Photographs of Perez being paraded by United have today been unveiled but the club are yet to officially announce the deal.
United have been tracking the player in the second half of the season in the Segunda Division.
And it is thought a fee of around £1.5million has been agreed for the goal-getter.
Mind you, we expected a deal bigger than this one.
Another penny-pinching, bargain bin deal.
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World Cup Fixtures
Thursday 12th June 2014
21:00 Brazil Vs Croatia
Friday 13th June 2014
17:00 Mexico Vs Cameroon
20:00 Spain Vs Netherlands
23:00 Chile Vs Australia
Saturday 14th June 2014
17:00 Colombia Vs Greece
20:00 Uruguay Vs Costa Rica
23:00 England Vs Italy
Sunday 15th June 2014
02:00 Ivory Coast Vs Japan
17:00 Switzerland Vs Ecuador
20:00 France Vs Honduras
23:00 Argentina Vs Bos-Herce
Monday 16th June 2014
20:00 Iran Vs Nigeria
17:00 Germany Vs Portugal
23:00 Ghana Vs USA
Tuesday 17th June 2014
20:00 Brazil Vs Mexico
17:00 Belgium Vs Algeria
23:00 Russia Vs South Korea
Wednesday 18th June 2014
23:00 Cameroon Vs Croatia
17:00 Australia Vs Netherlands
20:00 Spain Vs Chile
Thursday 19th June 2014
17:00 Colombia Vs Ivory Coast
23:00 Japan Vs Greece
20:00 Uruguay Vs England
Friday 20th June 2014
17:00 Italy Vs Costa Rica
20:00 Switzerland Vs France
23:00 Honduras Vs Ecuador
Saturday 21st June 2014
17:00 Argentina Vs Iran
23:00 Nigeria Vs Bos-Herce
20:00 Germany Vs Ghana
Sunday 22nd June 2014
23:00 USA Vs Portugal
17:00 Belgium Vs Russia
20:00 South Korea Vs Algeria
Monday 23rd June 2014
21:00 Cameroon Vs Brazil
21:00 Croatia Vs Mexico
17:00 Australia Vs Spain
17:00 Netherlands Vs Chile
Tuesday 24th June 2014
21:00 Greece Vs Ivory Coast
21:00 Japan Vs Colombia
17:00 Costa Rica Vs England
17:00 Italy Vs Uruguay
Wednesday 25th June 2014
21:00 Ecuador Vs France
21:00 Honduras Vs Switzerland
17:00 Bos-Herce Vs Iran
17:00 Nigeria Vs Argentina
Thursday 26th June 2014
17:00 Portugal Vs Ghana
17:00 USA Vs Germany
21:00 Algeria Vs Russia
21:00 South Korea V Belgium
Group A
Neymar (Brazil)
Brazil: Julio Cesar (Toronto FC), Jefferson (Botafogo), Victor (Gremio); Dani Alves (Barcelona), Maicon (Inter Milan), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Maxwell (Paris St Germain), David Luiz (Chelsea), Thiago Silva (Paris St Germain), Dante (Bayern Munich), Henrique (Napoli); Luiz Gustavo (Wolfsburg), Paulinho (Tottenham), Ramires (Chelsea), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Oscar (Chelsea), Willian (Chelsea), Hernanes (Inter Milan), Bernard (Shakhtar Donetsk); Fred (Fluminense), Neymar (Barcelona), Hulk (Zenit St Petersburg), Jo (Atletico Mineiro).
Cameroon: Charles Itandje (Konyaspor), Sammy Ndjock (Fetihespor), Loic Feudjou (Coton Sport); Allan Nyom (Granada), Dany Nounkeu (Besiktas), Cedric Djeugoue (Coton Sport), Aurelien Chedjou (Galatasaray), Nicolas Nkoulou (Marseille), Henri Bedimo (Lyon), Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham Hotspur); Eyong Enoh (Antalyaspor), Jean Makoun (Rennes), Joel Matip (Schalke), Stephane Mbia (QPR), Landry Nguemo (Bordeaux), Alex Song (Barcelona), Edgar Salli (Lens); Samuel Eto'o (unattached), Eric Choupo Moting (Mainz), Benjamin Moukandjo (Nancy), Vincent Aboubakar (Lorient), Pierre Webo (Fenerbahce), Fabrice Olinga (Zulte-Waregem).
Croatia: Stipe Pletikosa (Rostov), Danijel Subasic (Monaco), Oliver Zelenika (Lokomotiv Moscow), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk), Dejan Lovren (Southampton), Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv Moscow), Gordon Schildenfeld (Panathinaikos), Danijel Pranjic (Panathinaikos), Domagoj Vida (Dinamo Kiev), Sime Vrsaljko (Genoa), Luka Modric (Real Madrid), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla), Ognjen Vukojevic (Dynamo Kiev), Ivan Perisic (Wolfsburg), Mateo Kovacic (Inter Milan), Marcelo Brozovic (Dinamo Zagreb), Ivan Mocinic (Rijeka), Sammir (Getafe), Mario Mandzukic (Bayern Munich), Ivica Olic (Wolfsburg), Eduardo da Silva (Shakhtar Donetsk), Nikica Jelavic (Hull), Ante Rebic (Fiorentina).
Mexico: Jesus Corona (Cruz Azul), Guillermo Ochoa (Ajaccio), Alfredo Talavera (Toluca), Rafael Marquez (Leon), Diego Reyes (Porto), Hector Moreno (Espanyol), Paul Aguilar (America), Carlos Salcido (Tigres), Francisco 'Maza' Rodriguez (America), Miguel Layun (America), Andres Guardado (Bayer Leverkusen), Jose Juan Vazquez (Leon), Juan Carlos Medina (America), Hector Herrera (Porto), Carlos Pena (Leon), Luis Montes (Leon), Marco Fabian (Cruz Azul), Isaac Brizuela (Toluca), Oribe Peralta (Santos Laguna), Javier Hernandez (Manchester United), Raul Jimenez (America), Alan Pulido (Tigres), Giovani dos Santos (Villarreal).
