The Group of Death Preview:
In every World Cup, there is a group that people cringe to look at. This year that is Group G, which will feature Germany, Portugal, Ghana, and the United States. This is a group that has two continental champions and two teams in the Top 5 of FIFA’s rankings. The six matches will take place in all corners of Brazil, and joining the United States Men’s National Team, will be the American Outlaws and Jim Taylor.

Joining me for this edition of the podcast is Jim Taylor. He is my friend and teammate for our club Deutschtown United, and he will be providing the insight of an experienced fan and traveler with the team. In our preview we will be talking about the squads, highlighting notable players, profiling the managers, and discuss what we think the outcome of each group stage match will be.

The Squads:

UNITED STATES

Manager - Jurgen Klinsmann

GOALKEEPERS: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

DEFENDERS: DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nürnberg), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)

MIDFIELDERS: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Mix Diskerud (Rosenborg), Julian Green (Bayern Munich), Jermaine Jones (Besiktas), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)


FORWARDS: Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Aron Johannsson (AZ Alkmaar), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)

GERMANY 

Manager: Joachim Low -

GOALKEEPERS: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover).

DEFENDERS: Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Hoewedes (Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal).

MIDFIELDERS: Julian Draxler (Schalke), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Mario Goetze (Bayern Munich), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Andre Schurrle (Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich).

FORWARDS: Miroslav Klose (Lazio), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal), Thomas Mueller (Bayern Munich).

GHANA

Manager: James Kwesi Appiah 


GOALKEEPERS: Fatau Dauda (Orlando Pirates), Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset), Stephen Adams (Aduana Stars)

DEFENDERS: Samuel Inkoom (Platanias), Daniel Opare (Standard Liege), Harrison Afful (Esperance), John Boye (Rennes), Jonathan Mensah (Evian), Rashid Sumalia (Mamelodi Sundowns)

MIDFIELDERS: Michael Essien (AC Milan), Sulley Muntari (AC Milan), Rabiu Mohammed (Kuban Krasnodar), Kwadwo Asamoah (Juventus), Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu (Udinese), Afriyie Acquah (Parma), Christian Atsu (Vitesse Arnhem), Albert Adomah (Middlesbrough), Andre Ayew (Marseille), Mubarak Wakaso (Rubin Kazan)

FORWARDS: Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Schalke), Abdul Majeed Waris (Valenciennes), Jordan Ayew (Sochaux)

PORTUGAL

Manager: Paulo Bento
GOALKEEPERS: Beto (Sevilha), Eduardo (SC Braga), Rui Patrício (Sporting)

DEFENDERS: André Almeida (Benfica), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahçe), Fábio Coentrão (Real Madrid), João Pereira (Valência), Neto (Zenit), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Costa (Valência)

MIDFIELDERS: João Moutinho (Mónaco), Miguel Veloso (Dynamo Kiev), Raul Meireles (Fenerbahçe), Rúben Amorim (Benfica), William Carvalho (Sporting), Rafa (SC Braga)

FORWARDS: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Éder (SC Braga), Hélder Postiga (Lazio), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Nani (Manchester United), Varela (FC Porto), Vieirinha (Wolfsburg)

The Matches:

GERMANY vs. PORTUGAL
June 16, 2014 - 13:00 Local Time 
Arena Fonte Nova, Salvador

GHANA vs. UNITED STATES 
June 16, 2014 - 19:00 Local Time
Estadio das Dunas, Natal

GERMANY vs. GHANA
June 21, 2014 - 16:00 Local Time
Estadio Castelao, Fortaleza

UNITED STATES vs. PORTUGAL
June 22, 2014 - 18:00 Local Time
Arena Amazonia, Manaus

UNITED STATES vs. GERMANY
June 26, 2014 - 13:00 Local Time
Arena Pernambuco, Recife

PORTUGAL vs. GHANA
June 26, 2014 - 13:00 Local Time
Estadio Nacional, Brasilia