Much of the lead-up coverage for this summer's World Cup has focused on Group G the group containing Germany, Portugal, the United States, and Ghana as this year's "group of death," and for good reason. All four teams made it past the World Cup group stage in 2010, and only two of them can hope for repeat performances this year. However, calling Group G the group of death discounts the deathliness of Group D, where the Italian team will don the Italy 2014 World Cup away jersey for its first match of the tournament.
What makes Group D such a dangerous and competitive one, and why are soccer prognosticators around the globe looking toward Italy's first game as a deciding factor on the team's fate at this year's World Cup? Because not only will that first match pit Italy against a fierce competitor (England), but it will also be just one of several challenging match-ups coming in Group D. Italy fans, you might want to head to Soccer Box and pick up an Italy soccer jersey from the Soccer Box online store: your team is going to need all the support it can get.
Comparing the Groups of Death
In order to understand why the Italy vs. England match-up (which will take place on June 14, as just the eighth game of the tournament) is so high-stakes, we have to look at this year's "groups of death."
Group G was named a group of death for a few reasons: for one thing, it includes both Germany and Portugal, both of which have long been ranked by FIFA as top five contenders for this year's World Cup. It also includes the United States, an oft-unpredictable entity in the realm of world soccer, and Ghana, a team that has only appeared in two World Cups (the last two), but which has made it past the group stage both times.
The thing about viewing Group G as the group of death is that the USA is currently ranked at 13 and Ghana is ranked at 37 (both according to FIFA), a fact that leaves the group's competitors distinctly more spread out than Group D's. In addition, only one of Group G's teams (Germany) has ever won a World Cup.
In Group D, on the other hand which, in addition to Italy and England, includes Uruguay and Costa Rica all of the teams except for Costa Rica are ranked in the top 10 by FIFA and have won World Cup tournaments in the past. Costa Rica, meanwhile, is easily the weakest team of the bunch, but still ranks at 28 on FIFA's most recent list ahead of Ghana. Needless to say, the players in the Italy soccer jersey have their work cut out for them in what might have been underestimated and mislabeled as only the second most difficult group in the tournament.
The Italy vs. England Match-Up
If we assume that Costa Rica will be one of the eliminated teams from Group G, then the question becomes which of the other three is most vulnerable. Most experts are predicting a group victory for Uruguay, as the team had the strongest performance in the 2010 World Cup (fourth place) and also outranks the other teams in the group according to FIFA.
The Italy/England match-up, then, is key as it will show which team is the strong one (and therefore likely to progress) and which is weak (and therefore likely to be eliminated). Needless to say, when the players step onto the soccer pitch on June 14, wearing either the Italy 2014 World Cup away jersey or the England home kit, they will be fighting not just for another victory, but for THE victory that will make or break their World Cup chances.
Luckily for fans of the Italian team, the Italy soccer jersey trumps the England soccer jersey as a symbol of World Cup success. Not only does Italy have four World Cup titles under its belt (next to England's one), but the team also defeated England in a 1990 third place match the one other time the two teams met in World Cup competition.
If you believe that Italy will win the game against England (and in connection, the right to progress further into the tournament), then you should stop by Soccer Box today and pick up a Italy 2014 World Cup away jersey to match what the players from the team will be wearing come June 14.
