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#10 Uruguay
Led by the incredibly in-form Luis Suarez, Uruguay will be this summer's dark horse to bring the world's most prestigious and prized trophy back to South America. Boasting forwards such as the aforementioned Luis Suarez, Edinson Cavani and even veteran Diego Forlan, Uruguay are stacked in attack and will draw on their considerable tournament experience to compete. Having a rich history helps, as Los Charrúas have won the tournament twice in the past, once in 1930 and in 1950. However, their 4th place finish in the 2010 South Africa World Cup will be a point of pride that they look to this summer.
#9 England
Much will be said of England's demise over the past few years, however, they simply cannot be overlooked as contenders for any major international title. Having drawn a difficult group consisting of Italy, Costa Rica and Uruguay, if England do manage to make it out, it will only prove their credentials. With Wayne Rooney leading the line, after signing a massive new deal at United, it will be up to their defense to improve upon some shambolic recent displays. Leighton Baines, Gary Cahill, and Glen Johnson will play huge roles while Arsenal youngster Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is being tipped to have a standout summer in Brazil in his new midfield position.
#8 Holland
Having fallen to 10th on the FIFA Official World Rankings, the Dutch still fancy themselves capable of qualifying for the knockout rounds ahead of Chile and Australia while beating Spain to the top spot would be a more difficult task. Under the leadership of Robin van Persie who seems to be traitorous at every club he joins, Holland finished 2nd to Spain four years ago and will look to upset the odds and topple the Spanish to finish first in the group.
#7 France
France are another team that made a last-gasp claim to their World Cup spot as they nearly missed out for the first time in decades. Having not won a major international trophy in 14 years, since their Euro 2000 victory, Le Bleus will look to rectify that through a cast of superstars. Ballon d'Or nominee, Franck Ribery will look to prove he deserved the award as he will be joined by the likes of Karim Benzema, Samir Nasri, Paul Pogba, Olivier Giroud and Hugo Lloris between the sticks. Considering that their group consists of Ecuador, Switzerland and Honduras, France are viewed as clear favorites to win their group and advance to the knockout rounds.
#6 Italy
2006 World Cup winners, Italy, have always been among the very top with those competing and this summer is no different. In the so called 'Group of Death' with England, Uruguay and Costa Rica, Italy are seen as favorites to win the group but will find it no easy task. However, with their considerable tournament experience to draw upon after finishing runners-up in Euro 2012, Italy will stand the best chance. After all, Andrea Pirlo, Gigi Buffon, Chiellini and others will surely have words of wisdom of the younger of their squad to help inspire them even in the toughest of times.
#5 Portugal
"RONALDOOO!" Portugal made a very late and dramatic entrance to the 2014 World Cup Finals but it must be attributed to the outstanding performance of the world's best player, Cristiano Ronaldo. The Ballon d'Or winner will be helped by the likes of Danny, Meireles, Nani, Coentrao, Madrid mate, Pepe and Moutinho. A star studded team will not be enough however, as Portugal will need to replicate the type of performance they showed against Sweden if they're to make it out of their group. They are tipped to finish runners-up to Germany.
#4 Argentina
With an undoubtedly easier group than many, Lionel Messi will be salivating at the thought of filling his trophy cabinet with the final missing honor, a World Cup. With the likes of Gonzalo Higuain, Ezequiel Lavezzi, Angel di Maria, and a possible return for Carlos Tevez, Argentina boast a ridiculous crew of attackers. In defense, Mascherano and Ezequiel Garay will need to form an understanding to keep their backline from falling apart as it did four years ago to Germany's famous blitzkrieg attack that saw them dominate 4-0. An inspired Lionel Messi, however, is surely a massive boost to any team's chances, let alone one as qualified as Argentina.
#3 Spain
The dominance of Spain over the past 6 years cannot be understated as they have won back to back European titles and a World Cup in between. While they are still a formidable team, they have seen a slight decline in the past year or two as a number of key players have begun to show their age. Xavi and Andres Iniesta are still world class players in midfield but are slowing down a bit, Iker Casillas, long the most emphatic force in between the poles is dealing with his own issues at Madrid while back at Barcelona, Carles Puyol has questioned whether he will even be on the plane to Brazil. David Villa has been in fine form at Atletico but it cannot be compared to his incredible play four years ago. But with younger options in Javi Martinez, Santi Cazorla, David De Gea, Fernando Llorente and many more, it is not as if Spain are without hope. Quite the opposite, the champions have a fine chance of retaining their crown.
#2 Brazil
The home of samba football and, this summer, the home of the biggest sporting event in the world, the host country definitely have an excellent shot with the comfort of playing every game in their own nation. Neymar will be Brazil's ace this summer and with good reason. The young forward has shone given every opportunity for Barcelona and Brazil on basically every level of play.
#1 Germany
It seems Germany are overdue a major trophy, having come achingly close for the past decade, finishing 3rd in the Euro 2012, 3rd in the 2010 and 2006 World Cups and 2nd in the 2002 World Cup. However, many are tipping this to be Germany's year as their extremely talented generation of young talented footballers such as Mario Gotze, Toni Kroos, Marco Reus, Mesut Özil are all older and more experienced. They are supplemented with classy veterans like Miroslav Klose, Bastian Schwiensteiger, Lukas Podolski and Manuel Neuer to name a few. Their form should be excellent given their perfect qualification, winning every game. 2014 is the time, Brazil is the place, Germany is the team.
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