SLO v ENG preview

Group C 23 June 15.00 Port Elizabeth

Slovenia (all White) v England (all Red)

Slovenia

Just a draw, is all the tiny nation need to proceed for the very first time at the world cup. Don’t expect them to come out and play flamboyantly if they lose they are likely to go home. They will be patient and try to keep the ball, there are good attacking options onb the break with Koren, who is the main man for them, but Birsa and Ljubijankic have shown what they are capable of already.

England

Do or die for the boys with the three lions on their chests. Anything but a win will see us joining the French on the plane home (though if we draw and score two more goals than the USA we will be OK), but basically we need to win!

Gerrard has spoken of an improvement in the team spirit in training, and we need to take this out onto the pitch. They seem not to be enjoying their football at present and suffering with the pressure, that doesn’t ease today but something needs to change.

My XI

James

Johnson Terry Dawson Cole A

Lennon Barry Lampard Cole J

Gerrard

Rooney

I would bring Joe Cole in to free Gerrard up, and play Rooney up top on his own as he does with United. Dawson would get the nod for me over Upson as he was terrible all year at West Ham, whereas Dawson carried Spurs when King was missing and complemented him when he returned.

Fabio’s probable XI

James

Johnson Terry Upson Cole

Milner Barry Lampard Gerrard

Rooney Defoe

It’s been widely reported that Capello will stick with a 4-4-2 formation, ditching Heskey and Lennon. For me, Milner is better off in the middle, he has no pace to speak off and certainly doesn’t have a trick to get passed his full back. This line up does have options though, Gerrard may start on the right with Milner left, or it could also work as a diamond with Barry as the anchor and Stevie G as the man to support Rooney and Defoe. As for Defoe, he does nothing for the side outside the box, he is lazy, and frequently caught offside. I admit he can be a fox in the box and has a great shot with little backlift but I think it is a gamble playing him with Rooney.

Prediction 2-1 to England, Lampard and Rooney

Day Nine

A real shock in Port Elizabeth with Serbia’s win over Germany that will leave many people talking about the dismissal of Miroslav Klose, although the tackle that brought Klose his first yellow seemed a bit tame, he had already been spoken to by the referee. The second foul on Stankjovic was a stupid one from a player on a card already. The Serb’s punished Germany almost straight away with a lovely half volley from Jovanovic of Liverpool after a knock down from the giant Zigic. Before half time Khadeira hit the bar from twenty yards with a clean strike but it bounced to safety. After the break Podolski failed to convert from two good opportunities before his looping cross was stupidly handled by Vidic, he barely got a touch but it was enough for the Spanish ref to blow. Podolski hit the penalty into the ground and Wigan’s third choice keeper, Stojkovic saved easily down to his left.

Serbia had two great chances to wrap things up, Krasic’s jinking run led to Jovanovic hitting the post and Zigic guided a header over the bar just before time.

The USA can feel very hard done by, that they didn’t take all three points, despite having had to pull back a two goal deficit. The Malian referee, who can hardly ref at a decent standard week in and week out, had a shocker in disallowing a US winner near the end. I saw three fouls that he could have blown up for, all by Slovenians but mysteriously he blew for a foul by the Americans. Slovenia went into a two goal lead before half time with goals from Birsa, with a magnificent 25 yard left footed effort, and Ljubijankovic who slotted a through ball away calmly passed Tim Howard. The USA made a perfect start to the second half when Donovan lashed the ball high in to the net from an acute angle, the keeper had a bit of a mare here and turned his back! Any queries about manager Bob Bradley’s selection of his son, Michael, were quashed following an excellent strike from Altidore’s knock down.

