Group E

France: France's history at the World Cup is as up and down as possible. "Les Bleus" won it in 1998, did not score a single goal in 2002, lost in the final in 2006 via headbutt and did not record a single win in 2010. With a good squad with young and old talent, it should be their year to make some noise! (Star winger Franck Ribery was a late scratch due to injury, though.) Players to watch are Karim Benzema, Paul Pogba, Patrice Evra and Hugo Lloris.

Switzerland: The Swiss ran through their qualifying group and are the top seed in E. This comes as a surprise to most of the world as Switzerland have never been a true power. With a winning coach and some fantastic young players, Switzerland could be a real pain in the knockout stage if it gets there. Players to watch are Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka, Gokhan Inler and Stephan Lichtensteiner. (Best names in the tournament, the Swiss.)

Ecuador: Not one of the strongest teams in the tournament by any means, but Ecuador showed its ability to knock off better squads during qualifying. Rallied after the shocking death of star striker Christian Benitez. Not expected to get out of the group, but could with some big upsets. Players to watch are Antonio Valencia and Jefferson Montero.

Honduras: Honduras defied all the odds by qualifying for back-to-back World Cups, but it probably won't be in Brazil for long. One of the weakest teams in the competition could sneak up on some opponents, though, like it did with the Swiss in 2010. Players to watch are Oscar Boniek Garcia, Roger Espinoza and Victor Bernardez.

Group F

Argentina: Superstar talent up front, good-to-great midfield, questionable defense. Argentina can score with the best of them and will be a favorite in the tournament since it is in South America. Largely expected to get out of the group and make some sort of run. Players to watch are Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Angel di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain.

Bosnia and Herzegovina: This is the former Yugoslavian nation's first World Cup after becoming a full FIFA member in 1996. Solid squad from top to bottom...no world superstars but more than enough to get out of the group and cause trouble. Players to watch are Edin Dzeko, Miralem Pjanic and Asmir Begovic.

Nigeria: Fresh off a friendly loss to the USMNT, Nigeria head into Brazil with hopes of fighting it out with Bosnia for a spot in the knockout stage. "The Super Eagles" have not recorded a single point in a World Cup this millennium, but they want to change all that with their speedy, team-first style of play. Players to watch are Emmanuel Emenike, John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses.

Iran: Very few know anything about this team other than it rarely scores goals...and rarely gives them up. Packing the box and hoping for a result could give Iran a few points at the World Cup, something it hasn't had since in a while. Players to watch are...ah, I have no clue.

Group G

United States / USMNT/ The Yanks / Team USA / Your Favorite Team: Group G is called the "Group of Death" because the U.S. is in it. Players to watch are all of them.

Germany: "Die Mannschaft" (control your laughter) is one of the favorites at this year's World Cup, even with a cruel injury to forward Marco Reus. They're very, very good, but lack a true striker and a couple of questions on defense. Any questions about Germany should be directed toward resident German expert hendersonshands. Players to watch are Bastian "Jesus" Schweinsteiger, Mesut "Muslim Jesus" Ozil, Mario Gotze and Manuel Neuer.

Portugal: As much as I want to call this section "(Banged-Up) Cristiano Ronaldo and 10 of His Friends," one must admit that Portugal has talent other than the superstar forward. Injuries and an underwhelming buildup to the World Cup could hurt Portugal in the long run. Players to watch are Ronaldo, Nani, Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio.

Ghana: The constant thorn in the United States' side and Africa's only knockout stage participant at the 2010 World Cup. They've slipped a bit since the last Cup but are still a dangerous side for the U.S.'s first match, a virtual must-win. Players to watch are Kwadwo Asamoah, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Adam Kwarasey, the man who will be fishing the ball out of the back of the net when the USMNT scores repeatedly in the first game.

Group H

Belgium: Everybody's trendy pick to make a huge run in the tournament. Why? Because if they are a young foreign star in the English Premier League, chances are he is Belgian. Belgium does not have much of a recent World Cup history, so this is uncharted territory for them. Players to watch are Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard, Vincent Kompany and Thibaut Courtois.

Russia: Former England coach, an Italian named Fabio Capello, has Russia playing with some confidence in his latest globetrotting adventure. They play solid defense with some young attacking talent up front. There aren't any superstars on this team, so Russia is flying under the radar in a weaker group. Players to watch are Aleksandr Kokorin, Alan Dzagoev and Igor Akinfeev.

South Korea: South Korea qualified for the World Cup, but they weren't very impressive, so the federation decided to make a coaching change. The Koreans are a bit of an unknown because of this change, but teams in the past have been balanced and disciplined in defense and attack. Players to watch are Son Heung-Min, Park Chu-Young and Ki Sung-Yeung.

Algeria: Many people are passing over Algeria, but they gave teams trouble in the last World Cup. Algeria has experience all over the field, and there isn't a true weakness in this team other than the fact they don't have any star players. Players to watch are Yacine Brahimi and Islam Slimani.

__________________________________________________

USMNT'S GROUP MATCHES (TIMES IN CDT)

JUNE 16 5:00 PM GHANA
JUNE 22 5:00 PM PORTUGAL
JUNE 26 11:00 AM GERMANY

This post was edited on 6/9/14 at 9:19 am