World Cup Subplots Worth Following

With three months to go until the highly anticipated World Cup finally kicks off in Brazil, there are a handful of interesting subplots and storylines developing already. These stories are what adds all the extra levels of intrigue into every match, creating new rivalries and adding fuel to the fire for existing ones.  Over the next 90 days or so, here are a couple storylines to keep your eyes on.

Diego Costa’s allegiance

It’s no secret that Brazilian Diego Costa has quickly developed into one of the world’s premier goal scorers this year. He is second only to Ballon d'or winner Cristiano Ronaldo in La Liga goals with an impressive 21. The interesting subplot developing here is his newly awarded dual citizenship with Spain. After being wooed in by Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque, Costa decided to join the ranks of La roja, where he just started his first game in a victory against Italy, instead of his home nation. This has caused a lot of controversy among Spanish fans who prefer only Spanish born players on their team, as well as Brazilians who have went so far as to threaten to revoke his citizenship if he plays for Spain.

There is a great chance that one of these two countries will win the World Cup, and perhaps their paths will cross at some point. If that indeed does happen, I wouldn’t envy Costa’s position in the slightest, especially with the games being in Brazil where he should be ready heckling in its worst, most brutal form.

Is Messi OK?

Argentina is a good team, lots of talent from top to bottom, but they will only go as far as Lionel Messi carries them in this World Cup. Despite all the stars who play in the best leagues of the world, Messi is the blood that gives life to this team. What is of concern to this team though was in their recent pairing with Romania, which ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw, Messi was spotted vomiting on the field. In and of itself, this is not a huge deal but add in words from Barca boss Gerardo Martino about Messi not being himself lately and Argentina might have a huge problem on their hands.

Is he sick and will this ‘condition’ get worse? While most reports say his vomiting - which, apparently has been going on for a couple years - has not been affecting his performance, one cannot help but be a little concerned with the Argentine side’s inability to score a goal against completely over-matched Romania.

Interesting group phase pairings

The group draw gave the media a lot to talk about. One of which being the loading of Group D with three former Cup winners, along with Costa Rica, who has become nothing but an afterthought after landing in the midst of some of the world’s heavyweights in England, Italy and Uruguay. No matter how you slice it, one super team is going home after group play.

Another intriguing story line is pairing the Jürgen Klinsmann coached United States against his former squad, the German national team. This has already brought up many talking points in both countries, and should add extra fuel to the fire in what looks to be this year’s group of death.

Is Brazil ready for this party?

FIFA’s original date for stadium completion has come and gone (almost three months ago, to be exact) yet work continues on multiple stadiums across the country. There have been deaths in Manaus, where work reportedly continues 24 hours a day in an attempt to get construction completed, and the Cuiaba stadium won’t be done until sometime in May - and that is assuming everything goes as planned for the next two months. Will Brazilian cities be able to meet the new date, set just five weeks before the first game is set to kick off? What will happen if the stadiums aren’t complete? These are just a couple of questions that Brazil will have to answer in order to prove to the world that they are ready to host the biggest event in Sport.