This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

Manuel Neuer and Mesut Özil

The last survivors of the so-called “Nutella Curse”. For years, TV commercials for the popular chocolate spread used to feature German internationals, usually bright young hopes for the future. The only thing was that the players selected for this would with deadly certainty quickly vanish again thereafter from the scene. Neuer and Özil were exceptions. Nevertheless, the producer of the chocolate spread brought the series to an end. Perhaps not least because the young national players had become aware of the “curse”.

Max Kruse

Since it became apparent that Mario Gomez would miss out on Brazil due to injury, it seemed certain that the Borussia Mönchengladbach forward Max Kruse would be going to the World Cup – as not unimportant back-up for the nearly 36-year-old Miroslav Klose. Then, however, the debutant Kevin Volland was called up in Kruse’s place and no mention at all was made of the Gladbach man in the squad announcement. Supposedly the reason for this was that when the team was in London for the friendly against England at the end of 2013, Kruse had a lady visitor to his room and thus angered his morally strict national coach, Jogi Löw.

Kevin Grosskreutz

The Dortmund defender had other worries. He faced legal action, because he was said to have thrown a kebab into another man’s face at a snack bar. What was supposedly particularly nasty was that due to the extra hot chilli sauce the man’s eyes were said to have been burning for hours. Grosskreutz was exonerated by a taxi driver, who saw the supposed victim and said he had a smeared T-shirt but no reddened eyes. In contrast to the tabloid media, the national coach showed no interest in this incident.

Ilkay Gündogan

The Dortmund man would have been a certain candidate for the German World Cup team, but due to a mysterious back injury he has not been able to play any football for months. In desperation Gündogan recently underwent treatment from a specialist at a children’s hospital in Crimea, right in the midst of the Ukrainian civil unrest. He had been given the tip by his cousin, a player in the Turkish ladies national volleyball team. The therapy appears to have been successful and Gündogan is optimistic that he’ll be back next season. But not, sadly, for the World Cup.

The shirt

The German World Cup shirt may be deemed a clever marketing move, playing as it does in colour and form with the insignia of the most popular Brazilian club, Flamengo. In Germany itself, however, the shirt, which took two years to develop, has not been received so well – as can be seen from a Facebook group set up specifically about it called “Shirt Shame”.

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

When Bayern Munich were beaten 4-0 at home in the semi-final of this year’s Champions League, discussions about the game soon extended to the German national side as well.

Should Joachim Löw actually have the team play like Bayern or perhaps, after all, more like Borussia Dortmund? Thus, should he definitely put his faith in possession or base the team’s game on pressing and quick transitions from defence to attack?

“His ideas are excellent,” the German national coach had said after his first face-to-face meeting to get to know Pep Guardiola. A few months later he even added: “On many points he thinks exactly as I do.” That includes wanting to dominate midfield, based on a 4-2-3-1 system, as preferred by most clubs in the Bundesliga. On that point the national coach recently explained: “I don’t want one holding midfielder, nor do I want three. I want three players in the middle who are constantly switching position and moving into the gaps. Going where it hurts the opposition when they’re in possession.”

Unlike Guardiola, however, Löw uses a robust, central holding midfielder, whose strengths certainly do not lie in the subtlety of his game. That man is Real Madrid’s Sami Khedira. Although he has missed almost the whole of 2014 with a torn cruciate ligament, Löw is putting his faith in him – including as a leader of the team.

Another parallel to Bayern’s style of play under Guardiola is Löw’s similarly decreasing interest in traditional strikers. The national coach has picked only two: Miroslav Klose, now 35, and Hoffenheim’s internationally inexperienced Kevin Volland, who is only 21 and may even yet get cut from the squad. The goals for Germany are to come from midfield.

In the shape of Philipp Lahm, Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Müller, Jérôme Boateng, Mario Götze and Manuel Neuer seven Bayern Munich players will be going to Brazil. All of them are also seen as potential regular starters and, apart from the goalkeeper Neuer, not firmly tied to any one position. They will thus have a decisive role in shaping how Germany play and despite that they will have to adapt. Because Löw doesn’t want simply to copy Bayern’s control-based football.

