World Cup 2010: Predictions for the Group Stage

I recently went onto ESPN and the FIFA site to see who all the qualifiers for the World Cup were. I was impressed by some of them and surprised by others. One doesn't hear much about some of the African and South American countries who qualified, and it'll be REALLY interesting to see what happens if North and South Korea face off later in the tournament. Anyway, I thought I'd make some predictions as to who would make it out of the group stage. Please note that I'm still not the most diehard soccer aficionado, and so you might think some of these may be weird. This is just going by what little I know of the teams.

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, and France.

My predictions: France, with South Africa as the runner up. While Latin America has some formidable squads, home field advantages can often come into play and I doubt South Africa will be a big exception. However, France is the defending runner-up and will not be easily beaten.

Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, and Greece.

My predictions: South Korea, with Nigeria as the runner up. I'd heard that Argentina hasn't been as good as they were several years ago, and I've heard nothing about Greece. South Korea, from what little I've seen, has had good teams, and Nigeria has beaten the U.S. in recent years. However, this is one of those brackets that I know the least about, and having Nigeria in the second round may be mere wishful thinking due to how many Nigerian friends I have at school. Don't take this one at face value.

Group C: England, United States, Algeria, and Slovenia.

My predictions: England, with the U.S. as the runner up. Our allies from across the pond have had some of the best squads in the world consistently, and I doubt they'll fail to please. The U.S. invests a lot in its sports, and while we don't have as much emphasis on soccer/football as every other nation on the planet does, we've got an incredible drive to at least try to be #1 (though perhaps not as much skill to consistently win as England).

Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, and Ghana.

My predictions: Germany, with Ghana as the runner up. I watched Germany play through the Euro Cup and barely fall to Spain in the final. They have a very straightforward, usually effective playing style that I think will do them well in the group stage. I had heard that Ghana did well in recent years, so based on that I know little about this and the other two teams, I'll go with them. However, I'm kinda hoping Serbia makes it to the next round since I have friends of that ethnic group. *winks at Lee volleyball team*

Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, and Cameroon.

My predictions: Netherlands, with Japan as the runner up. I don't hear much at all about Denmark or Cameroon, though I've heard the latter isn't too shabby. The Dutch have usually had a very good team from what I've heard from friends. Japan had some success in recent years, so I'll go w/ them.

Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, and Slovakia.

My predictions: Italy, with Slovakia as the runner up. Italy is the defending champion and will fight hard to keep it. I've heard that Slovakia did OK in prior tournaments, giving superior teams a run for their money over the years. Haven't heard much about the other two, but that's just my inexperience. Again, don't take it at face value.

Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Côte d'Ivoire, and Portugal.

My predictions: Brazil, with Portugal as runner up. I mean, come on. It's Brazil. 'Nuff said. Portugal has also been formidable over the years. While I would love to see South Korea stomp the Commies, I doubt that North Korea would have the talent to overcome the West. As for Ivory Coast... they might be able to pull off the second round and make it in with Nigeria, but they still have Brazil and Portugal to tangle with...

Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, and Chile.

My predictions: Spain, with Chile as the runner up. Spain was the Euro Cup champ and, I think, in the semifinals of World Cup '06 (correct me if I'm wrong). Plus their playing style is beautiful and effective. Honestly, I know nothing of the other three teams, so I'll put my wishful thinking to good use and pray that Chile wins. Since I'll be in Chile during the entire group stage, I really would not like being accosted by disgruntled fans if they don't make it through (and especially if the U.S. does in their group).

Closing comments:

You might be asking yourself why I even put this together when it's obvious I don't know what I'm talking about w/ a lot of these teams. Honestly, I really just felt like it and thought it would be fun. Hopefully it invoked some interesting thoughts, laughs, or reactions of WTF and the like. Besides, if I get some of these right, I'll get a whole lot of satisfaction out of having done this!

So, let's sit back as the month of June approaches and let the games play out!

As that stupid commercial says about certain Monday nights: ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!