We suffered another major disappointment to follow that of the USA game. Capello brought James and Barry back into the fold and both did well on a night where frustration really should have been the overriding emotion. The Algerians came, not to be beaten, and sat there with two banks of four and made no effort to threaten the England goal. Sadly we were unable to unlock them, which was poor bearing in mind the supposed talent we had at our disposal. Early on Gerrard hit a looping through ball for Heskey that he overhit but it caused concern for the Algerian keeper who misjudged it initially. Skipper Gerrard had another effort from 25 yards but tamely stroked the ball rather than striking it with confidence. The best chance fell to Lampard following a good run and cross from Lennon. The ball sat up nicely, just back from the penalty spot but Frank hit the ball into the ground and it lost power on its way towards goal. In the second half Gerrard crossed, but behind Heskey and Lampard when he seemed better placed to shoot. Another cross from Lennon seemed destined fro Rooney’s head until it was touched behind by a defender. Had we managed to convert any of those chances I firmly believe we could have run out comfortable winners but that’s football. The boos at the end didn’t help the team’s already flagging morale and Rooney let his thoughts be known, I was disappointed to see him apologise the next day. I know which of the two statements he meant and the one made in a press conference wasn’t it!

Predictions

Still no 100% correct predictions, just eight times I predicted who’d win.

Holland 2 Japan 0

Ghana 1 Australia 1

Cameroon 1 Denmark 2

ENG v ALG Preview

Group C 18 June 19.30 Cape Town

England (all White)v Algeria (all Green)

Algeria

Keeper Faouzi Chaouchi may be rested following his blooper in the Slovenia game, he also has a knock to his knee and this could tip the balance against him. If he is left out, Rais M’Bolhi, who had a trail at Old Trafford will deputise. Algeria’s main threat would seem to come down the left from Belhadj and the lively Karim Ziani. Up front Matmour and Djebbour will hope their endeavour brings more luck than it did on Sunday. Ghezzal is suspended following his red card.

England

Following and ultimately disappointing performance, a vast improvement is required. The Lampard and Gerrard central partnership doesn’t work against anyone with a degree of organisation, the service to Rooney was lacking so he dropped deeper and deeper to pick up the ball. Heskey again showed what he does best linking the play and bringing other into the game, sadly he missed a good chance when through on goal by shooting straight at Heskey, Defoe may have scored it, but would have got into that position? Most likely he’d have been offside in the build up! England picked up three unnecessary yellow cards and hopefully that won’t come back to haunt us later in the competition.

My XI

James

Johnson Terry Carragher Cole A

Lennon Barry Lampard Gerrard

Rooney Heskey

Fabio’s probable XI

Green

Johnson Terry Carragher Cole A

Lennon Barry Lampard Gerrard

Rooney Heskey

Remember what I said of Green “he proved safe, if unspectacular in qualifying” well that proved to be a stupid thing to say! In my defence I did say I would start with David James. Barry is now fit and will slot back in front of the back four, where Carragher seems an obvious choice following his second half appearance against the USA. Gerrard will move over to the left but will spend much of the time drifting in. I think this position suits him better as it is very crowded in the centre and he will make use of the space coming in from wide.

I have predicted a 2-0 win for England, boys don’t let me down!

Rooney & Heskey

Day Eight

We saw a superb performance from the Argentinean’s with Gonzalo Higuian netting the first hat trick of the world cup. They completely over powered the Korean’s who only scored from a defensive lapse from Bayern’s Dimichelis. Bolton’s Chung-yong scored just before half time to make it 2-1 and we thought we had a game on our hands. Argentina came out increased their momentum in the second half and powered on to a comfortable win.


The middle game hinged on one critical moment, when Nigeria’s Kieta was sent off for violent conduct, which turned a typically defensive Greek side into one with a purpose, they brought an extra striker on after only half an hour. They were a goal behind at the time following Uche’s free kick, which was floated over towards the back post but nobody got a touch, not the way we expected to see the first goal from a direct free kick.


Salpingidis scored the equaliser, with the help of a massive deflection just before the break. Both Yakubu and Obasi missed great chances for the ten men to take the lead but Nigeria’s keeper, Enyeama became a fully paid up member of the Robert Green Club when he failed to collect a shot that gave Torosidis a simple tap in. The Greeks held on and Group B is now well set up with a game to go.


Nigeria can still progress despite having no points as yet, if they beat South Korea 2-0 and Argentina win against Greece the Super Eagles would move forward with Maradona’s men.


