The World Cup draw was delivered on Friday to the boredom of 200 millions of spectators, hoping Charlize Theron would at least get another chance to make a dent in Raymond Domenech’s pathetic and ever so slightly lucky World Cup bid. However, the South-African born actress, married to an Irishman, was not allowed to announce the countries drawn (unlike two days before during the official repetition), limited to the utterance of a letter followed by a number that did not fail to capsize us into a world of frenzied Battleships games.
- Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
South Africa is apparently going to be the first World Cup host to go out during the group stages. One of the most technically limited squads of the tournament is ironically led by Carlos Alberto Parreira, who notably groomed some of the most skilful players of all-time, being at the helm of the Brazilian national team in 1994 and 2006 and clinching a World Cup title in the process. One of the scarce motive of hope for the Bafana Bafana was the encouraging Confederations Cup they hosted months ago, in which they narrowly lost 0-1 to Brazil in the semifinals. The home crowd seems to have a positive effect on a squad that is growingly overwhelmed with pressure and will face robust contenders in its quest for a last 16 spot.
It took Mexico ten months and three selectors to bring new life to the fiery side that almost dismissed Argentina in the last 16, four years ago. Neither its best player ever, Hugo Sanchez, nor Sven Goran Eriksson managed to stir things up in the almighty CONCACAF area where Mexico was defeated by El Salvador (2-1) and Honduras (3-1) before Javier Aguirre was called up to play Pancho Villa and rally his troops to a decent second rank in a group topped by USA. The team relies heavily on Cuauhtemoc Blanco, the 36-year-old play-maker that brought the much imitated Blanco hop to the fore in 1998. The attacking sector is indeed a mess, no proper striker being able to fill the void left after Borgetti and Fonseca wore out, while youngsters Carlos Vela and Giovani dos Santos were groomed for the senior side. Only a miracle would see them repeating their 2006 feat.
Uruguay needed two play-off legs to qualify for the 11th World Cup in its history after being narrowly defeated by Argentina on the last day of AMSUD group stages. Led by two of the most prolific forwards of the past year, Villareal’s Diego Forlan and Ajax’s Luis Suarez, representing a threat for any defence on their day. Not the brightest midfield in terms of technique, all players possess a combative spirit akin to Ireland’s that could well upset the French, who hold a pitiful record against them, with two draws in their past two encounters, and against teams that loosely fight for the ball ( 1-1 against South Korea in 2006, 0-1 to Scotland in 2007, 0-2 against Argentina in 2009, 1-1 against Ireland a few weeks ago). All the more, the Uruguayans are kept safe by one of the most promising goalkeepers in the Serie A, Lazio’s Nestor Muslera, 23.
France were understandably chuffed after being drawn in the group of 87th-ranked South Africa. However les Bleus had a terrible qualification campaign from start to end and will probably rely on Franck Ribéry to support the team’s attacking impetus on his shoulders. As talented as the French side is, very few elements allow us to think they can repeat their 2006 campaign, as they have been a tactical shambles for nigh on a year. One glimmer of hope for the French might be the recent repositioning of Yoann Gourcuff in a more defensive role with FC Bordeaux, akin to how Pirlo used to operate until he turned 30. Had the French been managed by an inspired selector, one may suppose positioning Gourcuff in an akin position would finally bridge the gap between a two-man defensive midfield that seldom crosses the halfway line and a forsaken attacking line. If only.
- Group B : Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece
Diego Maradona picked up a tentative Argentina side a year ago that initially struggled to make its skilful individualities play as a team. However tactical loopholes are still dime a dozen in a team that qualified for the World Cup on the very last minute of the last game against Uruguay, to the extent that the Argentine people, usually as optimistic for their football team as they are pessimistic for the general political stance of the country, are quite hopeless at Maradona’s capabilities to harness the magnificent attacking and midfield options Argentina possesses next summer. Lionel Messi has been constantly under-achieving with the national outfit since his mentor took the reins, prompting questions about Maradona’s choice to play him in a traditional central attacking midfield position where the Argentine is often out muscled. However Messi was struggling to make an impact even before Maradona arrived, raising eyebrows as to who of the hen or the egg came first. He will be revved up to live up to expectations next summer as the first Argentine Ballon d’Or holder and could get the team very far on his own.