Group B
Arjen Robben (Holland)
Australia (provisional 30-man squad): Mark Birighitti, (Newcastle Jets), Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund), Mat Ryan (Club Brugge), Jason Davidson (SC Heracles Almelo), Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Curtis Good (Newcastle United), Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng), Matthew Spiranovic, (Western Sydney Wanderers), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai), Luke Wilkshire (Dynamo Moscow), Bailey Wright (Preston North End), Oliver Bozanic (FC Luzern), Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa), Joshua Brilliante (Newcastle Jets), James Holland (Austria Wien), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Massimo Luongo (Swindon Town), Matthew McKay (Brisbane Roar), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Tommy Oar (FC Utrecht), Tommy Rogic (Celtic), Adam Sarota (FC Utrecht), James Troisi (Melbourne Victory), Dario Vidosic (FC Sion), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Ben Halloran (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus), Matthew Leckie (FSV Frankfurt), Adam Taggart (Newcastle Jets).
Chile: Claudio Bravo (Real Sociedad), Johnny Herrera (Universidad de Chile), Cristopher Toselli (Universidad Catolica), Gary Medel (Cardiff City), Gonzalo Jara (Nottingham Forest), Jose Rojas (Universidad de Chile), Eugenio Mena (Santos), Mauricio Isla (Juventus), Jorge Valdivia (Palmeiras), Felipe Gutierrez (Twente), Jose Pedro Fuenzalida (Colo Colo), Francisco Silva (Osasuna), Arturo Vidal (Juventus), Charles Aranguiz (Internacional), Marcelo Diaz (Basel), Carlos Carmona (Atalanta), Miiko Albornoz (Malmo), Alexis Sanchez (Barcelona), Esteban Paredes (Colo Colo), Eduardo Vargas (Valencia), Jean Beausejour (Wigan Athletic), Mauricio Pinilla (Cagliari), Fabian Orellana (Celta).
Holland: Jasper Cillessen (Ajax), Tim Krul (Newcastle United), Michel Vorm (Swansea City) Daley Blind (Ajax), Stefan de Vrij (Feyenoord), Daryl Janmaat (Feyenoord), Terence Kongolo (Feyenoord), Bruno Martins Indi (Feyenoord), Paul Verhaegh (Augsburg), Ron Vlaar (Aston Villa), Joel Veltman (Ajax), Jordy Clasie (Feyenoord Rotterdam), Jonathan de Guzman (Swansea City), Nigel de Jong (AC Milan), Leroy Fer (Norwich City), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich), Wesley Sneijder (Galatasaray), Georginio Wijnaldum (PSV Eindhoven), Memphis Depay (PSV Eindhoven), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (Schalke), Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce), Jeremain Lens (Dynamo Kiev), Robin van Persie (Manchester United)
Spain: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Pepe Reina (Liverpool), David De Gea (Manchester United), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Raul Albiol (Napoli), Javi Martinez (Bayern Munich), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Xavi (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santi Cazorla (Arsenal), Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Juan Mata (Manchester United), David Silva (Manchester City), Pedro (Barcelona), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), David Villa (Atletico Madrid), Fernando Torres (Chelsea).
Group C
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Colombia (provisional 27-man squad): David Ospina (Niza), Farid Mondragon (Deportivo Cali), Camilo Vargas (Santa Fe); Camilo Zuniga (Napoli), Pablo Armero (West Ham), Cristian Zapata, Mario Yepes (Atalanta), Luis Amaranto Perea (Cruz Azul), Carlos Valdes (San Lorenzo), Santiago Arias, Eder Alvarez-Balanta (River Plate); James Rodriguez (Monaco), Abel Aguilar (Toulouse), Carlos Sanchez (Elche), Fredy Guarin (Inter Milan), Juan-Fernando Quintero (Porto), Aldo Ramirez (Morelia), Alex Mejia (Atletico Nacional), Victor Ibarbo (Cagliari), Juan-Guillermo Cuadrado (Fiorentina); Jackson Martinez (Porto), Radamel Falcao (Monaco), Teofilo Gutierrez (River Plate), Luis Fernando Muriel (Udinese), Carlos Bacca (Sevilla), Adrian Ramos (Borussia Dortmund).
Greece: Orestis Karnezis (Granada), Panagiotis Glykos (PAOK), Stefanos Kapino (Panathinaikos), Kostas Manolas, Giannis Maniatis, Jose Holebas (all Olympiacos), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Borussia Dortmund), Giorgios Tzavellas (PAOK), Loukas Vyntra (Levante), Vasilis Torosidis (Roma), Vangelis Moras (Verona), Alexandros Tziolis (Kayserispor), Andreas Samaris (Olympiacos), Kostas Katsouranis (PAOK), Giorgos Karagounis (Fulham), Panagiotis Tachtsidis (Torino), Ioannis Fetfatzidis (Genoa), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (Bologna) Panagiotis Kone (Bologna), Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK), Giorgios Samaras (Celtic), Kostas Mitroglou (Fulham), Theofanis Gekas (Konyaspor).
Ivory Coast: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren), Sylvain Gbohouo (Sewe Sport), Sayouba Mande (Stabaek), Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro (Toulouse), Serge Aurier (Toulouse), Souleyman Bamba (Trabzonspor), Arthur Boka (VfB Stuttgart), Viera Diarrassouba (Caykur Rizespor), Constant Djakpa (Eintracht Frankfurt), Kolo Toure (Liverpool), Didier Zokora (Trabzonspor), Geoffroy Serey Die (Basel), Ismael Diomande (St Etienne), Max Gradel (St Etienne), Cheick Tiote (Newcastle United), Yaya Toure (Manchester City), Didier Ya Konan (Hannover 96), Mathis Bolly (Fortuna Dusseldorf), Wilfried Bony (Swansea City), Didier Drogba (Galatasaray), Gervinho (AS Roma), Salomon Kalou (Lille), Giovanni Sio (Basel).