Mexico stunned the hapless French and could put them out if they draw with Uruguay, a result that would take them both through, no matter what the French do against South Africa. Following a close first half, in which Mexico’s left back Salcido impressed, Javier Hernandez sprung the offside trap and coolly took the ball round Lloris before slotting into the net just after the hourmark. The Mexican’s secured victory with a Blanco penalty ten minutes from time after Barrera’s run drew a foul from Abidal. Blanco, the 37 year old, just managed to complete his run up without help before despatching a cool pen in the bottom corner.


France’s best chance was a shot from Malouda that Olivier Perez tipped over, yet again there was no quality service for Anelka, or Gignac who replaced him at half time.


Predictions

I did post these yesterday so I will hardly gain anything for changing them now, especially as, yet again I only got one result but no scorelines correct leaving me with only eight from twenty games. Lets see what I manage on Friday


Germany 2 Serbia 1
Slovenia 1 USA 2
England 2 Algeria 0

Day Seven

Chile won their first game at a world cup since they were hosts back in 1962. They comfortably beat a workmanlike Honduran side whilst showing flair and skill that we haven’t seen in South Africa yet. The goal came from a good passing move down the left hand side but had an element of fortune to it. As the cross came over the Honduran defender got to it first but he clearance deflected off Beausejour’s outstretched foot and into the goal. The Chilean’s seemed to use the Jabulani ball better than most, they had several long range shots, which they managed to keep down and on target, causing a few problems for Valladares in goal. He did pull off the save of the tournament so far from Ponce’s close range header late on.

The big shock so far came in Durban when the Swiss managed to beat Spain. The Spanish seemed so assured early on, they have a confidence that allows them to pass the ball, even if the intended recipient is marked. That being said, the Swiss absorbed a tremendous amount of pressure before striking on the counter attack. Former Man City holding midfielder Gelson Fernades scored a scrappy goal that could have been easily prevented on more that one occasion. They also struck the post late on, during a rare foray into Spain’s box.

Uruguay showed all that is best about their game, leaving the petulance to the side for once they were cool and calm I front of goal and Forlan showed his class with a brace, including one from the spot. South Africa have been exposed for the ordinary side they are. Much was expected from Everton’s Steven Pienaar but he has been substituted in both games.

Argentina 2 South Korea 0
Greece 1 Nigeria 1
France 1 Mexico 0

Day Six

Did I say cagey already? Bloody hell today’s games were as tight as those that have gone before.

New Zealand were probably the main news as they managed to secure their first ever world cup point. North Korea ran them close with a superb effort against a team ranked 103 places higher and with all their history, but Brazil did run out winners in the end.

The All Whites scored a stoppage time equaliser to dash Slovakia’s hopes in Rustenburg earlier. The Slovak’s thought they’d done enough to take all the points following Robert Vittek’s 50^th minute header but Winston Reid’s late, late goal sent the Kiwi’s delirious. It leaves Group F dead level.

North Korea put up a great fight, holding off the favourites for fifty minutes until Maicon’s astonishing effort from the acutest of angles. ITV’s Clyde Tyldesley did himself no favours when he suggested it was an own goal by the keeper, but ITV keep ballsing it up this year, Robbie Earle has been axed, after ITV discovered tickets allocated to to him, for family and friends, have been passed to a third party, in breach of FIFA rules. Brazil secured the win with a lovely goal from Elano after an inch perfect through ball. Ji Yun-nam scored the North Korean’s consolation goal in the final minute which made this only the second game in fourteen to contain three goals or more.

The Portugal v Ivory Coast game was a massive disappointment, I understand that whoever lost would face elimination if defeated by Brazil but still I hoped for more attacking play with all the forwards available to both teams. Ronaldo was up to all of his old tricks and I wish FIFA would take a stance against all players who blatantly dive and go to ground so easily.

Yesterdays wild guess’ mean I have a woeful five correct results from fourteen games but none 100% right.

Lets see how these do

Honduras 0 Chile 2

Spain 2 Switzerland 0

South Africa 0 Uruguay 2

My wild statement of the day is that I think FIFA should not award a point for a goalless draw. Maybe that would liven up this world cup? So far we have seen 28 teams and 11 of them have failed to score.