South Korea was on an impressive run of 28 games on the trot without conceding a single defeat prior to their 0-1 encounter with Serbia at Craven Cottage a month ago. The team is relying on a compact midfield led by United’s Ji-Sung Park that hardly lets the ball pass through, which is fortunate as the Taegeuk Warriors’ back line is the weak link of the team, formed with rather inexperienced players (only one is more than 30) mostly playing in the domestic league. The team is tactically reinforced to make up for this weakness, and can easily both hold the ball and counter-attack at will. Maradona could have trouble breaking the deadlock when he faces such a disciplined team, hence another surprise run beyond the group stages should not be excluded for the Koreans.
Nigeria plays an enticing football based on pace and technique that enabled them to beat France away back in June. The lack of physical impact proposed by their players, coupled with a somewhat erratic way to follow tactical guidelines is inconsequential given the dazzling pace and dribbling skills of most of their players from the halfway line onwards. John Obi Mikel remains key to the Super Eagles’ hopes and a single day off, or an injury, would hinder the team’s chances to go through in a group where every midfield is dense and relies on heavyweight players with which Nigeria could have difficulties to cope with.
Greece completes group B in a rerun of the 1994 World Cup group stages in which it was suprisingly drawn with both Nigeria and Argentina. The team has kept the same players who earned an unlikely European Championship five years ago, and only managed to rank 2nd in what was arguably the weakest group of the EURO zone behind Switzerland. One man carried the Hellenic hopes on his shoulders throughout the qualification campaign, striker Theofanis Gekas whose 10 goals ensured the Greeks a play-off in which they managed to dismiss Ukraine, whose complacency in the first leg was the main ground for this outcome. Complacency from the opponents will again, as in 2004, be Greece’s foremost opportunity against teams who supersede them in every aspect of the game.
- Group C : England, United States, Algeria, Slovenia
England enters this World Cup as a firm favourite after a brilliant qualification campaign solidified Fabio Capello’s side in its bid to win its first worldwide competition since 1966. Strong individualities in defence and midfield mantle a certain shortage of quality goalkeepers and strikers in the country, only represented by 13 players in this season’s Champions League in comparison to Brazil’s 105. Problem is, these 13 roughly play at the same position and leave Capello with an abundance of riches in the centre of the park while other spots are lacking in quality and quantity. The key will then be to transfer the tactical battle to the centre midfield, preventing the opponents from getting too much room for manoeuvre on the aisles and wish for the best. However the strong egos composing this central midfield could struggle to cohabitate again, unlikely penalty misses from Lampard and Gerrard in the 2006 World Cup quarter-finals against Portugal springing to mind.
The United States got to the final of the Confederations Cup a few months ago and put up some surprising performances against Brazil and Spain, possibly the two strongest contenders for next summer’s trophy. Leading 2-0 against spineless Brazilians at half-time and beating Spain by the same result was very encouraging for the Americans, but the way they won was rather repersentative of Kakà’s and Xabi Alonso’s team-mates exhaustion after a long season than a tactical US superiority. A few individualities are capable of sparks of brilliance, spearheaded by Hull City’s Jozy Altidore and LA Galaxy’s Landon Donovan, but an appalling defence will encourage England, Algeria and Slovenia to focus on set-pieces when they face the Yanks.
Algeria qualified for the first World Cup of its history since 1986 after a replay thriller with Egypt in Khartoum enabled veteran Rafik Saifi’s side to wash away the brutality in which the Desert Foxes were hosted in Egypt. A tactical shambles of a game in Sudan witnessed the Algerians at their best and worst : terrible tactically, at times stuck with seven players on the wings and none in the centre of the park, the Algerians showed passion to make their way to South Africa thanks to individualities such as 25-year-old goalkeeper Fawzi Chaouchi, midfielder Karim Ziani and forward Kamel Ghilas. Getting past the group stages will still prove difficult for a team whose captain Yazid Mansouri plays for low-key Ligue 1 side FC Lorient.
Slovenia could well be the surprise of this group. After defeating Russia in the play-offs, the most collectively eager team of the EURO zone, very entertaining to watch, was drawn in a group where its contenders for second spot have all the reasons in the world to be worried. A shortage of quality individualities (aside of Udinese’s Samir Handanovic between the goalposts) is made inconsequential by manager Matjaž Kek whose inexperience is mantled by leadership abilities he already displayed during his playing career. A perfect repartition on the pitch has made up for the poor technical abilities of the Slovenian whose first game against Algeria will be an interesting style opposition.
