The 2014 World Cup in Brazil is just around the corner and serious and casual fans alike are boning up on the beautiful game before the action kicks off on June 12.
One of the most common hype terms around the world’s biggest sporting event is the Group of Death, but aside from images of sickles and black cloaks, the name itself doesn’t offer a lot of explanation. Fear not: below, we have a complete breakdown of the topic ahead of this year’s tournament – from what the term means, to the controversy around which team is the true Group of Death at this year’s tournament.
Read on for everything you need to know about this menacing term, and create a betting account to set yourself up to win big on the best soccer action in years. For our group-by-group predictions for the tournament, go here, or check out our breakdown of the U.S. Men’s National team here.
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What is the Group of Death at World Cup, and Which Group is it at Brazil 2014?
What is the Group of Death?
To understand the Group of Death it’s important to understand how the groups are chosen at the World Cup. The tournament is played in two phases: the Group Phase and the Second Phase, or Knock Out Phase. In the Group Phase, teams are put into groups of four and play a short round robin to determine which two teams move on.
Before every World Cup, the 32 teams that qualify are put into a draw to determine which teams go into which groups. A series of rules govern the draw to make sure that teams that qualified in particular regions of the world don’t immediately face other nations from their region, and to keep the top favorites from playing each other in the tournament. You can read the complete draw details here, but the bottom line is: it’s a complicated and fair system.
Even though its designed to keep the groups balanced, the draw produces some very, very tough groups simply because the field is so good; a lot of countries are very good at soccer. Each year, the team with the most firepower, the highest density of contenders, the one that guarantees that at least one favorite to win it all will be knocked out very early in the competition, is informally titled The Group of Death.
Being drawn into a Group of Death is the nightmare of every soccer nation’s fans and players alike. Being in a Group of Death means the team has no time to shake off the rust in the course of the tournament – an early loss or tie against another elite team could spell an early exit.
To put it another way: imagine an NFL team having to play three-straight Super Bowl contenders in their first three games of the season. If they don’t put up a record of .500 or better in those games, they’re eliminated. Even if they are a team built to win the Super Bowl themselves, that makes for a trial by fire to start the season.
The Group of Death is also traditionally the most fun to watch in the first round. But who is it this year? Which teams are sweating the hardest as the travel to Brazil in 2014?
Which Group is the Group of Death for World Cup 2014?
Well, this year, the answer is somewhat controversial, because there are so many good teams in the mix that two groups can lay claim to being the “Group of Death” this time around. There’s the USA’s group, Group G, along with heavy tournament favorites Germany, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, and African powerhouse Ghana.
Then there’s Group D, which features four-time champions Italy, South American heavyweights Uruguay, and soccer-mad England. In another World Cup year, either group would be given the title, hands-down. This year, they really both fit the casual title.
To illustrate how tough those groups are, note that of the 15 countries with odds to win the tournament at +5,000 or better (meaning they have a somewhat realistic chance of winning), six are in those two groups (three apiece). That’s pretty tough.
But which one’s tougher? Which is this year’s true Group of Death?
Group G – The Group of Death
How tough is Group G? Consider this: all four teams – Germany, Portugal, the USA and Ghana – were all good enough to reach the last 16 in 2010. The first three on that list all qualified for this tournament as teams very much expected to challenge for the championship, much less simply make it out of the round robin stage. Now, two of them are guaranteed to be gone after the group stage.
None of these teams will be a pushover in Brazil. Germany is one of the tournament favorites at +550 and has one of the deepest and most talent-rich squads in the world. Portugal has a strong squad in its own right and just so happens to have the reigning World Player of the Year, Cristiano Ronaldo, on its side.
The US has no such superstars, but it does have some very useful players who helped the team top qualifying in the CONCACAF region. And Ghana, perceived to be the weakest of the bunch, has one of the more experienced midfields in the tournament. Ghana has also been krypotnite for the U.S. in the last World Cups, having knocked them out in the last two tournaments. There are no easy games here.
Group D – The Other Group of Death
Group D is hardly any easier. As mentioned in our Group D preview, this is the only group that has three former World Cup champions. Granted, Italy (2006) is the only one to have won within the last half-century, but Uruguay and England did make it to the last eight of the 2010 World Cup; Uruguay eventually finished fourth.
The Italians will once again be one of the favorites to win the tournament, and have an experienced and battle-tested squad. Uruguay has one of the most feared frontlines in the world, spearheaded (if fit) by the electric Luis Suarez. Some people are counting England out, but the Three Lions still have a lot of quality and will bring some new and exciting young players to Brazil.
Really, the tipping point between Groups G and D is that Group D gives its three superpowers one easy win each in Costa Rica, which is one of the least fit teams in the tournament. Still, it’s also worth mentioning that this is the only group with three legitimate title contenders. When one out of Italy (+1,500), Uruguay (+2,500) or England (+3,300) gets eliminated, the World Cup immediately loses one of its few potential champions.
When all is said and done, the Group of Death really translates to “must-watch soccer.” While other groups will simply rubber stamp the contenders that are matched against inferior squads in the tournament’s early games, these matches will be (to continue our metaphor from earlier) like watching the NFL playoffs in Week 1. Happy World Cup, everyone.