Day Five

Holland were good value for this win against a Danish side that seemed to accept early on that this wasn’t going to be their day and that they’d be better saving their efforts for the weaker teams in the group. Missing Arjen Robben, the Dutch played van der Vaart alongside Sneijder but they didn’t seem to flow until changes were made around the hour mark and Elia came on to give them some width. The first goal was a freak own goal where Poulsen’s misdirected header hit Agger’s back and rolled agonisingly in to the net. Kuyt’s late goal was an example of Sneijder’s exquisite passing and vision. His reverse pass saw Elia break through the Danish defence and as his shot rolled back off the post Kuyt followed in to secure victory.



Japan caused an upset I suppose, with their first victory overseas in a world cup game. They looked, like the South Koreans, to be organised and workmanlike but without the cutting edge until they punished some poor defending from both Cameroon full backs. Assou Ekottu failed to close down the cross and then M’bia was out of position and left Honda too much space which he easily punished. Eto’o was badly misused out wide on the right in my opinion and should have been playing as a striker. He’s used in that right sided role for Inter but they do have the likes of Milito to play in the middle ahead of him.



Paraguay came close to pulling off a major surprise in the final game of the day but weren’t able to hold on and beat the reigning champions, maybe they would have but for a shocker from keeper Villar. Alcaraz punished poor defending by Italy after Di Rossi and Canavarro seemed to get in each others way but Di Rossi did more than enough to atone for his earlier error when he punished Villar’s flap just after the hour mark.



Some people are saying the Germans are at an advantage having been using the Jabulani ball since March in their domestic league. I think they just passed and finished better, but my thought about the ball is this, teams have been training with it on open and windy training grounds, now they are using it in enclosed stadia the ball isn’t wobbling around half as much as we were led to believe. Maybe I am wrong, we’ll see as the tournament develops.


I have managed a pitiful four correct results from eleven games but no correct scorelines? At this rate I’d struggle to predict if night would follow day!
Lets see how these do



New Zealand 0 Slovakia 1
Ivory Coast 1 Portugal 2
Brazil 3 North Korea 0



Whilst I am making random predictions here is one from left field. Portugal’s Liedson to be top scorer, you read it hear first.

Day Four

Algeria looked very poor, possibly lacking a leader I thought? Maybe they shouldn’t have dropped the skipper the day before their first game? Slovenia were tidy with the ball but neither side seemed to want to really go for the win until late on and ultimately it was another goalkeeping blunder that cost Algeria. Stupidity seems to be behind most of the send off’s so far, at least one of the yellows has been avoidable on every occasion, at least the refs are being consistant. I do though suspect they will ease of a little once we have had one round of games.

The Serbia Ghana game raised the excitement levels, I was impressed with the pair of them, Ghana have amazing physicality and power and the Serbs enough technical ability to worry anyone. Sadly for them their giant Zigic couldn’t get on the end of anything and their centre half had a moment of madness in giving away the pen.

Now onto the best side we have seen so far, the Germans, some journalists have been critical of the Aussies and to be far they were poor, but you can only beat what is put in front of you and Germany did it bloody well! They moved the ball with pace and precision and if they had a better finisher than Klose they’d have had six or seven.

Mesut Ozil ran things but I was impressed with Sami Khedira, only playing due to Ballack’s absence, his passing was superb and England should learn lessons from the Germans use of the ball. At the back Badstuber was a great foil for Lahm who raided forward at every opportunity. Mertesacker is, and was a giant at the back last night.

I only have one issue with the Germans and that is the fact they are second only to the English cricket team for nicking players from elsewhere:

Miroslav Klose born Poland

Lukas Podolski born Poland

Cacau born Brazil

Mesut Ozil and Serdar Tasci are Turkish

Dennis Aogo has Nigerian parents.

At present I have three correct results from eight games but no correct scorelines, lets see how day four goes?

Holland 2 Denmark 1

Japan 1 Cameroon 2

Italy 2 Paraguay 0

Day Three

I am not sure who to vent my fury at first, ITV HD for another monumental cock up or England, and in particular, gormless Robert Green. Who’d have thought the first critical moment of the world cup that I miss would be an England goal?

