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 B Preview

GROUP B

ARGENTINA

FIFA World Ranking: 7

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

Manager: Dear oh dear, where do you start with Diego Maradona? Obviously a legendary player, El Diego is, shall we say, a somewhat eccentric manager. The man who runs over journalists and then insults them for letting themselves get run over nearly presided over the most disastrous Argentinian World Cup qualification group for many years, with only a last-gasp win at Peru guaranteeing them automatic qualification. His tactics are oddly defensive for such an exciting attacking player, and he seems to have an unhealthy man-crush on 36-year-old lumbering striker Martin Palermo, to the extent that he nearly excluded Inter Milan’s 20-goal-a-season hitman Diego Milito until someone managed to knock some sense into him. Palermo is still in the squad, though. Simply put, Maradona is the biggest threat to Argentinian success this summer.

Form: Not a lot. Previous manager Alfio Basile was sacked for the team being in third place in the group after ten games, but Maradona’s introduction saw further tumbles down the order, particularly after a humiliating 6-1 reverse against Bolivia. Their friendly preparations continued with their recent routine 5-0 win over minnows Canada – how much that really says about them I’m not sure, even if Messi was in the stands.

Captain: 25-year-old Liverpool holding midfielder Javier Mascherano was appointed captain by Maradona, who described his team as “Jonas [Gutierrez], Mascherano, Messi, and eight more”. Ignoring that statement’s ludicrous elevation in status of Newcastle’s inconsistent winger Gutierrez, it does make clear how important Mascherano is to the manager’s plans. With only three central midfielders in the squad, Argentina need their captain to dominate the midfield after an indifferent season for his club.

Key Man: I’m not going to try and be clever – it’s clearly the best player on the planet, Lionel Messi, upon whom Argentinian hopes rest. It’s hard to believe that Leo is still only 22 years old when he turns out destructive and beautiful peformances every week for Barcelona. The frustrating thing for Argentina supporters is Maradona’s refusal to build the team around his talisman. With the players available to them, Argentina could easily mimic Barcelona’s formation, which gives maximum freedom to Messi to do what comes naturally, but they don’t and so Messi can be somewhat stifled. He’s still capable of breaking those shackles and driving his team forward single-handedly, though.

Man to Watch: Much-sought-after winger Angel Di Maria has reportedly just moved to Real Madrid from Benfica, and will almost certainly start Argentina’s opener against Nigeria. The left-sided player is a hugely exciting talent, with a great turn of pace, mazy dribbling and a wicked cross. Also only 22 years old, a good tournament would establish him as one of the world’s leading forward players.

Prediction: Argentina have been given a relatively kind draw and should make it out of the group stage without huge problems, barring any huge calamities from Maradona. A second round tie against Uruguay or France could be a potential banana skin, but again you would expect them to edge past those teams. A quarterfinal against Germany would be winnable as well against another vulnerable side, but it’s hard to see Argentina making it past Spain in the semifinals (not that that wouldn’t be an acceptable achievement for this team and this manager). Their weaknesses (no goalkeeper with more than 6 caps’ experience, limited defence, willingness to use Palermo) could well be exploited by any of the above.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Diego Pozo (Colon)

21. Mariano Andujar (Catania)

22. Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar)

Defenders

2. Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich)

3. Clemente Rodriguez (Estudiantes)

4. Nicolas Burdisso (Roma)

6. Gabriel Heinze (Marseille)

12. Ariel Garce (Colon)

13. Walter Samuel (Inter)

15. Nicolas Otamendi (Velez Sarsfield)

Midfielders

5. Mario Bolatti (Fiorentina)

7. Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid)

8. Juan Sebastian Veron (Estudiantes)

14. Javier Mascherano, captain (Liverpool)

17. Jonas Gutierrez (Newcastle)

20. Maxi Rodriguez (Liverpool)

23. Javier Pastore (Palermo)

Forwards

9. Gonzalo Higuain (Real Madrid)

10. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

11. Carlos Tevez (Manchester City)

16. Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid)

18. Martin Palermo (Boca Juniors)

19. Diego Milito (Inter)

NIGERIA

FIFA World Ranking: 21

Team Colours: Green with white trim, away kit is the inverse.

