Custodian ThinkTank: Surprise Package

Oluwamayowa Idowu: I think one of the ‘lesser’ South American teams have it in them to provide something interesting ala Uruguay in 2010:

Chile. The land of Bielsa, Zamorano and Salas. A great core of players (Arturo Vidal, Alexis Sanchez, Gary Medel, Marcelo Diaz) and armed with a strong tactics culture.

Colombia have a very tasty forward line as evidenced by the presence of Carlos Bacca (Scorer of 21 goals and Europa League winner), Jackson Martinez (24 goals), Adrian Ramos (16 goals and off to replace Robert Lewandowski at Dortmund). Goals win games and Colombia have goalscorers.

I support France at every competition; the legacy of being an Arsenal fan in the Wenger era. The triumvirate of Yohan Cabaye, Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi is the perfect combination of power and technique. Franck Ribery’s indifferent club form has to come to an end soon and Mathieu Valbuena is always a cunny operator. There’s also an interesting partnership blooming between Olivier Giroud and Loic Remy. Koscielny and Varane at the back are both in the upper echelon of centre backs.

Didier Deschamps, the man derisively described as the “water carrier” of the 98 victors by dropping Samir Nasri has channeled Aimee Jacquet’s refusal to call up  Eric Cantona and David Ginola who despite their credit were viewed as disruptive characters.

It also helps that they have a decent group.

All the World Cups they have played at in my lifetime have either ended in categorical failure or success: Les Bleus don’t do grey areas. 1994, they failed to qualify. 1998, they won. 2002, they didn’t make it past the group stage as Zidane struggled with injury. Robert Pires doing a cruciate ligament weeks before in a season in which he won the Player of the Year award in England and Thierry Henry’s red card against Denmark were also low points. In 2006, they made the finals and would probably have won had Materazzi not wound Zidane up. 2010: They were lucky to get there after Thierry Henry’s handball against the Irish and the luck ran out when Nicolas Anelka led a revolt against the reviled Raymond Domenech and they failed to proceed past the group stage. 2014?

Folarin Gbenro: I don’t subscribe to the Belgium as a surprise package narrative, we know what they bring to the table so there’s no real shock there coupled that with their massive hole in the full back area, I don’t see how a tactically aware team won’t manage to punish a team that plays all centre backs as their back four. I think it would probably be Colombia. Pekerman has them playing crazily exciting stuff and even with Falcao probably out in the forward department a team boasting of the likes of Bacca, Muriel, Martinez and Ramos along with James Rodriguez is protected.

Somto Mbah: Nigeria. The Nigerian team is going there with fight, and that will make the difference. Stephen Keshi has got the squad believing in his style of play, and I expect disciplined performances from this Nigerian side.

Tomi Idowu: Belgium look like they’ve got the credentials to go far. They’ve got a really young squad and if the likes of Eden Hazard (who tends to underperform on the International stage) Romelu Lukaku and Vincent Kompany remain on top of their game throughout the competition, could do very interesting things.

On the argument that Belgium are not underdogs, it is worth noting that this crop of players couldn’t even qualify for the last Euro’s. In terms of football heritage, the Belgians are a small fish.

France could defy people’s expectations too. They’ve found a balance between the experienced players and the wonderkids. They’ve also got a variation in their strike force in that they’ve got the towering Olivier Giroud and the more mobile Loic Remy and Karim Benzema. They’ve also got a good group of defenders in Bacary Sagna, Eliaquim Mangala, Patrice Evra, Raphael Varane and Laurent Koscielny. Lastly they’ve got a little bit of everything in midfield. They’ve got the strong and powerful, Paul Pogba and Blaise Matuidi and the technically gifted, Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Valbuena. If they play as they have showed they can in their friendlies, they have the quality to go as far as the Semi Finals but I’m a bit skeptical because one can never be too sure of what they’re getting from Karim Benzema or Olivier Giroud.

Emeka Nwani: England

For the first time in what seems like forever, England are going to the World cup as underdogs. By English standards it has been a very low-key build up to the tournament. The media have spoken about the fact that reaching the 2^nd round could even be seen as a positive and I believe this lack of expectation could be the making of England. There is a fresh feel to the England squad with the likes of Sterling, Barkley, Sturridge, Welbeck and Oxlade-Chamberlain. These guys bring the pace, skill and technique that we don’t usually associate with the English national team. They haven’t been tainted by England’s ‘perennial failures’ tag, which will ease the burden on them to perform. In Ross Barkley, England have a kind of player they haven’t had since Paul Gascoigne. He gets fans off their seats with his dribbling ability, explosive shooting and his sheer tenacity. He embodies the young players that have been chosen by Roy Hodgson and if used well by the typically cautious manager, then I feel England will shock a few.

Bosnia and Herzegrovina

The Bosnian team is hugely talented, with the likes of Miralem Pjanic (AS Roma), Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Senad Lulic (Lazio) and Asmir Begovic (Stoke City). They finished top of their qualifying group and have shown that the strength of a squad is based on the sum of its parts rather than star names. I hope I’m wrong but I tip them to qualify from Nigeria’s group along with Argentina. Solid at the back, Pjanic pulling the strings and with Edin Dzeko’s big game performances, I believe the Bosnians will surprise a few people come June.

Michael Famoroti: I am going to cheat a bit and not select one team in particular. Rather my tip to surprise everyone is whoever emerges winner of group C (Ivory Coast, Japan, Colombia and Greece). It is one of the most balanced groups on paper and whoever comes out on top would have the confidence and momentum to face up to the runner-up in Group D (probably England). Japan have a number of players who have performed well in recent years – beyond Honda and Kagawa (both of whom have actually had unsettled seasons), Kiyotake, Uchida and Okazawi are all in good form. Colombia might be missing Falcao but there are still goals in the team – Adrian Ramos, Carlos Bacca and the dangerous Juan Cuadrado to name a few. Still I fancy Ivory Coast to top the group. Didier Drogba, now with over 100 caps for his country, knows a thing or two about dramatic send-offs and though he may be past his best, he has the experience and mentality to inspire a collection of attackers – Yaya Toure, Wilfried Bony, Gervinho and Salomon Kalou who have all starred for their clubs this season.

Demeyin Agbeyegbe: First of all I want to dispel the notion that Belgium are somehow or somewhat underdogs because frankly they are not. This is a team that poses one of the best back lines in the competition with Kompany, Vertonghen, Vermaelen and Courtois. They also have Fellaini and Witsel in midfield and not to mention Hazard, Lukau, Mirallas and Dembele as offensive players. Since we are past that let’s move on to the real surprise package.
I see either one of Colombia or Chile providing a stern test for whichever opposition they play. The fact that the competition is being played in South America will be a factor and I can see either one of them doing what Uruguay did in 2010 and reaching the semi’s.