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 30: Stricken With The Loew Bug, Germany Finish Third

Uruguay 2 – 3 Germany

Sorry about the delay, readers, there have been some internet issues preventing this blog arriving on time. But I couldn’t turn my attentions to the big game this evening before giving a quick mention to last night’s thrilling third/fourth place play-off. It was, of course, the least relevant game of the tournament, as it always is, but this glorified friendly fixture has a habit of taking the pressure off enough to lead to a stonking game with plenty of goals, and last night was no exception as we witnessed the first match of the World Cup in which the lead ever changed hands. That in itself is an astounding fact considering Uruguay-Germany was the 63rd game of the finals, but more on that later.

First to the game itself, and it was very exciting, gradually becoming more and more end-to-end as the game went on, but on the balance of play you’d probably have to say that Germany deserved their win. They had the better of the opening stages and were rewarded when Thomas Mueller, one of the outstanding players of the tournament but somehow omitted from FIFA’s Golden Ball shortlist, slotted in his fifth goal of the tournament after Fernando Muslera awkwardly parried the ball straight into his path. It was an error by Muslera but there was evidence of the Jabulani’s devils at work, swinging the ball late in its arc to wrongfoot him.  Mueller now joins David Villa, Wesley Sneidjer and Diego Forlan at the top of the Golden Boot standings, and if neither Villa nor Sneijder score in the final tonight, Mueller will win the prize by virtue of having more assists (another ludicrous new rule from reliably idiotic FIFA – what exactly was so awful about having joint winners in the past? And what do assists have to do with being a great goalscorer?).

But Uruguay replied quickly with a wonderfully elegant sweeping move instigated by the terrific Diego Perez thieving the ball away from Bastian Schweinsteiger, captain for the night as Philipp Lahm was ill. Perez gave it to Forlan who threaded a perfect through ball in towards Edinson Cavani, who stretched his leg out just enough to place it past Hans-Joerg Butt for his first of the tournament, a goal which he richly deserves for his energetic and unselfish forward performances. There was a simple beauty about that goal that makes it, in my mind, deserve more attention than Forlan’s goal just after half-time. That, too, was of course a great goal, earned by a strong, determined run down the right flank by Edigio Arevalo, one of Uruguay’s best throughout the finals, who crossed it for Forlan. Forlan then unleashed a powerful volley that came off the ground and thudded into Butt’s net. Again, Forlan is now tied on five goals with three others, though he cannot officially win it.

In the minutes that followed Uruguay were solidly in control of the match, bustling and brimming with energy. So naturally Germany then stole an equaliser, a somewhat fluky goal for which Jerome Boateng lumped a cross into the box, Muslera jumped for it and missed, and Marcell Jansen, while apparently trying to duck out of the way, had the ball hit him on the back of the neck and deflect in. His celebration was suitably apologetic.

Admirably both teams pushed forward with greater and greater abandon, both trying to win the game presumably at least to avoid the unnecessary strain of extra time. It was starting to look like that was where we were heading, though, as Luis Suarez and Stefan Kiessling both had good shots saved, until, inside the last ten minutes, when a Mesut Oezil corner was defended a little clumsily by Uruguay, allowing Sami Khedira to rise above and head home for the goal that he too has deserved for his efforts in South Africa. Uruguay did keep pushing and managed to win a free-kick just outside the area with the last kick of the game. Forlan’s resulting effort was a stunner that deserved to go in, but pinged off the left side of the crossbar and out to seal Germany’s bronze medal.

That was that for one of the most entertaining games of the tournament and two teams who have both surprised and impressed me and many others. Uruguay were beaten but will return to Montevideo to a heroes’ welcome having exceeded expectations and put up a good fight against not only Germany but also the Netherlands. Forlan in particular has been one of the best players of the tournament, leading by example on and off the pitch with his constant reading of the game, intelligent passing, inspired set-pieces and five excellent goals. Suarez will be remembered for his goalkeeping rather than his striking in the history books but he too has been impressive and this summer on the back of his incredible goal record last season will surely see him secure a big-money move to a top club, maybe someone like Chelsea if they fail to get hold of Fernando Torres. Cavani, Diego Lugano, Jorge Fucile, Arevalo, Perez and Maximiliano Pereira have all been really good.