Japan: Eiji Kawashima (Standard Liege), Shusaku Nishikawa (Urawa Reds), Shuichi Gonda (FC Tokyo), Masato Morishige (FC Tokyo), Yasuyuki Konno (Gamba Osaka), Yuto Nagatomo (Inter Milan), Maya Yoshida (Southampton), Masahiko Inoha (Jubilo Iwata), Atsuto Uchida (Schalke 04), Hiroki Sakai (Hannover 96), Gotoku Sakai (VfB Stuttgart), Yasuhito Endo (Gamba Osaka), Keisuke Honda (AC Milan), Shinji Kagawa (Manchester United), Makoto Hasebe (FC Nuremberg), Hiroshi Kiyotake (FC Nuremberg), Hotaru Yamaguchi (Cerezo Osaka), Toshihiro Aoyama (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Manabu Saito (Yokohama F Marinos), Shinji Okazaki (Mainz), Yoichiro Kakitani (Cerezo Osaka), Yuya Osako (TSV Munich 1860), Yoshito Okubo (Kawasaki Frontale)
Group D
Wayne Rooney (England)
Costa Rica: Keilor Navas (Levante), Patrick Pemberton (Alajuelense), Daniel Cambronero (Herediano), Johnny Acosta (Alajuelense), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew), Michael Umana (Saprissa), Oscar Duarte (Club Bruges), Waylon Francis (Columbus Crew), Heiner Mora (Saprissa), Junior Diaz (Mainz 05), Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg), Roy Miller (New York Red Bulls), Celso Borges (AIK Stockholm), Christian Bolanos (FC Copenhagen), Oscar Esteban Granados (Herediano), Michael Barrantes (Aalesund), Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa), Diego Calvo (Valerenga Oslo), Jose Miguel Cubero (Herediano), Bryan Ruiz (PSV Eindhoven), Joel Campbell (Arsenal/Olympiakos), Randall Brenes (Cartagines), Marco Urena (FC Kuban Krasnodar)
England: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Brom), Fraser Forster (Celtic); Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Leighton Baines (Everton), Luke Shaw (Southampton); Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, capt), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Ross Barkley (Everton), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal); Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Rickie Lambert (Southampton).
Italy: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Mattia Perin (Genoa), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain), Ignazio Abate (Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Torino), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Gabriel Paletta (Parma), Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Marco Parolo (Parma), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain), Mario Balotelli (Milan), Antonio Cassano (Parma), Alessio Cerci (Torino), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli).
Uruguay: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Silva (Vasco Da Gama), Rodrigo Munoz (Libertad); Diego Lugano (West Brom), Diego Godin, Jose Maria Gimenez (both Atletico Madrid), Martin Caceres (Juventus), Maximiliano Pereira (Benfical), Jorge Fucile (Porto), Sebastian Coates (Nacional); Egidio Arevalo-Rios (Morelia), Walter Gargano (Parma), Diego Perez (Bologna), Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio), Alvaro Pereira (Sao Pablo), Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid), Gaston Ramirez (Southampton), Nicolas Lodeiro (Botafogo); Edinson Cavani (PSG), Luis Suarez (Liverpool), Diego Forlan (Cerezo Osaka), Abel Hernandez (Palermo), Cristian Stuani (Espanyol).
Group E
Olivier Giroud (France)
Ecuador: Maximo Banguera (Barcelona, Ecuador), Adrian Bone (El Nacional), Alexander Dominguez (Liga de Quito), Gabriel Achilier (Emelec), Walter Ayovi (Pachuca), Oscar Bagui (Emelec), Frickson Erazo (Flamengo), Jorge Guagua (Emelec), John Narvaez (Emelec), Juan Carlos Paredes (Barcelona, Ecuador), Cristian Ramirez (Fortuna Duesseldorf), Michael Arroyo (Atlante), Segundo Castillo (Al Hilal), Carlos Gruezo (Stuttgart), Renato Ibarra (Vitesse Arnhem), Fidel Martinez (Tijuana), Edison Mendez (Santa Fe), Oswaldo Minda (Chivas USA), Christian Noboa (Dynamo Moscow), Pedro Quinonez (Emelec), Luis Saritama (Barcelona, Ecuador), Antonio Valencia (Manchester United), Jaime Ayovi (Tijuana), Felipe Caicedo (Al-Jazira), Angel Mena (Emelec), Jefferson Montero (Morelia), Cristian Penilla (Barcelona, Ecuador), Joao Rojas (Cruz Azul), Enner Valencia (Pachuca), Armando Wila (Universidad Catolica).
France: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspur), Steve Mandanda (Olympique Marseille), Mickael Landreau (Bastia), Mathieu Debuchy (Newcastle United), Lucas Digne (Paris St Germain) Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool), Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Yohan Cabaye (Paris St Germain), Clement Grenier (Olympique Lyon), Blaise Matuidi (Paris St Germain), Rio Mavuba (Lille), Paul Pogba (Juventus), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United), Mathieu Valbuena (Olympique Marseille), Karim Benzema (Real Madrid), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), Antoine Griezmann (Real Sociedad), Loic Remy (QPR), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich).
Honduras: Noel Valladares, Donis Escober (both Olimpia), Luis Lopez (Real Espana); Brayan Beckeles (Olimpia), Emilio Izaguirre (Celtic), Juan Carlos Garcia (Wigan), Maynor Figueroa (Hull), Victor Bernardez (San Jose Earthquakes), Osman Chavez (Qingdao Janoon), Juan Pablo Montes (Motagua); Arnold Peralta (Rangers), Luis Garrido (Olimpia), Roger Espinoza (Wigan), Jorge Claros (Motagua), Wilson Palacios (Stoke), Oscar Garcia (Houston Dynamo), Andy Najar (Anderlecht), Mario Martinez (Real Espana), Marvin Chavez (Colorado Rapids); Jerry Bengtson (New England Revolution), Jerry Palacios (Alajuelense), Carlo Costly (Real Espana), Rony Martinez (Real Sociedad).
Switzerland: Diego Benaglio (VfL Wolfsburg), Yann Sommer (FC Basel), Roman Buerki (Grasshoppers), Johan Djourou (Hamburg SV), Michael Lang (Grasshoppers), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Ricardo Rodriguez (VfL Wolfsburg), Fabian Schaer (FC Basel), Philippe Senderos (Valencia), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Reto Ziegler (Sassuolo), Tranquillo Barnetta (Eintracht Frankfurt), Valon Behrami (Napoli), Blerim Dzemaili (Napoli), Gelson Fernandes (Freiburg), Gokhan Inler (Napoli), Xherdan Shaqiri (Bayern Munich), Valentin Stocker (FC Basel), Granit Xhaka (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Josip Drmic (Nuremberg), Mario Gavranovic (FC Zurich), Haris Seferovic (Real Socieded), Admir Mehmedi (Freiburg).
