Images of the top 10 players to look out for from Group C’s Colombia, Ivory Coast, Japan and Greece.
Updated: May 22, 2014, 12:00 AM
In pictures: World Cup 2014 – 10 to watch in Group C
Radamel Falcao, striker (Monaco); Age 28; 49 caps. Colombia’s top player and a prolific goalscorer, recovering from knee ligament surgery that might still keep him out of the tournament although he is given a good chance of making it. Has scored 20 goals, including nine in the qualifiers for these finals. Has won trophies with River Plate, FC Porto and Atletico Madrid. John Thys / AFP
Didier Drogba, striker (Galatasaray); Age 36; 99 caps. Talismanic presence who is no longer guaranteed berth in starting line-up. Grew up in France after being sent to live with his footballing uncle Michel Goba. Crowned his club career, which includes four FA Cup successes with Chelsea, with the penalty shootout winner in the Champions League final in 2012. A two-times African Footballer of the Year but after seven tournament appearances, yet to win honours at national team level. All-time top scorer with 61 goals. Mike Hutchings / Reuters
Keisuke Honda, striker (AC Milan); Age 27; 53 caps. After the retirements of Hidetoshi Nakata and Shunsuke Nakamura much of the attack has been built around the bleach-blonde attacking midfielder. Player of the tournament in Japan’s 2011 Asian Cup triumph, he slotted the penalty that ensured the Blue Samurai were the first team to qualify for Brazil. Moved to Italy from CSKA Moscow in January but has struggled to impose himself in Serie A. Shuji Kajiyama / AP
James Rodriguez, midfielder (AS Monaco); Age 22; 21 caps. Gifted attacking midfielder who helped modest Banfield win their maiden Argentine league title as a teenager in 2009. Linked up with Falcao at club level first at Porto and then in multi-million deals that took the pair to Monaco. Eric Gaillard / Reuters
Sokratis Papastathopoulos, centre-back (Borussia Dortmund); Age 25; 46 caps. Big-money move from Werder Bremen to Borussia Dortmund threw him into spotlight and so far has risen to challenge of replacing injured Neven Subotic at last season’s Champions League runners-up. Francois-Xavier Marit / AFP
Wilfried Bony, striker (Swansea City); Age 25; 24 caps. Product of increasing number of private academies set up across West Africa to develop talent for European market. Had trials at Liverpool but made breakthrough in Europe at Slavia Prague. Made name at Vitesse Arnhem with 36 goals in 36 matches in the 2012/13 season that saw him named Dutch player of the year. Swansea paid club-record 12.0 million pounds (Dh74.3m) for his services last summer and his goals have kept Swansea safe in Premier League. Nick Potts / AP / PA
Shinji Kagawa, midfielder (Manchester United); Age 25; 54 caps. The former Borussia Dortmund player joined Manchester United in 2012 but has struggled for game time. The livewire attacking midfielder prefers to be employed just behind the strikers but Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni has moved him to wide left, which has caused some friction. Kiyoshi Ota / Getty Images
Fredy Guarin, midfielder (Inter Milan); Age 27; 50 caps. The former Boca Juniors and Saint-Etienne winger was linked to a player exchange deal with Juventus midfielder Mirko Vucinic that did not come off in January. He has since signed a contract extension with Inter. Giuseppe Cacace / AFP
Kostas Mitroglou, striker (Fulham); Age 26; 29 caps. ‘Mitrogoal’ carries nation’s hopes of advancing past group stage as his goalscoring ability helped Greece qualify. Move to Fulham has not gone as planned after knee injury kept him out for weeks. Stu Forster / Getty Images