The 2010 edition of the FIFA World Cup looms ahead of us, beginning in June. Much has been said about the problems the host country, South Africa, has or may have in hosting such a large event, but for now, we'll leave that part of the tournament aside. What footy fans are interested in are the games, and this tournament promises to be one to remember. Looking at all the qualified teams and the different groups, there probably has not been a prior World Cup with so many strong, competent teams and so few minnows, or teams that were expected to be destroyed. 32 teams in 8 groups of 4 teams each, playing in stadiums in 10 different cities in South Africa, the first country from that continent to host football's largest spectacle. With only the top two teams from each group going on to the next round, every single game takes on a monumental importance, as entire nations will hold their breath over the 90 minutes of the match. Who will do well? Who will disappoint? Who will surprise?
GROUP A
South Africa (Rank 88)
The hosts will finally get the chance to show the world how good their country can play. Unfortunately, this is probably not a good thing for them. Currently ranked 88th, the Samba Warriors are missing the star power and talent that the powerhouses in Group A have. Their recent friendlies have been mixed, sometimes being terrible, sometimes mediocre, managing losses against Germany, Ireland, Norway, Serbia, and Iceland, with wins against Madagascar and Namibia to go with draws against Jamaica and Japan. However, no host nation has ever been eliminated before the second round, and South Africa's rabid fans will no doubt give them an extra advantage against their opponents. Home fans, while massive for motivating and improving performance (see: Korea, 2002) does not necessarily equate to results (see: Austria and Switzerland, Euro 2008). If South Africa play their hearts out, and are able to stay focused for every game, they may be able to pull an upset or two, but it's more likely that they go out, as their defense isn't strong enough and their offense not powerful enough to keep out the likes of France or Mexico.
Mexico (Rank 17)
Mexico comes into this World Cup with the expectations of a nation of 100 million, all hoping their country finally delivers on potential and breaks through the glass ceiling of the quarterfinals that has kept them in check at prior tournaments. Earlier in the qualifying campaign, it was unclear at one point whether Mexico would even qualify, as their form away from home was the exact opposite of when they were playing at their fortress of the Azteca stadium. However, coach Javier Aguirre seems to have righted the ship and they finished second in CONCACAF behind the United States. With players of the likes of Omar Bravo and Giovani Dos Santos, among others, Mexico is a very talented and dangerous team, capable of playing at the highest level and against the most elite nations. However, Mexico has a tendency to underperform in World Cups as of late, and when the time comes in big games, they implode. If they are able to keep their cool, stay on track, and play the way they can play, they have the potential to go quite far in South Africa.
Uruguay (Rank 18)
Though only a small country of 3 million, Uruguay is a regular competitor at FIFA World Cups, and this edition should be no different. Finishing 5th in qualifying once again (they finished the same in 2005 but were eliminated in the play-off by Australia), Uruguay completed a 2-1 aggregate win over Costa Rica to qualify for the finals in South Africa. Uruguay has a squad of players coming from both South America and European leagues, with star players such as Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez adding firepower. Hardworking on both offense and defense, the former 1930 World Champions will be looking to advance past the round of 16 for the first time since 1970. Uruguay has shown they are capable of competing against the big teams, which they will have to do if they want to get out of the group. They also sometimes come up short in matches that they need to win, such as the 1-0 loss at home to Argentina that would have guaranteed them qualification. Look to Uruguay to be competitive in their chances at advancing to the round of 16.
France (Rank 8)
France is a traditional powerhouse of European and international football, but the past couple of years have left much to be improved upon for the French. After their disastrous showing at Euro 2008, France finished second in their qualifying group behind Serbia, with less-than-stellar performances against Romania and Lithuania along the way. It took a second-leg handball in Paris to put away the Irish in the play-offs, but France got the job done. Offensive firepower with the likes of Thierry Henry, Franck Ribery, and Nicolas Anelka to go along with defensive and midfield stalwarts such as William Gallas and Jeremy Toulalan providing balance to what should be, on paper, a team capable of challenging for the cup. However, coach Raymond Domenech has consistently appeared to manage to turn France into a bumbling, boring, and underperforming monstrosity. If his players play the way they know they can, despite his influence, than they can achieve a similar result to the World Cup 2006, where France finished second. Recent results, though, paint a different picture, and it could very well be that the French fans will be disappointed come June.
How France qualified
This group is, like many of the other groups, very interesting, and not easy to say who will definitively qualify for the next round. All the clubs have a very good chance of advancing and being eliminated earlier than expected. It will come down to which side shows up; if Mexico and France play up to their potential, they'll advance. If not, it could come down to goal differential, as each match should be closely fought.
