The CDB Awards: South Africa 2010

So, the greatest show on Earth has closed its curtains for another four years (at least until the first qualification match for Brazil 2014 is played in about 13 months’ time) and it’s time to have a look back at the good, the bad and the ugly of South Africa 2010 in the CDB Awards.

Best Match

For me, the most exciting match we saw over the competition was one of the most controversial games – Uruguay’s quarter-final win over Ghana could not be matched for sheer emotional drama. We were treated to some fluent attacking football by both sides, particularly by Uruguay, but Sulley Muntari’s long-range swerver just before half-time stole the initiative for the last remaining African side. Diego Forlan scored a great free-kick to equalise and both sides kept going for it, coming up pretty much on a par with each other and tiring a little. Extra time arrived and it got desperate by the end, with Ghana throwing a couple of kitchen sinks into the Uruguay box right at the death before the Hand of God 2: Hand Harder scandal. Luis Suarez’ instinctive block to deny a last-gasp winner spawned a ludicrously overblown furore, demonising the player for doing what any player (the Ghanaians included) would have done in his situation, and Asamoah Gyan’s failure to convert the penalty with the last kick of regulation play was a great shame, but you cannot deny the spectacle of it. Sebastian Abreu’s inappropriate but wonderfully ballsy chipped penalty to seal the win was the icing of the cake.

Runners-up: Slovenia 2-2 USA, Slovakia 3-2 Italy, Germany 4-1 England, Argentina 0-4 Germany, Uruguay 2-3 Germany

Best Individual Performance

Bastian Schweinsteiger’s unstoppable performance at the heart of Germany’s dismemberment of Argentina was a real highlight. It was a display of total dominance, with tough tackling that never became thuggery, sharp passing to start counterattacking moves, and involvement in two of the goals. His free-kick cross for Thomas Mueller’s opener and effortless slipping away from Angel Di Maria and Javier Pastore to supply Arne Friedrich were excellent. His performance only gets better when you consider that just one year ago, Schweinsteiger was an underachieving winger for club and country. Louis van Gaal has done wonders with him over the past season at Bayern Munich and no-one will have been prouder than him as Schweinsteiger announced himself as one of the world’s leading central midfielders.

Runners-up: Mesut Oezil (Germany 4-0 Australia), Diego Forlan (South Africa 0-3 Uruguay), Ryan Nelsen (Italy 1-1 New Zealand), Jean Beausejour (Chile 1-0 Switzerland), Thomas Mueller (Germany 4-1 England), Xabi Alonso (Germany 0-1 Spain)

The “Looks Like An Alien Sent From Outer Space To Play Just Off The Main Striker” Award

Mesut Oezil.

Best Hair

Honduras didn’t stand out for much in this tournament but fringe player (geddit?) Walter Martinez sported a breathtakingly silly dreadlock affair with the tips coloured alternately red and yellow. Stupendous effort.

Worst Individual Performance

I have never seen one player perform so badly and stay on the pitch the full ninety minutes as Wayne Rooney did for England against Algeria. He looked exhausted, uninterested and cripplingly short of ideas, and you could tell how angry he was with his outing by his outburst to the cameras at the end berating the fans for booing the team.

Runners-up: Abdelkader Ghezzal (Algeria 0-1 Slovenia), Sidney Govou (France 0-2 Mexico), John Terry (Germany 4-1 England), Felipe Melo (Netherlands 2-1 Brazil), Mark van Bommel (Netherlands 0-1 Spain)

Best Team Performance

Tough one to call, but I’m going for Spain’s slow-burning victory over Germany in the semi-final. They only won 1-0 and it was only through a Carles Puyol header from a corner, but what was so notable was the total cohesion and patience as they breezed past what had previously been the best team of the whole competition. Before the game there was reason to believe that Germany might neutralise Spain with their determined pressing all over the pitch but it turned out to be the eventual champions who took the German midfield out of the game, constantly hounding the defenders to force long balls forward, which just completely nullified Schweinsteiger, Oezil, and Sami Khedira. The scoreline suggested a close game, but it really wasn’t at all. Contrast Portgual’s 7-0 victory over North Korea where Carlos Queiroz’s side were no better than average at any stage.

Runners-up: Uruguay (vs. South Africa), New Zealand (vs. Italy), Germany (vs. Argentina)

Most Inspiring Team

Look no further than New Zealand – who would have predicted before the tournament kicked off that the All Whites would be the only team to leave South Africa with an unbeaten record? Ricki Herbert’s lower-leaguers and amateur bank clerks played with more pride than anyone else and you couldn’t help but wish they could have found that elusive goal against Paraguay which would have taken them through as group winners. Their backs-to-the-wall defensive performance to earn a draw with the holders Italy will live long in the memory.

Breakout Star of the Tournament

Turned out to be Bayern’s Thomas Mueller, the 20-year-old right-sided forward who came out of nowhere to sneak the Golden Boot with five goals and three assists. Displayed incredible poacher’s instincts to always arrive in the box at exactly the right time with lethal finishing to boot. Surely the natural successor to Miroslav Klose and now established as a world star.

Worst Team Performance

England’s dire 0-0 with Algeria wins on match alone, but France’s limp capitulation to Mexico takes the crown for its aftermath as well as the ninety minutes themselves. Literally nobody had a good game for France, utterly devoid of any desire and looking desperate to be eliminated just to get away from the clownish Raymond Domenech. Nicolas Anelka’s foul-mouthed tirade to the manager at half-time sparked a few days of hilarious self-destruction that brought such shame on everyone involved that President Nicolas Sarkozy vowed to personally conduct an investigation into the team’s performance.

Runners-up: Greece (vs. South Korea), England (vs. USA), Algeria (vs. Slovenia), Slovakia (vs. Paraguay), Switzerland (vs. Honduras), Honduras (vs. Switzerland), England (vs. Germany)

Team of the Tournament

Playing 4-2-3-1 as nearly all the successful teams did.

Iker Casillas (Spain); Philipp Lahm (Germany), Gerard Pique (Spain), Diego Lugano (Uruguay), Jorge Fucile (Uruguay); Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany), Sergio Busquets (Spain); Thomas Mueller (Germany), Andres Iniesta (Spain), David Villa (Spain); Diego Forlan (Uruguay)

Best Overall Player

Forlan for me was the only man to play really well in all seven games, leading his team to a fantastic fourth place finish with intelligence and flair. Never once did he dive or complain to the referee either, just got on with the job in hand. By all accounts the nicest man at the World Cup, too, always taking time to sign autographs or talk to journalists and fans.

Player Most Likely To Have Earned A Big Money Transfer

Most people will remember Luis Suarez for the handball against Ghana but don’t forget his three well-taken goals, including an absolute pearl against South Korea, his searing pace and constant willingness to get in the box and shoot. Considering his fifty-plus goals for Ajax last season, expect plenty of rumour regarding his destination in the next few weeks.

Runners-up: Mesut Oezil (Germany), Kevin-Prince Boateng (Ghana)

Goal of the Tournament

Look no further than Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s straight-as-an-arrow rocket blast against Uruguay in the semi-final. After several keepers had been caught out by the late movement of the Jabulani ball, Fernando Muslera could not complain about this one. From the moment it left his boot, it never deviated and struck perfectly off the inside of the far post and in.

Runners-up: Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa, vs. Mexico), David Villa (Spain, vs. Honduras), Fabio Quagliarella (Italy, vs. Slovakia), Keisuke Honda (Japan, vs. Denmark), David Villa (Spain, vs. Chile), Andres Iniesta (Spain, vs. Chile), Carlos Tevez (Argentina, vs. Mexic0), Miroslav Klose (Germany, vs. Argentina)

Alternative Team Of The Tournament

This is a team of players who might not have gone all the way in the tournament but still stood out as great without really getting all the praise they may have deserved. In many ways every bit as good as those who made the main team of the tournament. Also playing 4-2-3-1.

Samir Handanovic (Slovenia); John Pantsil (Ghana), Ryan Nelsen (New Zealand), Yuji Nakazawa (Japan), Carlos Salcido (Mexico); Anthony Annan (Ghana), Diego Perez (Uruguay); Landon Donovan (USA), Yasuhitu Endo (Japan), Jean Beausejour (Chile); Nelson Haedo Valdez (Paraguay)

Day 22: Uruguay Bring Ghanaian Adventure To Abreu-pt End

Netherlands 2 – 1 Brazil

Uruguay 1 – 1 Ghana (4-2 penalties)

Wow. What a day of quarter-final action. Two extraordinary matches but we’ll start with the first, a shock result as the Netherlands overturned the Brazilian juggernaut.

I’d thought coming into this game that the Netherlands might be the team best suited to beating Brazil, and while Arjen Robben did draw some fouls running down the right at Michel Bastos, he didn’t really take full advantage and the Dutch win ended up being quite a strange one. In the first half, there was only one team in it. Brazil fired a warning shot past their opponents’ bow when they had a goal disallowed after eight minutes and followed through on the threat just two short minutes later when Felipe Melo played a simple forward pass that bisected a static Dutch back line and Robinho made a great run onto it, needing only to sweep the ball past Maarten Stekelenburg to put the Selecao ahead, and so he did. From then on Brazil did what we expected them to and shut up shop, doing a good job of keeping the Netherlands, and particularly key man Wesley Sneijder, quiet. They outplayed the Dutch very simply and Bert van Marwijk’s side were unlucky not to have been punished more by half-time. Maicon in particular came very close with the last kick of the half, a brilliant, sweeping Brazil move reminiscent of that Carlos Alberto goal in 1970, which Stekelenburg got a subtle but crucial touch to and was wrongly called a goal kick. For the Netherlands, their half was summed up by an embarrassing attempt at a corner where Robben subtly poked the ball out of the corner and then walked away as if he hadn’t taken it, but none of his team-mates picked up on it and so Brazil just took it back. Funny, but cringeworthy.

In the second half though, everything changed. Bastos should have been sent off for a second booking when he blocked Robben off on the flank, but the resulting free-kick brought the ball to Sneijder, who put in a cross. Julio Cesar, the Vince Vaughn-a-like goalkeeper who is normally so imperious, came out to meet it, missed it as he jumped with Felipe Melo, and it came off Melo’s head for an own goal. It was a real calamity for Brazil and the incident seemed to transfer all of their previous confidence to the Netherlands. As doubt pervaded every Brazilian move, Sneijder and Mark van Bommel took control in midfield and started to make things happen. The second goal, a header from little Sneijder of all people, was deserved and then Brazil really started to fall apart. The tackling in the match had been competitive from the start, but the Brazilians started reacting to everything in a very negative way. It came to a head when Melo fouled Robben and then proceeded to stamp on him viciously as he tried to take the ball back from him. It was a moment of absolute insanity, completely inexcusable in a World Cup quarter-final when your team is chasing the game. With only ten men Brazil were unable to resurrect their juggernaut playstyle and although they had one or two chances from corners late on that the Dutch failed to deal with sufficiently, they never really looked like coming back and it turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.

The game after was even more eventful and emotional, though. In the first twenty-five minutes Uruguay were by far the better side, and there was a definite feeling that they would regret it if they didn’t take advantage by scoring. That was exactly what came to pass, as Ghana came back into the game, Kevin-Prince Boateng increasingly finding room to manouevre as he moved into the hole behind Gyan. With the last kick of the half, Sulley Muntari completed that turnaround with a frankly ludicrous swerving shot that, as it traveled through the air, echoed with all the complaints about the Jabulani ball. Fernando Muslera was wrong-footed, having taken a crucial step to his right, and so at half-time it looked pretty bad for Uruguay.

What got Uruguay back into it, and always looked like being their likeliest avenue, was a Diego Forlan set piece. This is a side of his game that I wasn’t really aware of coming into the tournament, but his delivery from corners has been consistently dangerous all the way through. His free-kicks too have been brilliant and none more so than the equaliser, which hovered and dodged its way into the net over Richard Kingson’s net. You could make a case for Kingson needing to do better with that shot, but you can’t deny the quality of the shot. From then Uruguay didn’t really kick on to seize back control of the game, though, and as the game dragged on Oscar Tabarez made a bold tactical substitution, taking off the creative forward Edinson Cavani and bringing on the target man Sebastian Abreu. It seemed to be a serious tactical error as Abreu distorted the Uruguayan attack plans, pushing the dangerous Luis Suarez too far to the right. You’d probably say it worked out though.

