Group H

Group H sees two South American sides, Chile and Honduras, pitched against tournament favourites Spain, and Euro 2008 hosts Switzerland.  Spain deserve their favourite status after going on a run of 35 games without a loss, including their Euro 2008 finals win.  They did slip up against the USA to end that run, but they are undoubtedly a top quality side and unless they fall into an unfavourable draw in the Last 16 or Quarter-Finals, they should go far in this tournament.  Spain open against Switzerland, who gave a good showing at the last World Cup and are a vastly improved side.  Spain should easily beat them though.

Qualification for the Swiss will depend on how they can match up to Honduras and Chile.  The Swiss play Chile in their second game.  Chile qualified well, but conceded a lot of goals and showed some inexperience against teams like Brazil.  The good thing Chile have going for them is that despite their defensive weaknesses they are not afraid to attack and are a very attractive team going forward.  This may help them get a result or two in the group stages and give them a chance of going through. 

Group G

Group G sees Brazil facing a more stern a test than usual as they face Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea.  This group highlights why Brazil are not starting the tournament as favourites and are slightly lagging behind Spain who are the favourites to take the trophy.

What is good for Brazil is that they open the tournament against North Korea.  Little is known about North Korea as most of their players do not play outside of their country, and they’ve not played at a World Cup Finals since 1966 when they were somewhat of a surprise, beating Italy and only losing to Portugal after leading 3-0!  It’s easy to assume though that they will not do much at this tournament, but they really are an unknown quantity and could offer up some excellent value bets.

Brazil have their usual mix of talent including the likes of Kaka, but may also include some ageing stars such as Ronaldinho but even he cannot be dismissed given current form at AC Milan.  If he makes it to the final squad, this will certainly be his last tournament and he’ll be looking to finish on a high.  Brazil are certainly a team of thoroughbreds and it would be no surprise at all if they win an unprecedented 6^th tournament.  Their opening game against North Korea could be a basketball score!

Ivory Coast are a real threat and offer up a lot of power and strength in the form of players like Drogba.  It’s unfortunate that as one of Africa’s strongest teams they have been drawn in tough groups in this and the last tournament.  However, given this tournament is on African soil and with the support they will receive, Ivory Coast have a real chance of progressing here, at the loss of Portugal’s chances.

Group F

Group F provides Italy with a relatively leisurely start to the tournament, which might not be such a good thing seeing they will need to step up the pace in the Last 16.  Italy face Slovakia, Paraguay and World Cup novices New Zealand.  If two things are sure about this group it’s that Italy will qualify and New Zealand unfortunately won’t.

It’s easy to forget that Italy are actually the World Cup holders (remember the Zidane headbutt in the final?!) and will be going for a record equalling 5^th title which would see them alongside Brazil as the tournament’s most frequent winners.  They were unbeaten in qualifying and as reliable as you would expect an Italian team to be. They are older and a weaker side than the one that won the tournament last time, but that’s what we all said in 2006 and they won it ahead of the favourites then. 

Italy open their account against Paraguay, who, at first glance seem like an unknown outfit.  However, with closer inspection they cannot be dismissed having qualified automatically in the tough South American group alongside Brazil and ahead of Argentina and Uruguay.  They have a lot of firepower up front with Santa Cruz, Valdez, and Cardozo, all applying their skills at top European clubs (Man City, Borussia Dortmund, and Benfica).  Paraguay may therefore pose the strongest threat to favourites Italy.

Slovakia qualified for the tournament for the first time in their history, ahead of the Czech Republic so they should be taken seriously.  They don’t have many big name players so it is hard to see them performing well, but they must be respected.  They open their first ever World Cup finals against New Zealand, so given they are expected to put 3 points on the board after their first game then they will be in a good position, albeit both other teams in the group should beat New Zealand too.  Given the one-sidedness of this group the real battle for second place will be the match between Slovakia and Paraguay.  If drawn then second place is really just a lottery between these two as to how many goals they each score against New Zealand and how many goals they each concede against Italy.  Given Italy play Paraguay first and Slovakia play Italy in their last game, Slovakia could be at a real advantage as Italy may have qualified by the third game in the group and may relax a little to conserve players for the next round.

Group E

Group E sees a good opportunity for a lower ranked side to get through to the Last 16 stages.  The Netherlands should have no problems getting through here, although their World Cup form and their ability to stick together as a team without arguing and falling out has been a problem in the past. They do look very consistent, having won 8 out of 8 games in qualifying, scoring 17 goals and conceding only 2, albeit against weak sides such as Norway, Scotland and Macedonia.  They have plenty of firepower though with the likes of Robben and van Bommel, so qualification really should not be a problem in this group even if their defence fails them.

Denmark pose a threat in this group and could be another one of those unexpected teams that could progress in this tournament.  They pushed Portugal into the play off place during qualification, ahead of Sweden and Hungary too, only losing once in 10 games.  Denmark don’t have many big household names but they cannot be ignored based on their qualifying record.  It is teams like this with young and upcoming players like Arsenal’s Bendtner who tend to do better than expected and play as an effective unit.  Denmark open against the Netherlands but even if they get nothing out of this game they will see themselves through with results against Japan and Cameroon.  It doesn’t look that infeasible Denmark can qualify here.

Japan are not expected to perform that well, although they’re not the minnows of 20 years ago as many of their players now ply their trade in Europe.  Players like Nakamura will certainly be a threat, but it’s hard to see Japan progressing here.

Group D

Group D will be tough for all teams. Germany are favourites to progress, but they will be thinking that it could have been a lot easier than drawing Serbia, Australia and Ghana.  You can never write off Germany and their odds suggest good value for the whole tournament itself.  Although in previous tournaments they have been written off due to a lack of experience and a largely new and young squad, they showed during qualification that they are back as a world force in football.

Germany won’t have it easy against the likes of Australia.  Australia did not concede a single goal in six matches during qualification and that’s a result of a lot of their squad, such as Schwarzer, Emerton, Neill, and Cahill now plying their trade in the big European leagues.  With a first team sheet mostly containing top league players you cannot write off Australia pulling off results against the other big sides, and against players they face up to each week in their domestic leagues.  Australia are no longer the minnows of world football and have to be respected.  They open their qualifying against Germany which could be a really interesting game if the Germans are still running in second or third gear at the start of the tournament.  If the Aussies pull off even a draw in the first game then we’re in for a really exciting, and close group. 

As with some of the other groups it’s the alternative first game that may steer the eventual qualifiers.  Serbia face Ghana and if either team wins this then they put themselves in a prime position to go through, especially if they can pick up points from Australia.  Serbia qualified in the most impressive form, probably one of the best qualifying records of all teams in the tournament with 7 wins out of 10 and beating France to automatic qualification.  With Man United’s Vidic and Chelsea’s Ivanovic in defence you can see why they are a real threat in this group if they defend well, and they are not shy of firepower too. Expect them to beat Ghana here, even with Ghana’s Essien and Muntari. Ghana did get to the final of the African Cup of Nations, but failed to show much in the way of striking power along the way, and this may be their downfall in this tournament along with their poor discipline. 

Germany should qualify, but with tough teams in the group and the potential to draw a game or two, they might not top the group.  Serbia are the dark horses of the group but you cannot rule out Australia. If anything Ghana are likely to find qualification the toughest task out of all the teams in this group.

Group C

Group C sees England and the USA take on Algeria and Slovenia.  If Beckham goes to the World Cup he should be able to give England some pointers to how the USA will play, but this really should not be a problem group for England.  England play their first game (and will therefore train pre-tournament) at high altitude so should be on top fitness by the start of the first game.  England should win this group on 9 points with their excellent qualifying form and Wayne Rooney in the team.  Fabio Capello is no mug, and unlike other England managers he will not let the hype get out of control and will not assume anything.  With a manager who is defensively minded and someone who does not take big risks, England are looking more like the old Italian sides with every game and stand a real chance in this World Cup if the draws after the qualifying stages are favourable to them.

The USA will also expect to qualify from Group C, which at first looks like one of the more predictable qualifying groups. US football (or ‘soccer’) has really developed vastly in recent years, and the USA team will be favouring their chances more than ever this World Cup.

Algeria did qualify by beating Egypt, the African Cup of Nations eventual winners, in a playoff so they could spring a few surprises.  They also beat Didier Drogba’s Ivory Coast in the African Cup of Nations, before coming fourth in the tournament overall. 

It would be easy to write off Algeria because of their lack of appearances in World Cup competition, but expect them to not embarrass themselves in this competition. If the USA naively underestimate Algeria then there’s a chance Algeria could put USA qualification in jeopardy.  Remember, Algeria play Slovenia in their first game, so one of these two sides could be sitting on 3 points with England playing the USA first, and likely to beat them.  With Algeria playing England in their second match, qualification could result in a showdown between Algeria and the USA in the final game of the group.

It is not easy to assume Slovenia will be a simple opponent to defeat.  They qualified ahead of Russia to reach the finals and have a history of performing well against top teams. Given a closer look at both Slovenia and Algeria, this group looks tighter than first thought.

Second place is a real puzzler in this group.  The USA should open with a loss against England and they’ll be hoping that Slovenia and Algeria produce only a draw between them.  If Slovenia beat Algeria in the opener then they have a real chance of sealing qualification in their second game against the USA, who will be desperate for all three points after a loss to England.  Given the order of games, and qualifying form, Slovenia have a real chance of beating the USA to second spot.

Group B

Group B could be very tricky for Maradona’s Argentina.  On paper in any other Wolrd Cup this looks like an average strength group for Argentina, but on their qualifying form it is difficult to assume they will fly through this group, even with the likes of Messi in the team.  Nigeria and South Korea will be tough tests with Greece being the most unpredictable team of the group.  As we saw in Euro 2004, Greece may either be very tough to beat, or as seen in qualifying they could struggle and end up the whipping boys of this group. Greece’s world ranking of 12^th does not really reflect their current chances of doing anything in this World Cup.

With Argentina playing Nigeria in the first game, there’s a real opportunity for either South Korea or Greece to take points of each other in the other opening game.  Given Korea’s previous World Cup form, albeit under Guus Hiddink, they may have enough to take a close win over Greece, giving them a great chance of qualification.  Remember, South Korea conceded only 4 goals in qualifying so they could become the Greece Euro 2004 equivalent in this tournament, conceding few and sneaking wins. 

Argentina should beat Nigeria, although Nigeria did finish in third place in the African Cup of Nations this year they struggled to score goals even with their big stars like Jon Obi Mikel, Obafemi Martins and Yakubu.  Argentina should not struggle to take something from the Greece game too but they may have sealed qualification after their second game against South Korea.

The remaining qualifying place is up for grabs between the other three teams.  Greece are probably the outsiders with South Korea and Nigeria battling it out for that second place when they face each other in the final game of the group.  With Nigeria’s poor scoring form and South Korea’s good defence this last game could be a tight affair, and qualification may go down to goal difference.  If so, expect South Korea to sneak second place.