Astonishingly ITV HD went to a Hyundai advert as England won the throw in that lead to the goal, 40 seconds later we return to see Steven Gerrard running away arms outstretched. It is unforgivable, especially as you consider they have previous for the same crime. When given the choice I have always preferred the Beebs coverage, but now I never going to bother with ITV when there is a choice.

Another TV highlight for me, during the France v Uruguay game, was Alan Hansen talking slowly and loudly, like a true Brit abroad, to “Manu” Adebayour as if he were a baffled local.

Anyway back to the frankly desperate England performance, I am almost lost for words to describe how poorly we played. Unable to keep the ball for any sustained possession, lacking a shield in front of the back four and devoid of ideas going down the left. I suspect Milner was unwell and suffering with the altitude and that’s why he only managed half an hour before being replaced by the predictable Wright-Phillips. Lampard and Gerrrad again failed to gel successfully and Rooney kept dropping off to get the ball. Heskey was, for me, our best outlet. Admittedly he missed a good chance when through on goal but he does make things happen. His strength and through ball made the goal (I am told!). Carragher looked hopeless and picked up a booking, one of too many for my liking, and when he really needed to put in a firm challenge he had to back off for fear of dismissal.

Have I missed any talking points? Oh yeah, that complete numpty Rob Green! Or a “safe pair of hands” as I stupidly said in the preview! I would drop him with immediate effect, he simply cannot play again without the fear of repeating his mistake and that will make for nervy and twitchy performances, get James in where he belongs for Friday.

In yesterdays first game, the South Koreans looked a tidy little side and exposed Greece for the weak team I believe they are. Two simple, yet well taken goals, organised, fit as fleas and with no lack of skill. Greece on the other hand, look cumbersome, devoid of ideas when asked to come from behind and disjointed. Playing Samaras, a poor striker at best, wide on the left seems to me to ill judged. They missed the presence of Moras at the back and the calmness of Liverpool’s Krgiakos.

Argentina on occasions purred, yet failed to take their chances and Nigeria were unlucky not to punish them for this. Messi was at his mercurial best and Tevez worked as hard as ever. It was another Maradona selection issue that I think cost them, Deigo Milito is on fire at present having scored the goals that clinched Serie A, the Coppa Italia and the Champions League, yet he waited 79 minutes for his introduction, replacing Real’s Higuain.

Maradona looked like a vagrant in an ill fitting suit on the side lines, surrounded by yes men who just seem to be there for the ride.

Today we get our first sight of the Germans and my dark horses, Serbia. Watch for the creativity of Krasic and Stankovic in midfield with the potent threat up front from Zenit’s Lazovic and Pantelic of Ajax. Coming from the bench will be new Liverpool recruit Jovanovic. They have the might of Nemanja Vidic and Ivanovic at the back so expect a lot from these boys.

The predictions are getting better, I got two results right yesterday if not the exact scoreline!

Algeria 0 Slovenia 0
Serbia 2 Ghana 1
Germany 2 Australia 0

Day Two

Well, what a start from the home nation. South Africa did themselves proud and were only let down by a loss of concentration by their captain Aaron Mokoena. Arguably they could have snatched the game with the 90^th minute effort from Mphela hitting the outside of the post.

They did take the lead ten minutes into the second half from Thsabalala’s amazing effort, he may sound like a line from Tony Christie’s Amarillo, but boy can he hit a ball! He struck it across Mexico’s vertically challenged keeper, who wouldn’t have reached it with help from a ladder, straight into the top corner.

I thought Mexico deserved their point, Barcelona’s Rafael Marquez finished calmly for the goal and Dos Santos looked dangerous, excelling in the time and space he was given, a luxury he isn’t afforded in English football. We saw a cameo from 120 cap veteran Blanco who managed a few fancy touches but displayed all the pace of a tired sloth.

Les Blancs draw a blank!