Manager: Lars Lagerback is a recent recruit to the Nigerian cause, having joined five months ago following Shaibu Amodu led the Super Eagles to a third-place finish in the Africa Cup of Nations, which apparently was not good enough. Lagerback himself had only just left his post as Sweden manager after ten years in the job when he failed to lead them to qualification for this tournament, but before that he had done a fine job with his native country. This is first job outside of Sweden and it remains to be seen what his approach to the Nigeria job will be.

Form: A third-place showing in the Africa Cup of Nations is really not that bad a result to come to South Africa on the back of, but Nigeria’s pre-tournament friendlies have been going less well. A 5-2 win over DR Congo has been followed by disappointing draws, 0-0 with Saudi Arabia and 1-1 with Colombia. A further game against unknown quantities North Korea will be played on Sunday, and Nigeria will very much want a convincing win there to get their preparations back on track.

Captain: Portsmouth forward Nwankwo Kanu claims to be 33 years old. I’m not certain how much I’m actually going to comment on that considering any legal possibilities, but let’s just say that he looks a lot older (he certainly has the pace and mobility of a 40-year-old), and that coincidentally there have been recent scandals involving the Nigerian youth international teams and their players being several years older than their birth certificates claim. So, um, yeah. Kanu is a somewhat bewildering choice for the national team, as he is certainly in the twilight of his career and his best is long past. Pretty much unable to move at all during a game, he just hangs around and waits for the ball to come to his feet before shooting or laying it off.

Key Man: French champions Marseille’s left-back Taye Taiwo is an exciting player who, as well as being defensively solid, can attack well and has a thunderbolt shot from range in his arsenal. He will be an important player going forward trying to break down teams like Greece, and will also have to step up to the plate when he marks Leo Messi in the opening game. If Taiwo fails things will be much harder for the Super Eagles.

Man to Watch: Hoffenheim winger/striker Chinedu ‘Edu’ Obasi was one of the standout performers for Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations and will likely be deployed on the right hand side at the World Cup. He has plenty of pace and a strong finish and could make a serious impact on Group B.

Prediction: Nigeria should be strong enough to overcome South Korea and Greece but will probably a level short of seriously challenging Argentina for superiority in the group. I would expect them to go out in the second round against whichever team wins Group A, probably Mexico. Anything more would be a serious achievement for this team.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Vincent Enyeama (Hapoel Tel Aviv)

16. Austin Ejide (Hapoel Petah Tikva)

23. Dele Aiyenugba (Bnei Yehuda)

Defenders

2. Joseph Yobo (Everton)

3. Taye Taiwo (Marseille)

5. Rabiu Afolabi (Red Bull Salzburg)

6. Danny Shittu (Bolton)

15. Dele Adeleye (Metalurg Donetsk)

17. Chidi Odiah (CSKA Moscow)

21. Uwa Elderson Echiejile (Braga)

Midfielders

7. Chinedu Obasi (Hoffenheim)

10. John Obi Mikel (Chelsea)

11. Peter Odemwingie (Lokomotiv Moscow)

12. Kalu Uche (Almeria)

13. Ayila Yussuf (Dinamo Kiev)

14. Sani Kaita (Alania Vladikavkaz)

19. Lukman Haruna (Monaco)

20. Dickson Etuhu (Fulham)

Forwards

4. Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)

8. Yakubu Aiyegbeni (Everton)

9. Obafemi Martins (Wolfsburg)

18. Victor Obinna (Malaga)

22. John Utaka (Portsmouth)

SOUTH KOREA

FIFA World Ranking: 47

Team Colours: Red patterned shirts with blue trim, white shorts, red socks. Away kit is white patterned shirts with blue trim, blue shorts, white socks.