Latterly, you see, the national coach has been waxing lyrical about the sort of incisive, counterattacking football that was Bayern’s undoing against Real Madrid and that Borussia Dortmund operated to perfection last year. It will thus end up being a mix of both, with the emphasis modified depending on the opposition.

Who is the player who is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup?

The 2006 World Cup saw the young Lukas “Poldi” Podolski shine on home soil. He was selected as the best young player of the tournament. Eight years later the times are not so glorious for now 29-year-old – as he is mainly coming off the bench at Arsenal as well for the national team. But with Marco Reus being out injured, Poldi’s chances have now improved. In the last friendly against Armenia he scored a goal and served up three assists. Will it be, eight years later, his tournament again?

Who is the player who is going to disappoint the most?

Many people would say Mesut Özil after his difficult year, but Bastian Schweinsteiger is also a likely candidate. His problems with injury are notorious by this stage of the season and there’s a good possibility that he’s not fit enough to compete at the highest level.

What is the realistic aim for your team at the World Cup and why?

This fine generation of players should go for the title, but there are a lot of important players in physical rehab only weeks before the tournament. And there’s the heat. So reaching the semi-finals could be a more realistic result.

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

It is odd that something like this should have happened to someone like him of all people. “It was a momentary loss of control, or me being too emotional going into the tackle,” says Sami Khedira, whenever he thinks back to the evening of 15 November 2013. The international that night against Italy was of the more physical kind, characterised by lots of little niggles, which momentarily caused the usually very composed German midfielder to get properly stuck in as well. His studs caught in the turf, he twisted his right knee and tore both his cruciate and the medial collateral ligaments.

There is not a great deal worse that can happen to a footballer’s leg, which is why the diagnosis in such a case would under normal circumstances have been: Khedira’s season is over. However, these weren’t normal circumstances. They never are in years with a World Cup coming up in the summer. And especially not if you’re 27 years old, when footballers are said to be at their best, and also in the form of your life. There are not all that many opportunities in a footballer’s career to go to a World Cup and nobody to whom this competition means anything can afford to forego one lightly.

And thus within minutes of that momentous incident, Khedira was immediately back to his normal self. Controlled. Planning ahead. Almost ice-cold. Even before reaching hospital, he made a call from the ambulance to a doctor who had operated on his knee when he was a youth team player and agreed an appointment for an operation the very next day. He also telephoned the management team at his employers, Real Madrid, and asked them to send the club doctors to Germany the next morning.

When he returned from the hospital to the team hotel later that night in a wheelchair, he passed through a small party marking the head coach Joachim Löw’s 150th international. Around noon the next day, less than 16 hours after getting injured, he was operated on in Germany.

From that day on, Khedira has subordinated his entire life to the goal of getting to the World Cup. His most dogged supporter in the process has been the national coach himself. “With his personality and experience he’s indispensable to the team,” said Löw, who stressed that he’d wait as long as possible for Khedira to recover and declared that he’d call up a player like Khedira even if he lacked match practice. And yet otherwise Löw had always emphasised that he’d consider only fit players for the tournament. While Mario Gomez was fairly unceremoniously left out following his injury (“Given the conditions in Brazil it was my view that he would not be able to cope physically”), you nevertheless got the impression that Löw would have taken Khedira to the World Cup on one leg if necessary.

Why is that so? Well, although his value is often not fully appreciated by the public at large, Khedira is in many ways Löw’s key player. In a team characterised by outstanding attacking prowess he holds the defensive midfield together and is very much a player out of the “coach’s favourite” mould: a good reader of the game, disciplined and perfect at implementing his respective manager’s instructions. No wonder, then, that his coaches at Real Madrid, José Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti, also value Khedira’s style of play. In the midst of a host of artists he plays the unpretentious conductor and with the German national side not having a Pirlo or a Xavi, it needs at least a Khedira.

The son of a German mother and a Tunisian father, Khedira is a model professional. Having grown up in a hard-working, somewhat unsophisticated, provincial region of south-west Germany, his character was shaped as a boarder at VfB Stuttgart’s youth academy, which has a code of conduct requiring the young players to say a proper “Good morning” to any member of staff they encounter. With Khedira as captain Stuttgart’s juniors became German champions in successive age groups. Aged 19 he played his first game in the Bundesliga and by the time he was 20 he was already a champion again, this time with the first team. When Michael Ballack got injured just ahead of the 2010 World Cup, Khedira took his place and had an outstanding tournament, playing alongside the more attack-minded Bastian Schweinsteiger.

