Group A
France, Mexico, South Africa (hosts), Uruguay.
Having never made it through the group stage, don’t expect much from the host nation, although home soil can play a big advantage. The main focus of the group is no doubt France after qualifying through the play-offs controversially; however, a greater controversy would be if France failed to qualify to the last 16.
Group B
Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea.
Argentina possess the best talent in the world, though endured a torrid qualification campaign with their place not guaranteed until the final kick. Extreme pressure will be on manager Diego Maradona to gain qualification to the last 16, although with their lackadaisical form this group my provide a tough test.
Group C
Algeria, England, Slovenia, USA.
Again England and its always-optimistic fans will be praying that this is their year, they have the talent to conjure a challenge and a lot will be expected after their failure in 2008. Qualification cannot be guaranteed, however, as the USA pose a strong threat and Algeria and Slovenia are capable of upsetting the odds.
Group D
Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia.
Group D provides one of the few competitive groups where the mighty (Germany) can fall. It will be difficult to give a clear cut answer to who will qualify from this group, although you would think Germany are a must. Yet the group will provide fantastic football.
Group E
Cameroon, Denmark, Netherlands, Japan.
The Netherlands show signs of finally mustering a challenge at a major tournament; they were the first European side to qualify and with a 100% record. Cameroon, Denmark and Japan all have the ability and experience of qualification in the group stage, though if the Netherlands show true form, they will mostly only be challenging for second place in the group.
Group F
Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
Defending champions Italy were unbeaten during their qualification campaign, although were not at their convincing best of 2006. A defence of their title seems unlikely. It is most likely that Italy and Paraguay will not encounter much of a challenge from New Zealand and Slovakia, as although both won their respective groups their lack of quality will hinder their progression.
Group G
Brazil, Ivory Coast, North Korea, Portugal.
On paper this is probably the hardest of them all. Five-time winners Brazil have appeared in every tournament to date and once again are regarded as top contenders. Qualifying with relative ease they are being tipped as the team to beat. Widely considered to be Africa’s strongest team, there are thoughts that Africa might have a team in Ivory Coast to challenge for this elusive prize. However, only appearing in their second finals they failed in 2006 in the first round. Portugal made hard work of their qualification but are another team that are capable of challenging for the trophy.
Group H
Chile, Honduras, Spain, Switzerland.
The 2008 Euro winners Spain face probably the easiest of the eight groups, as neither Chile, Honduras or Switzerland provides much of a threat. One to watch in the group will be Chile. Being labelled as the most attractive South American team in a qualification group that also includes Brazil is a high accolade. However, are they capable of producing this attractive football on the world’s biggest stage?
Andrew Talbot
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