13 June 2014 marks a first in FIFA World Cup™ history: the two finalists from the previous edition will go head-to-head in the group stage four years on. Reigning champions Spain go into the tournament having prolonged their stranglehold by defending their UEFA European Championship title at EURO 2012, where they beat Italy in the final. The Netherlands, on the other hand, suffered a hangover from their defeat in the South Africa 2010 showpiece and lost all three of their group fixtures at the EUROs, falling to Germany, Portugal and Denmark. However, having sailed through qualifying as usual, Arjen Robben and Co are out for revenge against La Roja.
Hotly fancied Chile, meanwhile, can ill afford to drop points against Australia if they are to gatecrash the European big guns' party in what is one of the so-called "Groups of Death".
Lastly, Samuel Eto'o's Cameroon are hungry for success, having failed to make it out of their group in any of their recent finals appearances (in 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010). Nevertheless, despite a tumultuous qualifying campaign, it would be foolish to write off Mexico, who showed what they are capable of by lifting gold at the 2012 Olympics in London. 
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