FIFA World Cup 2014 Group E Preview: France, Switzerland, Ecuador, Honduras

France have an easy group on paper.

Not many will keep their eye on Group E as it does not boast any so called strong teams of the world except France. The Group of minnows will not attract many viewers but it will be wrong to say that it won't be interesting. Group E has evenly matched teams and it will be interesting to see who among Ecuador, Switzerland and Honduras will qualify to the next round as group runners-up, if France top the group.

Among the four teams, only France have tasted World Cup success. The other teams are mere minnows but are equally matched.

**Group E Schedule**
Match #	Date	Match	Time (IST)	Venue
9	15th June 2014	Switzerland vs Ecuador	21:30	Estadio Nacional de Brasilia, Brasilia
10	16th June 2014	France vs Honduras	00:30	Estadio Beira, Porto Alegre
25	21st June 2014	Switzerland vs France	00:30	Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador
26	21st June 2014	Honduras vs Ecuador	3:30	Arena da Baixada, Curitiba
41	26th June 2014	Honduras vs Switzerland	1:30	Arena da Amazonia, Manaus
42	26th June 2014	Ecuador vs France	1:30	Maracana, Rio de Janeiro

Venues

The matches of Group E will be held in six different venues.

**Stadium Guide**
Stadium (City)	Capacity*	Altitude
Estadio do Maracana (Rio de Janeiro)	71,159	Sea-level
Estadio Nacional de Brasilia (Brasilia)	65,702	1172m
Arena Fonte Nova (Salvador)	49,280	Sea-level
Estadio Beira-Rio (Porto Alegre)	42,153	47m
Arena da Amazonia (Manaus)	39,573	72m
Arena da Baixada (Curitiba)	37,634	920m

*capacity as per FIFA website.

Team Guide

France

Undoubtedly the strongest team in the group, France are favourites to top the group and reach the round of 16 stage. Even though Les Bleus could miss the service of their most crucial player, Franck Ribery, his absence won’t be felt much in the group stage. Considering the number of world class players present in the French sqaud, they should negotiate through the group stage hurdle with ease.

But one thing which the French team should keep in their mind is their record in the last decade. Out of three World Cups, they have been eliminated from the group stage twice. In 2002, they played the opening match against minnows Senegal and lost the game 0-1. They drew against Denmark and lost against Uruguay to get eliminated. Again in 2010 they were place in a group along with Uruguay, Mexico, and host South Africa. They had a series of troubles within the squad and eventually got eliminated losing all three matches. So they should be catious and should not be overconfident.

France’s performance in the warm-up games have been commendable. They had defeated Norway 4-1, drew 1-1 against Paraguay and thrashed Jamaica 8-0. This results would give their fans enough confidence and restore their faith on the team.

Key Player - Paul Pogba

FIFA Ranking (as on June 5 ) – 17

For more information, read France Team Preview.

Switzerland

They are the highest ranked team in Group E, but that does not make them the strongest team in the group. Even though they have a better FIFA ranking, they will still be the second favourite to qualify for the round of 16.

The Swiss team are very compact defensive unit and very difficult to breakdown. They conceded only six goals in the qualifying rounds. They topped their qualifying group stage comfortably and are expected to perform decently at this year’s World Cup.They will be involved in a three way battle with Ecuador and France.

Key Player – Xherdan Shaqiri

FIFA Ranking (as on June 5 ) - 6

Ecuador

Ecuador is a brilliant defensive unit and had conceded very less goals at the qualifying stage. But their main problem has been their strike force, where they have lacked consistency. They did not score many goals in the qualifying stages which will be a great concern for manager Reinaldo Rueda. They have Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia upfront who is also the team captain. In the warm-up games they drew 2-2 against England which would give them immense confidence.

In a group where the other two teams are France and Switzerland, the Ecuador players need to show great zeal and vigour to make them count.

Key Player - Antonio Valencia

FIFA Ranking (as on June 5) – 26

Honduras

Not many are aware of this team because they do not have a glorious history in the World Cup, but this Honduras unit is capable of surprising all. They qualified directly from the CONCACAF region ahead of giant Mexico who had to play qualifier. This speaks a lot for them.

In Group E, the other three teams are much ahead of Honduras both by ranking and history. But it would be wrong to completely cancel out the North Americans. In the past we have seen several teams defeating the heavy weights. Don’t be surprised if Honduras create some major upsets.

Key Player - Wilson Palacios

FIFA Ranking (as on June 5) – 33

Key Matches

France vs Switzerland

This is a clash between the two strongest teams in the group. The France vs Switzerland match might decide who tops the group. It will be an interesting game, and even though France are favourites to win the match, one cannot cancel out the Swiss who have a very strong defence.

Switzerland vs Ecuador

If France win all their group matches, this game between Switzerland and Ecuador will be of immense importance, as this might decide the fate of the group runners-up. This will be a battle between equals as both teams have great potential. Both Ecaudor and Switzerland are a great defensive unit but lack vigour upfront.

Predictions

One would expect France to top the group and qualify for the round of 16 stage. The game between Switzerland and Ecuador would actually seal the fate of Group E. Switzerland have a edge over Ecuador to finish second in the group, considering they have a better FIFA ranking.

Switzerland vs Ecuador- 0-0: The first match of this group. Both the team are evenly poised and considering that both the teams are a very strong defensive unit. I predict a stalemate.

France vs Honduras- 2-0: France are clear favourites to win this match. To be honest Honduras is no match for the Les Bleus and they are certain to win it comfortably.

Switzerland vs France- 1-1: Although France will start this game as favourites, Switzerland has potential to hold France to a draw.

Honduras vs Ecuador- 0-1: Ecuador being the stronger team will win this match but will not score more than 1 goal as their attack is not strong enough.

Honduras vs Switzerland- 0-1: Switzerland is a far more superior team than Honduras. If any mishap does not happen, they will win the match.

Ecuador vs France- 0-1: This will be tough game for the French men as it will be difficult for them to break through Ecuador’s defense.