Germany know that there wasn’t really any more that they could have done. They played probably the most exciting football of the tournament despite being a reactive team rather an a proactive team, playing mostly on the counter. Surely the German FA must now give Joachim Loew whatever he wants to ensure that he can continue developing this team who, as long as injuries and form hold steady, should be a real force in Brazil in 2014. In Mueller and Oezil they have the two most exciting young players of the tournament, and Schweinsteiger has a strong case for overall best player. They’ll be back.

Man of the Day: Diego Forlan was the best player on the park for me, laying on the crucial pass for Uruguay’s opener, scoring another great goal and so nearly another in the dying seconds.

Later today, it’s the World Cup final! Crikey! It’s nearly over. I’m delighted that a new side will be lifting the Jules Rimet tonight and I’m in the happy position of having a personal interest in both sides winning, so I look forward to enjoying it whatever happens. Spain, though, should come out on top if they play to their best, although Arjen Robben has the power to change a game in a second and must be stopped in what could be a fascinating examination of both Sergio Ramos and, to a lesser extent, Joan Capdevila. See you on the other side!

Day 27: Puyol Throws España In The Works

Germany 0 – 1 Spain

Bow down before the octopus. After a really fascinating if not thrillingly entertaining semi-final, Spain advance to meet the Netherlands in the final to ensure that there will be a new name on the Jules Rimet trophy.

Before the game the feeling was that although Spain had undoubtedly the superior players, Germany’s hard work, organisation and team ethic would be perfectly suited to keeping a lid on the tiki-taka and stifle the Spanish creativity while counter-attacking devastatingly. What actually happened was much the opposite – it was Spain who pressed hard and stopped Germany from getting any passing moves going, and still managed to build long spells of forward movement in posession. It was obvious very early on that Vicente del Bosque had won the main tactical battle and that he could alter the shape of the game whenever he liked. It transpired, however, that he was either unwilling or unable to exploit that position.

For all Spain’s quick passing and dominance in posession, they were unable to turn the screw for most of the game. As often turns out to be their problem, they were struck with a touch of the Arsenals, with so many players queueing up to provide the killer pass that could unlock the German defense, but with no player actually attacking the penalty box to receive that pass. Dropping Fernando Torres was a reasonable call for del Bosque – he’s clearly suffering from what golfers call “the yips” – but although his replacement, Pedro, was Spain’s most enterprising player in the first half, he’s not the same player who can go forward and lead the line. David Villa was forced to try and be that central striker but he was clearly unsuited to the role – he is a player who needs to cut in from the left and play off the main striker, which is why he has partnered Torres so well in the last few years. As the clock ticked on and on, Spain were desperately crying out for the introduction of Fernando Llorente to reprise his cameo role from the Portugal game as the target man around whom Villa, Pedro, Xavi and Andres Iniesta could have swarmed. I say Llorente very deliberately rather than Torres – dropping a player suffering from the yips is fair enough, but dropping him is very much a final admittance that his confidence is shot. Turning to Torres as a player to come on and change the game on his form would have been disastrous. Later, when Spain were ahead, Torres did come on, and in that situation it was more understandable – if he’d been able to tuck away a late opportunity to make it 2-0 it could have been the spark that revived him. However it was David Villa who del Bosque brought off to make room for him, an awful substitution that could have backfired horribly had Germany equalised.

