Group of Hurt is what I’m calling this one. We all know the real Group of Death, but this one isn’t much less competitive! Germany is obviously the favourite in the group, but the #2 isn’t as clearly defined. Each other country has their strengths that ultimately could put them into that second spot.

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Germany (GER)
Ranked 6th
Odds of winning the World Cup 12-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Die Mannschaft (The Team)

Oh how I love Bastian Schweinsteiger blonde hair… it makes me smile. Germany is the clear favourite in the group, though without their usual Captain Michael Ballack (injured) it will come to some younger players to step up (and this is a young team – 13 players under 24). Fortunately for Germany, they are not short in talent. In fact, the coach of Die Mannschaft has yet to cut down to his final roster to 23, and has admitted it’s a difficult process. Germany play aggressive and are always pushing. They went undefeated in qualifying. Expect some pretty header goals! I worry a little about their keepers though.

Key Players: DF Philipp Lahm, MF Bastian Schweinsteiger, FW Miroslav Klose, FW Lukas Podolski, FW Cacau

Australia (AUS)
Ranked 20th
Odds of winning the World Cup 151-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Socceroos

Australia in 2006 barely lost to the Italians in the second round so they’ll want to build on that success. The Australians dominate (from what I understand) in Rugby, and a lot of those skills translate well to soccer so you can never count out the Socceroos. They have a Dutch coach who’s proven that he can lead this squad having successfully cleared Japan in the qualifiers with ease. As I said this is the group of hurt, so expect for that second spot to be a dogfight with Australia right there.

Key Players: GK Mark Schwarzer, DF Scott Chipperfield, DF David Carney, MF Brett Emerton, MF Marco Bresciano, MF Tim Cahill, FW Harry Kewell

Serbia (SRB)
Ranked 15th
Odds of winning the World Cup 67-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Beli Orlovi (White Eagles)

The Serbs are the darkhorse of this tournament. I think it’s possible they could surprise a lot of people and maybe be the creator of a couple upsets. They destroyed Romania in the qualifiers 5-0. The 0 is an important number because Serbian defense is pretty good, lead by Manchester United’s Vidic and Chelsea’s Ivanovic, so don’t expect any cheap goals scored on them. They also have some nice talent offensively that should strike some worry into opposing keepers. Keep your eye on the Serbs!

Key Players: DK Vladimir Stojković, DF Nemanja Vidić, DF Branislav Ivanović, MF Dejan Stanković, MF Milan Jovanović, FW Nikola Žigić, FW Danko Lazović

Ghana (GHA)
Ranked 32nd
Odds of winning the World Cup 81-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: The Black Stars

This will be Ghana’s second appearance in the World Cup and based on 2006′s World Cup, I guess they would be considered the favourite to end up in 2nd in the group. In 2006, they made it to the final 16 but were knocked out by Brazil. With veteran talent Mensah balancing younger talents on the team, the Black Stars want to improve on their 2006 showing.  Do they have enough defense? That I question especially with the loss of Essien.

Key Players: GK Richard Kingson, DF John Paintsil, DF John Mensah, MF Stephen Appiah, MF Sulley Muntari, FW Asamoah Gyan, FW Matthew Amoah

So who goes through?

1 – Germany
2 – Serbia
3 – Ghana
4 – Australia

11 days! I need an advent calendar for the World Cup! Oh it’s so exciting. Group C… well, there’s little doubt WHO will go through, I guess it’s just a matter of in what order. June 12th will be the most interesting match of the group USA vs England (and one of the most interesting of the group stages all together).

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England (ENG)
Ranked 8th
Odds of winning the World Cup 7-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: The Three Lions

England has reclaimed some of the greatness that they’ve been saying for years. This was supposed to be England’s time, with a great crop of young, very talented players all coming into their own at roughly the same time. Well, that confidence didn’t translate into wins.. until now. England won 9 of 10 in the qualifying stage and scored and impressive 34 goals (9 belonging to Rooney). Their new Italian coach (Fabio Capello) has clamped down on the players and brought discipline to the English squad. As the favourites in this group and slated as a real contender for the Cup, expect England to come out gunning for victory. Perhaps England’s time is here? One thing… Rooney, don’t get yourself a red card!