He subsequently moved to Real Madrid and ever since then a German national team-sheet without his name on it has been unimaginable – a picture-book career, in fact … until that November night last year.

Khedira approached his recovery as he had his entire career: with painstaking dedication and the utmost discipline. He took himself off for weeks to an isolated clinic in the Bavarian forest, far away from any form of distraction. “Taking my mind off what I needed to do would probably have made things worse,” he said. “Lots of friends wanted to come and visit me, but even that I didn’t allow.”

Instead there was just work, work, work. While the national coach waited with trepidation and the German public viewed his chances of recovery with scepticism, Khedira fought his lonely battle. “During a time like that you get to know yourself better,” he says. “You identify strengths in yourself, such as mental toughness and the ability to fight your way through. But your weaknesses become clearer to you, too.” What weaknesses, it might well be asked.

On 11 May, Khedira made his comeback with Real Madrid, less than six months after getting injured in Milan, which for an injury like that is at the extreme bottom end of what is to be expected. That, of course, is no guarantee that he will be in top form by the time of the World Cup or that he will be able to cope with the rigours of up to seven games at such a tournament. However, as mentioned, Jogi Löw would probably have taken him on one leg. Now, at least, it’s already one and a half.

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

Bruno Alves

This will be a special tournament for Bruno Alves since he comes from a Brazilian family. The central defender was born in Portugal but his father Washington is from Brazil and used to play for Flamengo. In 1974, Washington Alves accepted the proposal to play for Varzim in the Portuguese championship and has remained in the country ever since. The uncle of Bruno Alves, named Geraldo, was also a rising star at Flamengo, playing at the same time as Zico, a very close friend. Nicknamed The Whistler, because he had the strange habit of whistling while dribbling past opponents, Geraldo Alves died tragically at just 22 years old during a hospital operation.

João Moutinho

In 2010, the former president of Sporting Lisbon called João Moutinho a “rotten apple”, after selling the midfielder to Porto for €11m (£8.9m). José Eduardo Bettencourt claimed that Moutinho was forcing a way out of the club where he had made his name. The player ended up being a brilliant signing for Porto and, three years later, was sold to Monaco for €25m (£20.2m). Sporting earned almost €5m from this deal. “Sporting should be very happy. We were able to buy a ‘rotten apple’ for €11m and sold it for €25m,” joked the president of Porto, Pinto da Costa, after the protest of the Lions of Lisbon, who claimed that the deal was made for a higher value.

Hugo Almeida

The tall and powerful striker has been a regular scorer in Turkish football with Besiktas, and doesn’t usually lose his temper. Butin December 2013 he went a little mad when a fan of Kasimpasa entered the field and decided to kick Manuel Fernandes, another Portuguese player for Besiktas. The home team immediately surrounded the fan in question but that didn’t prevent Hugo Almeida from getting his own back, and he kicked the fan while he was laid on the ground. For that, the striker was sent off.

Beto

In 2008, the goalkeeper was having a great season at Leixoes and the press were debating a possible starting place in the Portugal team. Jorge Jesus, now the coach of Benfica, ended up saying that only goalkeepers taller than 1.83m (Beto is 1.80m) can make it to the top. “I read what he said, I respect the opinion but I want to prove in the field that that is not true,” said Beto, who didn’t let the statement unsettle him and continues to show his value. This season, he was brilliant at Sevilla and got the team to the final of Europa League, where his side faced Benfica, coached by Jorge Jesus. Beto saved two penalties in the shootout to give Sevilla the trophy and perhaps prove a point to Jesus.

Raul Meireles

The Fenerbahçe midfielder continues to show a unique sense of style. He has countless tattoos on his body and, since arriving in Turkey, has embraced the national beard custom. Nowadays, Meireles opts for a Mohican hairstyle (perhaps due to his progressive lack of hair) and a lumberjack style beard. He is easily spotted on the pitch.