Group F
Sergio Aguero (Argentina)
Argentina: Sergio Romero (Monaco), Mariano Andujar (Catania), Agustin Orion (Boca Juniors), Ezequiel Garay (Benfica), Federico Fernandez (Napoli), Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City), Marcos Rojo (Sporting Lisbon), Jose-Maria Basanta (Monterrey), Hugo Campagnaro (Inter Milan), Nicolas Otamendi (Atletico Mineiro), Martin Demichelis (Manchester City), Fernando Gago (Boca Juniors), Lucas Biglia (Lazio), Javier Mascherano (Barcelona), Ever Banega (Newell's Old Boys), Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid), Maxi Rodriguez (Newell's Old Boys), Ricardo Alvarez (Inter Milan), Augusto Fernandez (Celta Vigo), Jose Sosa (Atletico Madrid), Enzo Perez (Benfica), Sergio Aguero (Manchester City), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Gonzalo Higuain (Napoli), Ezequiel Lavezzi (Paris St Germain), Rodrigo Palacio (Inter Milan).
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Asmir Begovic (Stoke City), Jasmin Fejzic (Aalen), Asmir Avdukic (Borac Banja Luka), Emir Spahic (Bayer Leverkusen), Sead Kolasinac (Schalke), Ermin Bicakcic (Eintracht Braunschweig), Ognjen Vranjes (Elazigspor), Toni Sunjic (Zorya Lugansk), Avdija Vrsajevic (Hajduk Split), Mensur Mujdza (Freiburg), Ervin Zukanovic (Gent), Zvjezdan Misimovic (Guizhou Renhe), Haris Medunjanin (Gaziantepspor), Miralem Pjanic (Roma), Sejad Salihovic (Hoffenheim), Senad Lulic (Lazio), Izet Hajrovic (Galatasaray), Senijad Ibricic (Erciyesspor), Edin Visca (Istanbul BB), Tino Susic (Hajduk Split), Muhamed Besic (Ferencvaros), Anel Hadzic (Sturm Graz), Edin Dzeko (Manchester City), Vedad Ibisevic (Stuttgart).
Iran: Daniel Davari (Eintracht Braunschweig), Alireza Haghighi (Sporting Covilha, on loan from Rubin Kazan), Rahman Ahmadi (Sepahan), Sousha Makani (Foolad Khuzestan), Khosro Heidari (Esteghlal), Hossein Mahini (Persepolis), Steven Beitashour (Vancouver Whitecaps), Pejman Montazeri (Umm Salal), Jalal Hosseini (Persepolis), Amir Sadeghi (Esteghlal), Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh (Zob Ahan), Ahmad Alenemeh (Naft), Hashem Beikzadeh (Esteghlal), Ehsan Hajsafi (Sepahan), Mehrdad Pooladi (Persepolis), Javad Nekounam (Al Kuwait), Andranik Teymourian (Esteghlal), Reza Haghighi (Persepolis), Ghasem Hadadifar (Zob Ahan), Bakhtiyar Rahmani (Foolad), Alireza Jahanbakhsh (NEC Nijmegen), Ashkan Dejagah (Fulham) Masoud Shojaei (Las Palmas), Mohammad Reza Khalatbari (Persepolis), Mehdi Sharifi (Sepahan), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Charlton), Karim Ansarifard (Persepolis, on loan at Tractor Sazi), Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan).
Nigeria: Vincent Enyeama (Lille), Austin Ejide (Hapoel Be'er Sheva), Daniel Akpeyi (Heartland), Chigozie Agbim (Gombe United), Elderson Echiejile (Monaco), Efe Ambrose (Celtic), Godfrey Oboabona (Rizespor), Azubuike Egwuekwe (Warri Wolves), Kenneth Omeruo (Middlesbrough), Juwon Oshaniwa (Ashdod FC), Joseph Yobo (Norwich City), Kunle Odunlami (Sunshine Stars), John Mikel Obi (Chelsea), Ramon Azeez (Almeria), Ogenyi Onazi (Lazio), Joel Obi (Parma), Nnamdi Oduamadi (Varese), Ejike Uzoenyi (Enugu Rangers), Nosa Igiebor (Real Betis), Sunday Mba (CA Bastia), Reuben Gabriel (Waasland-Beveren), Michael Babatunde (Volyn Lutsk), Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Shola Ameobi (Newcastle United), Emmanuel Emenike (Fenerbahce), Victor Obinna (Chievo), Peter Odemwingie (Stoke), Michael Uchebo (Cercle Brugge), Victor Moses (Liverpool), Uche Nwofor (Heerenveen).
Group G
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
Germany: Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover); Jerome Boateng (Bayern Munich), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Kevin Grosskreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Howedes (FC Schalke), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Per Mertesacker (Arsenal), Julian Draxler (Schalke), Matthias Ginter (Freiburg), Mario Gotze (Bayern Munich), Christoph Kramer (Borussia Monchengladbach), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), Andre Schurrle (Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Miroslav Klose (Lazio).
Ghana: Fatau Dauda (Orlando Pirates), Adam Kwarasey (Stromsgodset), Stephen Adams (Aduana Stars); Samuel Inkoom (Platanias), Daniel Opare (Standard Liege), Harrison Afful (Esperance), John Boye (Rennes), Jonathan Mensah (Evian), Rashid Sumalia (Mamelodi Sundowns); Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari, 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); Asamoah Gyan (Al Ain), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Schalke), Abdul Majeed Waris (Valenciennes), Jordan Ayew (Sochaux).
Portugal: Beto (Seville), Eduardo (Braga) and Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon), Andre Almeida (Benfica), Bruno Alves (Fenerbahce), Fabio Coentrao (Real Madrid), Joao Pereira (Valencia), Neto (Zenit St Petersburg), Pepe (Real Madrid), Ricardo Costa (Valencia), Joao Moutinho (Monaco), Miguel Veloso (Dinamo Kiev), Raul Meireles (Fenerbahce), Ruben Amorim (Benfica), William Carvalho (Sporting Lisbon), Rafa (Braga), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Eder (Braga), Helder Postiga (Lazio), Hugo Almeida (Besiktas), Nani (Manchester United), Varela, Vieirinha (Wolfsburg).
