Group C: Colombia - Greece - Ivory Coast - Japan

[Darkon]

Legend
Pl: Games played, W: Won, D: Drawn, L: Lost, F: Goals For, A: Goals Against, GD: Goal difference, Pts: Points

Fixtures

14 June 2014
13:00
Colombia Match 5 Greece

Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte

14 June 2014
22:00
Ivory Coast Match 6 Japan

Arena Pernambuco, Recife

19 June 2014
13:00
Colombia Match 21 Ivory Coast

Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, Brasília

19 June 2014
19:00
Japan Match 22 Greece

Arena das Dunas, Natal

24 June 2014
17:00
Japan Match 37 Colombia

Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá

24 June 2014
17:00
Greece Match 38 Ivory Coast

Estádio Castelão, Fortaleza

[Darkon]

Colombia



Goalkeepers:
1 GK David Ospina 31 August 1988 (aged 25) 43 France Nice
12 GK Camilo Vargas 1 September 1989 (aged 24) 0 Colombia Santa Fe
22 GK Faryd Mondragón 21 June 1971 (aged 42) 55 Colombia Deportivo Cali

Defenders:
2 DF Cristián Zapata 30 September 1986 (aged 27) 22 Italy Milan
3 DF Mario Yepes (c) 13 January 1976 (aged 38) 97 Italy Atalanta
4 DF Santiago Arias 13 January 1992 (aged 22) 6 Netherlands PSV
7 DF Pablo Armero 2 November 1986 (aged 27) 52 Italy Napoli
16 DF Éder Álvarez Balanta 28 February 1993 (aged 21) 3 Argentina River Plate
18 DF Juan Camilo Zúñiga 14 December 1985 (aged 28) 53 Italy Napoli
23 DF Carlos Valdés 22 May 1985 (aged 29) 14 Argentina San Lorenzo

Midfielders:
5 MF Carlos Carbonero 25 July 1990 (aged 23) 1 Argentina River Plate
6 MF Carlos Sánchez 6 February 1986 (aged 28) 45 Spain Elche
8 MF Abel Aguilar 6 January 1985 (aged 29) 49 France Toulouse
10 MF James Rodríguez 12 July 1991 (aged 22) 22 France AS Monaco
11 MF Juan Guillermo Cuadrado 26 May 1988 (aged 26) 28 Italy Fiorentina
13 MF Fredy Guarín 30 June 1986 (aged 27) 49 Italy Internazionale
15 MF Alexander Mejía 7 September 1988 (aged 25) 9 Colombia Atlético Nacional
20 MF Juan Fernando Quintero 18 January 1993 (aged 21) 4 Portugal F.C. Porto

Forwards:
9 FW Teófilo Gutiérrez 28 May 1985 (aged 29) 30 Argentina River Plate
14 FW Víctor Ibarbo 19 May 1990 (aged 24) 9 Italy Cagliari
17 FW Carlos Bacca 8 September 1986 (aged 27) 11 Spain Sevilla
19 FW Adrián Ramos 22 January 1986 (aged 28) 25 Germany Borussia Dortmund
21 FW Jackson Martínez 3 October 1986 (aged 27) 27 Portugal F.C. Porto

Manager
José Pékerman

Formation

Record at the WC:
Appearances 5 (First in 1962)

Best result Round of 16, 1990

Fifa World Ranking
4

[Darkon]

Greece



Goalkeepers:
1 GK Orestis Karnezis 11 July 1985 (aged 28) 19 Spain Granada
12 GK Panagiotis Glykos 3 June 1986 (aged 28) 2 Greece PAOK
13 GK Stefanos Kapino 18 March 1994 (aged 20) 2 Greece Panathinaikos

Defenders:
3 DF Giorgos Tzavellas 26 November 1987 (aged 26) 13 Greece PAOK
4 DF Kostas Manolas 14 June 1991 (aged 22) 9 Greece Olympiacos
5 DF Vangelis Moras 26 August 1981 (aged 32) 19 Italy Verona
11 DF Loukas Vyntra 5 February 1981 (aged 33) 50 Spain Levante
15 DF Vasilis Torosidis 10 June 1985 (aged 29) 66 Italy Roma
19 DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos 9 June 1988 (aged 26) 47 Germany Borussia Dortmund
20 DF José Holebas 27 June 1984 (aged 29) 22 Greece Olympiacos

