2014 FIFA World Cup: Top 5 teams that can spring a surprise in Brazil

The 2014 FIFA World Cup is only 241 days away and the likes of Germany, Brazil and Spain are already being touted as favourites.

But no tournament is complete without the underdog, and there quite a few teams – across all the qualifying regions – who are making a good case of taking the most watched sporting spectacle by the scruff of the neck.

Below is a list of teams who can spring a genuine surprise at 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil:

Alberto Zaccheroni, coach of Japan, leads the celebrations with the squad after the FIFA World Cup qualifier against Australia at Saitama Stadium on June 4, 2013 in Saitama, Japan. (Getty Images)

Asia (AFC) – Japan

The island nation was the first team to qualify for the World Cup; a feat they also achieved during the two previous tournaments.

Alberto Zaccheroni has a really young squad on his hands with the average age of the squad 26 years. But that along with some lackadaisical defending was their undoing at the 2013 Confederations Cup, as they returned home with a goal difference of minus five and no points to show for.        

However, what the lack at the back, they make up going forwards. Japan has bundles of attacking flair with the likes of Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Okazaki feeding off the services of their most capped player in Yasuhito End?.

If the quartet combines to devastating effect, the Asian giants could better their tournament best performance of the quarter-finals.