World Cup: country profiles At the World Cup 2014 32 countries taking part. In the first phase, the countries are divided into 8 groups of four. Thereafter follows the knockout phases beginning with the eighth-finals. The superstars of Algeria Sofiane Feghouli (rear) and Islam Slimani Photo:. Reuters Lionel Messi, arguably the best player in the world Photo:. AP Tim Cahill, the leading man in Australia Photo:. Reuters The Belgian superstar Eden Hazard (L) Photo: EPA. Edin Dzeko, one of the stars of Bosnia and Herzegovina Photo:. AFP Neymar, the Brazilian Papiss Photo:. AFP Chili-star player Alexis Sanchez Photo: Reuters Falcao knows for Colombia to find the net regularly Photo:. Reuters Alvaro Saborio, one of the great men in Costa Rica Photo:. Reuters Mesut Ozil (L), the baltechnicus Germany Photo:. AP Antonio Valencia (L), the executioner of Ecuador Photo:. AFP Wayne Rooney, the England striker Photo: EPA. Franck Ribery, the star of the French football team Photo:. AFP Asamoah Gyan (m) scores on a regular basis for Ghana Photo:. Reuters Georgios Samaras, the familiar name of Greece Set. Reuters Wilson Palacios (L), one of the big names of Honduras Photo:. AFP Reza Ghoochannejhad (l), once playing for SC Cambuur Photo: EPA. Mario Balotelli, the enfant terrible of Italy Photo: EPA. Didier Drogba, the old hand Ivorian Photo:. AFP Keisuke Honda, the absolute star of Japan Photo:. Reuters Samuel Etoo, the Cameroonian footballer surefire Photo:. AFP Luka Modric, one of the stars in Croatia Photo:. Reuters Javier Hernández, the topper of Mexico Photo:. Reuters Arjen Robben (L) and Robin van Persie, the star players of Orange Photo:. Reuters John Obi Mikel, one of the stars of Nigeria Photo:. AFP Cristiano Ronaldo, the man around whom everything revolves in Portugal Photo:. AFP Igor Akinfejev, strong closing entry of Russia Photo:. AFP Andres Iniesta, one of the mainstays in Spain Photo:. AFP Luis Suárez shoot one after the other ball in for Uruguay Photo: EPA. Jozy Altidore, the former striker of AZ Photo:. AFP Heung-Min Son, the star of South Korea Photo:. Reuters Gökhan Inler, one of the key players in the Swiss football team Photo: EPA. The World Cup begins on Thursday, June 12th and the final will be played on July 13. The editors of Telesport brings the country chart. Who is the coach, which players are important and what is the best performance of each country in the World Cup? ALGERIA Coach: Vahid Halilhodzic (Bos) Main players: Madjid Bougherra, Sofiane Feghouli and Islam Slimani Place in world rankings: 26 Number of World Cup appearances: 4 (1982, 1986, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: first round (1982, 1986, 2010) ARGENTINA Coach: Alejandro Sabella (Arg) Main players: Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria Place in world rankings: 3 Number of World Cup appearances: 16 (1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: World Champion (1978, 1986) AUSTRALIA Coach: Ange Postecoglou (Aus) Main players: Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill and Joshua Kennedy Place in world rankings: 59 Number of World Cup appearances: 4 (1974, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: Eighth-finals (2006) BELGIUM Coach: Marc Wilmots (Bel) Main players: Vincent Kompany, Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtois Place in world rankings: 11 Number of World Cup appearances: 12 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2014) Best Performance: Fourth (1986) BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA Coach: Safet Susic (Bos) Main players: Edin Dzeko, Vedad Ibisevic and Zvjezdan Misimovic Place in world rankings: 21 Number of World Cup appearances: 1 (2014) Best Performance: - BRAZIL Coach: Luiz Felipe Scolari (Bra) Main players: Neymar, Thiago Silva and Luiz Gustavo Place in world rankings: 10 Number of World Cup appearances: 20 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: World Champion (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002) CHILE Coach: Jorge Sampaoli (Arg) Main players: Alexis Sanchez, Arturo Vidal and Eduardo Vargas Place in world rankings: 15 Number of World Cup appearances: 9 (1930, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1982, 1998, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: third (1962) COLOMBIA Coach: Jose Pekerman (Arg) Main players: Radamel Falcao, James Rodriguez and Mario Yepes Place in world rankings: 4 Number of World Cup appearances: 5 (1962, 1990, 1994, 1998 and 2014) Best Performance: second round (1990) COSTA RICA Coach: Jorge Luis Pinto (Col) Main players: Bryan Ruiz, Alvaro Saborio and Joel Campbell Place in world rankings: 31 Number of World Cup appearances: 4 (1990, 2002, 2006 and 2014) Best Performance: second round (1990) GERMANY Coach: Joachim Loew (Ger) Main players: Philipp Lahm, Mesut Ozil and Thomas Müller Place in world rankings: 2 Number of World Cup appearances: 18 (1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: World Champion (1954, 1974 and 1990) ECUADOR Coach: Reinaldo Rueda (Col) Main players: Antonio Valencia, Felipe Caicedo and Renato Ibarra Place in world rankings: 23 Number of World Cup appearances: 3 (2002, 2006 and 2014) Best Performance: second round (2006) ENGLAND Coach: Roy Hodgson (Eng) Main players: Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard Place in world rankings: 13 Number of World Cup appearances: 14 (1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: World Champion (1966) FRANCE Coach: Didier Deschamps (Fra) Main players: Franck Ribery, Karim Benzema and Hugo Lloris Place in world rankings: 19 Number of World Cup appearances: 14 (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: World Champion (1998) GHANA Coach: Akwasi Appiah (Gha) Main players: Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari and Asamoah Gyan Place in world rankings: 24 Number of World Cup appearances: 3 (2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: Quarterfinals (2010) GREECE Coach: Fernando Santos (Portugal) Main players: Giorgos Karagounis, Georgios Samaras and Konstantinos Mitroglou Place in world rankings: 12 Number of World Cup appearances: 3 (1994, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: first round (1994 and 2010) HONDURAS Coach: Luis Fernando Suárez (Col) Main players: Wilson Palacios, Emilio Izaguirre and Jerry Bengtson Place in world rankings: 41 Number of World Cup appearances: 3 (1982, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: first round (1982, 2010) IRAN Coach: Carlos Queiroz (Portugal) Main players: Javad Nekounam, Reza Ghoochannejhad and Ashkan Dejagah Place in world rankings: 45 Number of World Cup appearances: 4 (1978, 1998, 2006 and 2014) Best Performance: first round (1978, 1998, 2006) ITALY Coach: Cesare Prandelli (Ita) Main players: Mario Balotelli, Andrea Pirlo and Gianluigi Buffon Place in world ranking: 7 Number of World Cup appearances: 18 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: World Champion (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006) IVORY COAST Coach: Sabri Lamouchi (Fra) Main players: Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou Place in world rankings: 17 Number of World Cup appearances: 3 (2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: first round (2006, 2010) JAPAN Coach: Alberto Zaccheroni (Ita) Main players: Keisuke Honda, Shinji Kagawa and Yuto Nagatomo Place in world rankings: 48 Number of World Cup appearances: 5 (1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: eighth finals (2002, 2010) CAMEROON Coach: Volker Finke (Ger) Main players: Samuel Etoo, Alex Song and Pierre Webó Place in world rankings: 51 Number of World Cup appearances: 7 (1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: Quarterfinals (1990) CROATIA Coach: Niko Kovac (Kro) Main players: Luka Modric, Mario Mandzukic and Darijo Srna Place in world rankings: 16 Number of World Cup appearances: 4 (1998, 2002, 2006 and 2014) Best Performance: third (1998) MEXICO Coach: Miguel Herrera (Mex) Main players: Javier Hernández, Andrés Guardado and Carlos Salcido Place in world rankings: 20 Number of World Cup appearances: 15 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1978, 1986, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: quarter-finals (1970, 1986) NETHERLANDS Coach: Louis van Gaal (Ned) Main players: Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Rafael van der Vaart Place in world rankings: 9 Number of World Cup appearances: 10 (1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: second (1974, 1978, 2010) NIGERIA Coach: Stephen Keshi (Nig) Main players: John Mikel Obi, Ahmed Musa and Emmanuel Emenike Place in world rankings: 36 Number of World Cup appearances: 5 (1994, 1998, 2002, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: eighth finals (1994, 1998) PORTUGAL Coach: Paulo Bento (Portugal) Main players: Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Alves and Raul Meireles Place in world rankings: 5 Number of World Cup appearances: 6 (1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: third (1966) RUSSIA Coach: Fabio Capello (Ita) Main players: Kerzjakov Aleksander, Igor and Roman Akinfejev Sjirokov Place in world rankings: 22 Number of World Cup appearances: 10 (1958, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 2002 and 2014) Best Performance: fourth (1966, as Soviet Union) SPAIN Coach: Vicente Del Bosque (Spa) Main players: Andres Iniesta, Xavi and Iker Casillas Place in world rankings: 1 Number of World Cup appearances: 14 (1934, 1950, 1962, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: World Champion (2010) URUGUAY Coach: Oscar Washington Tabárez (Uru) Main players: Edinson Cavani, Luis Suarez and Diego Forlan Place in world rankings: 6 Number of World Cup appearances: 12 (1930, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1986, 1990, 2002, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: World Champion (1930, 1950) UNITED STATES Coach: Jürgen Klinsmann (Ger) Main players: Jozy Altidore, London Donovan and Tim Howard Place in world rankings: 14 Number of World Cup appearances: 10 (1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: Thirdly, (1930) SOUTH KOREA Coach: Hong Myung-bo (VSE) Main players: Heung-Min Son, Chung-yong Lee and Park Chu-young Place in world rankings: 54 Number of World Cup appearances: 9 (1954, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: Fourth (2002) SWITZERLAND Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld (Ger) Main players: Diego Benaglio, Xherdan Shaqiri and Gökhan Inler Place in world rankings: 8 Number of World Cup appearances: 10 (1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1994, 2006, 2010 and 2014) Best Performance: quarter-finals (1934, 1938, 1954)
Posted on: Mon, 09 Jun 2014 08:54:45 +0000