Manager: Former PSV and South Korea midfielder Huh Jung-Moo is in his third period as manager of the national side. The 55-year-old scored the goal against Japan that qualified South Korea for the 1986 World Cup, beginning their run of six consecutive appearances in the tournament, and is a very popular coach. As a player he was nicknamed Jindogae after a local species of dog for his tough, combative style and was caught on camera appearing to kick Diego Maradona at the 1986 World Cup, so I’m sure the two will be pleased to reunite in Group B.

Form: Mixed. Huh won the AFC Coach of the Year award late last year for guiding South Korea to a 27 game unbeaten run, although their qualifying campaign stuttered at times, particularly against neighbours North Korea who held them to three draws, two of them goalless. A good warmup victory over Japan was followed on Sunday by a slightly embarrassing defeat to nonqualifiers Belarus, so their form could be better.

Captain: English fans will be familiar with Manchester United’s all-action midfielder Park Ji-Sung, who is a huge icon in Korea having emerged under the stewardship of Huh. Capable of playing anywhere across the midfield, Park will likely be utilised in the centre by Huh to maximise his influence on the game. Should be an excellent captain, as his determination should inspire the team to push on against resolute defending sides like Greece.

Key Man: Monaco winger Park Chu-Young will be vital if South Korea are to prise sides like Greece apart. He has searing pace (he can run 100m in 11 seconds) and a creative football brain. He’s also a dangerous dead-ball specialist, and Korea may look to play to his strengths by drawing free kicks in good areas.

Man to Watch: Ki Sung-Yong is an exciting prospect in the centre of midfield. His vision, technique and range of passing has earned him the nickname of the “Korean Gerrard”, which is high praise indeed. Currently plying his trade for Celtic, Ki is one of the “Double Dragon” pairing, which also includes Bolton winger Lee Chung-Yong, so known for their influential roles at the same time playing for FC Seoul before their moves abroad. Both are highly rated and could make an impact in South Africa.

Prediction: On their day South Korea can be a real handful, and are one of the more accomplished Asian sides. They should give a good account of themselves but I expect them to fall short of qualification for the round of sixteen, as they may lack sufficient bite up front to score the necessary goals.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Lee Woon-Jae (Suwon Bluewings)

18. Jung Sung-Ryong (Seongnam Ilhwa)

21. Kim Young-Kwang (Ulsan Horang-i)

Defenders

2. Oh Beom-Seok (Ulsang Horang-i)

3. Kim Hyung-Il (Pohang Steelers)

4. Cho Yong-Hyung (Jeju United)

12. Lee Young-Pyo (Al-Hilal)

14. Lee Jung-Soo (Kashima Antlers)

15. Kim Dong-Jin (Ulsang Horang-i)

22. Cha Du-Ri (Freiburg)

23. Kang Min-Soo (Suwon Bluewings)

Midfielders

5. Kim Nam-Il (Tom Tomsk)

6. Kim Bo-Kyung (Oita Trinita)

7. Park Ji-Sung, captain (Manchester United)

8. Kim Jung-Woo (Gwangju Phoenix)

13. Kim Jae-Sung (Pohang Steelers)

16. Ki Sung-Yong (Celtic)

17. Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton)

Forwards

9. Ahn Jung-Hwan (Dalian Shide)

10. Park Chu-Young (Monaco)

11. Lee Seung-Yeoul (FC Seoul)

19. Yeom Ki-Hun (Suwon Bluewings)

20. Lee Dong-Gook (Jeonbuk Motors)

GREECE

FIFA World Ranking: 13

Team Colours: White shirts with blue trim, white shorts, white socks. Away kit is blue shirts with white trim, blue shorts with white trim, and blue socks.

Manager: Otto Rehhagel still endures at Greece after nearly 10 years in charge, having unexpectedly won Euro 2004 with his hugely unwatchable brand of stoic, defensive football. A big favourite in Germany where he holds the records for most wins, draws and losses in the Bundesliga, and his teams in that league have also both scored and conceded more than any other. Crikey. You can’t say he hasn’t done a great job for Greece considering the resources at his disposal (zero flair throughout the entire country).