When extra time arrived things slowed down as both teams were clearly really tired. Ghana, obviously, had played extra time in the second round – I don’t know what Uruguay’s excuse was. There was plenty of effort from both sides but neither seemed able to produce any real end product, and penalties always looked the likeliest outcome. Until, of course, everyone thought it was all over – after a chaotic scramble in the Uruguayan box, Suarez blocked a goalbound shot with a blatant handball and was rightly sent off. You can’t really blame Suarez – he had to take it for the team from his perspective, but it was cheating. Justice would have seen Asamoah Gyan bury his third penalty of the tournament with the last kick of the game, but justice was absent. It was a shocking moment that will stick with the poor man for the rest of his life, but then he had to pick himself up straight away and take another one in the resulting shoot-out. You just felt that the Ghanaians had been jarred mentally by the missed penalty and so it proved as both John Mensah and young Dominic Adiyiah took poor spot kicks which were both saved by Muslera.

It is a great shame that the last African team has departed but Ghana can hold their heads up high. They’ve acquitted themselves very well and got better as they went on. Boateng and Gyan in particular have had excellent tournaments and they came so close to making history as the first African side to reach the semis. Considering how it looked that no team from the home continent would have made it to the knockout stages, the local fans must be proud of them. But sadly they will remember this World Cup for heartbreak more than pride, I fear.

Man of the Day: Hard to say. I’ll go for Sneijder, but Stekelenburg runs him very close for a brilliant save from Kaka and another great one from Maicon. For sheer effort, Gyan gets a mention too.

Tomorrow, we can only hope for another day of such excitement and drama. Germany-Argentina could be a brilliant end-to-end match, two teams who cannot really defend but attack with brilliant skill. I’m going to punt for Germany. Spain should have little trouble dispatching Paraguay.

Day 21: Wish You Were Here

The quarter-finals start tomorrow – good news for those of you who, like me, are suffering from withdrawal. While we wait for proceedings to begin again, though, I thought I’d take a look at those teams who will take no further part in South Africa 2010, having been eliminated already, and also one or two teams who didn’t qualify, whom it would have been nice to see involved in the tournament.

On the whole it’s hard to argue that the teams that failed to get out of their groups deserved to play any further part, but there are, I think, one or two notable exceptions to that statement. One side who I wish had been able to go further was the Ivory Coast. They’ll be looking at that shoddy opening match against a Portugal side who were there for the taking, and wondering how they let it finish 0-0. The last kick of the game, a conservative short corner rather than a cross into the box for someone to get a head on, is a moment that summed up a curious mentality going into that game that they realistically had to win to make sure of qualification, and so it proved. It’s something of a tragedy that probably the most talented African side the world has ever seen has been hamstrung by consecutive terrible draws at this World Cup and the last. Four years ago, they were dropped into a vicious Group of Death containing Argentina, the Netherlands, and what was then Serbia & Montenegro, an even more tricky group than they had this time around. Even if they’d qualified this summer they would have probably faced Spain. When you look at a side containing Kolo and Yaya Toure, Gervinho, Didier Zokora, you think they should be able to do well, but then you see Didier Drogba and you see a player who has such immense talent that with a slightly kinder draw he could have made history for African football. At 32, he has surely now missed his chance to make that impression on the biggest stage of all.

In a very different way it was also a great shame to see New Zealand eliminated. I think everyone took a shine to the All-Whites – written off before the tournament for being a squad comprised of lower league and amateur players, and dreaming of leaving the tournament with a point or even just a goal, they showed incredible determination and pride to bow out unbeaten, having held on for an historic draw with the world champions Italy, who they then finished above in the group standings. Their captain, Ryan Nelsen, had an immense tournament, marshalling the less experienced players like Tommy Smith and Winston Reid who also distinguished themselves against top class opposition. Reid’s last-minute equaliser in the first match against Slovakia to secure the Kiwis’ first ever World Cup point was a moment that will stick in my memory for a long time. Goalkeeper Mark Paston, coming in to the tournament second choice but playing due to Glenn Moss’ suspension, overcame a slightly nervy first game to deliver two assured performances against Italy and Paraguay, and up front young Chris Wood made a really good impression coming off the bench twice and was mere inches from scoring against Italy. It would have been wonderful to have seen them in the knockout stages.

The other team I’m sorry to have seen go was Chile. Their efforts in a losing cause against Brazil a few days ago were not as impressive as their group games, but they really were a breath of fresh air in the first phase. Marcelo Bielsa’s unwavering commitment to attacking football was delightful, and his truly original 3-3-1-3 formation was very effective. The players showed real flexibility in being able to get forward from any position or drop back when others did the same, and if only their star striker Humberto Suazo had been fitter they might have had more finishing prowess to put the icing on a fantastically entertaining cake. Alexis Sanchez seemed to draw all the plaudits from commentators and pundits but for my money the real emerging star for Chile was left winger Jean Beausejour, unoriginally nicknamed “The Frenchman” by his teammates. He showed pace, creativity, a willingness to cross whenever possible and the ability to pull it off most of the time. His goal secured the opening victory over Honduras and he was the most productive of the attacking quartet.

But what of the teams that might have, or maybe should have, been here? An obvious question is how would the Republic of Ireland have fared had they got through their controversial play-off with France? The answer, probably, is not hugely well, but let’s face it, they probably would have done better than the French. Ignoring the changes to group seedings which would have happened if France had not been present, you can’t imagine the likes of Glenn Whelan and Shane Long posing too much of a threat to Uruguay and Meixco, but the qualification alone would have been a significant achievement for Giovanni Trapattoni’s side, one that they would surely have appreciated more than the self-destructive French.

As for a team that really could have made a significant impact on the tournament but didn’t make it, look no further than African champions Egypt. The team that has won the past three Africa Cup of Nations finished inseparable with Algeria in the qualifying group requiring a one-off tie-breaker hosted in the neutral Sudan. Egypt-Algeria has always been a really spicy grudge match so it’s perhaps understandable that Egypt came out second best on the day, despite being unquestionably the best team from their continent, but I would really have liked to have seen how they fared against the rest of the world. I’m sure they would have put up a better fight than Algeria, who looked unpenetrative up front and disorganised at the back. Their squad is comprised of seriously talented players – Essam Al Hadary is by some distance the best African keeper. Ahmed El Mohammadi is an up-and-coming player who can play all along the right flank – at 22, he already has 38 caps and is moving to Sunderland this summer on a loan deal from ENPPI in Egypt. Amr Zaki and Standard Liege’s Emad Motaeb between them have 60 goals in 118 international games. And then there’s Mohammed Abou Trika, behind perhaps only Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Michael Essien as Africa’s greatest player. It really is a great shame that they haven’t been here to contest the World Cup.

Still, they didn’t make it, and in the end it’s their own fault that they’re not. For those that did qualify, though, the action starts again tomorrow. I predict a win for Uruguay tomorrow over Ghana, but I really don’t know which way the Netherlands vs Brazil will go. My gut feeling is changing constantly, but I’ll listen to my head and say Brazil.

Day 16: One Gi-Gyan-Tic Leap For Africa

Uruguay 2 – 1 South Korea

USA 1 – 2 Ghana (a.e.t.)

Not a great deal of time to discuss yesterday’s games, unfortunately. I may touch on them when reviewing Germany’s and Argentina’s wins this evening, or on a rest day.

Man of the Day: Luis Suarez was the benefactor of some hideous South Korean defending for his first goal but the winner was a sublime curler from the corner of the penalty area.

Day 15: Chile Lose Cool But Swiss Avoid Further Conflict

Portugal 0 – 0 Brazil

North Korea 0 – 3 Ivory Coast

Chile 1 – 2 Spain

Switzerland 0 – 0 Honduras

Well, in the end, the tables in Groups G and H turned out in much the same order as was generally expected, but there were some surprises on the final day of group stage action at South Africa 2010.

Portugal and Brazil kicked us off with a pretty dire stalemate, both teams happy to settle for what they’d got and showing very little flair or attacking interest. Brazil continued their streak as the least exciting South American side in the tournament, and there were more yellow cards than goalmouth incidents, getting to the extent in the first half as little feuds started to spring up between certain players that Felipe Melo had to be dragged off by Dunga just before half-time to avoid picking up a second booking. With Brazil missing Elano and Kaka, there was bound to be a slight reduction in flair, with the two replacements Dani Alves and Julio Baptista naturally more physically powerful players than technically gifted, but even with a nine-goal cushion separating them from the Ivory Coast, Portugal dared not attempt to go for the win that would have seen them top the group. Certainly this game suffered from the Ivorians’ failure to beat Portugal when Carlos Quieroz’s side were so utterly abject in the group opener, because that would have seen Portugal needing to attack. Instead what was talked up before the tournament as one of the most exciting games turned out to be a real disappointment.

There was little point in turning over to watch North Korea and the Ivory Coast, either, because while that game did at least produce some goals as the Ivorians won 3-0, everything they did hinged on a Brazilian victory. North Korea, who I’d hoped might be determined enough to leave with at least a point to really compete, just didn’t really show up, and their defense looked as frail as it had a few days ago. Sven’s boys bombed forward essentially at will and probably should have scored more than they did. Their second was great to watch – not for its scorer Romaric’s simple header but for the volley that ricocheted off the crossbar to set it up. Didier Drogba took the ball in mid-air with a sublime controlling touch before swivelling and rifling it powerfully against the bar. It was a moment of star quality that raised predictable “what if?” questions about what might have been had he been fully fit to face Portugal. It’s a shame for Drogba that his World Cup career will now almost certainly be over after two consecutive groups of death. He has his critics and he’s certainly prone to disappointing acts of petulance and dishonesty on the pitch, but he’s an astonishing player and a great humanitarian who does lots of work for his several charities, so I feel sorry he hasn’t had more of a chance of shine on the biggest stage of all.

No such injustices in Group H, where the two most exciting teams to watch managed to qualify (scoring some incredible goals in the process), and the closest rivals to Greece’s dullest-team-in-world-football title, Switzerland, were lucky to escape with a 0-0 draw with Honduras that put them out. I didn’t watch much of that game but I saw enough to know that the Swiss were again limited in attack (with Eren Derdiyok yet again missing one or two pretty easy chances) and that they should have lost, with a Walter Martinez goal ruled out for offside that looked on to me, and Georgie Welcome missing a golden chance right at the end of the game from very close in. Oh well, I don’t think anyone will really miss either team.

Chile 1 – 2 Spain was a slightly strange game in that Chile were the dominant side in the first half yet still went in at half-time two goals down. Both Spanish goals were contenders for goal of the tournament, the first a simply perfect sort-of golf drive of a shot by David Villa pouncing on a goal left open by Chile captain Claudio Bravo’s mad dash out of the area to rob Fernando Torres. That sort of shot looks easy but would usually be missed, but Villa executed it perfectly to take him joint top of the Golden Boot standings. The second was scored after the referee, Marco Rodriguez (a.k.a. Dracula), played advantage to a foul by Marco Estrada. Spain took full advantage with some gorgeous interplay between Villa and Andres Iniesta, who calmly placed his shot from the edge of the area precisely past the gloves of Bravo. I can’t decide which one I enjoyed more, but they were both absolutely beautiful. The foul in question led to the predictable culmination of a period of Chilean indiscipline, as Estrada was shown his second yellow card. The trip looked accidental but Estrada should have received his second booking a few minutes earlier when he hacked down Iniesta, so it rather evened out, but Rodriguez the referee really did have quite a poor game. Thanks to his distinctive appearance I do remember him from previous internationals and every time I’ve seen him he’s been too quick to hand out cards, and doesn’t even get them right that often. I hope he doesn’t take charge of many more matches in this tournament.

To Chile’s credit they kept going despite the obvious setbacks and opened up the game again with a goal just after the restart. Rodrigo Millar, who had only just come on at half-time, took a shot from the edge of the D that took a severe deflection off Gerard Pique past Iker Casillas. However Spain’s numerical advantage started to show and the game slowed down as both teams realised that this result was working out for both of them. Chile were beaten but did play reasonably well apart from the bookings, which earnt three important players suspensions for their second round meeting with Brazil, which could be a real cracker. I wouldn’t discount them from winning that by any means. Spain had another good game, with Pique impressing at the back and Iniesta and Villa running the show up front. Torres had another off day again, though, and was hauled off just a few minutes into the second period for Cesc Fabregas. He looked some way short of form and fitness and I hope he can recover to play a bigger part in this World Cup, because when both are fit and firing his partnership with Villa is the best in the world. Spain now go on to meet Portugal and they should win that game. Their midfield in particular stands out as being several levels above the likes of Raul Meireles and Tiago.

Man of the Day: David Villa had another great game, getting into some great positions and showing a really quick brain in some of his link-up play. His goal really was superb, as well.