Key Players: DF Rio Ferdinand, DF John Terry, MF Steven Gerrard, MF Frank Lampard, MF Joe Cole, FW Wayne Rooney, FW Peter Crouch

USA (USA)
Ranked 14th
Odds of winning the World Cup 81-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: The Yanks

The USA has been overachieving lately. The Confederation Cup they managed to upset Spain and even led 2-0 against Brazil (before they[Brazil] flipped the switch and ended up winning 3-2). They are running on confidence, confidence that will be short lived. While I’m not saying they are slouches, I don’t think they have what it takes to beat England. They hope to have one of their primary defenders back (Oguchi Onyewu) from injury, but that’s not a guarantee and would be a painful loss to their defense. Ultimately, I think they know they have been overachieving which adds a degree of dangerousness to them because they can play without tension, all of that will be on England. It will all come down to Landon Donovan.

Key Players: GK Tim Howard, DF Carlos Bocanegra, MF DaMarcus Beasley, MF Clint Dempsey, MF Landon Donovan, FW Jozy Altidore

Slovenia (SVN)
Ranked 25th
Odds of winning the World Cup 401-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: None.

This one comes down to the keeper and a ton of luck, fairy dust, four leaf clovers and rabbits feet. If Jesus himself comes back as one of these guys and uses his Jesus power to play football, I still don’t think the Slovenians will go very far. There’s just not enough firepower, speed, defense, creativity or finesse. 401-1 odds are being nice if you ask me. Handanovic has shown to be a solid keeper and even Novakovič is solid, but two players don’t make a team of 11. Sorry to any Slovenian readers, just being honest.

Key Players: GK Samir Handanovic, DF Boštjan Cesar, DF Marko Šuler, MF Robert Koren, FW Milivoje Novakovič, FW Zlatko Dedič

Algeria (ALG)
Ranked 30th
Odds of winning the World Cup 501-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes)

I’m a little shocked to see them at 501-1. I’d put them more in the 250-1 range. The Algerians have more tools to work with than the Slovenians. They barely made their way into this though and I guess that’s why. They haven’t been in the World Cup for 24 years and will likely see an early exit. They have some solid players that play regularly in the top tier leagues and don’t lack passion. Expect to see them come out swinging their first game to hopefully, at the very least get 3 points.

Key Players: DF Nadir Belhadj, DF Antar Yahia, MF Yazid Mansouri, MF Karim Ziani, FW Rafik Saïfi, FW Abdelkader Ghezzal

So who goes through?

1 – England
2 – USA
3 – Algeria
4 – Slovenia

Group B is interesting in that I live near the Danforth and have had several conversations with the locals. Greece Greece Greece. Everyone is very optimistic about them moving on… but unlike in Group A, all three teams have the opportunity to get that second spot and move on. It makes this group quite interesting, mainly because if Greece doesn’t move on, I fully expect some looting in the area haha.

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Argentina (ARG)
Ranked 7th
Odds of winning the World Cup 7.5-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: La Albiceleste (The White and Sky Blue)

Argentina seemed to struggle in the qualifying stage. They had 8 wins, 4 draws and 6 defeats which totaled their lowest performance in a while. The main reason for this was the number of players the coach Maradona had in and out of the roster. Something like 100+ different players wore the jersey in qualifying. With the teams now clearly defined, expect to see a more united, stronger performance from the Argentinians in the Group stage and beyond. Lionel Messi, who’s possibly the best player currently in the World for his ability with the ball, and his ability without, is looking for what Maradona did with his team in 1986 – Win. Argentina’s weakness lies in their keepers.

Key Players: DF Walter Samuel, MF Maxi Rodriguez, MF Juan Sebastián Verón, FW Lionel Messi, FW Carlos Tévez, FW Diego Milito

Nigeria (NGA)
Ranked 21st
Odds of winning the World Cup 151-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Super Eagles

Nigeria’s team lacks any big named stars but they instead have a team of all equally skilled veterans and young up and comers. This makes them dangerous as they are unpredictable, who will have a big game? Who’s the weak link? This being said, they do have a very solid keeper who’ll make it tough for opponents to score. The Nigerians have never gone passed the group stage but with their draw they have as good a chance as the other 2 to make that 2nd spot and move out of the group stage.