We saw another insipid display from the French under the hapless Domenech last night. I really don’t under stand why then won’t take a game by the throat and utilise their obvious attacking potential. Anelka had virtually no service despite having Ribery, Gourchoff and Govou to supply him. To me, it seemed odd that they replaced Anelka with Henry rather than playing the pair together.

Domenech’s tactics will be questioned by the press no doubt, Uruguay played on the break with only Forlan and Suarez pushing forward yet France had a back four and holding midfielder with only 2 men to mark. Govou missed the best chance of the game, guiding the ball wide as it was played across him. Late on Henry even had the temerity to appeal for handball when his shot hit Victorino’s arm from about 2 yards away, few Irishmen will have have seen the funny side of that.

Uruguay will be delighted with a point, especially being down to ten men for the last 15 minutes. This was supposed to be their toughest game and to come away unbeaten will boost them.

A quick mention too for the officials, both sets were from the Asian confederation and got us off to a brilliant start.

Hopefully my predictions for today are more accurate than yesterday!

South Korea 2 Greece 1

Argentina 2 Nigeria 0

England 2 USA 1 see full preview

ENG v USA Preview

Group C 12 June 19.30 Rustenburg

England (all White) v USA (all Navy)

Injury News
England only have doubts over Gareth Barry, the American’s seem to have overcome worries about former Hull City forward Jozy Altidore.

U. S. A.
Edson Buddle will lead the line but expect Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey to raid from deep. Herculez Gomez scored in their last 2 friendlies and may come from the bench late on. Michael Bradley will anchor the midfield, alongside Rangers pair DaMarcus Beasley and Maurice Edu.

At the back will be Watford’s Jay Demerit and Oguchi Onyewu who spent a year on loan at Newcastle in 2007, sadly he spent his time on Tyneside partnering Titus Bramble and Onyenwu returned to Belgium at the end of the season. West Ham’s Jonathan Spector and Carlos Bocanegra, formally of Fulham, complete the backline.

In their warm up games they lost 4-2 to the Czech Republic and beat Turkey 2-1 before flying to South Africa to play Australia, who they beat 3-1.

England
England are still reeling from the loss of captain Rio Ferdinand. Personally I am not as worried as if we’d lost the fully fit Rio of a couple of years ago. Ledley King is widely acknowledge to be England’s most natural defender, though there will be obvious doubts over his own fitness. Trust me, Ledley is the only player, since Paul McGrath, who can roll up on a match day and perform to the highest standard after a week working on an exercise bike or walking in a hydro pool. I liken him to a classic Rolls Royce, you wouldn’t use him everyday to go to the shops, but at weekends you polish him up and take him out for best.

My XI
James
Johnson Terry King Cole A
Lennon Milner Lampard Gerrard
Rooney Heskey

For me, James has everything a keeper needs, size, agility, good hands and a wealth of experience. Sadly his concentration seems to be his only weakness, I don’t personally see any point in taking him if he isn’t going to be first choice. When did he last cost England? The last real error came in Austria in a 2006 World Cup qualifier.

I would give Milner another chance as the holding player, despite an ordinary performance against Mexico in the warm up game, he seems to be the ‘go to’ man for any midfield berth that needs filling. He has excelled in the middle of the park this season for Villa and could be the ideal foil for Lampard in the middle.

The real question mark over my side for most of you will be my selection of big Emile alongside Rooney. I can’t argue that his goal scoring record (7 in 58 games) deserves a place but his work rate is second to none. Crouch offers an aerial threat but doesn’t work the channels like Heskey does, he will pull defenders away and expose space for Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard to utilise. I would probably replace him in the last twenty minutes for Defoe and hope that he can use his pace against tiring defenders.

Fabio’s XI
Green
Johnson Terry King Cole A
Lennon Lampard Milner Gerrard Cole J
Rooney

I suspect Fabio will stick with Green, he proved a safe, if unspectacular in qualifying but I would imagine the uncertainty is causing issues within the squad. We read that the players have stated their preference, and James would be their choice. But Capello is his own man and won’t be easily swayed.