Tomorrow the knockout stages begin! It’s getting serious now, and I think we will be seeing a win for Uruguay over South Korea, and I’ll go for an extra-time victory for the USA over Ghana.

Day 13: They’re Ghana Keep Going

Slovenia 0 – 1 England

USA 1 – 0 Algeria

Ghana 0 – 1 Germany

Australia 2 – 1 Serbia

It’s been a good day for the first African World Cup as Ghana reached the last sixteen ensuring that at least one nation from the continent can carry the local support into the second round. I’ll come to the Group D resolution in a few moments, after I’ve dealt with Group C, where England produced an acceptable performance to beat Slovenia and scrape through to schedule a defeat to Germany on Sunday.

If you were watching England edge Slovenia on the BBC you would be forgiven for thinking that it was the most impressive performance since records began. It is a sad indictment of just how bad the first two games have been for Fabio Capello et al that Guy Mowbray and Mark Lawrenson were purring as if they were watching Brazil circa 1970, because England were not exactly what I’d call impressive in victory. They were certainly much improved, pulling themselves together after a first few minutes that were largely in the same tone as the Algeria game. After about fifteen minutes things started to settle – Steven Gerrard actually listened to his manager’s instructions and stuck more strictly to the left wing, which allowed for better link-ups with Ashley Cole, who was one of England’s better attacking influences. James Milner, replacing Aaron Lennon, put in a much better performance than his stinker against the USA, showing the drive and work-rate he’s been putting in for Aston Villa this season, and gave much better end product than Lennon, the more natural winger, by providing some great crosses, none better than that which led to the only goal of the game. I don’t often have much to say in favour of Jermain Defoe, I’ve never really rated his ability to influence a game, but he made an excellent timed run to meet the cross and volleyed too strongly for the otherwise brilliant Samir Handanovic to save.

England continued to dominate through the first half without really creating many more great opportunities. The first twenty minutes of the second half should have seen them cement the victory though, Defoe in particular narrowly missing a chance he should have done much better with, and Handanovic being equal to a John Terry header that looked promising. But England just couldn’t pull the trigger and it became evident that Slovenia were becoming more confident from being reprieved. Towards the end things got tense as England were mostly on the defensive, and substitute Zlatko Dedic would have scored if not for an immense last-ditch tackle from Matthew Upson. England were overall worth the win, Slovenia having not really fulfilled the promise from their first half against the USA, but they will need to be far more ruthless if they are to stand a chance against a Germany side who are better all over the pitch than Slovenia (except for in goal). This performance was the minimum that is required from a side with quarter- or semi-final aspirations.

I saw very little of the USA-Algeria game but enough to recognise some shameful finishing from Rafik Djebbour for Algeria, and Jozy Altidore of the US, who blazed ridiculously over the bar from barely any distance out at all. It’s a good thing the States got the win because they had for the second time in this group had a perfectly reasonable goal disallowed, this time for offside, but the complaining that I read from some Americans on the web to the tune of “if FIFA wants us to be interested in the World Cup, stop giving us bad referees” was silly – bad referees happen to everyone. It’s part of being a fan. Anyway, I am pleased that the USA got through, I think it would have set back football in that country if they hadn’t, and they are quite a fun side to watch, more so than Slovenia. I would fancy their chances of making the quarter-finals, as well.

And so to Group D, where I would say that Ghana secured their qualification, but they didn’t really – it was thanks to Australia that they made it through. Ghana themselves lost an exciting and open game to Germany. It could have gone either way in the first half, with plenty of chances for either side and a suspicion of handball against Phillipp Lahm who blocked a goalbound header from a Ghanaian corner. Mesut Oezil was the star of the show again for Germany, making brilliant forward runs and slippery passes, and he scored the only goal of the game, an absolute belter from outside the area that Richard Kingson, who had a pretty good game generally, could do nothing to stop. Germany were clearly missing Miroslav Klose – Cacau just doesn’t seem as influential and powerful up front – but pressed their advantage in the second half as Ghana started to run out of ideas.

Ghana attacked plenty, with Kevin Prince-Boateng playing with freedom and adventure, but couldn’t quite find the goal they needed, which means that they have qualified, the first team in my memory to do so, without having scored a goal from open play. Only two Asamoah Gyan penalties have earned them their passage and it is arguable that they did not so much deserve to get through the group as Australia, who picked themselves up remarkably from their opening defeat. Gyan will need to assert himself more against the USA and those who surround him, particularly Andre Ayew, must polish their shooting boots, to find the finishing to reward their industrious midfield play.

As I say, it’s something of a shame for Australia not to have qualified. Their typically plucky effort to recover from what looked like a disastrous opening hammering at the hands of Germany culminated in a 2-1 win over Serbia that ended Radomir Antic’s hopes of leading his team to the next round. I wasn’t able to take in a great deal of the flow of the game but I was impressed by the Australian goals, two in four minutes that briefly raised hopes of the miraculous four-goal swing that they needed to displace Ghana. The first was a typical strong header from the returning Tim Cahill, exactly the sort of late run and score that Australia had hoped to use much more of before his unfortunate dismissal against Germany, and the second was a brilliant long range shot from Brett Holman, who was allowed too much space by Serbia and hit low and powerfully past Vladimir Stojkovic. Holman’s a player who I am told has been heavily criticised by Australian fans but I’ve been really impressed by what I’ve seen of him at this World Cup – I’d be interested to see what Australians now think of him. He may be their Owen Hargreaves now.

So today has set up USA-Ghana on Saturday and Germany-England on Sunday. My instinct would be to expect wins for both the group-toppers. Germany have looked far better and more cohesive than England and Oezil is exactly the sort of player who has far too much intelligence and pace for the likes of John Terry to cope with. The USA will need to match Ghana’s midfield work-rate but as long as they don’t concede any penalties I don’t see where Ghana’s goals are going to come from at this rate.

Man of the Day: Oezil. I’ve just been so impressed by him throughout the group stages and he showed today he has goalscoring power as well as creativity.

Tomorrow, Groups E and F reach their conclusion (although for some reason Group F will play the afternoon fixtures). I’m going to stick my neck out and say that draws for Italy and New Zealand against Slovakia and Paraguay respectively will see the first use of the drawing of lots to decide a World Cup elimination (though I am aware that this is unlikely, I just can’t bet against the All Whites). The Netherlands will probably field a team of reserves but Arjen Robben should be back and they should beat Cameroon who have nothing to play for, while I think Japan’s greater defensive organisation will allow them to edge out Denmark.

Day 12: Game Evra for France and the Hosts

Mexico 0 – 1 Uruguay

France 1 – 2 South Africa

Nigeria 2 – 2 South Korea

Greece 0 – 2 Argentina

Our first pair of second round matches has been decided and, after some frenetic matches, it’s Uruguay and Argentina who secured top spots to book games against South Korea and Mexico respectively. Which means that it’s the end of the road, as I think everybody was suspecting, for the French circus of merde, but they sadly managed to assume the role of party poopers by derailing what looked like a possible South African miracle.

After a successful testing of my dual-wielding screen system allowing me to follow both matches at the same time, I originally began by focusing my attention on the game at the top between Mexico and Uruguay, an exciting match between two teams who clearly did not want to have to meet Argentina in the next round. It was end-to-end with chances for either team and Mexico nearly took the lead when Andres Guardado fired an absolute missile from range that thumped against the crossbar and bounced narrowly back into play. I daresay the goal is still rattling from the blow. By and large, though Mexico continued to suggest that they lack a striker with enough of a poacher’s instinct to finish off their exciting attacking moves. Guillermo Franco started again today and he just doesn’t look like he has the finishing ability to be a threat at international level. By contrast Luis Suarez finally got the goal that was definitely coming to him by neatly tucking in a header just before half-time, the result of a fabulous cross by Edinson Cavani on the far right. The game continued in a similarly attacking vein for most of the remaining time, and the competitive edge to a game many were writing off as a draw was obvious to see when Diego Perez suffered a head wound after jumping aggressively with Giovani dos Santos. However, I had mostly switched my attention to the other game in the group since about the half-hour mark.

France and South Africa went into the game knowing that both teams needed to win by at least four goals to stand a chance of qualification, but this France team giving such a performance would have been unimaginable. A team in total disarray following their well-publicised chaotic few days (I’ll probably go into more depth on the subject when we start having rest days with no matches played), France saw their captain, Patrice Evra, dropped along with Abidal, Toulalan, Govou, Malouda and, obviously, Nicolas Anelka, with Yoann Gourcuff restored to the team and Djibril Cisse and Andre-Pierre Gignac starting up front. I can only assume that Thierry Henry was one of the ringleaders of this players’ revolt otherwise he surely should have started in a game where big game experience was required. South Africa were far more settled mentally, though they too made a few changes to field a more attacking 4-4-2. The hosts started brightly, undaunted by the enormity of their task, and got just reward with Bongani Khumalo’s header from a corner opening the scoring.

The moment that really gave hope to the possibility of the rout they needed was not a goal but the somewhat harsh red card for Gourcuff halfway through the first period. There was certainly contact with the elbow in the defender’s face but it’s hard to say he meant it – there didn’t really appear to be any malice in the collision. Still, Gourcuff will probably have been glad to have been shot of the Domenech regime just that bit earlier than everyone else. Almost immediately after South Africa doubled their advantage, Katlego Mphela bundling over the goal line to get the goal he has deserved for his hard-working performance throughout the group stages. At half-time it really seemed possible that South Africa could pull off this miraculous achievement – France again just weren’t there, the players looking tired and frustrated with frankly awful body language, and South Africa just had to push them hard enough. Mphela had a couple of decent opportunities in quick succession early on in the second period but couldn’t quite convert them, but you sensed that everything was still possible even as another twenty minutes passed and the chances slowed somewhat. It was all brought down to earth, though, when Franck Ribery made an explosive burst into the penalty area with the ability we all know he’s capable of but that we hadn’t seen at all so far, the goalkeeper rushed to meet him by necessity but Ribery pulled it back and Florent Malouda could not miss.

It was immediately obvious that South Africa didn’t have the capacity to recover and score the required three in twenty minutes. The whole thing petered out from there. It’s a huge shame to see the hosts leave the tournament, the first time it has ever happened in the group stage, but they have done better than many expected them and will look back with some pride at their victory over a great footballing nation when the disappointment has been digested. France will be glad to get out of the tournament and return home, finally free of the tyrannical lunacy of Raymond Domenech and ready for a serious makeover under Laurent Blanc. Uruguay advance to the last sixteen in form and could realistically reach the semi-finals, while Mexico will probably fall short against Argentina.

Speaking of Argentina, I started by paying attention to their match with Greece hoping to see the ultra-negative anti-footballers punished by some more of Argentina’s incisive attacking play. I was disappointed. Greece, knowing that they needed to avoid defeat to have a chance of progression, parked the bus as we expected, but Argentina too knew that a draw secured first place and so declined to take any risks. Lionel Messi, surprise captain for the day with Mascherano rested and Juan Veron overlooked, was kept mostly quiet in the early stages by Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Late on they managed to snatch the goals that ensured a 100% record for the group through Martin Demichelis, who has been suspect at the back so far but who thumped home after a corner caused panic in the box, and Martin Palermo, Maradona’s favourite who was brought on for the last fifteen minutes and tapped in after Messi’s shot was palmed away by the Greek keeper. It was a pretty dull match and so I spent little time watching it, so forgive the lack of in-depth analysis.

Much more engrossing, not necessarily because of the standard of football, which was raised in aggression but low on quality, was Nigeria’s draw with South Korea that ended the hopes of another African nation. Considering how the two sides have played in their three games I don’t think it’s unfair to say that South Korea definitely deserved to go through more, but we may look back on the group stages in a few days’ time and say that this really was the group where an African nation really should have progressed. Nigeria were typically sloppy in front of goal throughout the game. They did take the lead through Kalu Uche’s tap-in but wasted a few good chances, none more awfully and hilariously than Yakubu’s miss from four yards of a totally open goal. It was harder to miss than to score and that moment is destined to be replayed on a thousand “World Cup Gaffes” DVDs hosted by Danny Dyer. Yakubu will have been glad that Kim Nam-Il conceded a penalty just a few moments after coming on allowing him to put the ball in the net a couple of minutes later, but that equaliser to Lee Jung-Soo’s scruffy goal and Park Chu-Young’s excellent free-kick strike should have been followed up on competently, and it just wasn’t. Nigeria tried to get forward but never really looked like scoring a third. South Korea, for their part, weren’t great but did enough to hold on. They were less fluent than they have been in previous games and will need to recover the form of their opener if they are to overcome Uruguay. Argentina on this form should get past Mexico and could go far, though my personal suspicion is that they will meet Germany in the quarters and exit then.

