Brazil’s defence? Unexpected hero? Charles Itandje. Rejected by Liverpool this keeper could be the saviour for Cameroon.
Prediction. 1st Brazil, 2nd Croatia, 3rd Mexico and 4th Cameroon.
Fixtures
| Thursday 12th June | Brazil v Croatia | 21:00 | ITV / ITV HD | Corinthians Arena, Sao Paulo |
| Friday 13th June | Mexico v Cameroon | 17:00 | ITV / ITV HD | Dunas Arena, Natal |
| Tuesday 17th June | Brazil v Mexico | 20:00 | BBC 1 / BBC 1 HD | Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza |
| Wednesday 18th June | Cameroon v Croatia | 23:00 | ITV / ITV HD | Arena Amazonia, Manaus |
| Monday 23rd June | Cameroon v Brazil | 21:00 | ITV / ITV HD | Estadio Nacional, Brasilia |
| Monday 23rd June | Croatia v Mexico | 21:00 | ITV4 / ITV4 HD | Arena Pernambuco, Recife |
Referees for the opening games are listed at http://www.exeweb.com/2014/06/11/brazil-2014-referees-for-the-opening-games/
The Complete TV schedule for the opening games can be found at http://www.exeweb.com/2014/06/11/brazil-2014-bbc-itv-games-schedule/