2014 World Cup Preview!

Every four years, a strange phenomenon hits the world. Suddenly, Mr Smith across the road and Mrs Brown, the company accountant who normally would have nothing to do with the sports section of the newspaper, are talking about that goal that was scored that wasn't, or what this guy did to that guy.

During World Cup year, it seems as though suddenly everyone is a soccer - or football - fan and it's quite difficult to avoid it given the amount of coverage that the media gives. In a year of instagram and selfies, expect the media coverage to be the biggest it has ever been.

And why not? The world championship of the world's number one sport only takes place every 4 years and even though the TV coverage given to the club game, particularly the English Premier League has meant that we can see most of the best players in the world week in week out nowadays, the World Cup is still the pinnacle of the sport.

And for once, there is no doubt that the pinnacle event of the sport will take place in a country that lives, breathes and dies from the sport.

No offence to the likes of South Africa, Russia and Qatar, but Brazil is to football what India is to cricket, New Zealand to rugby or Canada to ice hockey - and that's where the comparisons end.

Can Brazil win to please this lovely fan?

Brazil is a massive nation and a massive market for football - it is located in a time zone that is friendly to the key North and South American, European and African markets which are FIFA's biggest target markets.

Brazil is not just the soul of football but the heart and gut of the game, and even though the buildup has been marred by delays and problems with the construction of stadia and infrastructure and potential protests regarding the money spent on this World Cup and the 2016 Olympics by the government, once June 12 arrives, there is no question that the country will be fully behind the tournament and of course, A Selecao.

The 2014 World Cup could not have come at a better time for the most famous team in international football. Since that glorious night in Yokohama 12 years ago, Brazil have been in the shadows of the European nations and even its biggest rival, neighbours Argentina.

Defeats to France and Holland in the last two World Cups, the retirement of stars like Ronaldo and Rivaldo, and the lack of a credible contender for world player until now have had many write off Brazil as a world force in football. Indeed, Brazil fell out of the top ten of the FIFA rankings although this has more to do with the lack of competitive games played since 2010 as Brazil had already qualified as hosts of the 2014 World Cup.

Alas, all that could change this year with the emergence of Neymar as a player who could be the best in the world. The expectations will be massive on the 22 year old in his first World Cup - and one in his home country - but he should be helped by a squad that as ever is brimming with talent - familiar names like Phil Coutinho, Kaka and Ronaldinho couldn't even make the squad!

Such is the financial power of the European game now that most players will be familiar to avid followers of the big leagues. Indeed, the likes of Oscar, Ramires, David Luiz, Fernandinho, Willian, Thiago Silva and Dani Alves will be familiar to Chelsea, Man City, PSG and Barca fans - even 12 years ago when Brazil won the World Cup, much of the side was still based at home.

Of course, there's more to the Cup than Brazil and the best in the world really should be there barring injury. Only the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Gareth Bale will definitely be missing since Sweden and Wales didn't qualify for the World Cup Finals.

There are some intriguing groups, i.e. Group D with England, Italy, Uruguay, Costa Rica is clearly the group of death, while Spain and Germany's groups are pretty tricky too. But there are also some of the so-called "weaker" pools which could make for some intriguing viewing this World Cup.

Argentina, Belgium and Colombia are the seeds in their groups and while, I would expect those sides to go through, who will join them is a real lottery - those sides probably won't win the World Cup but that's not the point. This is the very essence of the drama that makes the World Cup so watchable.

Brazil withstanding, everyone's favourites are Spain - they are the current world and European champions and still have much of their squad even if the likes of Iker Casillas, Fernando Torres, Xavi, Andres Iniesta are now in their early 30s. There's still quite a bit of talent in their squad, i.e. Cesc Fabregas, Koke, Fernando Llorente, Alvaro Negredo, etc. If there's one question mark against them, it's whether they are still able to maintain the tikka-takka football that has made numero uno - the current exponents of that football, Barcelona and Bayern Munich were contained effectively at the business end of the season.

Other contenders in question - Argentina if Lionel Messi can finally bring his Barca form to the blue and white jersey, Germany as ever if their defence can get up to scratch with their flair in attack, Holland, Italy and France if they decide to turn up, even Colombia and Belgium, out of the Finals for so long but with a new generation of stars, cannot be ruled out.

This is going to be one long month! Thankfully, for New Zealand football fans who have recently felt like abandoned children at a bus stop in the last 12 months what with Sky losing the rights to broadcast live English Premier League action, and the All Whites missing out on the World Cup Finals, the time zone means the earliest they have to get up for matches is 4am, with most of the games finishing just before noon.

And in this day of age of smartphones and Sky Go - and even some workplaces having Sky TV in their lounges, work is no longer an excuse to miss games.

This should be a cracking World Cup - I hope it will be, as it has been a while since we've had a genuinely good World Cup from start to finish, not marred by refereeing blunders, dull football, etc. In a land that lives on football, surely dull football will be impossible?

Have a look at my other posts previewing each group with all the 23 man squads - and there's my tip for the knockout stages! You might be surprised!