Man of the Day: In truth nobody really excelled today but Mphela did as much as anyone to push South Africa towards what could have been a famous feat. Luis Suarez, though, probably had the best performance of the day, so we’ll give it to him.

Tomorrow, I expect the USA to have little trouble beating Algeria and frankly I refuse to commit to any sort of prediction regarding England. Germany will beat Ghana, though I’d love for the Black Stars to prove me wrong about African sides in the last sixteen, and I’d be surprised at any result other than a Serbian win over Australia.

Day 9: Eto’Oh No!

Netherlands 1 – 0 Japan

Ghana 1 – 1 Australia

Cameroon 1 – 2 Denmark

Nine days in and we have both our first confirmed qualification and first elimination of this World Cup, in Group E where results combined to ensure the Netherlands’ passage into the round of sixteen and also confirm the exit of the first African nation, Cameroon.

The Dutch played first and though they had to wait a few hours to get confirmation of their qualification, they knew after their 1-0 win over Japan that they had almost certainly done enough. Their performance was pretty much a carbon copy of their last, with the same problems occuring, specifically trying to put Wesley Sneijder and Rafael van der Vaart in the same team. With Arjen Robben still not available I would have turned to Eljero Elia to start on the left, who was excellent when he came on against Denmark and did reasonably well again today as a substitute. There was a definite feeling that Bert van Marwijk was being unnecessarily conservative by picking the same eleven that beat Denmark, as Japan were clearly going to set up to defend and so fielding two holding midfielders in Nigel de Jong and Mark van Bommel didn’t really make much sense. Indeed it might have helped van der Vaart to fit in if he and Sneijder were playing centrally in a midfield three and Elia was allowed to work the left hand side.

In any case the Dutch got the win they needed and Sneijder’s goal was a pretty good one, even if he was given a little help by Eiji Kawashima’s poor attempt to grasp the shot. They haven’t really got going in the same way that Argentina and Mexico have, though, and so will want to step it up against Cameroon before facing a tough Italy- or Paraguay-shaped opponent in the second round.

The first African side has been eliminated today and after a really disappointing game this afternoon, Ghana, who have the most realistic remaining chance of qualifying, made it a real possibility that none of this continent’s teams will get through. I really hope that doesn’t happen because the home fans have obviously been disheartened by South Africa’s nearly confirmed exit and if they don’t have an African team to support in the knockout stages that would be a huge shame, which would hurt the tournament as a whole.

Ghana really did miss a trick this afternoon, though, playing three quarters of the game against the ten men of Australia, who this time could have no complaints about the red card. Harry Kewell’s handball on the line was so blatant that it was funny and a little pathetic watching him plead with the referee to look at the big screen for the replay. The Aussies were angry because the penalty it led to, converted brilliantly once again by Asamoah Gyan, canceled out the great work they put in the first twenty minutes, including Brett Holman’s inspiring snatched goal after Richard Kingson fumbled Mark Bresciano’s clever free-kick. Holman may have his critics among the Australian supporters but I though he did really well in the Tim Cahill role today and deserved his goal. As Ghana sat back and refused to press their advantage, content to endlessly shoot from long range rather than push hard and try to wear their opponents out, Australia did well to come back into the game and in the end were the more likely winners. The substitutes Scott Chipperfield and particularly Josh Kennedy gave fresh impetus and each had good chances to sneak a winner. Australia still stand the worst chance of qualification – I expect Serbia to play more intelligently against them than Ghana – but have at least given themselves that chance after looking lost following their opener. Ghana, meanwhile, must play Germany in the final game, and need to win to guarantee qualification. Playing for the draw would be ill-advised against Germany.

As I said, I do hope they get through, because one of my better hopes for an African qualifier, Cameroon, are now definitely out as a result of a really exciting battle with Denmark. In a game littered with mistakes it was Christian Poulsen who gifted the opener to Cameroon, his lazy backpass intercepted by the opposition and given to Samuel Eto’o, who doesn’t miss those kinds of opportunities. Denmark fought back well, though, with two good goals, the first a great long-range hoick by Simon Kjaer into the path of the outstanding Dennis Rommedahl who pulled it back across goal for Nicklas “I’m One Of The Best Players In The World” Bendtner to tap in. The second was down to poor defensive work by Jean Makoun more than anything, standing stock still as Rommedahl ran at him, cut inside and slotted uncomplicatedly past Souleymanou Hamidou at the far post. Cameroon didn’t lose heart like they did against Japan and pressed solidly for the last fifteen minutes, and came closest to an equaliser when Thomas Sorensen, capable as always, saved brilliantly at the last minute from Achille Emana who’d made a great run in.

Now Denmark and Japan will duel for the second spot in the next round in a tie that could probably go either way, though I would lean towards Japan who seem better organised all over the pitch.

Man of the Day: Dennis Rommedahl can blow hot and cold but had a very good day today, tormenting Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the Danish right flank. His blistering pace made the first goal and scored the second.

Tomorrow, Paraguay should have too much for Slovakia, Italy will probably put a few goals past New Zealand, and I have a feeling Brazil may embarrass the Ivory Coast.

Day 8: It Was The Best Of Games, It Was The Worst Of Games…

Germany 0 – 1 Serbia

Slovenia 2 – 2 USA

England 0 – 0 Algeria

Forgive me, dear readers, for I am struggling to muster the enthusiasm to write about today’s games. Which is a real shame because until this evening we were watching a really classic day at the World Cup, including the best game of the tournament so far.

We started, though, with another shock as Germany were brought down to earth by Serbia. They weren’t helped, of course, by the first really poor refereeing performance of the finals, the Spaniard Alberto Undiano Mallenco setting the tone of the game early by giving a really soft yellow card and, having set himself a precedent, proceeded to book players for any contact of any kind, culminating in the sending off of Miroslav Klose for two yellow cards. Neither of the fouls were really worthy of a booking and the sixth red card of the tournament seriously affected the outcome of the game in arguably more dramatic fashion than the mistake in the second match later on. Without their main striker Germany’s attacking strategy was completely broken. Mesut Oezil, so impressive flitting around off Klose against Australia, had to play as the main centre forward and simply couldn’t do it. Thomas Mueller tried hard but couldn’t get much luck against the solid Aleksandar Kolarov, and Lukas Podolski didn’t look the same after his tame penalty was saved by Stojkovic in the Serbian goal, a huge reprieve for Nemanja Vidic’s idiotic handball that was nearly a carbon copy of the one committed by Zdravko Kuzmanovic in the Ghana match. Jogi Loew’s substitutions didn’t really change anything either, and so Milan Jovanovic’s well-taken goal just after the sending-off was all that was needed for Serbia to really blow this group wide open again. Serbia weren’t all that but they were enough, and now have good odds of getting out of the group.

Straight after that match was a real classic – the USA staging a brilliant comeback to draw with Slovenia 2-2 having been two down at half-time and outplayed all over the pitch. They should have won as well, Maurice Edu’s late goal disallowed by the Malian referee for, well, I don’t know. There was no offside and the only fouls in the box were three committed by Slovenian defenders wrestling the Americans to the ground. Still, though, the Americans will be delighted with a draw because they seemed buried at half-time. Landon Donovan made it a contest again by scoring just after the restart, dribbling well into the penalty box, and when no team-mates materialised for him to cut it back to, he simply blasted it into the roof of the net from close range – Samir Handanovic was right next to him but could do nothing about the rocket-propelled shot. From then on the US pounded and pounded on the Slovenian door and though it was getting desperate, Michael Bradley’s brilliant equaliser did feel inevitable. Now facing Algeria in the final game, the USA should qualify for the second round.

Speaking of Algeria, they did deserve a point today but England did not. I have been watching England for a long time now, and I’ve seen some pretty poor performances, typically underwhelming efforts against teams they would have been expected to beat comfortably, but this really was the worst I have ever seen from an England side. There were simply no redeeming features to their performance today. The only player to not have been completely awful was David James, restored to goalkepeing duties following Green’s demotion, and that was only because Algeria couldn’t summon a really venomous shot. Nothing worked at all, and it has to be said that Capello made some serious tactical mistakes in this game. In a similar way to how Domenech changed the players but not the failing system last night against Mexico, Capello persisted with a 4-4-2 that clearly wasn’t working at all, with Gerrard simply unable to get involved properly on the left, an abysmal Rooney coming deep into no-man’s-land to try and link up with his captain, and Heskey having a shocker, at one stage embarrassingly trying to do a step-over on the edge of the box like he was Kaka only to completely miscontrol it.

But what did Capello do to change things? After an hour he withdrew Aaron Lennon for Shaun Wright-Phillips – who are THE SAME PLAYER. Naturally it affected nothing. Defoe for Heskey made some sense – there was no joy trying to play long balls into Heskey and so Defoe offered a different outlet but they didn’t really use him properly and the issues of Rooney, Gerrard, and the anonymous Lampard remained. His last throw of the dice was Crouch for Barry, and it looked like a different formation might be on the cards, but instead Gerrard moved central and Rooney to the left. Meanwhile the players who could actually have offered a real change in approach watched on, Joe Cole from the bench and Adam Johnson from home. The world has moved on from 4-4-2 and England just looked completely unable to perform in that system. It is totally clear now that Rooney must start as the lone striker against Slovenia with Gerrard in support. A 4-2-3-1 would suit the strengths of these players, but after a performance this bad the question will be whether England will be mentally able to pull themselves together. They left the field obviously frustrated and empty, Rooney showing his anger by turning to the TV cameras and sarcastically spitting “nice to hear your own fans boo ya”. Well, what exactly did he expect? In truth I suspect he was using the fans to vent his anger at his own performance as well as the team’s. I’d call him England’s worst player today but that would be far too generous to so many players. How Lampard, for example, remained on the pitch for 90 minutes is a mystery to me. England will still qualify if they beat Slovenia, but on the form showed today, I’d expect a Slovenia win. They at least clearly want to qualify.

Man of the Day: Valter Birsa was exceptional on the right flank for Slovenia and scored probably the best goal of the tournament so far, an out-of-the-blue curling shot from way out. His colleague Miso Brecko at right-back probably made the more lasting impact on that game, though, as Birsa faded a little in the second half.

Tomorrow, I expect a Dutch win over Japan, Ghana to beat Australia, and a draw between Cameroon and Denmark.

Day 3: Australia in “victims of crime” shocker

Algeria 0 – 1 Slovenia

Serbia 0 – 1 Ghana

Germany 4 – 0 Australia

If England fans had any panicky worries last night that a draw with the USA could see them struggle to get out of the group, they can rest easy. Both Algeria and Slovenia showed that they should not pose a threat to either of the other sides in Group C in a frighteningly dull match to start the third day of the World Cup. Algeria were willing and probably had more about them in the game but struggled to control their passing, often overhitting the light Jabulani ball. They had a couple of half-decent chances from crosses but for the most part could not put together a really threatening forward move. They were subject to a couple of very strange tactical decisions by Rabah Saadane, as well – one of their most talented players, Karim Ziani, was deployed on the left wing but the normally right-sided player is clearly totally one-footed and his potential impact was almost completely nullified by his own positioning. Their cause was also hindered by one of the most hilarious sendings off I’ve seen for some time – substitute striker Abdelkader Ghezzal got booked within a minute with a silly shirt-pulling and then gained his second yellow about fifteen minutes later with one of the most blatant and idiotic handballs you’re ever likely to see. His attempts to persuade the referee he should not have been dismissed were comical in their audacity.

Slovenia weren’t different to what we expected them to be per se, but they were a little underwhelming. I expected to see a greater understanding of their own game, a more organised, compact and productive performance, but instead they were simply ordinary. Captain Robert Koren was gifted his goal by a ludicrous mistake by Faouzi Chaouchi, equally as bad as Green’s last night, but this time the mistake was one everyone could have seen coming after Chaouchi’s poor all-round game, in which he constantly tried to overdo the most simple of goalkeeping duties.

The score was no different but Serbia 0 – 1 Ghana was a much more interesting affair, although Serbia, one of my dark horses, were disappointing. Beanpole Nikola Zigic did his best to make things happen but Milan Jovanovic on the left had a poor game, failing to cut inside with any purpose and therefore preventing Aleksandar Kolarov from breaking successfully from left-back. Playmaker-winger Milos Krasic was anonymous too, and much of Serbia’s creativity was expected to come from him. Zdravko Kuzmanovic ran Ghezzal pretty close in the Idiot of the Day stakes with a similarly moronic handball that led to the Ghanaians’ penalty, converted excellently by Asamoah Gyan to win the game, when seeing out a draw seemed achievable for ten-man Serbia.