Key Players: GK Vincent Enyeama, DF Joseph Yobo, DF Taye Taiwo, MF Mikel John Obi, FW Nwankwo Kanu, FW Yakubu Aiyegbeni, FW Obafemi Martins

Greece (GRE)
Ranked 13th
Odds of winning the World Cup 151-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: The Pirate Ship or Galanoleyki (The Blue and White)

Surprisingly, I learned this is only the 2nd time the Greeks have made it to the finals. I definitely thought it was more than that. This looks to be a solid team on paper. The Greek defense is something they pride themselves in, so I expect few goals in games against Greece. Midfielder and team captain Giorgos Karagounis will be looking to improve on their best ever performance, but I think this will be a difficult task. Best of luck to them and please don’t loot my house if they lose!

Key Players: DF Giourkas Seitaridis, DF Sotirios Kyrgiakos, MF Giorgos Karagounis, MF Kostas Katsouranis, FW Angelos Charisteas, FW Theofanis Gekas

South Korea (KOR)
Ranked 47th
Odds of winning the World Cup 201-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Taegeuk Jeonsa (Yin and Yang Warriors)

The South Koreans qualified having been unbeaten in the qualifiers. That confidence will translate well into this series. Their team has a good mix of veterans and young new comers. Their veteran (and I do mean veteran he’s 37) goalie still seems sharp from games I’ve seen him play in over the past year and one of their backups even has a goal to his name (rare for a goalie obviously)! They even beat the African powerhouse Ivory Coast in the qualifiers. When you say football, South Korea isn’t usually the first country that comes to mind, but they are quite good!

Key Players: GK Lee Woon-Jae, DF Cha Du-Ri, MF Park Ji-Sung, FW Ahn Jung-Hwan, FW Lee Dong-Gook

So who goes through?

1 – Argentina
2 – South Korea
3 – Nigeria
4 – Greece

As you may or may not know, I’m a huge football fan. Yes it’s football. To the initiated it’s football. If you’re a casual fan, you can call it soccer, but expect to be looked down upon by the true fans. For the next three weeks, just call it football. Now, I have an Italian bias so when we get to that group, expect my bias to come through a bit. I’ll try to be as impartial as possible otherwise.

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Group A

South Africa  (RSA)
Ranked 86th
Odds of winning the World Cup 151-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Bafana Bafana (The Boys, The Boys)

South Africa made it to the World Cup simply by being the host nation. Interestingly, never in the history of the World Cup has the host nation NOT made it through the opening round! There’s a first for everything and I think this will be it. While optimism is high in the country and being that they are hosts, you may see a little bit of football magic, ultimately I think the better opponents will outplay the home country. They just don’t have the firepower to score some goals.

Key Players: FW Benni McCartney, MF Steven Pienaar

Mexico (MEX)
Ranked 15th
Odds of winning the World Cup 101-1 (via bwin)
Nickname:  El Tri (The three coloured)

This is Mexico’s 5th consecutive appearance in the World Cup and if you look at the prior 4, they made it through the group stage. They are younger than usual, having decided to drop some veterans that are usually there. Without the old faces, it will be interesting to see the younger players step up with some creativity offensively.

Key Players: DF Rafael Márquez, FW Cuauhtémoc Blanco, FW Carlos Vela, FW Giovani dos Santos

Uruguay (URU)
Ranked 19th
Odds of winning the World Cup 126-1 (via bwin)
Nickname:  Le Celeste (The Sky Blue)

Oh Homer Simpson and how you’ve ruined a country for me… “U R Gay hahaha”. Jokes aside, look for Uruguay to be in a tough battle with Mexico for that second spot. The Mexico vs Uruguay game will be a must see as both sides know that game will decide who moves on. It’s going to be fast, accurate passes and some clever ball handling that will lead to great goals. They lack in the midfield and that hole will be the difference between moving on or not.

Key Players: DF Diego Lugano, MF Alvaro Pereira, MF Diego Pérez, FW Sebastián Abreu, FW Diego Frolán

France (FRA)
Ranked 7th
Odds of winning the World Cup 17-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Les Bleus (The Blues)

France barely managed to qualify which was shocking. Their playoff game against Ireland ended in their favour after a controversial hand ball situation by Thierry Henry, who’s the last remaining player from the 1998 World Cup champion team. Les Bleus are not the powerhouse they once were and while they will dominate this group, they will not win the World Cup. In my opinion the French defense is their strongest asset (Cue the jokes), so don’t expect to see too many goals scored against them in the group.

Key layers: DF William Gallas, DF Patrice Evra, MF Franck Ribéry, MF Florent Malouda, FW Thierry Henry, FW Nicolas Anelka

So who goes through?

1 – France
2 – Mexico
3 – South Africa
4 – Uruguay