Ricardo Costa

The central defender celebrated his 33rd birthday on 16 May and is on his way to a third World Cup. That record, never achieved before in Portuguese Football, is at reach for only two players: Cristiano Ronaldo and Ricardo Costa. The first is the big star of the team but Ricardo was always seen as a reliable backup. In fact, since February of 2005, the defender has played only 17 times for Portugal. In World Cup 2010, nevertheless, Carlos Queiroz decided to place Ricardo on the right side of the defence, to face Brazil and Spain. In the second game, the natural central defender was sent off and Portugal went home. Now, he is the captain of Valencia in Spain. And in Brazil, one can expect Ricardo Costa to be on the bench, once again.

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a co-operation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

On 21 June 2012, Portugal said goodbye to the European Championship with these names in the starting XI: Rui Patrício; João Pereira, Bruno Alves, Pepe, Fabio Coentrão; Raul Meireles, Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho; Nani, Hugo Almeida and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The team of Paulo Bento had a very good tournament, only exiting in a dramatic semi-final shootout with Spain. If you remember Portugal in that tournament, then don’t except any changes. In the second leg of the play-off against Sweden, on 19 November 2013, the national coach used the same starting XI.

The Portuguese national team has followed a predictable road on the way to the World Cup in Brazil. The good news is that Cristiano Ronaldo is in the best form of his life, scoring more goals for Portugal than ever even if the last few games of Real Madrid’s season suggested a concern around his fitness. On the other hand, Bento has a starting eleven with more age and experience. Now, that team has an average age of 28.6 years old.

João Pereira (then Sporting, now Valencia), Bruno Alves (Zenit, Fenerbahçe), Miguel Veloso (Genoa, Dinamo Kiev), Raul Meireles (Chelsea, Fenerbahçe), Joao Moutinho (FC Porto, Monaco) have all changed clubs since 2012, leaving the goalkeeper Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon) as the only one still playing in the Portuguese championship.

The national coach, who renewed his contract recently (until 2016), knows that the time to change will come, sooner or later. For now, Bento sticks to his plan and will prepare the usual 4-3-3, even if there are some problems in the attacking sector.

Rui Patrício continues to provide confidence between the posts, João Pereira has improved as a player at Valencia and the two central defenders (Bruno Alves and Pepe) show the same characteristics: hard, strong in the air, sometimes uncoordinated under pressure. On the left side of defence, Fabio Coentrão continues to show tremendous stamina for club and country.

The midfield has more experience now, with the three first choices trying out different championships in the last few years. Veloso lacks some strength to help the defence and faces the competition of the hot prospect William Carvalho. Raul Meireles didn’t have a very good season at Fenerbahçe, but Portugal always expects his balance and João Moutinho can perhaps be even better, now that he has gained some maturity in the challenging Ligue 1 of France.

Up front, Ronaldo hopes for the best international display ever. He scored four goals in the play-off against Sweden and broke some more historic records at Real Madrid. His fitness is a concern but he will always play. And who else? Nani, even without regular appearances at Manchester United and with a compromising injury, is expected to start. Silvestre Varela (Porto) is the alternative. Hugo Almeida occupies the central position up front, but he can also drift to the left side and allow Ronaldo to show up in the centre of the attack during the match, surprising the opponents. Helder Postiga is the other striker but has had big injury problems and remains an enigma.

The rise of William Carvalho, the promising defensive midfielder from Sporting Lisbon, and the problems in the attack might put Bento’s B Plan into action for the most competitive games, certainly the opening meeting with Germany on 16 June. Carvalho can play in behind Veloso, Moutinho and Meireles, forming a 4-4-2 with Ronaldo and Almeida up front. This is the alternative, but the main formation is still the most likely: the same 4-3-3 and the same players as in 2012.

Who is the player who is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup?

I would have to say João Moutinho, to the fans that still don’t know him already. The midfielder was held back a little by playing in the Portuguese League, despite huge performances for Sporting Lisbon and then Porto. At the beginning of 2013-14, Moutinho was bought by Monaco and had to adapt to another championship. He proved his worth, even if the transition period was naturally difficult. Now, Portugal’s own Xavi is prepared to demonstrate even more quality in the World Cup. When you see Cristiano Ronaldo running like mad, keep this in the mind: he is ready to receive a magical pass from Moutinho. Everyone in Portugal knows what he is capable of. Some opponents don’t.