Midfielders:
2 MF Giannis Maniatis 12 October 1986 (aged 27) 30 Greece Olympiacos
6 MF Alexandros Tziolis 13 February 1985 (aged 29) 49 Turkey Kayserispor
8 MF Panagiotis Kone 26 July 1987 (aged 26) 16 Italy Bologna
10 MF Giorgos Karagounis (c) 6 March 1977 (aged 37) 135 England Fulham
16 MF Lazaros Christodoulopoulos 19 December 1986 (aged 27) 19 Italy Bologna
18 MF Giannis Fetfatzidis 21 December 1990 (aged 23) 19 Italy Genoa
21 MF Kostas Katsouranis 21 June 1979 (aged 34) 111 Greece PAOK
22 MF Andreas Samaris 13 June 1989 (aged 24) 4 Greece Olympiacos
23 MF Panagiotis Tachtsidis 15 February 1991 (aged 23) 6 Italy Torino

Forwards:
7 FW Giorgos Samaras 21 February 1985 (aged 29) 74 Scotland Celtic
9 FW Kostas Mitroglou 12 March 1988 (aged 26) 32 England Fulham
14 FW Dimitris Salpingidis 18 August 1981 (aged 32) 76 Greece PAOK
17 FW Theofanis Gekas 23 May 1980 (aged 34) 72 Turkey Konyaspor

Manager
Fernando Santos

Formation

Record at the WC:
Appearances 3 (First in 1994)

Best result Round 1, 1994 and 2010

Fifa World Ranking
10

[Darkon]

Ivory Coast



Goalkeepers:
1 GK Boubacar Barry 30 December 1979 (aged 34) 80 Belgium Lokeren
16 GK Sylvain Gbohouo 29 October 1988 (aged 25) 1 Ivory Coast Séwé Sport
23 GK Sayouba Mandé 5 June 1993 (aged 21) 1 Norway Stabæk

Defenders:
2 DF Ousmane Viera 21 December 1986 (aged 27) 3 Turkey Çaykur Rizespor
3 DF Arthur Boka 2 April 1983 (aged 31) 80 Germany VfB Stuttgart
4 DF Kolo Touré 19 March 1981 (aged 33) 107 England Liverpool
5 DF Didier Zokora 14 December 1980 (aged 33) 121 Turkey Trabzonspor
7 DF Jean-Daniel Akpa-Akpro 11 October 1992 (aged 21) 1 France Toulouse
17 DF Serge Aurier 24 December 1992 (aged 21) 9 France Toulouse
18 DF Constant Djakpa 17 October 1986 (aged 27) 5 Germany Eintracht Frankfurt
22 DF Sol Bamba 13 January 1985 (aged 29) 44 Turkey Trabzonspor

Midfielders:
9 MF Cheick Tioté 21 June 1986 (aged 27) 45 England Newcastle United
14 MF Ismaël Diomandé 28 August 1992 (aged 21) 2 France Saint-Étienne
19 MF Yaya Touré 13 May 1983 (aged 31) 83 England Manchester City
20 MF Serey Die 7 November 1984 (aged 29) 7 Switzerland Basel

Forwards:
6 FW Mathis Bolly 14 November 1990 (aged 23) 4 Germany Fortuna Düsseldorf
8 FW Salomon Kalou 5 August 1985 (aged 28) 65 France Lille
10 FW Gervinho 27 May 1987 (aged 27) 54 Italy Roma
11 FW Didier Drogba (c) 11 March 1978 (aged 36) 101 Turkey Galatasaray
12 FW Wilfried Bony 10 December 1988 (aged 25) 25 Wales Swansea City
13 FW Didier Ya Konan 25 February 1984 (aged 30) 26 Germany Hannover 96
15 FW Max Gradel 30 November 1987 (aged 26) 26 France Saint-Étienne
21 FW Giovanni Sio 31 March 1989 (aged 25) 7 Switzerland Basel

Manager
Sabri Lamouchi

Formation

Record at the WC:
Appearances 3 (First in 2006)