Form: A patchy qualification campaign saw Greece draw with lowly Moldova and Israel as they nearly allowed Latvia (yes, Latvia) to finish ahead of them in the table. They managed to scrape into the playoffs thanks to a win away in Switzerland and then stifled Ukraine in the playoffs to reach South Africa, but never really convinced. So far their only friendly has seen them lose comfortably to Paraguay, which is what you would expect.

Captain: Veteran midfielder Giorgos Karagounis scored the first goal of Euro 2004 to start Greece on their remarkable journey to the trophy in Portugal. Signed a contract at his club Panathinaikos last year that will take him through to 2012, and he says he wants to end his career there. A forward-thinking midfielder, Karagounis was once described as one of the most underrated players in the world, and while his best is past, he is still as determined as ever and will be the driving force behind the Greek midfield.

Key Man: 30-year-old Frankfurt striker Theofanis Gekas was the only bright spark for Greece in qualification, finishing top of the European qualification scoring charts with 10 goals, including four in one game against Latvia. He will be the main target for Greece when they occasionally decide to get the ball forward.

Man to Watch: One young player who could make a difference in this group is Sotiris Ninis, a 20-year-old right-sided winger with pace and skill. He is the youngest player ever to be selected for Greece by Rehhagel. The rumoured Manchester United, Real Madrid and A.C. Milan target has even at his tender age been named as one of the vice-captains of his club, Panathinaikos, by manager Henk ten Cate, which tells you something about his maturity. He may not start but expect to see him come off the bench if Greece haven’t scored.

Prediction: I can’t help hoping that Greece don’t progress from the group as their style of football is so unattractive and boring, and although they could potentially make it out, I don’t think they will. Nigeria have more of a goalscoring threat and Greece have been in such underwhelming form in qualifying. Rehhagel also sprung a surprise by picking not one but two completely uncapped players in his 23, so experience might be a factor if a key player or two gets injured.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Kostas Chalkias (PAOK)

12. Alexandros Tzorvas (Panathinaikos)

13. Michalis Sifakis (Aris)

Defenders

2. Giourkas Seitaridis (Panathinaikos)

4. Nikos Spiropoulos (Panathinaikos)

5. Vangelis Moras (Bologna)

8. Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiacos)

11. Loukas Vyntra (Panathinaikos)

15. Vasilis Torosidis (Olympiacos)

16. Sotiris Kyrgiakos (Liverpool)

19. Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Genoa)

22. Stelios Malezas (PAOK)

Midfielders

3. Christos Patsatzoglou (Omonia)

6. Alexandros Tsiolis (Siena)

10. Giorgos Karagounis, captain (Panathinaikos)

18. Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos)

21. Kostas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos)

23. Sakis Prittas (Aris)

Forwards

7. Giorgios Samaras (Celtic)

9. Angelos Charisteas (Nuremberg)

14. Dimitris Salpigidis (Panathinaikos)

17. Theofanis Gekas (Frankfurt)

20. Pantelis Kapetanos (Steaua Bucharest)

Day 4: Spain set the standard and Greece get what they deserve

As impressive as Holland’s performance against Italy was, it was mostly their superb defending and opportunistic counterattacking two or three times a half that made them the team to beat in this competition. They’ve now been overtaken by Spain, whose 4-1 win over Russia yesterday afternoon came from entire halves of scintillating attacking play that for sheer quality outshone the Dutch resourcefulness. Yes, Russia were poor, but they were made to look worse than they were by the partnership of David Villa and Fernando Torres, which lived up to all our lofty expectations. It does make you wonder why Torres was withdrawn ten minutes into the second half, though. (I told you Aragones was mad.)

