Julio Cesar still lives with costly error
Scott Regehr offers his Group A picks
The host of CBC Radio's morning sports, Scott Regehr gives his opinions on each Group at the FIFA World Cup.
At the last World Cup, Brazil was eliminated at the quarter final stage when goalie Julio Cesar mishandled a cross against the Dutch which ultimately led to La Selecao's ouster.
While I was interviewing Cesar a couple of weeks ago, it was clear he's been living in the shadow of that mistake ever since. If the Toronto FC goalie makes amends for that gaffe and plays well, Brazil will be tough to beat on home soil. Their win in last summer's Confederations Cup is evidence of that.
Mexico could be Brazil's trickiest opponent. "La Tri" certainly were a couple of summers ago at the London Olympics. That's where the Mexicans won gold over Brazil, the country's biggest-ever soccer triumph. Since then, however, Mexico has floundered. Their World Cup qualifying campaign was their worst ever. Their results were so poor they went through 4 coaches in just 6 months.
In the end though, they booked a ticket to Brazil by beating the Kiwis in a playoff.
Croatia took an even tougher route to the World Cup. While allegations of match fixing swirled back home, they had to beat Iceland, yes Iceland, in a playoff to get through.
As for Cameroon, the Indomitable Lions are led once again by Chelsea striker Samuel Eto'o. His club manager, Jose Mourinho, has questioned whether he isn't older than his listed 33 years. Not a good sign....
Regehr's pick: Brazil seems a sure thing to get out of the group. Mexico is the next most likely.