USA: Brad Guzan (Aston Villa), Tim Howard (Everton), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake), DaMarcus Beasley (Puebla), Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin), Geoff Cameron (Stoke City), Timmy Chandler (Nurnberg), Omar Gonzalez, Fabian Johnson (Borussia Monchengladbach), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders), 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), Jozy Altidore (Sunderland), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Aron Johannsson, Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
Group H
Vincent Kompany (Belgium)
Algeria: Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche, Rais Mbolhi (CSKA Sofia), Cedric Si Mohamed; Carl Medjani (Valenciennes), Aissa Mandi (Reims), Madjid Bougherra (Lekhwiya), Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli), Rafik Halliche (Academica),Essaid Belkalem (Watford), Liassine Cadamuro (Real Mallorca), Djamel Mesbah (Livorno), Mehdi Mostefa (Ajaccio); Sofiane Feghouli (Valencia), Saphir Taider (Inter Milan), Medhi Lacen (Getafe), Abdelmoumen Djabou (Club Africain), Yacine Brahimi (Grenada), Nabil Bentaleb (Tottenham), Hassan Yebda (Udinese), Riyad Mahrez (Leicester); Islam Slimani (Sporting Lisbon), Hilal Soudani (Dinamo Zagreb), Nabil Ghilas (Porto).
Belgium: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (Hoffenheim), Silvio Proto (Anderlecht), Toby Alderweireld (Atletico Madrid), Anthony Vanden Borre (Anderlecht), Laurent Ciman (Standard Liege), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City), Daniel Van Buyten (Bayern Munich), Thomas Vermaelen (Arsenal), Nicolas Lombaerts (Zenit St Petersburg), Axel Witsel (Zenit St Petersburg), Steven Defour, Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Nacer Chadli (Tottenham), Moussa Dembele (Tottenham), Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg), Adnan Januzaj (Manchester United), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Dries Mertens (Napoli), Kevin Mirallas (Everton), Romelu Lukaku (Chelsea), Divock Origi (Lille)
Russia: Igor Akinfeev, Yury Lodygin (Zenit St Petersburg), Sergey Ryzhikov (Rubin Kazan); Vasiliy Berezutskiy, Sergey Ignashevich, Georgiy Schennikov (all CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat, Alexey Kozlov (both Dynamo Moscow), Andrey Eschenko (Anzhi Makhachkala), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Andrey Semenov (Terek Grozny); Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Roman Shirokov (Krasnodar), Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Viktor Faizulin, Oleg Shatov (both Zenit St Petersburg); Yury Zhirkov, Alexey Ionov, Alexander Kokorin (all Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Maxim Kanunnikov (Amkar Perm), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow).
South Korea: Jung Sung-ryong (Suwon Bluewings), Kim Seung-gyu (Ulsan Hyundai), Lee Bum-young (Busan I'Park), Hong Jeong-ho (Augsburg), Hwang Seo-ho (Sanfrecce Hiroshima), Kim Chang-soo (Kashiwa Reysol), Kim Young-gwon (Guangzhou Evergrande), Kwak Tae-hwi (Al Hilal), Lee Yong (Ulsan Hyundai), Yun Suk-young (QPR), Park Joo-ho (Mainz), Ha Dae-sung (Beijing Guoan), Han Kook-young (Kashiwa Reysol), Ji Dong-won (Augsburg), Ki Sung-yueng (Swansea), Kim Bo-kyung (Cardiff City), Lee Chung-yong (Bolton), Park Jong-woo (Guangzhou R&F), Son Heung-min (Bayer Leverkusen), Kim Shin-wook (Ulsan Hyundai), Koo Ja-cheol (Mainz), Lee Keun-ho (Sangju Sangmu), Park Chu-young (Arsenal).
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ENGLAND
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Outright odds: 25/1
To win group: 2/1
To qualify: 1/2
Full squad: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Brom), Fraser Forster (Celtic); Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Leighton Baines (Everton), Luke Shaw (Southampton); Steven Gerrard (Liverpool, capt), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal), Ross Barkley (Everton), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal); Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United), Rickie Lambert (Southampton).
Manager: Roy Hodgson
World Cup record: Winners (1966); semi-finalists (1990) and six-time quarter-finalists (most recently in 2006)
How they qualified (most recent first): Topped Europe's Group H, winning six and drawing the other four of their 10 matches and conceding just four times in the process.
v Moldova (away) 5-0 (HT 3-0) Lampard 4, 29, Defoe 32, Milner 74, Baines 83
v Ukraine (home) 1-1 (HT 0-1) Lampard 87
v San Marino (home) 5-0 (HT 2-0) Rooney 35, 70, Welbeck 37, 72, Oxlade-Chamberlain 77
v Poland (away) 1-1 (HT 1-0) Rooney 31
v San Marino (away) 8-0 (HT 5-0) Della Valle (OG) 12, Oxlade-Chamberlain 29, Defoe 34, 77, Young 39, Lampard 42, Rooney 54, Sturridge 70
v Montenegro (away) 1-1 (HT 1-0) Rooney 6
v Moldova (home) 4-0 (HT 3-0) Gerrard 12, Lambert 26, Welbeck 45+1, 50
v Ukraine (away) 0-0 (HT 0-0)
v Montenegro (home) 4-1 (HT 0-0) Rooney 48, Boskovic (OG) 62, Townsend 78, Sturridge 90+3
v Poland (home) 2-0 (HT 1-0) Rooney 41, Gerrard 88
Goalscorers: Wayne Rooney scored seven goals in qualifying, three more than any other player in the group. Penalties helped Frank Lampard register four, the same number as Danny Welbeck.
Half-time/full-time: England led at half-time in five of their six wins, the only exception being a 4-1 victory over Montenegro in which all five goals came after the break. Twice they surrendered a half-time lead to draw, but the only time they went in behind at the break they scored late to salvage a point.
Clean sheets: England kept six clean sheets through their 10 games at a ratio of 60%. Never did they concede more than once in a game.
Win to nil: Five of England's six wins came without conceding, but perhaps more interesting is the fact that all six wins saw them cover a one-goal handicap.