GROUP B
Argentina (Rank 9)
Like France, Argentina is a traditional football powerhouse who just managed to qualify and is coming in playing under their normal high standards. Head coach and veritable god Diego Maradona managed to prove the doubters wrong and eaked out back-to-back 1-0 wins to secure qualification, saving face for what had truly been an awful campaign, with a 6-1 loss to Bolivia and an even more painful defeat at home to arch-rivals Brazil, only the second time ever that Argentina had lost at home. La Albiceleste boast immense star power, with Lionel Messi prominent among them, widely regarded as the best player in the game today. Despite their prior stumbling in qualifying, Argentina should easily get out of their group, but it remains to be seen how they willl fare in crunch time against bigger opponents.
Lionel Messi
Nigeria (Rank 22)
African powerhouse Nigeria has seen their fortunes dip a bit in the past couple of years, but their resilience is alive as ever, as evidenced by their qualifying campaign, in which they got off to a bad start with three straight draws before barely finishing ahead of Tunisia, courtesy of a come-from-behind 3-2 win against Kenya in the last match that sealed their place in South Africa. Nigeria will be looking to at least equal their prior achievements of reaching the second round at the World Cup in 1994 and 1998. The team, nicknamed the Super Eagles, will be relying upon star player Obafemi Martins to score the goals needed to get out of Group B. Nigeria has a better chance than either Korea or Greece at finishing behind Argentina, but the gap is really not that large, and it will most likely end up being a three-way fight for second place in the group among those countries.
Republic of Korea (Rank 49)
Korea is a frequent and consistent player at the World Cup. The problem is doing something once they're there. Fans can point to the fourth-place finish at the 2002 edition, which they hosted, but the reality is, Korea has not accomplished much of anything else at a finals hosted outside of their own country. As well, their qualifying campaign got off to a bumpy start before finally squeaking through with a 2-0 win against the United Arab Emirates. Captain Park-Ji Sung will be relied upon to orchestrate Korea's attack, which will need to extra-potent, as their defense is usually strong enough to keep the score low. If the offense doesn't show up, Korea will make yet another premature exit at the sport's most high-profile event.
Greece (Rank 11)
After coming out of nowhere to win Euro 2004 against all odds, Greece performed quite disappointingly, missing qualification for the 2006 World Cup and leaving Euro 2008 at the group stages. However, this is only the second ever World Cup Greece will have participated in, and excitement is running high. German coach Otto Rehhagel has shown what he is capable of, as Greece defeated the likes of Portugal, France, and Spain at Euro 2004 despite not having anywhere near the amount of famous names as those countries. However, it is likely that Greece will prove that Euro 2004 was more of a fluke than anything, although it is still possible they can get out of this group with strong performances against teams not named Argentina. Anything beyond the second round would be fantastic beyond most people's expectations of the Mediterranean nation.
GROUP C
England (Rank 7)
A reinvigorated English squad comes into South Africa looking to add to their sole World Cup trophy in 1966. Bouncing back from the disappointment of failing to qualify for Euro 2008, England sailed through their World Cup qualifying group, winning nine out of their ten games and scoring 34 goals in the process, the highest for any European country. Under Italian coach Fabio Capello, England appears to have finally transformed their enormous potential into performance. With household names such as Lampard, Terry, Ferdinand, Rooney, and Gerrard, the English team is packed full of players who ply their trade in one of the best leagues in the world, the Barclay's Premier League. Under Capello, England has achieved many impressive results, and there is no reason to suggest that this cannot continue in South Africa. One factor which may hamper England is the length of their domestic season, which, unlike other countries, does not take a Winter break and plays well into May, which may exhaust players before heading to the World Cup in June. If Wayne Rooney is healthy, look for him to score the goals that could propel England to a much-awaited second World Cup title.
Wayne Rooney
United States (Rank 16)
The United States enters sixth consecutive finals aiming to improve upon their 2006 showing, where they were eliminated from a tough group that included Italy and the Czech Republic with one draw and two losses, only scoring one goal. The U.S.'s qualifying run started off in the best possible way, with yet another 2-0 win over arch-rivals Mexico. After disappointing losses to Costa Rica and Mexico away from home, the Americans secured qualification with a nerve-wracking 3-2 win in Honduras, with the game-tying penalty kick for the Hondurans missing in the final minutes. Coach Bob Bradley has often fiddled with the lineup in friendly matches, but he is guaranteed to pick Landon Donovan to come to South Africa. The Los Angeles Galaxy star will look to control play and create goals, along with the likes of Clint Dempsey, Oguchi Onyewu, Michael Bradley, and Jozy Altidore also hoping to play a role. The U.S. will hope they can emulate their performance at the 2009 Confederations Cup, which saw them hand Spain a surprising defeat and jump out to a 2-0 lead over Brazil before finally succumbing. All eyes will be on the first match of the finals against England, but the true litmus test for the U.S. will come against Algeria and Slovenia. Barring any hiccups, the Americans should be able to at least advance to the second round, with their hopes on something beyond that as well.