Ghana put in a pretty decent performance, and they will have been pleased that their makeshift central midfield of Anthony Annan and Kevin-Prince Boateng had a relatively comfortable match in which to work on their partnership. I think they will still hope that Sulley Muntari is fit and ready in time to face Germany later in the group, though, but with Australia up next for them they have a great chance to qualify now.

Speaking of Germany v Australia, I guess the questions over the inexperienced German side have largely been answered with a fantastically assured performance by Joachim Loew’s team. Mesut Oezil completely ran the show, particularly in the first half, with a display of dazzling creativity that really caught my eye. Australia just couldn’t handle his clever runs from in front of their defence. My favourite bit of skill was the subtle pull back from a low Phillipp Lahm pass to play in Thomas Muller, even though Muller blasted over the bar. Germany as a whole were exciting and made a mockery of the odds that some bookmakers have been giving them to win the tournament (16-1 at one stage). Loew sensibly used his second-half substitutions to rotate his strikers, some of whom were out of form, and now they should all be in good confidence going into trickier games against Serbia and Ghana. Certainly Germany have put in the first really impressive performance of the tournament and promised a whole lot more as well.

Australia were of course hard done by, the Mexican referee giving their most important player Tim Cahill a frankly awful red card for an accidental collision that Cahill did a good job of pulling out of, but overall they didn’t really seem likely to compete with Germany at any stage, particularly without a recognised centre-forward for nearly 75 minutes. Josh Kennedy may not be much, but he is at least an aerial threat who could have made space for Cahill to play where he is at his best, behind the main striker. Pim Verbeek will now need to be more adventurous if his team are to recover, but without Cahill for at least the next game I think Australia are all but out.

Man of the Day: Oezil, without a shadow of a doubt. May well be my new favourite player. The only downer was his deserved yellow card for a needless dive early on.

Tomorrow, I’m looking forward to an exciting game between the Netherlands and Denmark that the Dutch should win, probably a draw between Japan and Cameroon, and I would also go for a draw in Italy versus Paraguay, with Paraguay maybe to sneak it. See you then.

Day 2: It’s Not Easy Being Green

South Korea 2 – 0 Greece

Argentina 1 – 0 Nigeria

England 1 – 1 USA

If today’s blog comes across as a little haphazard and shaky, that’s because my nerves are in tatters after watching England draw with the USA. More on that in a moment. Group B started in slightly frustrating fashion as South Korea cruised to a routine win over a limp, lifeless Greece side that made a mockery of its European triumph six years ago. I would have liked to have seen just a little more enterprise form the South Koreans because they really could have pushed up further and taken advantage of Greece’s complete ineptitude. On a day in which the Argentinean forwards uncharacteristically missed a hatful of chances, South Korea will be wishing they’d cashed in in case goal difference becomes an issue later. Park Chu-Young was impressive leading the line for the Koreans, with a dogged, determined performance that never let the Greek defenders settle and opened up space for Park Ji-Sung in particular to forge opportunities.

Greece were hideous. On this form they’d be lucky to emulate their achievements two years ago in Austria and Switzerland where they lost three out of three, scored no goals, and conceded ten. I couldn’t understand why Otto Rehhagel refused to throw on Sotiris Ninis, who as the one flair player, albeit a young one, in the squad, was the only real option for a plan B that seemed available. South Korea, while probably flattered by Greece, should probably go on to make the second round on this form.

Their rivals for that spot, Nigeria, were a bit of a letdown, although they did show signs of getting back into the game towards the end of the second half as they realised that Argentina might not actually put the game to bed as they’d been threatening to all afternoon. Maradona sprung another hilarious tactical surprise by contradicting his earlier statement that he would “not play full-backs. Who needs full-backs? I have wingers to attack on the sides. I will play four centre-backs in defence” to play not a centre-back, but a left winger at right-back in Jonas Gutierrez, who, if Peter Odemwingie had started for Nigeria, could easily have been exposed. If he persists with that option then I’m sure a team with more awareness will take advantage. Lionel Messi was in good form, though, and while he didn’t score despite having one or two opportunities, it definitely seemed that he’s being given more freedom to play in a position and a role that suits him.

And, well, I can’t delay it any longer – let’s talk about England 1 – 1 USA. As an England fan one is trained to deal with disappointment but it was hard not to be optimistic after the team started brightly with Steven Gerrard’s goal, a deft finish from a great pass from the excellent Emile Heskey, who totally justified his selection over Peter Crouch with a hard-working and industrious showing. The nerves kicked in, though, when Rob Green let in an absolute howler to gift the USA an equaliser which on the balance of play they probably deserved. 1-0 up at half-time and you felt that England should have been able to close out the game, but the mistake seemed to put the team back into a familiar mindset of things inevitably going wrong. There were chances to retake the lead in the second half but nothing outstanding and in the end the draw was a fair result, but it is the manner of the draw that will worry England rather than the draw itself.

It’s tough not to feel sorry for Green who’s had to wait a long time to get a sustained run in the side and he looked understandably distraught after the goal went in, but it was poor. I would have liked to have seen Joe Hart in goal for this game despite his lack of international experience and the clamour for his inclusion in the next game will increase as a result of this. I’m not sure what message it would send to Green and to the rest of the squad if Capello were to replace him, but I wouldn’t put it past him.

Another frustrating occurance was the withdrawal of Ledley King at half-time. The depressing predictability of it was just awful – what exactly were people expecting? The man has been crocked for literally years. He’s a liability, just like Ferdinand was, and I suppose England fans should be thankful that it happened now rather than during a semi-final (not that, on this sort of form, England would necessarily get that far). Still, no reason to panic too much just yet – a draw with the USA isn’t a bad result, it just means that England need to do as much damage as possible to a resilient Slovenia defence later on in the group. It should be important to come top of this group as I wouldn’t fancy playing any side that tops Group D.

Man of the Day: It’s a toss-up between Messi and Heskey (and how often do you get to say that?). I’ll give it to Heskey who will have reassured some of his doubters today – and I daresay Messi will have even better days in this tournament at any rate.

Tomorrow, in the other Group C match Slovenia should beat Algeria, Serbia should prove too much for Ghana, and Germany will need to battle but you would expect them to come out on top against Australia. I’ll speak to you then.

World Cup Guide: Group E Preview

GROUP E

NETHERLANDS

FIFA World Ranking: 4

Team Colours: Orange shirts with black and white trim, black shorts, orange socks. Away kit is white shirts with blue trim and two thin Vs across the chest, one blue and one orange, blue shorts, white socks.

Manager: Bert van Marwijk took Rotterdam club Feyenoord to an unlikely UEFA Cup (remember that?) win in 2002 after a second-place Eredivisie finish in 2001, briefly returning there in 2007-08 before being appointed as Marco van Basten’s successor. Van Marwijk has maintained essentially the same formation as van Basten but the style has been turned down a notch to help protect a somewhat wobbly defence. He is well liked by the Dutch fans for his quiet and sensible approach.

Form: The Dutch swept their (admittedly not that testing) qualifying group with a 100 per cent winning record, scoring 17 goals and conceding just 2 in their eight games, and were impressive throughout with no signs of faltering. Their subsequent friendlies have been similarly promising, with one draw against Paraguay last November and wins over the USA, Mexico, Ghana and Hungary in the build up to the World Cup, the 4-1 and 6-1 victories in the latter two games being particularly fearsome. They look in very good shape.

Captain: Long-serving left-back Giovanni van Bronckhorst will retire at the end of the tournament after a fourteen-year international career, 454 club appearances and a trophy cabinet containing Scottish and English Premier Leagues, La Liga and Champions League medals. At 35, though, “Gio” has lost most of his pace and vigour to the extent that he is sometimes used in a defensive midfield role rather than the more demanding left-back position for which he is best known. Netherlands fans will hope that his experience and nous will make up for his physical shortcomings.

Key Man: Wesley Sneijder has had a gold star season at the forefront of Inter’s charge to a treble and will be the playmaker-in-chief for the Dutch side. Voted by 70% of Dutch fans as being the best free-kick taker in the country, Sneijder can spray passes with pinpoint accuracy to any of the forward three and is in arguably the form of his life.

Man to Watch: Exciting young right-back Gregory van der Wiel is the latest in a long line of products of the Ajax youth academy. The 22-year-old has attracted interest from Arsenal and Manchester United as a result of a season which saw him win the Johan Cruyff Young Player of the Year award in Holland, and has been hailed by team-mate John Heitinga as the spiritual successor to Michael Reiziger.

Prediction: The Netherlands look very strong this year, with the only real worry being a slightly shaky-looking back line. The ongoing worries over Arjen Robben’s participation are a problem, as well, and while young Hamburg winger Eljero Elia could step up in his place, Robben’s absence would be a real blow to a settled, cohesive attacking quartet. They should be able to overcome the challenges in this group but face a tricky road to the final stages, probably meeting Paraguay or Italy in the second round and likely Brazil in the quarters. I can see them edging past whoever they meet in the last 16, and they could give Brazil a heck of a match, but I don’t see them being able to undo their organised defence. Quarter finals.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax)

16. Michel Vorm (Utrecht)

22. Sander Boschker (FC Twente)

Defenders

2. Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax)

3. John Heitinga (Everton)

4. Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg)

5. Giovanni van Bronckhorst, captain (Feyenoord)

12. Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart)

13. Andre Ooijer (PSV)

15. Edson Braafheid (Bayern Munich)

Midfielders

6. Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich)

8. Nigel de Jong (Manchester City)

10. Wesley Sneijder (Inter)

14. Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax)

18. Stijn Schaars (FC Twente)

20. Ibrahim Afellay (PSV)

23. Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid)

Forwards

7. Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)

9. Robin van Persie (Arsenal)

11. Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich)

17. Eljero Elia (Hamburg)

19. Ryan Babel (Liverpool)

21. Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (A.C. Milan)

DENMARK

FIFA World Ranking: 36

Team Colours: Red shirts with white trim and a white checkered strip horizontal across the chest, white shorts with red trim, red socks with white trim. Away kit is white shirts with red trim, red shorts with white trim, white socks with red trim.

Manager: 60-year-old Morten Olsen is one of the longest-serving managers at this World Cup, having taken the Denmark job back in 2000. Since then he’s led his team to qualification for the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and now South Africa. He is best loved, though, for being the captain of the Danish team through much of the 1980s, a team much admired by the fans and considered the best in their history. Some say Olsen is the most important player in the history of Danish football, and so it’s no surprise that support for his management has always been high.

Form: Denmark defied the odds to top their group at the expense of Portugal and Sweden, only losing once on their way to qualification and completing a double over rivals Sweden to the delight of their fans. They also scored three goals in the last ten minutes to secure a vital victory in Lisbon over the group favourites. In friendlies they’ve been inconsistent, though – a reasonably assured win over Senegal was followed by a defeat to Australia.

Captain: Well-traveled veteran forward Jon Dahl Tomasson is as crafty as ever. The former Newcastle, A.C. Milan, Villarreal and Stuttgart player, now back for a second spell at Feyenoord, plays as a second striker behind Nicklas Bendtner for Denmark these days. His record for Denmark commands respect – 110 caps and 51 goals. He may be getting on a bit but is still dangerous and not to be underestimated.

Key Man: Nicklas Bendtner thinks it’s him, but the main cog in the Danish engine is Juventus midfielder Christian Poulsen. The, shall we say, combative midfielder really gets stuck in and if Denmark are to compete with teams like the Netherlands who keep possession so well, they will need Poulsen to be at his irrepressible best to win back the ball whenever possible.

Man to Watch: You may have heard people talk about him already, but Palermo centre-back Simon Kjaer is a really promising player whose stock is rising fast in the world game. At just 21 years old he is already an assured and reliable presence at the heart of the defence who can confidently deal with any opponent. Clubs all over Europe are chasing his signature and he has a chance this summer to push his potential salary up by a digit or two.