Cards: England's disciplinary record was generally good in qualifying; only once in 10 games did they receive more than two yellows in one game. Overall, their 10 games yielded 35 cards at an average of 3.5, but only in two of these were England responsible for the majority of the bookings.
Other competitive internationals: They haven't played any since losing in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 on penalties to none other than their first opponents in Brazil, Italy.
Build-up (most recent first): After qualifying for the World Cup, England lost against Chile and Germany at Wembley - both of whom will be in Brazil. Before heading to the World Cup, they signed off in front of their fans with a 3-0 win over Peru - the scoreline somewhat flattering them.
v Peru (home) 3-0 (HT 1-0) Sturridge 32, Cahill 65, Jagielka 70
v Denmark (home) 1-0 (HT 0-0) Sturridge 82
v Germany (home) 0-1 (HT 0-1)
v Chile (home) 0-2 (HT 0-1)
Team verdict: From Stephen Hawking to your barber and every stop inbetween, everyone has an opinion on England. Only, for once, this time the verdict appears unanimous: they'll do well to get out of Group D.
It's hard to escape that notion. In Italy, England face proven World Cup performers with a progressive profile while the threat carried by Uruguay will be all too familiar - particularly if Luis Suarez is passed fit. Costa Rica's will be less familiar and less dangerous, but it's one which deserves to be taken seriously.
With lower expectation comes less pressure, in theory at least, but I for one don't buy into the argument that pressure holds England back. No, to me it's much more simple and it comes down to personnel. Man for man, England are not the best team in their group so anything beyond the last 16 automatically qualifies as a relative success.
Ben Coley "Roy Hodgson's best chance to better expectations may be to unleash his youngest, freshest players on Brazil 2014 and hope that they can catch opponents somewhat by surprise."
Ben Coley
Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana all boast an ability to create something from nothing and it's that which will give England fans hope, rather than an ability to get down and dirty and grind their way to the latter stages.
The reality is that Hodgson will slot his approach somewhere between these options and that it won't be enough, even if history will tell you they've not lost a World Cup group game for the best part of 20 years.
More relevant may be the fact that they finished second to the United States in their 2010 group, a repeat of which would be a fine achievement.
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URUGUAY
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Outright odds: 28/1
To win group: 2/1
To qualify: 8/15
Full squad: Fernando Muslera (Galatasaray), Martin Silva (Vasco Da Gama), Rodrigo Munoz (Libertad); Diego Lugano (West Brom), Diego Godin, Jose Maria Gimenez (both Atletico Madrid), Martin Caceres (Juventus), Maximiliano Pereira (Benfical), Jorge Fucile (Porto), Sebastian Coates (Nacional); Egidio Arevalo-Rios (Morelia), Walter Gargano (Parma), Diego Perez (Bologna), Alvaro Gonzalez (Lazio), Alvaro Pereira (Sao Pablo), Cristian Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid), Gaston Ramirez (Southampton), Nicolas Lodeiro (Botafogo); Edinson Cavani (PSG), Luis Suarez (Liverpool), Diego Forlan (Cerezo Osaka), Abel Hernandez (Palermo), Cristian Stuani (Espanyol).
Manager: Oscar Tabarez
World Cup record: Two-time winners (1930, 1950), three-times fourth (1954, 1970, 2010)
How they qualified (most recent first): Comfortable winners of an intercontinental play-off with Jordan having finished just fifth in the South American zone, behind fourth-placed Ecuador on goal difference
v Jordan (home) 0-0 (HT 0-0)
v Jordan (away) 5-0 (HT 2-0) Pereira 22, Stuani 42, Lodeiro 70, Rodriguez 78, Cavani 90+1
v Argentina (home) 3-2 (HT 2-2) Rodriguez 6, Suarez 34, Cavani 49
v Ecuador (away) 0-1 (HT 0-1)
v Colombia (home) 2-0 (HT 1-0) Cavani 77 Stuani 80
v Peru (away) 2-1 (1-0) Suarez 43, 67
v Venezuela (away) 1-0 (HT 1-0) Cavani 27
v Chile (away) 0-2 (HT 0-1)
v Paraguay (home) 1-1 (HT 0-0) Suarez 81
v Bolivia (away) 1-4 (HT 0-2) Suarez 80
v Argentina (away) 0-3 (HT 0-1)
v Ecuador (home) 1-1 (HT 0-1) Cavani 66
v Colombia (away) 0-4 (HT 0-1)
v Peru (home) 4-2 (HT 2-1) Suarez 15, Pereira 29, Rodriguez 62, Eguren 90+3
v Venezuela (home) 1-1 (HT 1-0) Forlan 38
v Chile (home) 4-0 (HT 2-0) Suarez 42, 45, 67, 73
v Paraguay (away) 1-1 (HT 0-0) Forlan 68
v Bolivia (home) 4-2 (HT 3-1) Suarez 3, Lugano 25, 71, Cavani 34
Goalscorers: Unsurprisingly, Luis Suarez led the way with 11 goals - four of which came in the 4-0 win against Chile. Edinson Cavani bagged a more-than-respectable six.
Half-time/full-time: There's no particular pattern when it comes to Uruguay's method of victory, although they did win six of the seven games in which they led at the break which marks them down as good front-runners. However, only once did they come from behind to salvage a point.
Clean sheets: Uruguay kept five clean sheets, although two of those came against Jordan.
Win to nil: Uruguay won just three of their group games to nil, plus once against Jordan. By comparison, they won four times despite conceding so both teams to score and Uruguay to win looks a strong angle.
Cards: Here's a team worth keeping an eye on when it comes to playing over on the bookings. Uruguay's 18 qualifying games produced 90 cards at an average of 5 and while skewed by some particularly ill-tempered contests, Uruguay did account for 43 of the bookings and, given their propensity to allow opponents possession, they appear liable to picking up more than their share.