Luckily Spain had the cushion of Carles Puyol’s 73rd-minute goal, a bullet header from a corner scored from the edge of the area following a late run by the Barcelona centre-back. It would have been reassuring for Puyol who should have buried a heading chance in the first half. It always seemed unlikely after that goal went in that Germany would be able to respond, having been by some distance the inferior side. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Sami Khedira were effectively prevented from exerting their influence from midfield by the Spanish pressing high up the pitch, usually crowding the German defenders out enough to force aimless long balls toward Miroslav Klose. Mesut Oezil just couldn’t get any of the ball, and was only visible for a penalty shout just before half-time. He basically ran into Sergio Ramos, though, and it was the right decision not to give it.

Germany have been a brilliant part of this World Cup and in many ways it’s a shame to see them go out, but their time will surely come. This immensely talented young team will be reaching their peak in four years’ time, and although Klose has probably played his last World Cup, there are several young defenders who should have surpassed Arne Friedrich and Per Mertesacker by 2014, and the likes of Thomas Mueller should be ready to take Klose’s place. Joachim Loew has done a fantastic job with his side and I very much hope that he resolves his current contract dispute to keep developing his team, who have combined solid and resolute defending with scintillating counter-attacking forward play. Philipp Lahm has been a revelatory captain, too.

Spain, though, deserve to reach the final, and it’s really delightful to know that this tournament will definitely be won by a country that has never won a World Cup before. The incredible statistic that Spain and the Netherlands have never met each other in either a World Cup or European Championship match serves to underline how both these nations have underachieved on the world stage, and I’m in the happy position of not minding at all which team goes on to win it.

Man of the Day: Xabi Alonso was a standout for me, even though I would have taken him off for Llorente if I were Vicente del Bosque. He was unlucky to be penalised by the referee for a couple of brilliant tackles and he was more willing than most Spanish players to actually take a shot now and then. Puyol, too, had a good game.

Only one game to go! All right, the third place playoff too, but it’s not as if anyone actually cares about that. I’ll be covering both and will be handing out some CDB Awards both before and after the final.

Day 23: El Diego On The End Of A Muellering

Argentina 0 – 4 Germany

Paraguay 0 – 1 Spain

Well, we expected one game that could go either way and one comfortable victory today, just in that order.

Argentina-Germany was supposed to be an exciting duel between two exciting attacking forces, but Argentina just didn’t turn up. Right from the start Germany overran them, closing them down quickly and allowing them no time to express themselves on the ball. Even after three minutes, when Nicolas Otamendi conceded a free-kick and some awful marking allowed Thomas Mueller to head in Bastian Schweinsteiger’s cross, Germany looked good value for their lead. That was just the start of a torrid afternoon for Otamendi, who was constantly tormented by Lukas Podolski on the German left, and was at fault for the second goal as well.

Argentina could have come back in the second half as they grew into the game a little bit more but couldn’t summon a really clear-cut chance. Gonzalo Higuain in particular had a really poor game, often miscontrolling the ball and losing posession up front. There was more pressure from Maradona’s men in the first few minutes of the second half but again nothing concrete, just a sense of attacking intent. The second goal arrived after just over an hour, when Otamendi’s pathetic attempt to tackle Mueller freed Podolski in the area. Podolski forced Sergio Romero to come out and then put it on a plate for Miroslav Klose, who could hardly miss from such a tiny distance (luckily, because the finish was actually quite bad). A similar defensive muddle led to a third shortly after, with plenty of bodies in the box from a corner and Arne Friedrich of all people finding space to tap in from virtually a prone position. By that time Argentina’s resolve was all gone and the tie was dead and buried, so when substitute Piotr Trochowski crossed for the unmarked Klose, it was no surprise that his simple but excellent finish made it four. Klose is now only one behind Ronaldo (the fat one) in the all-time World Cup goalscoring stakes.