Prediction: Even with the depth in this group Denmark look pretty interesting. They are arguably a better balanced squad than Cameroon in terms of ability in every position and could make life difficult for many a team in South Africa. I think they’ll make it out of this group and could even spring a surprise against Italy in the second round.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Thomas Sorensen (Stoke)

16. Stephan Andersen (Brondby)

22. Jesper Christiansen (FC Copenhagen)

Defenders

3. Simon Kjaer (Palermo)

4. Daniel Agger (Liverpool)

5. William Kvist (FC Copenhagen)

6. Lars Jacobsen (Blackburn Rovers)

13. Per Kroldrup (Fiorentina)

15. Simon Poulsen (AZ Alkmaar)

23. Patrick Mtiliga (Malaga)

Midfielders

2. Christian Poulsen (Juventus)

7. Daniel Jensen (Werder Bremen)

8. Jesper Gronkjaer (FC Copenhagen)

10. Martin Jorgensen (Aarhus)

12. Thomas Kahlenberg (Wolfsburg)

14. Jakob Poulsen (Aarhus)

19. Dennis Rommedahl (Ajax)

20. Thomas Enevoldsen (FC Groningen)

21. Christian Eriksen (Ajax)

Forwards

9. Jon Dahl Tomasson, captain (Feyenoord)

11. Nicklas Bendtner (Arsenal)

17. Mikkel Beckmann (Randers)

18. Soren Larsen (Duisburg)

JAPAN

FIFA World Ranking: 45

Team Colours: Blue shirts with red and white trim, white shorts with blue trim, blue socks with white trim. Away kit is the inverse.

Manager: Takeshi Okada was briefly in charge of the national team at France 98 but left after the tournament. His second, more long-term spell started in 2007 when he replaced Ivica Osim who had suffered a stroke. He bears a certain resemblance to a Japanese Sven-Goran Eriksson, and would be happy to emulate Sven’s traditional quarter final finish.

Form: Japan cruised through the various Asian qualifying sections until the final phase, where they were twice frustrated by Australia and finished second, though they booked their plane tickets an hour earlier thanks to the quirks of kick-off times. Their preparations have been less than ideal, though, with four losses in four friendlies against Serbia, South Korea, England, and Ivory Coast. In the game against England they showed signs of quality but shot themselves in the foot with two late own goals.

Captain: This will be goalkeeper Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi’s fourth World Cup, and strangely though he has been named as captain for his experience he will not start as the first choice goalkeeper, with Seigo Narazaki having impressed in qualifying (he, too, is in his fourth tournament). Kawaguchi has amassed 116 caps and is just 7 away from the all-time Japanese record.

Key Man: 26-year-old central midfielder Makoto Hasebe is a candidate to wear the captain’s armband if, as expected, Kawaguchi starts on the bench. The Wolfsburg man is a disciplined, mostly defensive-minded central player with plenty of stamina and determination, but can pick a pass well if needed to play further forward or on the right flank.

Man to Watch: CSKA Moscow midfielder Keisuke Honda became the first Japanese player to play in the Champions League quarter-finals this season and one of Okada’s main tasks this summer will be to find the best way to utilise him. Usually an advanced midfielder in the centre, Honda takes a powerful free-kick and likes to get forward and take a shot, and can also play at left-back if necessary.

Prediction: Japan should be willing enough but will be too short of quality to get out of this difficult group. Their former talisman Shunsuke Nakamura has been in decline in the last few years since leaving Celtic for Espanyol and they look a little devoid of invention and creativity.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Seigo Narazaki (Nagoya Grampus)

21. Eiji Kawashima (Kawasaki Frontale)

23. Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi, captain (Jubilo Iwata)

Defenders

3. Yuichi Komano (Jubilo Iwata)

4. Marcus Tulio Tanaka (Nagoya Grampus)

5. Yuto Nagatomo (FC Tokyo)

6. Atsuto Uchida (Kashima Antlers)

13. Daiki Iwamasa (Kashima Antlers)

15. Yasuyuki Konno (FC Tokyo)

22. Yuji Nakazawa (Yokohama)

Midfielders

2. Yuki Abe (Urawa Red Diamonds)

7. Yasuhitu Endo (Gamba Osaka)

8. Daisuki Matsui (Grenoble)

10. Shunsuke Nakamura (Yokohama)

14. Kengo Nakamura (Kawasaki Frontale)

17. Makoto Hasebe (Wolfsburg)

18. Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow)

20. Junichi Inamoto (Kawasaki Frontale)

Forwards

9. Shinji Okazaki (Shimizu S-Pulse)

11. Keiji Tamada (Nagoya Grampus)

12. Kishu Yano (Albirex Niigata)

16. Yoshito Okubo (Vissel Kobe)

19. Takayuki Morimoto (Catania)

CAMEROON

FIFA World Ranking: 19

Team Colours: Green shirts with red trim, red shorts, yellow socks with red trim. Away kit is yellow shirts with thin vertical red stripes and trim, green shorts, red socks.

Manager: Paul Le Guen has been in charge of Cameroon for just one year after leaving Paris Saint-Germain at the end of the 2009 season, whom he led to a Coupe de la Ligue victory but couldn’t bring out of the relegation zone. He quickly imposed himself on the team by dropping veteran defender Rigobert Song as captain and installing talismanic striker Samuel Eto’o, who then inspired the team to complete qualification for the finals. Le Guen was part of the Lyon success story, winning the second, third and fourth of their incredible seven straight French league wins, but struggled at Rangers and PSG. Has made a solid start with Cameroon, though.

Form: Under former boss Otto Pfister (one of the best names in sport) Cameroon made a slow start to their qualifying group, losing to Togo and drawing with Morocco, before Le Guen’s arrival perked things up. Both Song and Eto’o responded well to the change in captaincy, with Song winning back his place and Eto’o scoring the goals that put the Indomitable Lions through. Their friendlies haven’t been amazing – a come-from-behind one-all draw with Slovakia was followed by a routine loss to Portugal and an exciting but eventually disappointing defeat at the hands of Serbia, albeit without Eto’o.

Captain/Key Man: Samuel Eto’o was the subject of one of the strangest transfers of recent years when he was included along with £60 million in a deal to bring Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the world’s most over-rated striker, to Barcelona from Inter. Under Jose Mourinho’s stewardship, Eto’o has been playing in a slightly unusual role out on the right wing as a hard-working inside forward to make room for Diego Milito in the centre, but has done pretty well in that position on the way to winning the treble in his first season. Still one of the world’s most devastating finishers, Eto’o is a striker feared the world over and will be Cameroon’s main chance of getting out of this group. If you take him out of the equation Cameroon just don’t have much in the way of firepower, but Eto’o knows that this may be his last chance of making the impact on the World Cup that we all know he is capable of.

Man to Watch: Stephane Mbia joined Didier Deschamps’ Marseille last summer and became an integral part of their title-winning side having repositioned himself from central midfield to centre half. The 24-year-old could yet start at right-back for Cameroon, though, with no player having made the position his own in qualifying. Strong, powerful and versatile, Mbia’s physical presence will make life difficult for forwards.

Prediction: Will run it close with Denmark to get out of the group, and while it could go either way, my money is on Cameroon being pipped at the post and having to settle for third in Group E. Their midfield is willing, but Alexandre Song aside, relatively limited and their strength in depth isn’t quite good enough, with everything depending on Samuel Eto’o being fit and firing. A lack of experience in defence past Song, Geremi and Mbia if he plays there may be telling as well.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Carlos Idriss Kameni (Espanyol)

16. Souleymanou Hamidou (Kayserispor)

22. Guy N’dy Assembe (Valenciennes)

Defenders

2. Benoit Assou-Ekotto (Tottenham)

3. Nicolas N’Koulou (Monaco)

4. Rigobert Song (Trabzonspor)

5. Sebastien Bassong (Tottenham)

8. Geremi Nijtap (Ankaragucu)

12. Gaetan Bong (Valenciennes)

14. Aurelien Chedjou (Lille)

19. Stephane Mbia (Marseille)

Midfielders

6. Alexandre Song (Arsenal)

7. Landry N’Guemo (Celtic)

10. Achille Emana (Real Betis)

11. Jean Makoun (Lyon)

18. Eyong Enoh (Ajax)

20. Georges Mandjeck (Kaiserslauten)

21. Joel Matip (Schalke)

Forwards

9. Samuel Eto’o, captain (Inter)

13. Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Nuremberg)

15. Pierre Webo (Mallorca)

17. Mohammadou Idrissou (Freiburg)

23. Vincent Aboubakar (Cotonsport Garoua)

World Cup Guide: Group D Preview

GROUP D

GERMANY

FIFA World Ranking: 6

Team Colours: White shirts with black trim and a single gold vertical stripe, black shorts with white trim, white socks with black trim. Away kit is black shirt with white and red trim, white shorts with black and red trim, black socks with white trim.

Manager: Joachim “Jogi” Loew succeeded Jurgen Klinsmann following Germany’s third place finish at the 2006 World Cup and started well by guiding the team to the final of Euro 2008, although by coming second to Spain they fell short of Loew’s stated aim of winning that competition. He had also pledged to continue the attacking brand of football introduced by Klinsmann but has perhaps faltered a little from that compared to his predecessor. The snappily-dressed manager has been accused of disrupting squad harmony during the qualifying campaign by bringing in newer faces to spark internal competition.

Form: Germany were unbeaten in qualifying, comfortably taking top spot in their group by beating second-placed Russia 1-0 in Moscow in the penultimate match, and only conceded five goals during that campaign. Their pre-tournament friendlies have gone well, including a 3-0 win over Hungary and a 3-1 victory against Bosnia & Hercegovina who were impressive nearly men in qualifying. Their plans have been disrupted by the loss of captain Michael Ballack, though.

Captain: Stepping into Ballack’s sizeable shoes is 26-year-old right-back Philipp Lahm, who is one of only nine players in the squad with more than twelve caps. He scored the memorable opening goal of the last World Cup in the opening game against Costa Rica with an absolute pearl of a long-range shot, but is not usually known for his scoring. He can also operate as a winger, though, which tells you about his attacking ability. He is also a very solid defender, though, and will be a reliable player for his team. It remains to be seen whether he will take to the captaincy.

Key Man: It has to be the man who fills Ballack’s role in a positional sense, Bastian Schweinsteiger. He will be more familiar to non-Germany fans as the bustling wide player who lacked a little in end product from previous international tournaments, but in the last season Louis van Gaal has transformed the Bayern midfielder into a central player who can both win the ball and spray it around as a playmaker. He would have played alongside Ballack but will now be thrust into the spotlight as the most experienced midfielder by far and needs to translate his excellent club form into a talismanic performance for Germany.

Man to Watch: Germany’s midfield is highly inexperienced but it does contain a quartet of rapidly rising stars – it’s hard to choose between Stuttgart general Sami Khedira, who will likely start alongside Schweinsteiger, Toni Kroos, the attacking midfielder who has impressed, scoring 1 in 4, on his now-finished 18-month loan to Bayer Leverkusen from Bayern, and Marko Marin, the Bosnian-born Werder Bremen winger, but the most exciting of all is Mesut Oezil, the 21-year-old also playing for Bremen who exudes the most natural finesse of all four. He’s very forward-thinking with a gifted left foot and an eye for goal. Of the four, he is most likely to dazzle for Germany this summer, but all four need to be ready for the big time if the decision to leave behind more experienced heads is to pay off.

Prediction: Germany’s problems are twofold – first is the astonishingly young and inexperienced squad, most obvious in goal where the first-choice keeper, Manuel Neuer, has just 5 caps which is as many as his two deputies put together. The second is up front, where Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and Mario Gomez are all very much out of form and their backups have little international pedigree. At least Loew has six of them to play around with, but it may take too much time to find a successful combination. There’s no doubt that this Germany team is the most vulnerable one for many years, and they have been dealt a tough group. They should be relatively evenly matched with Serbia and it will probably come down to who can get the best results against the other two teams, and I suspect Germany may just edge that, but I can see a second-round exit looming against probably the USA.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Manuel Neuer (Schalke)

12. Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)

22. Hans-Jorg Butt (Bayern Munich)

Defenders

2. Marcell Jansen (Hamburg)

3. Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin)

4. Dennis Aogo (Hamburg)

5. Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart)

14. Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich)

16. Philipp Lahm, captain (Bayern Munich)

17. Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen)

20. Jerome Boateng (Manchester City)

Midfielders

6. Sami Khedira (Stuttgart)

7. Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich)

8. Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen)

15. Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg)

18. Toni Kroos (Bayern Munich)

21. Marko Marin (Werder Bremen)

Forwards

9. Stefan Kießling (Bayer Leverkusen)

10. Lukas Podolski (FC Koln)

11. Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich)

13. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

19. Cacau (Stuttgart)

23. Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich)

AUSTRALIA

FIFA World Ranking: 20

Team Colours: Yellow shirts with green sleeves and a white horizontal stripe across the chest, green shorts, yellow socks. Away kit is dark blue with lighter blue sleeves and a yellow horizontal stripe across the chest, dark blue shorts, dark blue socks.

