Not long after the last ball has been kicked on the 2010 World Cup that the discussion of which team or country will win the much sought after crown of the football world in 2014 began. The host country will be powerhouse Brazil, which is a multiple champion itself not to mention the home of many legendary football players past and present. Despite such advantage, Brazil is definitely not an overwhelming choice since other football power teams like defending champion Spain, Germany, Argentina, and Italy are also among those considered as favorites for the title.

This will be the first time that the World Cup will be held in the South American continent since Argentina hosted it in 1978. This is made possible by the rotating policy implemented by football governing body FIFA when it comes to selecting the host nation. Thus on March 17, 2004 the South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL unanimously chose Brazil as their only candidate paving the way for the country being awarded the hosting rights and honor on the 30th of October 2007. Argentina and Colombia expressed their intention to host the championship earlier but later withdrew their bids.

20th FIFA World Cup

The World Cup in Brazil in 2014 will be the 20th in the history of this international football championship. It will be held in the middle of the year particularly from June 12-July 14. Brazil actually has hosted the World Cup previously in 1950 thus it now will join the list of nations that have done so like France, Mexico, Germany, and Italy.

The scheduled football matches for the 2014 World Cup will be spread out in 12 cities. Originally there were 17 Brazilian cities that expressed their interest of hosting matches but five were eventually rejected. The chosen host cities include Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Cuiabá, Curitiba, Fortaleza, Manaus, Natal, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and São Paulo. Though by practice, FIFA limits host cities to only between eight and ten, it eventually allowed the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) request for permission to assign 12 cities to host World Cup Finals. The chosen venue for the final and championship match will be the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro.

2014 FIFA World Cup Early Predictions

Although certainly a lot of surprises and turn of events can happen now and until the World Cup in 2014, the speculations and predictions as which team will likely to win football’s cherished prize never cease. With little more than a year until the tournament in Brazil begins, teams and events are fast shaping up, which in turn provide odds makers as well as football game analysts and experts plenty of facts and bases for early predictions.

The recent developments and moves from each team were used as bases for the opinions as national teams are beginning to shape as well as becoming more mature, developing their skills, working towards their goals, and dealing with their issues in formations, tactics and lineups. For example, defending champion Spain has also won two European Championships apart from the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa. So the questions would be how strong will the team be next year and are they the team to beat?

Below are opinions and analysis coming from football experts as to which team or country have the strongest chance of winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and bringing the home pride and glory not only for themselves but for their country as well.

Brazil

As pointed out earlier, Brazil has the home field advantage so there is nothing the rest can pretty much do with that fact except to deal with it. But according to football analysts, this is not the only advantage that Brazil has given that its team boosts of very young and exciting players as well. Among them are present and future star players like Neymar, Oscar, Marcelo and David Luiz. Experts pointed out that these individuals are very attack minded players perfectly capable of creating chances and scoring goals. But defense is one element that experts find not convincing yet for Brazil.

Spain

The Spaniards, according to football analyst are still capable of retaining the crown they won in South Africa in 2010 despite the view that most of its squad have developed, matured, and even peaked. The reason is that it has young players who could continue the domination that Spain started since winning the championship in 2010. Among these crops of young players are Isco, Iker Muniain and Juan Mata.

According to football analysts, these Spaniards are skillful on the ball and can pick out a pass. With those skills, experts believe that the said players should be able to fit right into the Spanish team and game plan without too much adjustment.

Belgium

Belgium is not always among the favorite choices in the previous World Cups but this coming 2014, their team is certainly one of the strongest according to experts. The reasons being that, Belgium has great forward thinking players like Eden Hazard, Axel Witsel and Mousa Dembele. In addition, it also has great defensive players like Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellani and Thomas Vermaelen. Finally the team has Thibaut Courtois who is widely viewed as up and coming keeper.

Belgium is seen as a good outside bet to win given its  young team at the moment. However, many experts agree that experience could count against them.

Argentina

The strength of the Argentine team lies on the fact that it has one of the best forward lineups in the world that include Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Ezequiel Lavezzi. Accoring to experts,  Messi and Aguero have good chemistry together and  they are seen to be capable of leading from the front.

Germany

What analysts see as the main advantage of the German team is its  mix of young and experienced players, which is an essential combination for any national football squad. They pointed out that experienced and veteran players can act as mentors in developing the younger less experienced players. For instance Bastian Schweinsteiger can help Mesut Ozil, Marco Reus and Mario Gotze to play efficiently.

The fact is that, the Germans have been favorites in many international football championships in the past and present so it would be sensible to consider them not different in the World Cup of 2014.