- Group D : Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia
Germany comes into this tournament with less confidence it left the previous one. After being defeated by Spain in the past 2008 European Championships, Joachim Low’s side had an awkward qualification campaign where it only secured the top spot thanks to a late goal in Moscow against a tentative Russia. This was hardly enough to reassure the Germans who drawn twice with Finland prior to that, and were notably booed by the home crowd in Hamburg for the first time in recent history during the home game against the Finnish. Only one player, Michael Ballack, is a regular in a foreign club, as the whole squad hails from top 5 German sides Bayern Munich,Werder Bremen, Hamburg SV, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke 04 who all have in common a complete inefficiency on the European stage these past seasons. The Germans were chuffed to bits at the draw, former international Andreas Brehme heralding Ghana was the only decent contender, but the Germans will have to up their game if they don’t wish to be the fourth seeded team in the history of the World Cup to be dismissed in the group stages.
Australia was arguably the best side in the Second Pot on par with South Korea. Ranked 21st in the FIFA rankings, the side only conceded once in the qualification campaign that led them to group D. An ageing squad, star man Tim Cahill and goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer are the best individualities of a side oriented towards physicality, density in midfield and fighting spirit. Their first game against Germany will be a massive test for a side that hardly played any opponents of an akin calibre in the AFC (Asian Football Confederation) since joining in 2006. The last game against Serbia also promises to be tasty with 9 Aussie players hailing from the former Yugoslavia.
Ghana qualified with 12 points for this World Cup, on par with both Gabon and Libya, and owes its presence in South Africa to a fortunate turn of events. However the Black Stars are a very promiseful team with several players performing at the top level, Michael Essien being the key man surrounded by Internazionale’s Muntari, Fulham’s Paintsil and FC Rennes’ Asamoah Gyan, a young striker whose career was hitherto hindered by injuries but scored 8 in 12 games this season. A side that managed to get out of a tricky group in 2006 consisting in Italy, the Czech Republic and the US, the expectations are high to make this first World Cup on African soil one to remember. After having reached the last 16 in 2006 under guidance of experienced selector Bora Milutinovic, the Black Stars chose to hire a fellow Serbian coach to supersede the Germany achievements. Milovan Rajevac, 55, is however in hot waters since drawing his fellow country in the group stages, a country he was quoted as hoping to only meet in the final.
Serbia qualified for the first World Cup in its history (well, 11th if you take into account those played under several different nicknames) by demoting France during the qualification campaign in which it notably beat Romania 5-0 and convincingly beat Austria away. Radomir Antic, former Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid manager, has done a sterling job in creating a group of players whose qualities are complementary, mixing experience with the likes of Dejan Stankovic, peaking players in promising CSKA winger Milos Krasic and youth in Gojko Kacar. The Serbians rely on a solid defence and an enticing counter-attacking game, and will play their own final with Ghana on June 13th in the first game of the group D that will be decisive for the outcome of both nations.
- Group E: Holland, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark
Holland is seemingly one of the favourites of this World Cup. Was it for its stunning qualification campaign (8 straight victories, 2 goals conceded) or its quality individualities, with youngsters such as Elia, Afellay and Van der Wiel coming to the fore, one would be tempted to forestall a brilliant run for the Oranje next summer. And indeed, the fact they were drawn in a decent group after twice overcoming the “Group of Death” in 2006 (Argentina, Ivory Coast, Serbia) and 2008 (Italy, France, Romania) will be a motive of satisfaction for Bert van Marwijk’s troops. The former Borussia Dortmund coach is helped in his management staff by legends Frank de Boer and Phillip Cocu whose experience at this stage will be crucial for a rejuvenated Oranje side who should reach the quart-finals.
Japan was an outsider coming into this World Cup, and its status hardly changed after being drawn in group E. Star player and free-kick specialist Shunsuke Nakamura will have nothing to lose with a side that lost to Bahrain back in January and who has no players playing outside the domestic league other than in midfield, except for promising Catania striker Takayuki Morimoto, 21, who was recently compared to a young Ronaldo by countryman Alexandre Pato.
