Uruguay, England and Italy drawn into 2014 World Cup ‘group of death’
Uruguay, England and Italy – winners of a combined seven World Cups among them – were drawn into the 2014 World Cup ‘group of death’ on December 4. Costa Rica is the fourth team in Group D.
Hosts Brazil will open the World Cup in Sao Paolo on June 12 against Croatia, a repeat of the 1998 semi-final won by Brazil. The other two teams drawn in Group A were Mexico and Cameroon.
The hosts will likely face a difficult path to the final, as they will likely face one of the finalists of the 2010 World Cup, Spain and The Netherlands, which were drawn into Group B alongside Chile and Australia.
Germany too will face tougher competition, drawn into Group G with Portugal, Ghana and USA.
Argentina and France, by comparison, were given easier draws – the former will face Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria, while the latter will play Switzerland, Ecuador and Honduras.
The full result of the draw:
Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon
Group B: Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Australia
Group C: Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan
Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy
Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras
Group F: Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria
Group G: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA
Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea
