World Cup 2010

Okie, so the draw for World Cup 2010 was made this morning (SG time) and there wasn't really a Group of Death (i.e. especially tough group with almost equally strong teams.

IMO, the trickier ones are Group A, B, D and G. I've made my predictions (bar any major players missing in the actual team selection) and will check back in half yr + time and see how accurate I am. LOL.



Grp A - SA as host nation will pose threat as they will be playing for crowd and pride. Previous WCs have shown impact of home/crowd support. Huge possibility of France flopping and not make it through but think Uruguay's lack of big stage experience will count against them.

Grp B - Nigeria is a weakening force, 2nd spot should be btw Korea and Greece. After what they did in Euro 04, you can never write Greece off but am opting for Korea cos of the pace their players possess and also think fatigue will catch up with Greece's ageing team.

Grp C - If England can't top the grp, they can forget about winning WC, smash their legs with bricks and book early flight home.

Grp D - The only thing going against Germany is their lack of goals in the team. The other three teams are on par in terms of quality so it's not hard to see why some of the media are touting this as 'Grp of Death'. Australia's tactics are too conservative for my liking and Ghana are an industrious side but lack creativity. Serbia have some underrated players and could prove to be a surprise package.

Grp E: Netherlands may be the potential upset - their strikeforce is looking 'weak' - injuries + lack of 1st team football. If they make it thru as expected, then Japan to edge out Cameroon IMO. The Japs are underrated technically and Cameroon are similar to Ghana in that they are strong physically but base their play on key players, who may be marked out of game or have an off day.

Grp F: Paraguay did very well in South American qualifiers and should join Italy in progressing to next stage.

Grp G: Ivory Coast to upset Portugal, who lack a natural goal scorer - a real pity given the no. of creative midfielders they have.

Grp H: Like England, Spain's grp is relatively easy. I'll be rooting for them and the easy grp they've drawn means they can rotate around and keep the squad fresh for latter stages.