The favourites of the competition were decided about 20 minutes into the Confederations Cup final. Spain were outplayed for the first time in years and Brazil had the speed, aggression and spirit of the Brazil I'd forgotten about from the 1998 & 2002 World Cups. The home advantage is always going to be a factor but most importantly Brazil have renewed their superstar cast of players. I, as many others, cannot wait to see Neymar on the opening day against Croatia. He unquestionably thrives on confidence and in the Maracana, backed by the chorus of steel drums and Brazilian babes in bikinis cheering his name he will certainly feel as though he is doing a series of step overs on top of the world. Although the favourites, I still consider Brazil an overly attacking-heavy team. With Neymar, Hulk, Pato, Ramires, Oscar and even Dani Alves firing on all cylinders I'm sure they can score plenty of goals, but against the organisation of a German or Italian defence I can't help but imagine a counter attack undoing 70 minutes of Brazilian pressure. Player to watch: Neymar - Barcelona
I'm Aaron from England and I've got for football what Russell Brand had for sex and heroin. I follow Celtic & Barcelona religiously and spend hours watching the majority of televised games. Kinda depressing when you write it down but i'm happy with my existence.