Who is the player who is going to disappoint the most?

Nani is currently the biggest concern in the national team. His lack of match fitness is well-known, since his situation in Manchester United did not improve through a difficult season and he got a complicated injury during the season. When he was fit, Paulo Bento always showed confidence in Nani, but the truth is that the talented winger did not always repay that faith.

What is the realistic aim for your team at the World Cup and why?

At Euro 2012, the Portuguese fans expected a difficult task in the group stage and Bento’s team surprised everybody by reaching the semi-finals. Now, with Ronaldo scoring more goals for the national team than ever, one should expect Portugal to prove their worth until at least the quarter-finals of the competition. After that, maybe there isn’t enough quality throughout the team to reach the final.

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a co-operation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

Born in Luanda, Angola, 22 years ago, William Carvalho is ready to conquer the World. He is, no question about it, Portugal’s next big thing. The confidence that the national coach, Paulo Bento, has in his regular starting XI can postpone the emergence of the rising star but, mark these words: it’s just a matter of time.

We haven’t seen such a talent blossom in Portugal for some time now. Once again, the former colonies in Africa provide a phenomenon to Portuguese football. Carvalho travelled to Portugal when he was just a few years old and, now, the country is ready to lose him. The top clubs of Europe are surrounding Sporting Lisbon’s defensive midfielder.

Carvalho comes from a family dedicated to football in Angola. His grandfather, Praia, and his uncle, Afonso, played for Progresso de Sambizanga. His father also tried out the sport and has been a fan of Sporting since he was young. This would be a determining factor in the future of the best talent of the Carvalho family.

After the move the Portugal, the little William started playing in the streets and eventually got to Recreios Desportivos de Algueirão, his first club. The term little is figurative. He wasn’t little at all, and the midfielder soon got used to playing with boys with two of three years older than him.

In 2004, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal were hosting the European Championship (losing in the final to Greece), William Carvalho arrived at União Sport Clube de Mira Sintra and, even being the youngest of the team, was elected the captain.

“He was always a very humble, quiet but mature boy. In Mira Sintra, he was two years younger than the others but he was made the captain and was a leader in the dressing room, solving problems between the boys from rival neighbourhoods, that would often start fights between themselves,” recalled Bruno Rodrigues, his former coach at the club, in an interview to Maisfutebol.

Back then, Carvalho played as a No10 and loved Thierry Henry, becoming an Arsenal fan. Over the years, he started going back in midfield and you can see him as a mix between Yaya Touré and the classical Patrick Vieira.

With a tremendous physique (now 1.87m in height, and 86kgs) and remarkable quality of ball control, the teenager was quickly spotted by the big clubs in the capital of Portugal and came to the point of saying no to Benfica.

Both William and his father are supporters of Sporting. When the youth coach of Benfica went to their house, in 2005, to present a contract, the boy turned away the chance. A big surprise coming from a guy that played for the modest Mira Sintra. But his favourite club was close and he took the opportunity.

The same club that discovered Cristiano Ronaldo was able to convince William Carvalho. Aurelio Pereira, a legend in the youth department of Sporting, spoke to the boy and asked him: ‘Which player do you like the most in Sporting?’ ‘Nani’, he answered.

One hour later, Nani called William Carvalho, not knowing who the boy was, and told him to sign for Sporting. And the boy did just that. The club played a reported €12,500 euros for the 14-year-old.

In 2007, the midfielder made his debut for Portugal’s under-16 side. He progressed in the youth teams of Sporting and had one appearance for the first team in April 2011. José Couceiro gave a few minutes to the 18-year-old prospect in the game at Vitoria de Guimarães. But the road had some bumps up ahead.

In the following season, Sporting decided to loan Carvalho. He went to Fatima, played in the second division and didn’t make a big impact. The talent was there, nevertheless, and a call from Cercle Brugge – a Belgian club that has a link with Sporting – changed his future.

Playing in the Jupiler League, Carvalho developed as a player and settled into being a perfect 6 defensive midfielder. He had been progressing as a playmaker or an all-around midfielder but this was, as everyone soon discovered, his destiny.

By the time he returned to Sporting, William Carvalho was a man.