Samuel Eto’o and his Cameroon team-mates are perhaps the most conducive African representatives in this World Cup to go past the group stages. Decent individualities playing in Europe, coupled with manager Paul le Guen’s tactical knowledge could be what the Indomitable Lions need o reminisce their 1990 quarter-finals, their best result to this day. Recent Arsenal legend Alexandre Song will be useful to add a precious balance to Cameroon’s midfield often inclined to go all-out-attack.
Denmark is an unknown quantity coming into this World Cup. Having topped their qualification group after notably beating Sweden with some incredible strikes of luck, Top’s countrymen bear high responsibility on their shoulders being the only Scandinavian representatives at this World Cup. A few promising young players, Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner and Palermo centre-back Simon Kjaer cover for the lightweight midfield carried by veteran Dennis Rommedahl who once ran 100m in 10″20′, for a team who will have a difficult test entering the competition against Netherlands.
- Group F : Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia
Italy has seldom been as shaky entering a World Cup as this year. The come back of World-Cup winning selector Marcello Lippi at the helm of the Squadra Azzura has hardly been enough to enhance the level of play of a team who only has one player (former Manchester United prospect Giuseppe Rossi) playing outside the domestic Serie A whose standards are dropping at a worrying level. A shortage of quality strikers up front was highlighted by an Italian supporter during Italy’s draw againt Holland last month in Pescara, who invaded the pitch wearing a T Shirt reading ” Call up Cassano!”. Indeed the team has looked spineless during the whole qualification campaign, scoring a last minute goal against Ireland to secure a hardly impressive qualification bid.
If you hear “Ivan Vicelich”, what will you automatically think of ? No, not the latest spearhead of the GTA in Liberty City series, but the most capped player in the history of the New Zealand national football team. The All Whites took advantage of Australia’s withdrawal in the Oceania zone to get their second ever appearance in the World Cup closing stage after topping their group and beating Bahrain in a tight play-off. Yep, topping their group was not enough, they also had to play a play-off. Well, that’s understandable given the stature of their opponents in the group stages (French New Caledonia, Fiji who beat them once, and Vanuatu) and at least one can say they deserved their spot in South Africa, unlike other selections sneakily mentioned above; also, had the New Zealanders an equal opportunity to use rugby moves to score goals, they’d probably get to the finals next summer, so fair enough.
Paraguay is the South American representative in this group. Pretty decent qualification campaign in which they notably beat Brazil 2-0, the Paraguayans struggled to find a stable defensive backbone, calling back veteran Denis Caniza and testing 5 different players at centre-back. A team led by Roque Santa Cruz, the Guarranies have a decent chance of making it to the last 16, which would equal their best ever result in the competition reached in 1986, 1998 and 2002, but barely any of making it further.
Slovakia topped its qualification group on its way to South Africa, defeating Slovenia and Czech Republic notably. Playing a fickle yet attractive game, the side is led by the youngest captain in this World Cup, Napoli star Marek Hamsik, whose magnificent performances with the national outfit and at club level alike have him set for a big club move in the short-term. A very inexperienced team (no player above 30 in the goalkeepering, defensive and attacking lines) that will have nothing to lose, they may well have the honour of crowning their first World Cup experience by going past the group stages
- Group G : Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Brazil has been drawn in the group of death for the first time in decades, and goes into this World Cup in an entirely different shape as it went to Germany four years ago. Former Seleçao captain and defensive midfielder Dunga implemented a physicality in the Auriverde’s game that was at first reluctantly accepted by the players but then went on to add defensive awareness to the all-round brilliant Brazilian game. A fine qualification campaign in which they topped the crowded CONMEBOL zone group was all it took for the Brazilians to enter the competition as firm favourites. An experienced team with an averaging 26 of age, Brazil still rely on strong individualities (Inter Milan’s goalkeeper Julio Cesar, Kakà and surprising Luis Fabiano who was ranked on par with Nemanja Vidic in the recent Ballon d’Or rankings at 16th) but have blended solid tactical notions to their game, and will have a mild start to the competition against North Korea on June 15th before the serious stuff kicks off, with a headline-grabbing game against Ivory Coast five days later.
