FIFA World Cup 2014 Analysis & Predictions: Group C – Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast & Japan

Teams Qualified: Colombia (1) & Greece (2)

Here is the third instalment of the "Analysis & Predictions" series of the FIFA World Cup 2014. There is less than a fortnight before the gala event takes place. Today we are going to analyse Group C and showcase our predictions for the group. Let's look at the possibilities of Group C.

Teams in the group

Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) & Japan are in Group C. This is another highly competitive group as all the teams happen to be almost equal in terms of field strength. None of these teams has a great history at the world cup. This is the third time Greece has qualified while the other two occasions were in 1994 and 2010. This will be Colombia's fifth world cup while their best performance was in 1962 when they finished fourteenth. This is the third consecutive world cup for Ivory Coast. They did not qualify before that. Japan has the best record in the group as it qualified for the "Round of 16" twice in their previous four encounters since 1998.

Morale of the teams

Forget about their world cup history, Colombia seems to be in high spirits to make a mark this time. They have a strong line of players who can do wonders practically in all the departments. The South American team is presently ranked fifth in the world. Greece is also among the top 10 best ranked teams in the world. It tends to surprise strong teams with an uncanny ability to strike back. It stunned the world after winning the Euro 2004. However, the team may just fall short of a good striker. Ivory Coast is the second-best ranked African team. It will definitely bring a lot of energy on the field with strikers like Didier Drogba and Wilfried Bony. Japan should not ever be taken lightly. While they lack in physical strength unlike most other teams, they compensate with their speed and energy. They are the dark horse of the group.

Players on the spotlight

Colombia: Fredy Guarin & James Rodriguez

Greece: Georgios Samaras & Konstantinos Mitroglou

Ivory Coast: Didier Drogba, Wilfried Bony and Seydou Doumbia

Japan: Keisuke Honda & Shinji Kagawa

Turning Point

The match between Japan and Ivory Coast will be a turning point. While Ivory Coast may look like a better team, a sudden counter-attack by Japan may prove otherwise. If Japan is able to end this match at least in a draw, they will have a strong chance to go to the next round.

Predictions

The Japan-Ivory Coast match will end up in a draw. Both the teams will win against Greece and lose against Colombia which will end up at the top of the table with 3 wins. There will be an upset. Ivory Coast will not proceed to the next round. Japan will score more goals against Greece and that will take them to the "Round of 16."

Group A - Analysis & Predictions

Group B - Analysis & Predictions

Group D - Analysis & Predictions

Group E - Analysis & Predictions

Group F - Analysis & Predictions

Group G - Analysis & Predictions

Group H - Analysis & Predictions

What's your prediction? Use the comment section to tell us about it.

Reference: FIFA