His name was never forgotten in Angola and the African country’s FA tried to change his path. That is an everlasting dispute between the former colonies and Portugal. Players are born in Luanda, Bissau or Praia but end up in Lisbon or Porto and often prefer to represent Portugal. Angola called up Carvalho but the player turned them away. At that time, he was an under-20 international for Portugal and the best was yet to come.

For the 2013-14 season the new Sporting coach, Leonardo Jardim, decided to incorporate the midfielder in the squad of Sporting and he broke into the first team. Secure, intelligent without the ball, capable of covering for his defence without making too many fouls and, more impressively, rarely losing possession.

Carvalho now has an all-round game, at just 22. In a couple of months, he convinced all the critics and even the fanatics of the other teams. No one doubts the talent of William Carvalho. Paulo Bento, nevertheless, took his time to call the midfielder for the senior national team. Too much time, in general opinion.

The first call-up arrived in November 2013, for the play-off against Sweden. Carvalho made his debut and proved that he is ready for the World Cup. Miguel Veloso is the starting defensive midfielder for Portugal and Bento is known for not changing his mind. Anyway, with such a talent in his hands, the coach has a nice headache for Brazil.

Carvalho provides an alternative for Portugal. In the toughest games, Bento can put away his usual 4-3-3 formation and implement a more conservative 4-4-2, sacrificing one winger to play with Carvalho and Veloso, plus Meireles and Moutinho in the midfield. Up front, Ronaldo plus one. For the opener against Germany, you might just see it. Time will tell. But as we have already said, that is the only question with William Carvalho: how much time it will take, because it is going to happen.

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

The Black stars manager, Kwesi Appiah, has a disdain for systems. According to him players should be allowed to play free of tactical restraints to get the best out of them. He also believes in sticking with what works and is not known for experimentation.

In qualification for the World Cup, he stuck to the same group of players in a rigid 4-4-2; for so long Ghana have been masterful proponents of the 4-5-1. Appiah discovered the best way to get more out of his team during qualification was to give his captain and striker Asamoah Gyan some support. That came in the form of the diminutive striker Abdul Majeed Waris, whose willingness to run at defenders and take them out of position opened up space for Gyan. Nine goals were scored between the pair in qualification.

It is not certain that Appiah will continue with this gung ho approach considering the deficiencies in the team’s defence and goalkeeper, as well as the fearsome attacking talent in the Group G opponents: Portugal, Germany and USA.

The question of who starts at centre-back is still up in the air with Jerry Akaminko, John Boye, Jonathan Mensah, Rashid Sumaila and Isaac Vorsah fighting for the slots.

The long-tested midfield partnership of Michael Essien and Sulley Muntari will be broken up with Mohammed Rabiu taking a defensive midfield slot to offer the energy and pace that the two experienced players can no longer provide.

Appiah’s biggest problem is at full-back. His best left-back is a right-back by trade who spends his regular season playing in midfield at Esperance, Harrison Afful, while his other options, Samuel Inkoom and Daniel Opare are nothing if not inconsistent.

Upfront, Gyan is untouchable and should receive plenty of help from Kevin-Prince Boateng in a link role while Christian Atsu patrols the flank.

Appiah has proven to be consistent with his system but the greatest advantage he brings to this team is a belief in them and an innate ability to draw the best out of unsung players.

Who is the player who is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup?

Rabiu did not play in the first two games of the qualifying series but by the end was generally heralded as the most important player in the team. The Kuban Krasnodar enforcer is 24 but has already played for six clubs. He is a tireless runner with magnificent instincts while his tackling is top notch. He offers solid protection and a platform upon which the team builds their attacks. It is no easy task to make Essien and Muntari fight for a slot but that is what he has done in a year and is one of Appiah’s most trusted players.

Who is the player who is going to disappoint the most?

Sulley Muntari. For so long an untouchable for the Black Stars, Muntari is past his peak. His trademark ferociousness is gone as has his powerful left foot. He might start all the games but if things go awry, expect Ghanaian fans to point fingers at the Milan man.

What is the realistic aim for your team at the World Cup and why?

