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Australia
FIFA ranking: 42
Qualification: 1st place in the Oceania zone, victory over Uruguay after an 11-meter penalty shootout in the additional match
Friendly matches: 1-0 against Greece, 1-1 against the Netherlands, 3-1 against Liechtenstein
After a 32-year hiatus, Australia, which qualified for the World Cup, should be grateful to the Dutch coach Guus Hiddink, who took over the team in 2005. Until then, Australia, which had consistently occupied the top spots in the Oceania zone, had failed to win the qualifying matches against South American or Asian teams. However, the national team's performance in the friendly match against the Netherlands proved that the "kangaroos" in Germany will not be an easy target.
Prediction: Croatia and Japan will be Australia's main rivals in the group, and under the intelligent guidance of G. Hiddink, they may provide some surprises.
Croatia
FIFA ranking: 23
Qualification: 1st place in the group
Friendly matches: 3-2 against Argentina, 4-1 against Austria, 2-2 against Iran, 0-1 against Poland, 1-2 against Spain
Croatia showed its strength in the World Cup qualifiers, defeating Sweden twice with the same result of 1-0. They are participating in their third consecutive World Cup, winning the bronze in 1998. The team's injuries are a problem for the coach: Niko Kovac, Joseph Simunic, and Tomislav Butina may miss the opening Croatian match against Brazil. Coach Zlatko Kranjčar, who was criticized for choosing his son Niko, hopes to spring some surprises, but the national team's form in the final warm-up matches was poor.
Prediction: With three evenly matched teams in the group, Croatia may find it difficult to repeat their success from 1998, even if they manage to advance to the second stage.
Brazil
FIFA ranking: 1
Qualification: 1st place in the group
Friendly matches: wins against Russia 1-0 and New Zealand 4-0
Brazil is not only the favorite in their group but also in the entire tournament. The team has no weak points: experienced veterans in defense (Cafu, Roberto Carlos), midfield maestros like Ronaldinho and Kaka, and potentially one of the best strikers in the world - fit again Ronaldo and Adriano, who is looking to forget his disappointing club season. In the three pre-tournament friendly matches, Brazil scored 25 goals and conceded just one. However, coach Carlos Alberto Parreira focused more on training, and the only serious opponent in warm-up matches was New Zealand.
Prediction: Brazil may only face obstacles on their way to the championship title due to overconfidence in their abilities and other teams' approach to playing against the tournament favorites.
Japan
FIFA ranking: 18
Qualification: 1st place in the group
Friendly matches: 2-2 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1-0 against Ecuador, 1-2 loss to Bulgaria, 0-0 against Scotland, 2-2 against Germany, 1-0 against Malta
Another team in the group that will compete for the second place. Coach Zico expressed hope before the tournament that Japan could reach the semifinals, but they are facing tough matches in the group stage against both Croatia and Australia, not to mention Brazil. One of the team's leaders, Shunsuke Nakamura, believes that their main rival in the battle for the second place will be Australia. Japan's strength lies in a strong defensive line, but their offense lacks shine as key strikers Naohiro Takahara and Atsushi Yanagisawa are not in their best form. Additionally, before the tournament, Japan lost experienced defender Makoto Tanaka, and Alex Santos and Akira Kaji are likely to miss the first match.
Prediction: A talented team that will need a lot of luck to advance to the next stage. It is unlikely that they will participate in the knockout stages.
