6. Colombia go back to back

Bowing out after the Group stages in 1998 Colombia didn’t return to the world stage until 2014, making Russia their first consecutive cup for 20 years.
 

7. Global Reach

Group H is representative of what the WORLD cup is all about with each team representing a different continent.  
 

8.    The German connection

A lot of the top names in this group have either played with or against each other in the Bundesliga. Polish front man Robert Lewandowski will face off against Bayern Munich teammate James Rodriguez while Japan’s Shinji Kagawa is at Borussia Dortmund. 

 

Dortmund's Japanese star Shinji Kagawa

 

9.    Last minute change

Just two months out from the World Cup Japan replaced coach Vahid Halilhodžić with Akira Nishino. In an official statement the President of the Japanese Football Federation said Halilhodžić was replaced after losing the trust of his players.
 

10.    Poland’s All-Timers

The Polish squad could soon boast about having two all-time greats in the same squad. Robert Lewandowski already holds the title of most goals and Jakub Blaszczykowski is only five games away from being Poland’s most capped player.

 

Five caps it for Poland's high-flyer Jakub Blaszczykowski