Manager: Dutchman Pim Verbeek was assistant to Guus Hiddink at South Korea for the 2002 World Cup and was in the same post under Dick Advocaat in 2006, but took the Australia job in 2007 after Hiddink left it behind. He will be leaving it himself at the conclusion of the tournament to take up a youth development post with the Moroccan national side. Verbeek has been a vocal critic of the Australian A-League, frequently calling it out on its lack of quality and criticising national team midfielder Jason Culina’s decision to move back there from PSV.

Form: Australia were the second team not called South Africa to qualify for the finals, and did so just one hour after Japan, whom they eventually overtook in their group as they comfortably made it to the tournament. They were unbeaten in the final phase of qualifying despite one or two close calls, particularly against Bahrain where they were thoroughly outplayed but managed to sneak a 1-0 win. They looked poor in their lucky 2-1 victory over neighbours New Zealand and yesterday’s lacklustre loss to the US, though.

Captain: Lucas Neill moved to Galatasaray in January having spent 15 years in England. The 32-year-old right-back can be a little hotheaded and dirty sometimes but is hugely committed to the cause and has generally been reliable for his country. He is perhaps the most robust of the Australian defenders and will need to be on top form to keep Australia from being caught out at the back.

Key Man: Everton midfielder Tim Cahill is a level above the rest of the squad in terms of ability and if he doesn’t play well, Australia have little chance of escaping from this group of arguably more lethal death than Group G. His specialty is late runs into the box to meet a cross with his head, but has a good shot on him as well and plenty of energy to run a game at his tempo. He has a dazzling scoring record of 20 in 40 caps for the Socceroos. A little injury prone, though.

Man to Watch: The only other man who could potentially earn Australia points on his own is goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, who at 37 shows no sign of declining following another outstanding season at the heart of Fulham’s European adventure and finding himself rumoured to be the subject of interest from Arsenal. Always solid and occasionally spectacular, Schwarzer could benefit from a group in which no team contains a world class goal threat.

Prediction: Australia should not be short of effort but do lack quality and strength in depth, particularly up front where their only three forwards are a one-trick beanpole (Josh Kennedy), a fading cripple (Harry Kewell), and a relatively untried winger (Nikita Rukavytsya). They need Cahill and Schwarzer to be on fire to stand a chance of getting out of this group, and the smart money says they should come last here.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Mark Schwarzer (Fulham)

12. Adam Federici (Reading)

18. Brad Jones (Middlesbrough)

Defenders

2. Lucas Neill, captain (Galatasaray)

3. Craig Moore (unattached)

6. Michael Beauchamp (Melbourne Heart)

8. Luke Wilkshire (Dinamo Moscow)

11. Scott Chipperfield (FC Basel)

20. Mark Milligan (JEF United)

21. David Carney (FC Twente)

Midfielders

4. Tim Cahill (Everton)

5. Jason Culina (Gold Coast United)

7. Brett Emerton (Blackburn Rovers)

13. Vincenzo Grella (Blackburn Rovers)

14. Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar)

15. Mile Jedinak (Antalyaspor)

16. Carl Valeri (Sassuolo)

19. Richard Garcia (Hull City)

22. Dario Vidosic (Nuremberg)

23. Mark Bresciano (Palermo)

Forwards

9. Josh Kennedy (Nagoya Grampus)

10. Harry Kewell (Galatasaray)

17. Nikita Rukavytsya (FC Twente)

SERBIA

FIFA World Ranking: 15

Team Colours: Red shirts with blue trim and a white cross on the front, blue shorts, white socks. Away kit is all white with red trim on the shirt.

Manager: Radomir Antic is very popular with the Serbian fans and has quite the impressive CV as well. As well as being one of only two men to have managed both Real Madrid and Barcelona, he is the only man to have managed those two as well as Atletico Madrid, where he enjoyed the most success of his managerial career, returning there twice and winning the league and Copa del Rey.

Form: Serbia finished top of their qualifying group despite taking just one point from favourites France, who stumbled elsewhere. They were at their most impressive thrashing Romania 5-0 to seal qualification but were cohesive and competent throughout and were eventually deserving winners. Their friendly results have been mixed – a shock 1-0 loss to New Zealand was followed by a frustrating 0-0 draw with Poland, but yesterday they produced an excellent display to come from behind twice to vanquish Cameroon, the sternest test of the three. Things may be coming together.

Captain: Dejan Stankovic is a highly accomplished midfielder who has won six Serie A titles and now the Champions League with Inter. A versatile player, he prefers to play in an advanced midfield role but can also be utilised on either flank or deeper in a holding or playmaking capacity and is a great passer of the ball. His experience and influence will be key for Serbia.

Key Man: It has taken some time for 29-year-old Milan Jovanovic to make a name for himself thanks to three unhappy years hardly getting a game for Shakhtar Donestk and Lokomotiv Moscow, but 52 goals in 116 games for Belgian side Standard Liege earned this deep-lying forward international recognition and a free transfer to Liverpool this summer. He will likely line up behind man-mountain Nikola Zigic with freedom to roam to the flanks if necessary and should be Serbia’s most potent attacking threat.

Man to Watch: Lazio left full-back Aleksandar Kolarov brings to mind Serbian legend Sinisa Mihajlovic with his runs down the left flank and rocket-propelled shot. Still just 24 years old, Kolarov has an impressive technique and should prove himself one of the best emerging defenders in the world game this summer.

Prediction: Serbia will surprise people. They have quality running right through the side with a reliable central defensive pairing of Nemanja Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic and Stankovic running things in midfield alongside creative 22-year-old Zdravko Kuzmanovic. They will be a serious threat and could be the ruin of a big name or two. I suspect they will meet England in the second round which should be a relatively evenly matched game, and really I wouldn’t know which way to call that one. If things fall into place a semi-final place wouldn’t be beyond their reach, but my gut says they will lose against England (though probably deserving to win).

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Vladimir Stojkovic (Wigan Athletic)

12. Bojan Isailovic (Zaglebie Lubin)

23. Andelko Duricic (Leiria)

Defenders

2. Antonio Rukavina (1860 Munich)

3. Aleksandar Kolarov (Lazio)

5. Nemanja Vidic (Manchester United)

6. Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea)

13. Aleksandar Lukovic (Udinese)

16. Ivan Obradovic (Real Zaragoza)

20. Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund)

Midfielders

4. Gojko Kacar (Hertha Berlin)

7. Zoran Tosic (Manchester United)

10. Dejan Stankovic, captain (Inter)

11. Nenad Milijas (Wolves)

17. Milos Krasic (CSKA Moscow)

18. Milos Ninkovic (Dinamo Kiev)

19. Radoslav Petrovic (Partizan Belgrade)

22. Zdravko Kuzmanovic (Stuttgart)

Forwards

8. Danko Lazovic (Zenit St. Petersburg)

9. Marko Pantelic (Ajax)

14. Milan Jovanovic (Liverpool)

15. Nikola Zigic (Birmingham City)

21. Dragan Mrda (Vojvodina)

GHANA

FIFA World Ranking: 32

Team Colours: White shirts with one grey sleeve with a dark grey star and black trim, white shorts, white socks. Away kit is red shirts with yellow vertical stripes and trim, red shorts, red socks.

Manager: Serbian Milovan Rajevac will lead Ghana into battle against his home country and the rest of Group D. He had only previously managed in Serbia and had not been in one job for more than two years before being hired in 2008. He is a strict disciplinarian who has earned a reputation as a shrewd tactician having overseen an impressive flawless qualification for the Africa Cup of Nations against a much-fancied Mali side, although Ghana’s second-round exit from that competition proper was less pleasing for the fans.

Form: In qualification Ghana were unstoppable, winning their group with a nearly 100 per cent record and becoming the first African nation (aside from the hosts) to qualify. They suffered a resounding 4-1 loss to the Netherlands in a pre-tournament friendly, though, and have had their preparations seriously disrupted by the withdrawal through injury of their best player, Chelsea’s Michael Essien, who will be a huge loss for them.

Captain: Stephen Appiah nearly hasn’t played at all at club level for two and a half years following a serious knee injury while he was at Fenerbahce that caused him to miss the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and only made his debut for new club Bologna as a substitute on the 9th of May this year. However he is still in the squad as captain, which has given some Ghanaian fans cause for concern as they would rather see a fit, regularly playing man starting games in a tough group against physically strong opponents like Serbia and Germany. Appiah does have plenty to give if he is fully fit, but he must be disadvantaged by his lack of game time.

Key Man: Michael Essien plays further forward for Ghana than he does for Chelsea, and so with him gone so is some of Ghana’s attacking prowess. The onus now falls squarely on the shoulders of Asamoah Gyan, the 24-year-old Rennes striker who has scored exactly one goal every two games for his country. He’s a powerful unit, strong and fast and able to keep on running and running, and will cause problems for defences.

Man to Watch: Dominic Adiyiah is a 20-year-old forward who earned himself a dream move to A.C. Milan after being an integral part of the Ghana team that won the 2009 Under-20 World Cup. He has scored 17 goals in just 16 games for the youth side and has been blooded recently by Rajevac with a view to having a similar impact in this tournament. He probably won’t start but could be a surprise package coming off the bench.

Prediction: The impact of Essien’s absence cannot be underestimated and it is made worse by suggestions that Sulley Muntari may not be fully fit in time for the opening game against Serbia a week today. Ghana can’t be counted out completely though, and should be reasonably competitive, but they should be overpowered by Germany and Serbia. A gallant third in the group.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Daniel Adjei (Liberty Professionals)

16. Stephen Ahorlu (Heart of Lions)

22. Richard Kingson (Wigan Athletic)

Defenders

2. Hans Sarpei (Bayer Leverkusen)

4. John Painstil (Fulham)

5. John Mensah (Lyon)

7. Samuel Inkoom (FC Basel)

8. Jonathan Mensah (Free State Stars)

15. Isaac Vorsah (Hoffenheim)

17. Abdul Rahim Ayew (El Zamalek)

19. Lee Addy (Bechem Chelsea)

Midfielders

6. Anthony Annan (Rosenborg)

9. Derek Boateng (Getafe)

10. Stephen Appiah, captain (Bologna)

11. Sulley Muntari (Inter)

13. Andrew Ayew (Arles)

20. Quincy Owusu-Abeyie (Al-Sadd)

21. Kwadwo Asamoah (Udinese)

23. Kevin-Prince Boateng (Portsmouth)

Forwards

3. Asamoah Gyan (Rennes)

12. Prince Tagoe (Hoffenheim)

14. Matthew Amoah (NAC Breda)

18. Dominic Adiyiah (A.C. Milan)

World Cup Guide: Group A Preview

Only eight days to go! I am becoming ludicrously excited about the World Cup, and so it’s about time to get started on the group-by-group team preview. One will be posted here every day and then on Friday the 11th, the real action starts.

GROUP A
South Africa

FIFA World Ranking: 83

Team Colours: Yellow shirts with green trim, green shorts with yellow trim, yellow socks. Away kit is the inverse.

Manager: 67-year-old Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira is in his second spell in charge of South Africa, having previously resigned in April 2008 before being brought back in October last year. He is hugely well-traveled, and shared the world record of having been one of only two coaches to take four different teams to a World Cup (Kuwait in 1982, UAE in 1990, Brazil in 1994 and 2006, and Saudi Arabia in 1998). He will catch up with the man who overtook him, the Serbian Bora Milutinovic, this summer. He’s also managed in Ghana, Turkey, and the USA, so certainly won’t be short for knowledge, but he doesn’t have a great deal to work with.

Form: As hosts, South Africa did not have to qualify for this tournament, although ironically a lack of competitive football was exactly what this team did not need. They finished fourth at the dress-rehearsal tournament the Confederations Cup last summer and performed reasonably well though they failed to beat a big team.

Captain: Aaron Mokoena has endured a pretty horrific season with relegated penniless scumbags (bias mine) Portsmouth, where he has at least been able to get plenty of defending practice in. The 29-year-old is a solid defensive midfielder who can play at centre-half as well, and he celebrated winning his 100th cap in their last friendly against Guatemala, where he wore the squad number 100 to commemorate the occasion. He will need to prove himself an inspirational leader, though, to help his country through their group.

Key Man: Undoubtedly Everton’s sought-after midfielder Steven Pienaar, who is the only touch of real class in the South African squad. He can play wide on either side or as an advanced midfielder through the middle, and you can be sure that Bafana Bafana will constantly be aiming to give him the ball in the hope that his silky dribbling can work some magic.