Semi-finals. The team is full of players with points to prove and in form at the right moment. The opening game against the USA in a tough group is the most important and a positive result will embolden an already confident squad. Germany beat the African side at the last World Cup but Portugal will not beat Ghana. Outside of Group G, none of the teams on the path to the semi-finals can claim to be better than the Black Stars

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

Asamoah Gyan

The dancing and music-loving captain of the Black Stars is respected but there is also genuine fear and a belief that his success is not down to just his fine footballing skills. Why? His big brother Baffour is married to the daughter of one of Ghana’s most feared and respected spiritualists and there have been many murmurs of help from nether realms in the success of the Gyan brothers.

Samuel Inkoom

The Dnipro right-back shot to fame in a manner footballers can lay claim to. He was called out live on radio by his alleged “baby mama” when he was 18 and accused of neglecting his baby. Suffice to say he did not take kindly to the claims and denied knowledge of the accusation. Inkoom is very happily married these days with a lovely family.

Christian Atsu

The on-loan Chelsea player was named Vitesse Arnhem’s player of the year but many years ago he made his way by selling ice-cold water to pedestrians in the streets of Accra to make a living. The product popularly called sachet water in Ghana was the only way the young Atsu could make a living in the capital while pursuing his football dreams.

Sulley Muntari

The Milan midfielder is really just a mother’s boy. His mother Hajia Kande was so interested in his career that when he played for the junior national teams, she used to cook for the entire team any time she had to visit her son in camp. She also once called the entire country jealous of her son on national radio and declared openly “No Sulley Muntari, No Black Stars”. She was forced to make her apologies a few days later.

Michael Essien

What’s the biggest gift you ever gave an ex-girlfriend? Michael Essien gave his former fiancee his house after they broke up. She showed her appreciation by turning it into a local restaurant, one that is still in operation.

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

Many people walk by Mohammed Rabiu every day in Accra without realising who he is. That is quite an achievement in Ghana when you are member of the national football team, the Black Stars.

Rabui has turned being invisible into an art form even on the pitch. He is the player journalists barely waste ink on, the one coaches never plan for, often targeting Michael Essien, Sulley Muntari or any other of the “superstars” of the team. The thing is this. Rabiu is the star of the team.

The son of a local watch repairer who also doubled as the goalkeeper of the town team Konongo Golddiggers, young Rabiu and his twin Salisu lost their father at a very young age leaving their mother, a local food seller to raise five children. She wanted nothing to do with football and was insistent that young Rabiu stay in school to have an education so he could have a chance of a better life.

The game was in his blood even though he stayed away from playing organised school football because he was so shy. His talent, however, could not be ignored and a local teacher, Anthony Kofi Boakye, decided to give him a push that would lead to great things.

“Our school team was preparing for a match against the next town and I had heard of a talented 12-year-old boy in the sixth grade. I managed to convince him to join our team which comprised 15-year-olds with the plan of blooding him for the next year. After a few training sessions it was obvious he was as good as any of the first-team players we had even though he was very timid. In the game against Mampong we brought him on as a substitute and he scored the winning goal.”

Rabiu never looked back after that. He joined a local colts team, AA Missiles, and played football through his secondary school days at Konongo Odumase school. After school Rabiu made up his mind football was going to be his life and was signed by Liberty Professionals in 2007, the same team that discovered Essien, Muntari and Asamoah Gyan.

Again his shy nature meant chances were at a premium in a star-laden team but he had his moments and none more spectacular than in a cup match against the giants Accra Hearts of Oak. With no substitutions left, Liberty’s goalkeeper was sent off and Rabiu volunteered to take his place.

“I did not know why I did it but I felt I could save the penalty so I went in there.” He saved the penalty and his team would go on to win the match. However, it would be the last time he would make positive headlines as he bounced from club to club in Europe looking to make a name for himself. He passed through Gimnasia and Xerez in Spain, Sampdoria and Udinese in Italy and Evian Thonon Gaillard in France all in two and a half years. He had become a journeyman because coaches found it hard to place him. He was willing but not assertive. Others could take the glory, all he wanted was to play football.

In 2009 he was called up to join Ghana’s under-20 team for the World Cup in Egypt and enjoyed a stellar tournament as Ghana went on to beat Brazil in the final. He did it his own way, though, quietly and without fuss. Not many remember tha he played with that squad. While some of his team-mates signed lucrative contracts with big clubs he returned to obscurity in France.