We’ll probably have to wait until the quarter-finals to be sure if Spain are the real deal, as I don’t see Sweden or Greece giving their centre-backs the test they still need, particularly after having seen their stale game last night, which Sweden won 2-0. It was a very dull game, lit up briefly by Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s great goal from the edge of the penalty area (still second to Sneijder, but a worthy runner-up), but no amount of fireworks could make the Greek ‘football’ interesting. It was defensive to the point of incomprehensibility – spending 3 full minutes passing it between the three centre-backs at 0-0 thirty minutes in? Do they really intend to draw all three games to make it through? Mind you, they did look very limited in attack, but Charisteas, Gekas and Samaras were given so little opportunity to attack the defence that you have to wonder whether Otto Rehhagel is orchestrating this for a bet.

Greece got exactly what they deserved, and it will be a very tall order for them to get out of this group now. They may well beat Russia in their next game, who looked out of ideas without Arshavin and Pogrebnyak, but Spain in the final game? Not a chance. Good riddance.

Today we’re back to Group A, with Portugal-Czech Republic and Turkey-Switzerland. I’ll have a guess at 2-0 and 1-1 respectively, but I don’t expect any classics. Here’s hoping.

Euro 2008 Preview: Group D

Team: Greece

Manager: Otto Rehhagel is Greece’s longest-ever-serving national manager, who was highly sought after by many a European club after masterminding the Euro 2004 triumph – yet somehow has remained where he is, even signing a new contract to carry the team through to the next World Cup. He’s clearly a talented coach but he can’t really believe his squad can make lightning strike twice?

Strip: All white with blue trim. Second strip is the inverse.

Captain: Central midfielder Angelos Basinas was instrumental in the 2004 success, grabbing an assist for the cup-winning goal and taking charge of the midfield throughout the competition. Now captain, his influence cannot be underestimated (though watch me try).

Form: Incredibly, Greece gained more points in qualifying than any other team in Europe, though considering their main rivals were Turkey the achievement is less impressive than it might have been. They also highlighted Portugal’s need to improve if they intend to win the tournament by beating them 2-1 in a March friendly. More recently, though…a 0-0 draw with Armenia. That’s how bad the world’s 8th-ranked side have the potential to be.

Man to Watch: Stelios Giannakopoulos has been told he won’t be getting a new contract at Bolton, so he’ll be looking to prove his worth to potential employers this summer. I was surprised at how little he was used, relatively speaking, last season, though when he did play he didn’t pull up many trees. On his day he adds excitement to a very functional Greek line-up.

Prediction: No way is it happening again. I don’t think Greece will get out of their group, but they could scrape a couple of points here and there.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Antonios Nikopolidis (Olympiacos)

12. Kostas Chalkias (PAOK)

13. Alexandros Tzorvas (OFI Crete)

Defenders

2. Giourkas Seitaridis (Atletico Madrid)

3. Christos Patsatzoglu (Olympiacos)

4. Nikos Spiropoulos (Panathinaikos)

5. Traianos Dellas (AEK)

11. Loukas Vintra (Panathinaikos)

15. Vassilis Torosidis (Olympiacos)

16. Sotiris Kyrgiakos (Eintracht Frankfurt)

18. Giannis Goumas (Panathinaikos)

19. Paraskevas Antzas (Olympiacos)

Midfielders

6. Angelos Basinas (Real Mallorca)

8. Stelios Giannakopoulos (free agent)

10. Giorgios Karagounis (Panathinaikos)

21. Kostas Katsouranis (Benfica)

22. Alexandros Tsiolis (Panathinaikos)

Forwards

7. Giorgios Samaras (Celtic)

9. Angelos Charisteas (Nuremberg)

14. Dimitris Salpingidis (Panathinaikos)

17. Fanis Gekas (Leverkusen)

20. Ioannis  Amanatidis (Eintracht Frankfurt)

23. Nikos Liberopoulos (AEK)

Team: Russia

Manager: Guus Hiddink has proved himself time and again as one of, if not the, best manager in the world. I’m apparently the only one who believes him when he says he’s staying with Russia rather than going to Chelsea (that’s clearly Mancini’s job) , and he’ll continue to do well with them. They may not quite be ready this time but by the 2010 World Cup they could be a real force.