Other competitive internationals (most recent first): Uruguay finished fourth at last summer's Confederations Cup in Brazil, although the only sides they beat in the competition were Nigeria and whipping boys Tahiti. They were beaten by both Spain and Brazil.
v Italy (neutral) 2-2, 2-3 pens (HT 0-1) Cavani 58, 78
v Brazil (away) 1-2 (HT 0-1) Cavani 48
v Tahiti (neutral) 8-0 (HT 4-0) Hernandez 2, 24, 45, 67, Perez 27, Lodeiro 61, Suarez 82, 90
v Nigeria (neutral) 2-1 (HT 1-1) Lugano 18, Forlan 51
v Spain (neutral) 1-2 (HT 0-2) Suarez 88
Build-up (most recent first): Uruguay drew in Austria earlier this year and enjoyed an unconvincing win over Northern Ireland recently.
v Northern Ireland (home) 1-0 (HT 0-0) Stuani 62
v Austria (away) 1-1 (HT 0-1) Pereira 66
Team verdict: Uruguay should prove an exceptionally difficult side to beat and represent a real obstacle for both England and Italy to overcome.
This is a solid, experienced squad of players who've been working together for years now and have formed a real spirit, one which helped them get to the semi-finals of the last World Cup.
It's absolutely clear that many of this squad are past their peak and so much depends on the strikers, who are right up there with the best in the tournament.
Herein lies the problem.
Ben Coley "Edinson Cavani has not exactly enjoyed a perfect season in Paris and remains the subject of reports linking him with a switch to the Premier League, but the real concern is Luis Suarez."
Ben Coley
The PFA Player of the Year left a Montevideo hospital in a wheelchair having had minor surgery and when those close to him are using language like 'hopeful', you begin to wonder whether he'll be able to recreate the fireworks he's shown for club and country over the last few seasons.
With these doubts lingering, it's hard to take a strong view on Uruguay but one thing is for sure: if they can beat Costa Rica in their opening match they will be very hard to keep out of the knockout stages.
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COSTA RICA
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Outright odds: 2500/1
To win group: 25/1
To qualify: 10/1
Full squad: Keilor Navas (Levante), Patrick Pemberton (Alajuelense), Daniel Cambronero (Herediano), Johnny Acosta (Alajuelense), Giancarlo Gonzalez (Columbus Crew), Michael Umana (Saprissa), Oscar Duarte (Club Bruges), Waylon Francis (Columbus Crew), Heiner Mora (Saprissa), Junior Diaz (Mainz 05), Cristian Gamboa (Rosenborg), Roy Miller (New York Red Bulls), Celso Borges (AIK Stockholm), Christian Bolanos (FC Copenhagen), Oscar Esteban Granados (Herediano), Michael Barrantes (Aalesund), Yeltsin Tejeda (Saprissa), Diego Calvo (Valerenga Oslo), Jose Miguel Cubero (Herediano), Bryan Ruiz (PSV Eindhoven), Joel Campbell (Arsenal/Olympiakos), Randall Brenes (Cartagines), Marco Urena (FC Kuban Krasnodar)
Manager: Jorge Luis Pinto
World Cup record: Last 16 (1990), Group stage (2002, 2006)
How they qualified (most recent first): Second to the USA in CONCACAF's final round, having previously chased home Mexico in a four-team pre-qualification group in which Guyana and El Salvador were outclassed.
v Panama (away) 2-2 (HT 1-2) Saborio 39 Ruiz 84
v United States (away) 0-1 (HT 0-1)
v Jamaica (home) 2-0 (HT 1-0) Umana 22, Calvo 82
v Honduras (home) 1-0 (HT 1-0) Miller 25
v Mexico (away) 0-0 (HT 0-0)
v Panama (home) 2-0 (HT 0-0) Ruiz 49, Borges 52
v United States (home) 3-1 (HT 2-1) Acosta 3, Borges 10, Campbell 76
v Jamaica (away) 1-1 (HT 0-0) Brenes 74
v Honduras (away) 0-1 (HT 0-0)
v Mexico (home) 2-1 (HT 1-1) Ruiz 24, Saborio 63
v Guyana (home) 7-0 (HT 2-0) Brenes 10, 48, Gamboa 14, Saborio 51p, 77', Bolanos 61, Borges 70
v El Salvador (away) 1-0 (HT 1-0) Cubero 31
v Mexico (away) 0-1 (HT 0-0)
v Mexico (home) 0-2 (HT 0-1)
v Guyana (away) 4-0 (HT 2-0) Saborio 20, 26, 52, Campbell 72
v El Salvador (home) 2-2 (HT 2-1) Saborio 10, Campbell 15
Goalscorers: Focusing on the more competitive final group stage for statistical purposes, Bryan Ruiz led the way with three goals, with both Celso Borges and Alvaro Saborio contributing two each (the latter also bagged five in the previous stage). Six players including Joel Campbell and Johnny Acosta managed one.
Half-time/full-time: Three of Costa Rica's five wins saw them lead at half-time, while only once did they come from behind to secure a draw.
Clean sheets: Costa Rica kept four clean sheets at a ratio of 40%; they came against the four sides that finished beneath them.
Win to nil: Costa Rica managed three wins to nil, each of which came at home. Therefore the majority (three from five) of their wins were without conceding.
Cards: Costa Rica's games produced a total of 33 cards at an average of 3.3 per game, with no red cards but only one game which saw none of any description handed out.
Other competitive internationals (most recent first): On home soil, Costa Rica won Copa Centroamericana in January 2013, beating fellow World Cup qualifiers Honduras in the final. That effort earned them a place in the CONCACAF Gold Cup but in the USA Honduras gained revenge, knocking Los Ticos out at the last-eight stage.
v Honduras (neutral) 0-1 (HT 0-0)
v United States (neutral) 0-1 (HT 0-0)
v Belize (neutral) 1-0 (HT 0-0) Eiley 49
v Cuba (neutral) 3-0 (HT 0-0) Barrantes 52, 77, Arrieta 71
v Honduras (home) 1-0 (HT 1-0) Gonzalez 38
v El Salvador (home) 1-0 (HT 0-0) Wallace 72
v Guatemala (home) 1-1 (1-0 HT) Arrieta 11
v Nicaragua (home) 2-0 (HT 1-0) Lagos 7, Borges 86
v Belize (home) 1-0 (HT 0-0) Arrieta 55
Build-up (most recent first): It's been a struggle for Costa Rica since qualifying, with goals in short supply and four of their five friendlies lost.
v Japan (neutral) 1-3 (HT 1-0) Ruiz 31)
v Paraguay (home) 2-1 (HT 1-0) Campbell 43, Saborio 73
v South Korea (neutral) 0-1 (HT 0-1)
v Chile (away) 0-4 (HT 0-1)
v Australia (away) 0-1 (HT 0-0)
Team verdict: Costa Rica were considered dark horses by some judges before the World Cup draw, and while it's not going to be easy for them, I'm keen not to rule them out.