It would take another three years for him to make a return to the national picture after earning a call-up to the Black Stars squad for the African Cup of Nations in 2013. For Rabiu this was where he wanted to be. The spot where finally he could emerge and show his true worth on a truly notable platform. Drafted into the team after some poor performances from the veteran midfielder Derek Boateng, Rabiu took control as the midfield protector and never looked back. He still owns the position.

“I wanted to show coach Kwesi Appiah what I could do and he gave me the opportunity. I took my chance,” says Rabiu, for whom club recognition was also on the horizon. In the summer of 2013 with a deal to Olympiakos in Greece all but sealed, a phone call to a mentor changed his path. He was advised to choose a more lucrative deal to join the less prestigious Kuban Krasnodar in the Russian league for the sake of his family.

His friend, himself a former football star whose career went awry, asked him to think of his family first. They had worked hard enough and needed looking after. Kuban provided that kind of security. He listened and joined the Krasnodar-based team, where he is quietly going about his job.

Rabiu has matured incredibly since. He exudes presence when with his friends but do not expect to find him in a noisy conversation or out for a jaunt with the boys. All he cares about now is the World Cup. “I am very happy about my call-up to the Black Stars team. I want to be a part of this team for a long time. If you have a good mentality, trust yourself, do your best and pray to God, you can do your best.”

In Brazil he will still be an unknown element for most, but that is how he likes it. An element of surprise that opponents will not see coming.

This article is part of the Guardian’s World Cup 2014 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between 32 of the best media organisations from the countries who have qualified for the finals in Brazil. theguardian.com is running previews from four countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 12 June.

Omar Gonzalez

As one half (along with Matt Besler) of what looks to be the first choice central defensive pairing for Jürgen Klinsmann, Gonzalez will be under a lot of scrutiny, especially since his recent form has dipped below the level that first got him into the national team a year or so ago. His reputation hasn’t been helped by a number of big lapses of concentration during games, though Gonzalez’s self-inflicted wounds don’t end there. Here he is seen taking a saxophone to his dignity on Instagram.

Graham Zusi

As an eight-year-old child, Zusi was part of the World Cup 94 opening ceremony at Soldier Field, Chicago. So if the USA advance to the second round and go to penalties, this man has seen first hand from Diana Ross how not to do it. One of the faces of the current MLS champions Sporting Kansas City (funnily enough, Zusi missed a penalty in the shootout that clinched them the title), and with Landon Donovan taking a sabbatical from the game early last year and not being selected in the current squad, Zusi has been seen as his natural long-term replacement.

Tim Howard

Goalkeepers are different. Discuss. Remarkably, Howard may not even be the most tattooed goalkeeper in the US squad. Real Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando (the defacto third-choice keeper) is pretty heavily inked himself, though that’s perhaps understandable when you consider that RSL’s official anthem “Believe” was actually penned by the drummer from punk legends Rancid, Branden Steineckert. Even more remarkably, that isn’t the only official MLS anthem penned by a member of Rancid. San José Earthquakes (represented in Klinsmann’s 30-man provisional squad by the striker Chris Wondolowski and the defender Clarence Goodson) have a song called “Never say die” by Rancid guitarist/vocalist Lars Frederiksen.

Kyle Beckerman

Speaking of Real Salt Lake, even if their captain Beckerman, a defensive midfielder, doesn’t get on to the pitch in Brazil (and with the incumbent holding player, Jermaine Jones being something of a yellow card machine there’s every chance he will), the first camera pan to the bench should ensure that the Salt Lake captain reaches cult icon status among football hipsters, owing to his natty dreads (he claims it’s nine years since his last haircut).

Jermaine Jones

Not that Beckerman’s hair represents the most eye-catching tonsorial display from USA players. That honour would have to go to Schalke’s Jones, who in an infamous World Cup qualifier played (unbelievably) in a Colorado blizzard last year, gave us the hash tag #snofro: see above. It should be noted that the man anchoring the midfield alongside Beckerman or Jones, Michael Bradley, has no hair at all.

ield alongside Beckerman or Jones, Michael Bradley, has no hair at all.