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13 June 2014
The attention of the football world turned to Brazil, as the World Cup kicked off today.
Here are the groupings for this year's tournament. The teams are listed alphabetically.
Group A: Brazil, Ghana, Japan, Ukraine.
Group B: Germany, Jamaica, Nigeria, Sweden.
Group C: Australia, Italy, Peru, Russia.
Group D: Cameroon, France, Spain, Mexico.
Group E: Belgium, Croatia, Iran, Paraguay.
Group F: Argentina, Honduras, Ivory Coast, Switzerland.
Group G: Egypt, Greece, United States, Uruguay.
Group H: Chile, England, Holland, South Korea.
Group C, which contained #1 ranked Spain and a traditionally strong French side, along with #14 ranked Mexico, was considered by most pundits to be the Group of Death. England was expected to go through, with Holland joining them from Group H.
The Sandersons were scheduled to arrive in the coastal city of Porto Alegre on 16 June, two days before England played Chile at Arena Gremio. They would stay in Porto Alegre rather than flying over 2300 kilometers to Recife, where England would play South Korea, because England's match with Holland was also scheduled for Porto Alegre. In the eleven days between the matches, Paul, Leanne, and the kids would enjoy the beaches, and they could see Ronique Linton's Jamaica team play against Sweden.
Then it would be back to the business of football, as Rochdale prepared for the new season. For now, however, Paul was going to enjoy a well-earned vacation with his family.
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