Man to Watch: With Benni McCarthy omitted due to lack of fitness, 32-year-old striker Siyabonga Nomvethe has been given a chance to return to the international fold having been overlooked for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations and the Confederations Cup last summer. He doesn’t have an outstanding scoring record for club or country but is by far the most experienced of the short-staffed South African frontline and will need to step up if South Africa are to have any chance.

Prediction: Everyone wants to see the hosts do well at the World Cup but realistically, South Africa are not going to progress from this group. (There aren’t many groups they would get out of.)  They just don’t have enough quality players to make an impact at this tournament and would do well to get a single win against any of the other teams in the group. Fourth place in Group A beckons.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Shu-Aib Walters (Maritzburg United)

16. Itumeleng Khune (Kaizer Chiefs)

22. Moeneeb Josephs (Orlando Pirates)

Defenders

4. Aaron Mokoena, captain (Portsmouth)

14. Matthew Booth (Mamelodi Sundowns)

3. Tsepo Masilela (Maccabi Haifa)

2. Siboniso Gaxa (Mamelodi Sundowns)

5. Lucas Thwala (Orlando Pirates)

19. Anele Ngcongca (Genk)

20. Bongani Khumalo (SuperSport United)

21. Siyabonga Sangweni (Golden Arrows)

Midfielders

6. MacBeth Siwaya (Rubin Kazan)

10. Steven Pienaar (Everton)

11. Teko Modise (Orlando Pirates)

8. Siphiwe Tshabalala (Kaizer Chiefs)

13. Kagisho Dikgacoi (Fulham)

17. Surprise Moriri (Mamelodi Sundowns)

7. Lance Davids (Ajax Cape Town)

23. Thanduyise Khuboni (Golden Arrows)

12. Reneilwe Letsholonyane (Kaizer Chiefs)

Forwards

15. Siyabonga Nomvethe (Moroka Swallows)

9. Katlego Mphela (Mamelodi Sundowns)

15. Bernard Parker (FC Twente)

MEXICO

FIFA World Ranking: 17

Team Colours: Green shirts with red trim, white shorts with red trim, white socks with red trim. Away kit is all black with red trim everywhere and some green trim on the shirts.

Manager: In his last spell in charge of Mexico, Javier Aguirre took his country to the last 16 in 2002 without hugely impressing. He has since enjoyed a successful period at the helm of Osasuna in Spain, whom he took to an unexpected Champions League qualification in 2006. After that he went to Atletico Madrid, whom he returned to a strong position in the Spanish league following some poor previous seasons. Despite returning them to the Champions League he was sacked in 2009, which turned out to be just in time to bail out ailing Mexico. Has a reputation of being somewhat difficult to get along with.

Form: Under the management of Sven-Goran Eriksson, Mexico’s qualifying campaign started poorly, with the team struggling to impress themselves on their opponents, and only scraped through to the final phase of qualifying on goal difference over Jamaica. Losses against Honduras and the USA in the first three games of the final phase saw Sven removed and replaced with Aguirre, who, despite a bad start, losing 2-1 to El Salvador of all people, revitalised the team who eventually qualified with a game to spare. Have been impressive since, their stylish display against England in a recent friendly evidence of their youthful verve in attack.

Captain: Cultured defender-midfielder Rafael Marquez was surprisingly replaced by Aguirre as captain in favour of the more tenacious midfield general Gerardo Torrado. The Cruz Azul captain is amusingly known as “El Borrego” or “The Sheep” for his bushy hairstyle. Spent the first half of the 2000s in Spain but never managed to hold down a regular place at any of his several clubs there, but has prospered back home in Mexico resulting in his elevation to the international captaincy. A strong, bustling player, Torrado is highly influential for Mexico.

Key Man: PSV Eindhoven left-back Carlos Salcido is an adventurous, attacking full-back whom Mexico are keen to utilise at every opportunity. The 30-year-old perhaps doesn’t posess the technical ability of some of his teammates but his work rate and determination are second to none and you can expect to see him pop up on the left wing frequently. If opponents can shut him down they limit Mexico’s attacking options.

Man to Watch: It’s hard to look past Manchester United-bound striker Javier Hernandez, who has recently burst onto the international scene with 7 goals in 11 games on the back of a similarly promising scoring rate for his hometown club Guadalajara. Looks pacy and exciting, and will likely be used by Aguirre as a secret weapon coming off the bench to finish teams off.

Prediction: Having recovered from the poor Sven era, Aguirre’s side look an exciting prospect. There are plenty of options in a youthful forward line (as well as 37-year-old veteran Cuauhtemoc Blanco, coaxed out of retirement by Aguirre) who can do all kinds of damage to teams who are not prepared for it. They have an excellent chance of claiming top spot in the group and could go quite far, realistically the quarter-finals.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Oscar Perez (unattached)

13. Guillermo Ochoa (America)

23. Luis Ernesto Michel (Guadalajara)

Defenders

2. Francisco Javier Rodriguez (PSV)

3. Carlos Salcido (PSV)

4. Rafael Marquez (Barcelona)

5. Ricardo Osorio (unattached)

12. Paul Aguilar (Pachuca)

15. Hector Moreno (AZ Alkmaar)

16. Efrain Juarez (Pumas)

19. Jonny Magallon (Guadalajara)

20. Jorge Torres Nilo (Tigres)

Midfielders

6. Gerardo Torrado, captain (Cruz Azul)

8. Israel Castro (Pumas)

18. Andres Guardado (Deportivo La Coruna)

Forwards

7. Pablo Barrera (Pumas)

9. Guillermo Franco (unattached)

10. Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Veracruz)

11. Carlos Vela (Arsenal)

14. Javier Hernandez (Manchester United)

17. Giovani Dos Santos (Tottenham)

21. Adolfo Bautista (Guadalajara)

22. Alberto Medina (Guadalajara)

URUGUAY

FIFA World Ranking: 16

Team Colours: Blue shirts with white trim, black shorts, black socks. Away kit is white with blue trim.

Manager: 63-year-old Oscar Tabarez, another manager in his second spell in charge of his team, having previously led Uruguay in Italia ’90. Plenty of experience, having managed Boca Juniors and Cagliari twice, as well as a short spell some years ago with A.C. Milan.

Form: Uruguay nearly benefited from Diego Maradona’s managerial circus to qualify automatically from the CONMEBOL group, but eventually had to settle for their third straight play-off, overcoming Costa Rica to return to the tournament, having missed out in 2006 at the hands of Australia. They scored more goals than Paraguay and Argentina who finished ahead of them in qualifying, and they do look more competent in attack than defence.

Captain: 29-year-old centre-back Diego Lugano is Uruguay’s best defensive asset, who scored one of the crucial goals to get the team past Costa Rica. Can be somewhat temperamental (something of a tradition for Uruguayan captains) and also likes to make the odd expedition into the opponent’s box. Uruguay will need him to be at the top of his game.

Key Man: You can’t look past experienced striker Diego Forlan, who since enduring a torrid time at Manchester United has been reborn in Spain at first Villareal and now Atletico Madrid, scoring at just about a goal every other game for the past six years and frequently topping the La Liga scoring charts. He is the man who Uruguay will turn to to power their way out of the group, and if he can get the service, he will put them away.

Man to Watch: Ajax’s exciting 23-year-old forward Luis Suarez will play just behind Forlan in the Uruguayan starting lineup, and can also play on the wing if necessary. Has a phenomenal scoring record for the Dutch club of 74 goals in 97 games, and manager Martin Jol entrusted the youngster with the club captaincy following the departure of Thomas Vermaelen to Arsenal. Together with Forlan he forms a potent front line that every team in this group will be scared of.

Prediction: If Forlan and Suarez can fire then Uruguay could surprise a few people. Much will depend on their first game against vulnerable France. If Uruguay can get a result in that game it should give them the confidence to capitalise and get out of this group, but if not their frailer defense may see them overtaken by France and Mexico. I reckon they may just sneak through at France’s expense.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Fernando Muslera (Lazio)

12. Juan Castillo (Deportivo Cali)

23. Martin Silva (Defensor Sporting)

Defenders

2. Diego Lugano, captain (Fenerbahce)

3. Diego Godin (Villareal)

4. Jorge Fucile (Porto)

6. Mauricio Victorino (Universidad de Chile)

16. Maxi Pereira (Benfica)

19. Andres Scotti (Colo Colo)

22. Martin Caceres (Juventus)

Midfielders

5. Walter Gargano (Napoli)

8. Sebastien Eguren (AIK)

11. Alvaro Pereira (Porto)

14. Nicolas Lodeiro (Ajax)

15. Diego Perez (Monaco)

17. Egidio Arevalo Rios (Penarol)

18. Ignacio Gonzalez (Valencia)

20. Alvaro Fernandez (Universidad de Chile)

Forwards

7. Edison Cavani (Palermo)

9. Luis Suarez (Ajax)

10. Diego Forlan (Atletico Madrid)

13. Sebastian Abreu (Botafogo)

21. Sebastian Fernandez (Banfield)

FRANCE

FIFA World Ranking: 10

Team Colours: Blue shirts with red and white trim, white shorts with blue trim, red socks with white trim. Away kit is white with thin red and blue stripes and trim, blue shorts with white trim, white socks with blue trim.

Manager: Raymond Domenech is to leave his post at the end of this competition, and it is utterly inexplicable why it has taken the French authorities so long to ask him to do so. Since taking control of Les Bleus in 2004, Domenech has been making ridiculous tactical and selectional decisions left, right and centre, and has been dining out on France’s fluky road to the final in 2006. As a keen astrologer, he admitted publicly that the reason he did not pick Robert Pires was because he “distrusted Scorpios”, and after the 2006 World Cup when Claude Makelele announced his retirement from international football, Domenech quite insultingly announced that he would keep calling up Makelele regardless, saying “as long as he can walk, he will play. I have the right to pick him”. French fans will be rejoicing at the news that Bordeaux’s Laurent Blanc is to replace him after the tournament, but will be desperately wishing that he was already in charge.

Form: A highly uninspiring qualifying tournament saw France finish second behind Serbia and requiring a play-off against the Republic of Ireland to make it through, and we all know what happened there. France, as they always have been under Domenech, have been deeply average and underperforming recently, and there seems little reason to get excited about this team.

Captain: Disgraced cheater Thierry Henry says he will not have a problem with being used as a supersub, having replaced Nicolas Anelka from the bench in recent games. This is a rare astute decision by Domenech, as Anelka is in the form of his life and Henry has passed his peak. The va-va-voomster does still have something to offer but is no longer the world-beater that he used to be, as evidenced by his expected imminent move to the New York Red Bulls. William Gallas will probably start with the armband in his absence.

Key Man: No question about it, Franck Ribery is the main man for France. His presence was sorely missed by his club Bayern Munich in the Champions League final this year, and his highly intelligent wing play will be the main attacking outlet for France this summer. A successful tournament could elevate him to the top tier of players in the world today.

Man to Watch: Look out for Bordeaux’s hugely exciting playmaker Yoann Gourcuff. At 23, he should already be the focal point of the French midfield, but of course isn’t under Domenech. He has an astonishing range of passing and will get forward and make things happen. If he is given the proper freedom to play his game, he and Ribery could make France great to watch. (If that doesn’t happen, you can be sure that Blanc will build the team around him in future.)

Prediction: On paper France have a decent squad with potential to play some really exciting football. However, everything comes down to how badly Raymond Domenech is going to mess this team around. He doesn’t know how to make them play well and he doesn’t know how to change a game when things aren’t going his way. Unfortunately I don’t think France should expect a particularly successful campaign, and, as said above, that first game against Uruguay will be crucial. I think the winner of that game will join Mexico in the second round, and I have a sneaky feeling that that winner will not be France.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Hugo Lloris (Lyon)

16. Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

23. Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux)

Defenders

2. Bacary Sagna (Arsenal)

3. Eric Abidal (Barcelona)

4. Anthony Reveillere (Lyon)

5. William Gallas (Arsenal)

6. Marc Planus (Bordeaux)

13. Patrice Evra (Manchester United)

17. Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla)

21. Gael Clichy (Arsenal)

Midfielders

8. Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux)

10. Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille)

14. Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon)

15. Florent Malouda (Chelsea)

18. Alou Diarra (Bordeaux)

20. Abou Diaby (Arsenal)

22. Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich)

Forwards

7. Sidney Govou (Lyon)

9. Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos)

11. Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse)

12. Thierry Henry (Barcelona)

19. Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)