By Rob McDonald
SPAIN
What We Know:
Needlessly good. Preposterously good. You don’t win three major trophies on the bounce at international level, it’s ridiculous. Will they win a fourth? Well, they’re older (you can’t stop THAT, Fuentes) and while there are newer – Brazilian – faces the core remains the same, the ideal remains the same. The question isn’t so much about them as it is the rest of the World: can you finally stop Spain?
What They Could Be:
Laughing all the way home.
What They’ll Probably Be:
Patient, well-organised and constantly on the ball. They may have stuttered out the gate against Switzerland in 2012 but it didn’t stop them much, did it? For all the talk of a lack of a plan b and of them eventually running out of ideas, it simply hasn’t happened. The main question mark is whether Diego Costa can fit into the system and whether he’s fit but Spain have won without proper forwards before. Pedro just scores instead.
The Player To Talk About With Phil Blundell:
You know them all, we all know them all. Koke is still brilliant, though. Energetic and good on the ball he could provide energy in a stagnant midfield when he wants to.
HOLLAND
What We Know:
They scored loads of goals in qualifying. They have some of the best attacking players in Europe, on their day, and they’ll not be as needly as they were under Van Marwijk, sadly. Van Gaal has said he’ll adapt a more defensive approach in Brazil but with a squad of more young Eredivisie-based players than the same established players who play on the continent, Holland could be quite an exciting proposition.
What They Could Be:
Swift and merciless with a good combination of youth and experience and a manager who likes to get his lad out. They could be a laugh. They could win the tournament with players who ply their trade for Norwich and Aston Villa. Mad, that.
What They’ll Probably Be:
Much like Brazil, they could look brilliant in fits and starts yet ultimately be found out against the better teams. It is dependent on Arjen Robben Van Persie (you liked that, didn’t you?) and how they fare.
The Player To Talk About With Phil Blundell:
Ron Vlaar, the Aston Villa centre half, is probably one of the more under-rated players in the league and it’s about time we shoved someone a bit older in this segment, isn’t it?
CHILE
What We Know:
Loveable and mad and madly loveable under Marcelo Bielsa, you could be concerned that they won’t be quite so fun this time around but in Jorge Sampaoli they have the next best thing to Bielsa. Building another fervent attacking threat, the man who guided Universidad de Chile into the hearts of ultra-hipsters everywhere won’t be afraid of a tough group, knowing that Chile are mad enough to do anything on their day.
What They Could Be:
Beautiful. They could be the closest thing to Liverpool at the World Cup; they’ll go for it like dogs and play quick and incisive football with Alexis Sanchez at the heart of everything good that they do going forward and Arturo Vidal doing practically everything else.
What They’ll Probably Be:
The team to win the hearts and minds of purists everywhere with a splendid mix of snide (Gary Medel and Vidal) and beauty who will be Holland’s biggest threat for second place but won’t make it out the group stages.
The Player To Talk About With Phil Blundell:
We ALL should be talking about Alexis Sanchez more. Barcelona may have killed him but the fella is one of the best players in the world.
AUSTRALIA
What We Know:
The international Wirral have a lot of domestically-based players in their squad so imagine them to be a bit more like a more loathsome North Korea.
What They Could Be:
Beaten three times.
What They’ll Probably Be:
Beaten three times.
The Player To Talk About With Phil Blundell:
None of them. Just talk about the time Alvaro Arbeloa got Tim Cahill sent off, instead.
