Brazil World Cup 2014: Who’s Your Pick?

WHO'S YOUR PICK? (10 10 10 After a number of tense qualifying soccer (we in Europe like to call it "football") matches, fever reaches high pitch: Brazil Wworld Cup 2014 is about to begin! With opinions varying wildly, everybody seems eager to guess the winner these days; worldwide punditry united, both amateurs and professionals, prominent and no-name experts, including betting shops and even Goldman Sachs analysts - they're all racing to predict a winner. We're taking a different approach, trying to synthesize a whole swat of forecasts (in no scientific manner), guided by the marvelous Philip Tetlock's line: "The wisdom of crowds is an important driver of accuracy". Served with some interesting facts about the competition, as usual . GERMANY BRAZIL SPAIN The three-time champions, only behind Brazil (5) and Italy (4), topped Group C with an unbeaten record, sealing qualification with nine victories from ten fixtures, and the best goal record (36) of any side in European zone qualifying, heading confidently to the tournament. The only nation to have taken part in every edition of the elite competition, Brazil have lifted the coveted Trophy on a record five occasions (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and 2002), posing as one of the strongest contenders for the upcoming competition. Defending champions won the first place in the qualifying group, surrendering a mere three goals to their opponents, fewer than any other side in the European preliminaries. Brazil 2014 will be La Selección's tenth consecutive world finals appearance. TEAM SCORES & INTERESTING FACTS FAVORITES 600 miles Fortaleza Manaus MORE LIKELY TO WIN 1000 km 3 Natal BRAZIL I Recife Cuiaba Brasilia Salvador Belo Horizonte . England Netherlands Nigeria Japan Sao Paulo Ghana HOST СТПES Uruguay Rio de Curitiba 10 Janeiro Ecuador Algeria Belgium Portugal Argentina Australia Porto Alegre Italy Costa Rica 2014 Honduras South Korea Spain Brazil Iran Germany BELGIUM 8. *Bosnia and Herzegovina Having looked to be building towards something special for a number of years, Les Diables Rouges finally made the breakthrough many expected, with a golden generation, led by Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and the likes, seemingly capable of challenging the best. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 FIFA WORLD CUP Brasil DARK HORSE DID YOU KNOW? The amount of green dots depicts the chances of taking the World Cup trophy home. Cast your vote on http://www.infographicbox.com/infographics/worldcup2014/ CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY EXORBITANT EXPENSES. AND PLAYERS' VALUATIONS TOP CONTESTANT PRIZE MONEY DEBUTANTS FEATURING . First World Cup ever with goal-line technology, incorporating 14 cameras connected to a mainframe computer which analyses each shot on goal. When the match ball crosses the goal line, the referee will feel a vibration and receive a sign stating "Goal" on his watch, Brazil wanted to organize a never to forget, legendary World Cup, making it more expensive than the previous two World Cups together. Estimates point to costs ranging from 14 to 16 billion US, including stadiums, transport and security. According to Pluri Consultoria, Brazil assembled a team with a market value of 508 million euros, followed by Spain (504 EUR m) and Argentina (475 EUR m). Ranking bottoms out with Australia (24 EUR m), Iran (22 EUR m) and Costa Rica (21 EUR m). .. is Lionel Messi, Argentinean striker valued at 140 million euros. Top 3 players, including Christiano Ronaldo (104 EUŘ m) and Neymar (67 EUR m), would make it to the 7th place among the most valuable teams, slightly behind England and just a tad ahead of Portugal. The total amount of money available for participating countries and clubs will be 576 million US$. The winner takes home 35 million, and the opponent in finals will get 25 million. Each country which makes it to the knock-out stage will receive a guaranteed minimum of 8 US$ m. For the first time ever, in the 2010 World Cup every team already participated in a World Cup before. In Brazil, there's only one team appearing for the first time - Bosnia and Herzegovina. The team qualified directly and topped group G of the UEFA qualifications. In the episode titled "You Don't Have to Live Like a Referee", Homer Simpson and the family go to Brazil, where Homer is recruited as a referee, and his integrity will be put on the test by Brazilian gangsters in the soccer match-fixing business. InfographicBoxs www.infographicbox.com Some information and materials are obtained from a publicy available sources believed to be accurate, and are subject to copyrights owned by other individuals or entities appropriately stated under the sources lat SOURCES: Www.WORLDCUPBRAZIL.NET, WwW.FIFA.COM INFOGRAPHIC DESIGN: BORIS BENKO - PROJECT MANAGER MARIO GATARA LESS LIKELY TO WIN *H!B United States Cameroon O Russia Switzerland France