With 1 year to go before the start of the World Cup 2014 and the teams will slowly start to take shape for qualification. No matter how you look at it there are some expected teams that will be in the tournament and here is what we think of them.
England
The English squad have been a complete mess for years. After disappearing in the Euro 2008, playing rubbish in WorldCup 2010 followed by a nice string of 2 years before bowing out in Euro 2012, this team has completely lost it's identity along the way. The team they will feature won't be considered as strong as previous English squads and the underdog status might actually help the team. The team has younger players and they appear to be confident players that have expectations of winning whereas previous English squads had high expectations and always failed against teams that quite simply have the drive to win rather than the fear of failing. Expect bookies to offer lower odds but they might be a team that surprises.
Brazil
This team has been in disarray for years but they are acknowledged as being the team that is capable of pulling it together last minute to make something happen. The tournament all star is expected to be Neymar who just signed for FC Barcelona.
Argentina
Until this team gets a top notch coach, expect this team to fail. It is extremely unfortunate that people say that he needs the Spanish talent around him to win but he is the 4 time Fifa player of the year and this isn't by mistake. He is playing on a stacked Argentinian squad but they have had some of the worst coaching possible. The players need a strong coach to guide them. No team has won the worldcup with poor or average coaching.
Italy
They made it to the finals in Euro 2012 and got demolished by Spain. This team has potential and perhaps Super Mario Balotelli can take his game to yet another level.
Spain
This team has won the last 3 major tournaments and will go into this one as the favourites. Fernando Torres has been in decline in the past few years but the strikes available for the coaches is phenominal, so much that even amazing talents like Michu are below the list. If striker David Villa is healthy again he could be the main go to guy but they quite simply have talented agressive scorers that want the ball in pressure situations.
Germany
The Germans have some amazing players on their squad and will be considered one of the favourites. Some of their players have matured and gained experience where they used to be considered too young but they play with confidence. The 2013 champions league finals featured Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich which of course featured some of the best German footballers. This team looks like the making of a champion.
Netherlands
The Dutch, Holland, Oranje, whatever you want to call them they are a fierce team with nasty defenders and a very strong midfield featuring Arjen Robben.
Portugal
The reason why Portugal should be given consideration is for the play of Christiano Ronaldo. He is still dominant and at Euro 2012 he played absolutely amazing and silenced many critics taking the team on his back with him. They have excellent footballers and if there is a single player that could carry his team in this tournament, everyone would agree that Christiano Ronaldo is the potential MVP of this tournament and is the player anyone would want over Lionel Messi even. He will simply score goals on his own if he has to and he'll have an agressive supporting attack to help him.