Italy

Based on recent tournaments, the Italian team is playing well and are exciting. It has  dynamic player in the person of Mario Balotelli, who has scored nine goals in his last seven appearances for his club and for Italy. Combined with players like Pirlo and Buffon, the Italian team is seen as very strong.

A sport is known to be an entertaining activity. Hundreds of people around the world engaged in some types of sports. Some people do this to find something to do where they can release certain stress and pressure of life and work. Others find it an activity for fun and leisure.

Football is one of the most played and patronized sports. This kind of sports does not just involved kicking balls to score goals. It also needs critical and mental ability that help the member to decide a perfect strategy to score.

On the way back, during the Romans and Greeks, they also have many games that involve the use of feet and kicking. But, it is not the game that we knew today, it was then simple and the ball was not made in rubber but in silk cloth rolled in a ball. Many researchers believe that the history of this game was actually made by the ancient Romans. As time passes it becomes popular, many people tried new things to enhance the game that leads to the football that we know today.

Football is a “full body” contact sport.  This explains why football players have strong and well conditioned physique. Their bodies often take the beating of training exercises and often deal with of loads of physical and mental stresses in every practice and every game.  For an average of three long hours, these players, jump, dive, throw, block and hit or tackle one another for the whole duration of the game.  The constant pressure may result to strains that can lead to muscle soreness.  One of the best remedies for muscle soreness is rest.  It is important to keep the muscles well rested. To allow the body to recover, an athletes body must refrain from doing strenuous activities for about 24 to 28 hours. Since no athlete can afford to have that time of rest, proactive and quality sleep seems to be an ideal alternative.

Many football fans have dreamed of having their own sports lounge at home.  Sports lounge suites are considered a sanctuary for most football and sports fanatics.  It is where they place all their collection of novelty sports items like sports memorabilia and more sporting goods. Of course, this type of room will not miss out the need for a huge flat screen TV where football fanatics can watch and enjoy the game.

Not everyone can afford such a luxurious football sports lounging area at home. However, it doesn’t mean you can’t have your own sport lounge at home.  Whether you are a die-hard football fan or you just simply enjoy watching the game, setting up a football themed area at your home is one way of showing your love for the game. Here are tips on how you can build your own sport lounge:

The condition of the football field has a definite impact on the play of the game.  On a smooth, dry, well maintained field, football players can confidently and safely pull off their trademark moves and put on their A-game, which completes an exciting game. On the other hand, any game played on a poorly maintained field is unappealing, and it is also not a safe or fitting venue such a huge sporting event.  Field speed, ball roll and safety depends greatly on the field’s condition, which in turn impacts the team’s overall performance.  Hence, it is crucial that a football field is well taken for at all times.

Football players are not just footballers nowadays. They are now considered celebrities, with a few product endorsements, reality television programs and even movies under their belt.  They take care of their image, some even took the trouble of creating their own signature or trademark look.

One thing that footballers’ seem to value more than the individual trophies, medals, goals, and huge salaries, is their hairstyle!  David Beckham started the Faux Hawk hairstyles in the early 2000′s and many players have taken the opportunity to show great hairstyles since then. We can now see athletes sporting a variety of trendy hairstyles, from straight to wavy,  long to short-length cuts.  Most players can get away with their looks because of their fame and huge fan base   However, there is no denying that these players have some of the weirdest hairstyles in the world.  Some of them prefer to go with their individual styles that turned out to be the wackiest hairstyles in the field.  Disregarding being emasculated by hiring hair stylists that went to hairdressing schools, all they cared about was getting that fantastic hair to make them look good on and off the field.

Here are some of the wackiest hairstyles seen on the field:

Football or Soccer has evolved into an all-skills sport.  Mastering the fundamentals of any sport is the first step to becoming a pro.  Mastery of basic football skills holds an athlete’s key in learning and developing more advanced skills.  These can be done both outdoors and indoors.  Training room hire is useful for indoor trainings during the depths of winter or whenever outdoor training is not possible.

To do well in playing football, you can’t focus on a single skill only, it is important to be well rounded with the different fundamentals of this sport.  No matter how extraordinary your free kicks are, if you don’t know how to pass the ball, it will not be enough to take you into the team.  Here are a few of the fundamentals of playing soccer/football:

Dribbling – is the most basic move.  You must be able to jog down the field while keeping in control of the ball.  It is important that you feel comfortable traveling with the ball.  Differed dribbling techniques help you outsmart your opponent so you can get past them.