I really can’t say enough how impressive Germany were. They look the best side left in the competition now, arguably, with every player knowing exactly what they’re doing and what those around them are doing. Schweinsteiger had an outstanding game, pulling the strings in midfield while Mesut Oezil had actually a rather disappointing, uninvolved day. Sami Khedira continued to be a solid, muscular presence up and down the field alongside him, and both full-backs, Lahm and Boateng, were also standouts. Mueller was industrious on the right but picked up a booking that will see him miss the semi-final. That could be a quite a loss for Germany, but you just know that Trochowski will come in and pick up exactly where the Bayern man left off. As for Argentina, I don’t think they ever really looked like winning this World Cup. Their defense has been a mess all the way through and it let them down again today. Maradona’s substitutions failed to lift them out of their malaise either, and there is of course speculation that he may resign tomorrow, but I for one hope he stays because he’s such an entertaining man to be in charge of the national team.

Germany will meet Spain in the semi, as we all expected, but the Spanish didn’t half labour to get there. In the first half Paraguay were the better team, pressing right from the front and not allowing Spain to settle in to their tiki-taka rhythm, much like Germany’s performance earlier except without the counterattacking panache. Neither side had much in the way of chances apart from Paraguay’s disallowed goal, a cool finish from the onside Nelson Haedo Valdez ruled out for Oscar Cardozo, who was just offside and, though he didn’t touch the ball, he jumped for it, thereby making himself a problem for the goalkeeper and being “active” by the letter of the law. For the commitment and effectiveness of their shut-down tactics it was hard not to say that Paraguay deserved to be ahead at half-time, but the goal was illegitimate.

The second half was much the same for the first fifteen minutes until an absolutely mental period of play began with a penalty being awarded to Paraguay. I was glad to see it given for arm-holding by Gerard Pique as he defended a set-piece, as it’s the sort of thing that needs to be clamped down on more. But Oscar Cardozo, recalled to the starting eleven after coolly slotting home the winning penalty in the shootout versus Japan, hit his shot too close to Iker Casillas, who had guessed correctly. Immediately after the ball was pumped up into the Paraguay half and David Villa rushed into the penalty area and was brought down by Antolin Alcaraz. Whether or not it was a clear cut foul is debatable but if, as the referee decided, it was a foul, it should have been a red card rather than the yellow given. Either way it was poor refereeing. When Xabi Alonso dispatched the spot-kick, though, he was pulled back to take it again because of encroaching into the area, but replays showed that the same thing was happening (and to a greater and more obvious extent) when Cardozo missed his, and the ref didn’t make him take it again. So more bad refereeing. Alonso’s second kick was poor and saved well by Claudio Bravo, who then should have conceded another penalty because in the ensuing melee in the box he went for the ball but took down Villa instead.

It was a shocking explosion of controversy and drama in a game that had been deathly boring for an hour, but despite that insanity the game returned to its previous rhythm. Spain continued to go forward but their passing just wasn’t coming off. Fernando Torres had already been withdrawn after another really lacklustre performance but they were crying out for some width to stretch the Paraguayan full-backs. Vicente del Bosque didn’t bring any on though, with Fabregas and Pedro, who is nominally a wide right player but enjoys tucking in, keeping things too constricted. Finally, though, the breakthrough was made with ten minutes left, and it was down to some inspiration from Andres Iniesta, who glided forward behind the defensive midfield line and laid a pass on perfectly for Pedro, who had to bury it – but hit the far post. Luckily Villa was on hand to take the rebound and tuck it in, though not before it bounced off both posts. That takes his tally to five for the tournament.

Spain are through to their first ever World Cup semi-final, but on this form they will struggle to beat Germany. There was enough from Paraguay’s determined pressing to suggest that Germany can do exactly the same and stifle Spain while having the attacking players to score goals on the break. I definitely feel that del Bosque has to drop one of Alonso and Sergio Busquets so that he can get more width from midfield if they want to avoid a repeat of this game. Villa is potent cutting in from the left but shouldn’t be the widest attacking player and either Jesus Navas or David Silva would provide a useful option on either flank.

Man of the Day: No question for me that it must be Schweinsteiger. The man whose name translates as “pig supervisor” certainly oversaw everything pretty much all over the pitch. Ballack? Who needs Ballack?

Another two rest days now before the semi-finals, but I’ll still be blogging. Haven’t decided exactly what about yet, though.

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)