Best result Round 1: 2006, 2010

Fifa World Ranking
21

[Darkon]

Japan



Squad: Position Name Age Caps Club

Goalkeepers:
1 GK Eiji Kawashima 20 March 1983 (aged 31) 56 Belgium Standard Liège
12 GK Shusaku Nishikawa 18 June 1986 (aged 27) 12 Japan Urawa Red Diamonds
23 GK Shūichi Gonda 3 March 1989 (aged 25) 2 Japan F.C. Tokyo

Defenders:
2 DF Atsuto Uchida 27 March 1988 (aged 26) 67 Germany Schalke 04
3 DF Gōtoku Sakai 14 February 1991 (aged 23) 12 Germany VfB Stuttgart
5 DF Yuto Nagatomo 12 September 1986 (aged 27) 69 Italy Internazionale
6 DF Masato Morishige 21 May 1987 (aged 27) 9 Japan F.C. Tokyo
15 DF Yasuyuki Konno 25 January 1983 (aged 31) 80 Japan Gamba Osaka
19 DF Masahiko Inoha 28 August 1983 (aged 30) 21 Japan Jubilo Iwata
21 DF Hiroki Sakai 12 April 1990 (aged 24) 17 Germany Hannover 96
22 DF Maya Yoshida 24 August 1988 (aged 25) 40 England Southampton

Midfielders
4 MF Keisuke Honda 13 June 1986 (aged 27) 55 Italy Milan
7 MF Yasuhito Endō 28 January 1980 (aged 34) 143 Japan Gamba Osaka
8 MF Hiroshi Kiyotake 12 November 1989 (aged 24) 25 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg
10 MF Shinji Kagawa 17 March 1989 (aged 25) 56 England Manchester United
14 MF Toshihiro Aoyama 22 February 1986 (aged 28) 5 Japan Sanfrecce Hiroshima
16 MF Hotaru Yamaguchi 6 October 1990 (aged 23) 11 Japan Cerezo Osaka
17 MF Makoto Hasebe (c) 18 January 1984 (aged 30) 78 Germany 1. FC Nürnberg

Forwards:
9 FW Shinji Okazaki 16 April 1986 (aged 28) 75 Germany Mainz 05
11 FW Yoichiro Kakitani 3 January 1990 (aged 24) 11 Japan Cerezo Osaka
13 FW Yo****o Ōkubo 9 June 1982 (aged 32) 56 Japan Kawasaki Frontale
18 FW Yuya Osako 18 May 1990 (aged 24) 8 Germany 1860 München
20 FW Manabu Saitō 4 April 1990 (aged 24) 4 Japan Yokohama F. Marinos

Manager
Alberto Zaccheroni

Formation

Record at the WC:
Appearances 5 (First in 1998)

Best result Round of 16, 2002, 2010

Fifa World Ranking
47

[Darkon]

Japan updated

[Darkon]

Ivory Coast updated with our very own Kolo sneaking in

[Alex]

The scamp

Am I the only one who didn't think that was the Japan badge?

[Darkon]

Colombia team updated with the surprise inclusion of an injured Falcao.

[Darkon]

Greece done

[Chazza]

Falcao doesn't make it

[Shaggy]

Notice Luis Muriel was left out too.

[Darkon]

Though group this one, prediction wise this is the hardest by far. Four very equal teams. Really hope Greece can't sneak through yet another group stage by the snoozeball they are playing. Ivory Coast is a big question mark to me.

Japan is my favorite, and have some very good players. A lot of bundesliga players joined with a few from other leagues. Colombia I think will go through as well, even without Falcao, but it will be close.

[REDSCOUSER]

Not a bad group this, if you take Greece out the other 3 are good teams.
Colombia are faves but after losing Falcao am not so sure. They are solid all across the park though. So I'll have them win the group.

Second spot is between IC & Japan. IC have the experience but will they have the nerve to finish the job. Both previous WC they failed in the group stages.
Japan is very skillful, got pace and grit. Honda is top class for them.
I'll go with Japan in 2nd spot for this group.

[danperkins]

Tough one to call. Columbia are a good side. Ivory Coast vs Japan is a mismatch physically but Japan are great to watch, full of energy and never give up. No idea!