Strip: All white with Russian flag colours across the chest and blue collar. Second strip is all red with the same flag effect and white collar.

Captain: Highly talented Zenit Petersburg midfielder Andrei Arshavin is the creative fulcrum of all the Russian attacks, so, helpfully, he got himself sent off with 8 minutes to go against Andorra, meaning he’ll miss the first two group games against Spain and Greece. Thankfully, he’s more intelligent when it comes to picking out a pass.

Form: Russia did their best to throw away qualification by losing away to Israel, who had nothing to play for, but as we all know England just wanted it less, and the rest is history. Their campaign had few genuine highlights apart from the comeback win against England in Moscow, and they drew twice with Croatia without ever really troubling them. A comfortable warm-up win over Lithuania leaves them cautiously optimistic.

Man to Watch: The art of getting yourself suspended from key games seems to be a feature of great Russian players. Zenit’s big target man Pavel Pogrebnyak led the line superbly in his club’s UEFA Cup campaign before getting himself suspended for the final. His team won anyway, but the imposing striker will need to take the heat off the team while Arshavin is suspended.

Prediction: It’ll probably come down to their last group game against Sweden to determine which of them will accompany Spain into the knockout stages.  It could go either way but I fancy Sweden’s greater experience will be the end of what is a youthful Russian side.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow)

12. Vladimir Gabulov (Amkar Perm)

16. Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit)

Defenders

2. Vasily Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow)

4. Sergey Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow)

5. Alexei Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow)

8. Denis Kolodin (Dinamo Moscow)

14. Roman Shirokov (Zenit)

22. Aleksandr Anyukov (Zenit)

Midfielders

3. Renat Yanbaev (Lokomotiv Moscow)

7. Dmitri Torbinski (Lokomotiv Moscow)

10. Andrei Arshavin (Zenit)

11. Sergei Semak (FC Rubin)

15. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow)

17. Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit)

18. Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow)

20. Igor Semshov (Dinamo Moscow)

23. Vladimir Bystov (Spartak Moscow)

Forwards

6. Roman Adamov (FC Moscow)

9. Ivan Saenko (Nuremberg)

13. Pavel Pogrebnyak (Zenit)

19. Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow)

21. Dmitri Sychev (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Team: Spain

Manager: Probably the maddest manager in world football, Luis Aragones is approximately a million years old and is going senile. I’ve been wondering why he remains in charge of the national side for a very long time, and I reckon he’ll go at the end of the tournament.

Strip: Red shirt, black shorts, black socks. Second strip is the same but with a yellow shirt.

Captain: A close second to Gigi Buffon as the world’s best goalkeeper, Iker Casillas was probably the main reason why Real Madrid won La Liga this year and last. He’ll need to be at his best as the defence is Spain’s weak link, but he can almost always be counted on and should make a valuable difference this summer.

Form: Won their qualifying group despite the occasional scare from Denmark and Northern Ireland – runners-up Sweden were relatively unthreatening – but looked convincing for the majority of their matches. Their warm-up games were not unqualified successes – it took a late winner from left-back Joan Capdevila to beat Chile and the 1-0 win over the USA was low-key – but earlier victory over Italy (while playing badly, so you know the cliche there) means the omens are good.

Man to Watch: You’ll have heard all about Torres and Villa but Real Mallorca striker Dani Guiza is a less renowned name. This season was a real breakthrough for him, scoring 27 goals to fire his team to the Intertoto Cup. Brilliant on the counterattack thanks to his pace and movement, Guiza will probably be moving on this summer and will be intending to show off his skills as a supersub.