Algeria (Rank 27)
Algeria made it to the first finals appearance in 24 years on the back of a nailbiting playoff win against Egypt, a result which caused riots in Africa and Europe. Despite their excitement at beating their rivals and finally returning to the world stage, Algeria will have their work cut out for them. A lack of experience at this type of tournament will probably harm their prospects, as their 4-0 loss in the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations showed. However, in the same tournament, Algeria defeated heavy favorite Côte d'Ivoire 3-2 and will be looking to do more giant-killing in South Africa. Unless Algeria can shore up its defense, figure a way for its midfield to be more creative, and capitalize on the chances they get, their stay at the tournament will end like their other trips, at the group stage.
Slovenia (Rank 29)
The small eastern-European nation of Slovenia defied the odds to beat bigger teams like the Czech Republic, Poland, and Russia to qualify for their second tournament since independence in 1991. Slovenia's bread and butter in qualifying was their defense, allowing a measly four goals in ten matches. a feat only bettered by the Netherlands (who played 2 games fewer). If Slovakia hadn't beat Poland 1-0 away in the final match of the qualification period, Slovenia wouldn't have needed to go through a two-legged playoff against Russia. Despite being the overwhelming underdog, Slovenia produced a masterful effort to defeat the Russians 1-0 in the second leg to achieve a 2-2 tie on aggregate, with their goal scored in Moscow counting for twice due to the away-goals rule. Lacking the star power that fellow group members England or USA have, Slovenia will have to rely upon their opponent underestimating them once again, as well as their defence staying as airtight as possible to secure the points needed to advance. A realistic goal would be for second place in Group C, with the reward of advancing to the second round being phenomenal for the Slovenians.
GROUP D
Germany (Rank 6)
The reliable Germans are once again among the contenders at the World Cup. Die Mannschaft finished first in their group, courtesy of a 1-0 win in Moscow that forced Russia to go to the playoff against Slovenia. Germany will be looking to once again go deep in the tournament, hoping to add to their three wins of 1954, 1976, and 1990, along with a second place in 2002 and third place in 2006. Captain Michael Ballack will hope to finally guide his country to glory, after falling short in the final of Euro 2008 against Spain. Miroslav Klose will most likely be there to put the ball in the back of the net, and the Germans will more likely than not find their way in the latter stages of the tournament, though they may not be pretty or stylish in doing so.
Michael Ballack
Australia (Rank 19)
Australia has improved by leaps and bounds since switching their conference from Oceania to Asia several years ago. At the 2006 Wold Cup, only a cruel last-minute penalty by Italy eliminating them in the second round. Australia bounced back remarkably well, cruising by in their qualifying group, going undefeated and finishing five points ahead of Japan, their nearest challenger. Dutch coach Pim Verbeek has shown his tactical brilliance in prior matches, and he will look to do the same again in Group D. Australia's defense is generally solid, and they will rely on Tim Cahill and Harry Kewell to provide the goals that will secure their progress to the second round, the minimum that the Australians can expect in South Africa. The Socceroos have the potential to possibly go farther, and much will depend on how they perform against the more traditional footballing countries, like Germany.
Serbia (Rank 15)
When the qualifying groups were made known for the European zone, many expected France to come out on top. However, Serbia would be the ones finishing first after defeating Romania 5-0 on the last matchday. South Africa 2010 will be Serbia's first since independence in 2006, although it would really be more like their second in a row, considering they appeared as Serbia-Montenegro in Germany. Serbia will be counting on their defense, headed by Manchester United star Nemanja Vidic, to anchor their team in this competitive group. Serbia will have to learn their lessons from the last World Cup, where they also showed up with a fantastic defensive record before losing all three games they played in. If they can play the way they did against Romania or Japan, where they won 3-0 in Osaka, Serbia have a great chance at advancing to the second round, or even further.
Ghana (Rank 31)
The Black Stars are back again, after being the only African country to make it out of the group stage in 2006. Ghana will be looking to repeat their performance from then and add to their impressive results in international competitions, which include several Africa Cup of Nations titles, as well as two FIFA U-17 World Cups. Ghana was the first African country to qualify for the finals, losing just once and only conceding one goal throughout the entire phase. Ghana's strength is their midfield, led by Michael Essien, who, together with Sulley Muntari, will help to orchestrate attacking threats and clogging opponents' advances. If the midfield plays up to their potential, and the defense can over-perform somewhat, Ghana have a good chance at advancing to the second round, but they will need to have more in the engine if they want to be able to out-fox teams the bigger, more talented teams. They will likely have their hands full in each of their matches in a very competitive Group D.
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