Clearly, getting out of a group which features England, Uruguay and Italy will be far from easy - it would surpass their 1990 exploits for sure - but this is a side with quality who are hard to beat.
Captain Bryan Ruiz has made all the right noises, describing England and Italy as "two great European sides", and you get the feeling his side will relish their underdog status. They also start with a game against a potentially weakened Uruguay team and we can expect a counter-attacking display which seeks to exploit their pace on the break.
As well as Ruiz, UK fans may also be familiar with Joel Campbell. The Arsenal player has been on loan with Olympiacos and looks to have improved for it, with some suggesting that he'll be part of Arsene Wenger's plans for next season.
Ultimately, the likelihood is that Costa Rica will finish either third or fourth in this group, but my expectation is that they will exploit any slip-ups from three opponents around whom there are concerns of sorts. They certainly shouldn't be embarrassed.
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ITALY
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Outright odds: 25/1
To win group: 13/8
To qualify: 2/5
Full squad: Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Mattia Perin (Genoa), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain), Ignazio Abate (Milan), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Torino), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Gabriel Paletta (Parma), Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Marco Parolo (Parma), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Verratti (Paris Saint-Germain), Mario Balotelli (Milan), Antonio Cassano (Parma), Alessio Cerci (Torino), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli).
Manager: Cesare Prandelli
World Cup record: Four-time winners (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), twice runners-up (1970, 1994), third (1990), fourth (1978)
How they qualified (most recent first): Comfortable winners of UEFA Group B, winning six and drawing the other four of their 10 games
v Armenia (home) 2-2 (HT 1-1) Florenzi 24, Balotelli 76
v Denmark (away) 2-2 (HT 1-1) Osvaldo 28, Aquilani 90+1
v Czech Republic (home) 2-1 (HT 0-1) Chiellini 51, Balotelli 54
v Bulgaria (home) 1-0 (HT 1-0) Gilardino 38
v Czech Republic (away) 0-0 (HT 0-0)
v Malta (away) 2-0 (HT 2-0) Balotelli 8, 45
v Denmark (home) 3-1 (HT 2-1) Montolivo 34, De Rossi 37, Balotelli 54
v Armenia (away) 3-1 (HT 1-1) Pirlo 11, De Rossi 64, Osvaldo 82
v Malta (home) 2-0 (HT 1-0) Destro 5, Peluso 90+2
v Bulgaria (away) 2-2 (HT 2-1) Osvaldo 36, 40
Goalscorers: Mario Balotelli led the way in qualifying with five goals; Dani Osvaldo scored four. No Italy player opened the scoring more than once during the campaign and Italy's 19 goals came via 11 different players. Daniele De Rossi was the only other to score twice.
Half-time/full-time: Four of Italy's six wins came when they had led at half-time; one came from behind and the other from a half-time draw. Of their four draws, three had been level at the break but one came when Italy had held a half-time advantage.
Clean sheets: Italy kept four clean sheets at a ratio of 40%; two of these came against Malta, who finished adrift at the bottom of the group. Armenia scored three against Italy but those opponents did win 4-0 in Denmark to suggest they posed a serious attacking threat.
Win to nil: Half of Italy's six wins were to nil. Again, two were against Malta and the other came against Bulgaria at home. They beat both Czech Republic and Denmark at home despite conceding, as they did away to Armenia.
Cards: Counting reds as two, Italy games produced 39 cards at 3.9 per game. Italy received two red cards - both to strikers - but received either zero or one card in six of those 10 games. Notably, their last four saw a marked disciplinary improvement.
Other competitive internationals (most recent first): Italy beat only Mexico and Japan in in last summer's Confederations Cup in Brazil. They did, however, hold both Spain and Uruguay, losing on penalties to the former and beating the latter to claim third spot.
v Uruguay (neutral) 2-2, 3-2 pens (HT 1-0) Astori 24, Diamanti 73
v Spain (neutral) 0-0, 6-7 pens (HT (0-0)
v Brazil (away) 2-4 (HT 0-1) Giaccherini 51, Chiellini 71
v Japan (neutral) 4-3 (HT 1-2) De Rossi 41, Uchida (OG) 50, Balotelli 52, Giovinco 86
v Mexico (neutral) 2-1 (HT 1-1) Pirlo 27, Balotelli 78
Build-up (most recent first): Having completed their qualification with two draws, Italy have added three more in international friendlies, coming from behind to take something from games with fellow World Cup qualifiers Germany and Nigeria. They did lose to reigning champions Spain though.
v Republic of Ireland (neutral) 0-0 (HT 0-0)
v Spain (away) 0-1 (HT 0-0)
v Nigeria (neutral) 2-2 (HT 1-2) Rossi 12, Giaccherini 46
v Germany (home) 1-1 (HT 1-1) Abate 28
Team verdict: In the past, it's been pretty easy to know what to expect from Italy at a World Cup. A solid defence, typically supported by a world-class goalkeeper, would make them hard to beat and allow their star player - ordinarily wearing the number 10 shirt - to carve for them a path to the latter stages.
With four draws and six wins from their group games you'd be forgiven for thinking that it'll be more of the same in Brazil, but Prandelli has built a side who he feels are capable of taking opponents by surprise - particularly with the fluid nature of their play.
Couple this surprise-package element with the attacking talent of Mario Balotelli, Serie A's top scorer Ciro Immobile and the prolific Mattia Destro and once again Italy arrive at a World Cup as a dark horse not to be underestimated, even if they take a slightly unfamiliar shape.
Certainly, much has changed since they finished bottom of a group which included New Zealand four years ago and while there's a sense that we'll see them in a better light at the 2016 European Championships, Italy do now have an eye-catching blend of experience (see captain Gigi Buffon and the evergreen Andrea Pirlo) and youth which could see them go far.
Certainly, I consider them the team to beat in Group D.