Prediction: My head says they’ll fail again, but it’s less reluctant this year than ever, which means I feel comfortable going with my heart. I think Spain will finally end their wait for silverware this year. They’ve got the best central midfield in the world – Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta, Senna and Alonso anyone? – and probably the best strike partnership in the world as well, with options like Guiza, Silva and Santi Cazorla on the bench. Winners.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Iker Casillas (Real Madrid)

13. Andres Palop (Sevilla)

23. Pepe Reina (Liverpool)

Defenders

2. Raul Albiol (Valencia)

3. Fernando Navarro (Real Mallorca)

4. Carlos Marchena (Valencia)

5. Carles Puyol (Barcelona)

11. Joan Capdevila (Villarreal)

15. Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid)

18. Alvaro Arbeloa (Liverpool)

20. Juanito (Real Betis)

Midfielders

6. Andres Iniesta (Barcelona)

8. Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona)

10. Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal)

12. Santi Cazorla (Villarreal)

14. Xabi Alonso (Liverpool)

19. Marcos Senna (Villarreal)

21. David Silva (Valencia)

22. Ruben de la Red (Real Madrid)

Forwards

7. David Villa (Valencia)

9. Fernando Torres (Liverpool)

16. Sergio Garcia (Real Zaragoza)

17. Dani Guiza (Real Mallorca)

Team: Sweden

Manager: Lars Lagerback has been quietly successful with Sweden for 8 years now. Having previously collaborated with Tommy Soderberg until the end of Euro 2004, he’s proven that he has the tactical nous and motivational capability to carry the team on his own. Whether he will stay on after the tournament is unsure, but he looks content enough in his position for now.

Strip: Yellow shirt with blue trim, blue shorts, yellow socks. Second strip is all black with yellow trim.

Captain: Freddie Ljungberg, always managing to be both industrious and creative at the same time, is a fitness doubt for Sweden after an injury-interrupted season for West Ham, but is expected to be at least mostly fit, which they will settle for. At 31, this may be his last tournament on the front lines, and he’s still got enough quality to stamp his mark on Austria and Switzerland.

Form: They started qualifying strongly with four straight wins but things became difficult after David Healy sunk them in Belfast. The Swedes were, however, typically efficient, qualifying on the last day of the campaign to reach their fifth consecutive major tournament. Their friendlies tell us little – a 1-0 win over Slovenia was to be expected, while the same scoreline was their undoing against Ukraine. A few niggling injuries may stunt their progress.

Man to Watch: 28-year-old winger Christian Wilhelmsson seems to have travelled all over Europe recently at club level, turning out for Anderlecht, Nantes, Roma, Bolton and Deportivo in the space of just over two years, but remains a quality player who can cut inside or cross from out wide to great effect. Should work in tandem with Ljungberg on the flanks.

Prediction: Their superior experience to Russia and greater quality than Greece should see them through to the quarters, but they are unlikely to trouble the winners of Group C.

Squad List:

Goalkeepers

1. Andreas Isaksson (Man City)

12. Rami Shaaban (Hammarby)

13. Johan Wiland (Elfsborg)

Defenders

2. Mikael Nilsson (Panathinaikos)

3. Olof Mellberg (Juventus)

4. Petter Hansson (Rennes)

5. Fredrik Stoor (Rosenborg)

14. Daniel Majstorovic (AEK)

15. Andreas Granqvist (Wigan)

23. Mikael Dorsin (CFR Cluj)

Midfielders

6. Tobias Linderoth (Galatasaray)

7. Niclas Alexandersson (Goteborg)

8. Anders Svensson (Elfsborg)

9. Freddie Ljungberg (West Ham)

16. Kim Kallstrom (Lyon)

18. Sebastian Larsson (Birmingham)

19. Daniel Andersson (Malmo)

21. Christian Wilhelmsson (Deportivo La Coruna)

Forwards

10. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Inter)

11. Johan Elmander (Toulouse)

17. Henrik Larsson (Helsingborgs)

20. Marcus Allback (FC Copenhagen)

22. Markus Rosenberg (Werder Bremen)