North Korea was seen as one of the weakest teams of the competition entering the draw and its chances to win a game were further dented after being asked to face Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast two months after drawing 0-0 with low-key Ligue 2 side FC Nantes. For the record, their best performance ever was a 1966 quarter-final in which they lost 5-3 to Portugal with four Eusebio goals.
Ivory Coast, led by experienced manager Vahid Halilhodzic who led FC Lille and Paris Saint-Germain to Champions League glory, is a team that plays defensively in spite of most of its talent lying in the attacking lines. That’s the result of Halilhodzic’s intransigeant policy that enabled the Ivorians to top a group where Burkina Faso, Malawi and Guinea were tricky opponents. The build-up to the World Cup will perhaps be more vital to this squad than to any other, as Halilhodzic has 6 months bedecks with an African Nations cup to impart that extra bit of discipline the team is still lacking and hindered its qualification campaign, notably in this draw with Malawi in the closing game of the group. If Ivory Coast prepares well, it can go far, much further past tricky Group G. It is Halilhodzic’s speciality to prepare his troops physically and mentally for big events, and their opening game against Portugal will be a matter of life and death.
Portugal could have went off against Bosnia in the play-offs, but Cristiano Ronaldo (who was injured at the time) and his team-mates will be present for the sixth time at this stage of the competition under the guidance of former Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant Carlos Queiroz. A wayward qualification campaign in which they struggled against opponents such as Hungary and Albania casts a shadow on the ability of the Portuguese to repeat their semi-final four years ago, in which they were rather unfairly beaten by France. The appalling shortage of strikers in a country with less than 250,000 registered footballers (one of the smallest amount of all the federations present at this World Cup) only makes Portugal the third contender for a last 16 spot behind Brazil and Ivory Coast in the Group of Death.
- Group H : Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland
Spain comes into the tournament as a European Championship title holder, top of its group in a qualification campaign in which the Furia Roja won all of its 10 games and berth of four of the five best passers of a ball in the world at the moment with Xavi, Iniesta, Xabi alonso and Fabregas. What, then, could stop the Spaniards from getting to a World Cup final they never reached in their history ? Some say precisely the points above, as Spain has always had some of the brightest crop of talent around and decent results coming into major tournaments, but always failed to capitalize on them. The fact they’ll play either Ivory Coast, Portugal or Brazil as soon as in the last 16 will be an indicator of how they will fare later in the tournament.
Honduras will rely on its three experimented ‘European’ players (Wigan’s Figueroa, Tottenham’s Palacios and Internazionale’s David Suazo) to stir things up in its first World Cup appearance since 1982 where it was knocked out in the group stages by Spain. Their 3-1 defeat of Mexico back in April is the most relevant result they obtained in the past year, which fails to convince they could get out of this group, more competitive than at first glance.
Chile had a brilliant qualification campaign in the CONMEBOL zone group in which Matias Fernandez’s team-mates finished second to Brazil. Regularly placed among the World Cup final stage’s nations (8th time in 2010, could have been more if they hadn’t been kicked out of the 1990 and 1994 competitions), the Chileans have a very young and attacking-minded team led by promising striker Alexis Sanchez (20) of Udinese, who is struggling at club level and will be keen to impress the scouts next summer. Sporting Lisboa’s Matias Fernandez in midfield and Bayer Leverkusen’s Arturo Vidal in defence are two very gifted youngsters who will give the Spaniards a run for their money.
Switzerland finished first in one of the least competitive groups of the EURO zone in front of Greece mere months ago. A starting line-up that has no real strengths nor weaknesses, the Swiss are led by experienced Ottmar Hittzfeld whose discipline he implemented in the squad mantles a lack of depth in the attacking sector, heavily relying on 30-year-old Alexander Frei. Lazio right-back Stefan Lichtsteiner and Leverkusen winger Tranquillo Barnetta are two of the best performers of a team that will play a mini-final against Chile on June 21st.
Five games to look forward to in the group stages
Uruguay – France
Serbia – Ghana
Holland – Cameroon
Brazil – Ivory Coast
Spain – Chile
Five players to watch in the group stages
- Lionel Messi ( Argentina)
- Yoann Gourcuff (France)
- Marek Hamsik (Slovakia)
- Milos Krasic (Serbia)
- Matiàs Fernandez (Chile)
