World Cup Predictions:
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, France & Uruguay
France:
I think France should be able to overcome this group but I don’t think they will do it easily. They have good strength in depth in pretty much all areas, but it all depends on whether the French squad are a team or a team of individuals. Centre back and central midfield looks a worry although it may be a blessing that Florent Malouda has been outstanding for Chelsea in that area. There is a lot of hype surrounding playmaker Yoann Gourcuff; Gourcuff is highly rated by coach Raymond Domenech and impressed for Bordeaux in the Champions League this season but Franck Ribery is still the key-man for France.
South Africa:
South Africa may struggle to get out of this group, although it is not uncommon for the hosts of the World Cup to do well in their own country and conditions. A lot relies on Everton’s Steven Pienaar if South Africa are to progress and it worries me that they have only three forwards in the squad of 23. A very unpredictable package but with home advantage I would not be surprised to see them surprise one or two.
Mexico:
After watching Mexico play England in a World Cup warm up match I was impressed with their tactical ability, but they seemed to lack a cutting edge. Carlos Vela who Arsenal have very high hopes for alongside veteran striker Cuahtemoc Blanco are their main strikers but I think a lot depends on the creativity of Giovani dos Santos who was not labelled the next Ronaldinho at Barcelona without reason. I think he may be one of the stars of the group stage.
Uruguay:
I think an unknown quality in this World Cup, not many people seemed to have mentioned them. There forward line is very impressive, obviously people know about Diego Forlan and what he can do and if Uruguay is quality of this group then Forlan needs to fire. The player I am most interested in viewing is highly rated Ajax player Luis Suarez, he already has 10 goals in 30 international appearances and scored 48 goals in two seasons since moving to Ajax from fellow Dutch outfit Groningen.
Qualifiers: France and Uruguay (on goal difference)
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea and Greece
Argentina:
Argentina is without doubt favourites for Group B and some people’s favourites for the tournament. There forward selection is unbelievably talented FIFA Player of the Year Lionel Messi, son-in-law of Maradona Sergio Aguero, Carlos Tevez, Gabriel Milito and Gonzalo Higuain. I’m sure every nation in the World Cup would like just one player like these in their squad. The two question marks with this team are do they have the balance to allow their attacking options to play? And secondly what on earth is Diego Maradona going to do in this World Cup? Leaving out Zanetti and Cambiasso still does not make any sense to me but hey! He used 75 players in the qualifying stages so I am sure the other 52 players he missed out are disappointed to have missed out; and people say Fabio Capello had problems having a provisional squad of 30. Argentina should walk this group, but should is a big word in football.
Nigeria:
It is a big blow for Nigeria losing no doubt their best player John Obi Mikel to injury so he won’t play any part in this tournament. He is a big player for them and has experience of major club competitions. Obfemi Martins is obviously their most well-known player, Premiership fans will know how much of a treat he offers and Chinedu Obasi is a high-related youngster for German club Hoffenheim. Joseph Yobo is another player with a lot of experience and will be a major influential factor for them in the group stage. Being an African based team may work in their favour.
Greece:
Now don’t ask me to pronounce any of the chosen squad but I do remember striker towering Angelo Chariesteaus from his winning goal in the Euro 2004 final against Portugal. There squad is very experienced with the majority of the squad being 30 or over and this could be beneficial to them. The retirement of legendary keeper Antonis Nikopolidis has left a big gap in this team. They have a chance of progressing but they have a very tough side of the draw, but I can’t write them off at Euro 2004.
South Korea:
Without a doubt the best nation representing Asia in this year’s World Cup. Manchester United’s Park Ji Sung is without a doubt their highest profile name, he is an indispensible member of this team and they will need his work-rate and his creativity to help them progress. Guus Hiddick obviously had a big influence on this team guiding them to the last four of the World Cup in their homeland beating Spain and Italy on their way before losing out to Germany. I doubt they can repeat this year as their squad lacks a finishing product in front of goal.
Qualifiers: Argentina and Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia
England:
After the disappointments of failing to quality for Euro 2008 Fabio Capello has brought back discipline, pride and most of all confidence to the England national side. England in major tournaments has played with fear and have lacked a tempo to their play. Wayne Rooney has emerged as the world-class player everyone all knew he would become and for the first time in many years England are not relying on David Beckham and Michael Owen. Balance in midfield is England’s key to success; they must take notes from when they played Spain and control the midfield if they are to have any chance of winning this tournament. With the pace of Aaron Lennon England have a new dimension to their play, this is something Capello likes and looks to take advantage of. The injury to captain Rio Ferdinand is a blow but England have always been blessed with cover at centre back; England need Gareth Barry to be fit to provide the midfield balance and most important of all the partnership between Gerrard and Rooney is vital in the later stages of the tournament.
USA:
With 10 players now playing or to have played in English Premier League you can tell why this nation has come a long way in ‘soccer’. Landon Donovan is their key man and if they are to qualify out of this group as expected then Landon needs to be on form. Clint Dempsey is a good player and has plenty of experience, but their key man in my opinion is goalkeeper Tim Howard. He is one of the most consistent goalkeepers in the Premier League and if USA keeps clean sheets they should have enough quality to edge their way out of the group stage. Don’t forget this team got to the final of the Confederations Cup and were beating Brazil two goals to nil before a Kaka master class denied them victory.
Algeria:
Now I won’t lie on this one, I’m cheating and using a bit of help from the FIFA website. Looking at the squad I can only name two players who I recognise and they have both played for Portsmouth this season and I don’t need to repeat what happened to them this season. FIFA’s profile of Algeria tells me “Algeria’s strength is in midfield, with Captain Yazid Mansouri spreading the ball around and forward-thinkers Karim Ziani and Mourad Meghni the most likely players to spark danger”. So I will trust FIFA (as it’s their World Cup) and agree that they seem to be the players to look out for. If Algeria is to gain any points in Group C they have to beat Slovenia in Game 1, otherwise, it’s zero points for Algeria and possibly quite a demoralising goal-difference against.
Slovenia:
Another team I have very little knowledge on, looking at their 23-man squad the name that sticks out the most is Robert Koren who surprisingly has been released from West Brom this summer. Other than that, I’m relying on the help of FIFA’s profile again. Considering they beat Russia in the qualifiers on their road to South Africa I am predicting they cannot be a bad side. I’m expecting them to be organised, with no real star names they will more of a team rather than relying on individuals. Striker Milivoje Novakovic scored five goals in qualifying so maybe the Cologne striker could be one to watch (thanks FIFA) and in more certain terms he will definitely be a commentator’s nightmare.
Qualifiers: England and USA
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