This is probably England’s toughest group game and Fabio will most likely start with a 4-5-1 formation. Joe Cole is the man in form and will take the left sided berth, this suits Ashley Cole as he prefers the man in front of him to cut inside and leave space for an overlap. Glen Johnson’s raids down the right could also be a significant threat, along with Lennon’s obvious pace. Defensively there are weaknesses, for all of Johnson’s attacking attributes he is not a gifted defender. Milner may need to slot in and cover when he attacks.

I predict a 2-1 win for England, but wouldn't be surprised if we had to come from behind.

Day One

Here we are, a few hours before footballs biggest ever party, and I can’t wait.

64 games in 30 days and it all kicks off with South Africa against Mexico. The Africans will hope that they don’t become the first hosts to lose their opening game in world cup history. Expect to see three Premier League men on show for the Bofana Bofana, Mokena of Portsmouth, Dikgacoi of Fulham and Steven Pienaar from Everton.

Mexico will probably match that by naming Carlos Vela of Arsenal alongside Gio Dos Santos of Spurs and Manchester United’s latest recruit Javier Hernandez.

Tonights game pits France against Uruguay. Thierry Henry looks like he’ll be left out by Domench and Anelka will start up front with Govou and Ribery on the flanks. The biggest doubt has been William Gallas but he seems to have won his fitness battle and will take his place alongside Abidal, Sagna and captain Patrice Evra.

Uruguay’s main worry was Diego Forlan’s thigh strain but he has recovered and will join European top scorer, Luis Suarez. The Ajax frontman scored 35 goals but missed out on the Golden Shoe as Messi’s 34 goals in La Liga were deemed to be scored at a higher level.

I am predicting wins for Mexico and France but I think both will be cagey games as nobody wants to lose their first game.

South Africa 0 Mexico 1

Uruguay 1 France 2

Balls!

Adidas’ Jabulani match ball seems to have united the goalkeepers of this tournament with their universal hatred of the thing. The Jabulani, which ironically translates as ‘happy’ or ‘rejoice’ is perfectly round and that means it will spin more in the air which, when combined with the thinner air at altitude, will pose major problems for all. Watch out for a few howlers in the next month.

Here’s a selection of comments over the last few days...

“Every touch comes with the unknown, the trajectory is really unpredictable” Gianluigi Buffon, Italy

“The ball is terrible, like cheap ones that you can buy at a supermarket or petrol station” Julio Cesar, Brazil

It’s horsesh!t, the worst ball I’ve ever played with, it moves like crazy” Marcus Hahnemann, USA

On the other hand…

“The ball is fantastic and did what ever I want it to” Michael Ballack, Germany and Adidas ambassador!

Preview Groups A-D

Group A
France (9) Mexico (17) South Africa (83) Uruguay (16) (FIFA World Rankings)

France won’t win any popularity contests this time round, Henry’s assist against the Irish, in Paris, made sure of that. Coupled with the hatred of Coach Domenech by seemingly everybody in France ‘Les Bleus’ will have to win people over on the pitch. This is actually quite a simple group for them, with hosts South Africa taking the top seeded berth, so progress is expected with some ease. Bordeaux’s Yoann Gourcuff will want to show what he can do on the biggest stage, after failing to shine with AC Milan. Gignac was top scorer in qualification with a meagre 4 goals but with Anelka, Ribery and Henry surely the quarter finals isn’t too much to ask for?

Mexico will be reliant on the youthful Carlos Vela, Giovani Dos Santos and Javier Hernandez in attack. Hernandez has been snapped up by Manchester United from Chivas and comes with a £10m price tag. Manager Aguirre has a wealth of experience elsewhere on the pitch to call upon, Marquez and Torrado are wise heads and have important roles to play.

South Africa need a good start as arguably their games get tougher after the opener against Mexico. As Africa’s first host nation, much is expected of them, but can the Bofana Bofana deliver? The South Africans actually took part in the qualifiers for this tournament. In Africa, they doubled up as preliminaries for the Cup of African Nations in Angola earlier this year. They would have failed, by some margin, to qualify. Aaron Mokeona, has plied his trade in the Premier League for some years, as has star performer Steven Pienaar. Teko Modise of the Orlando Pirates could be a creative force in midfield. Matthew Booth is the only white player in their squad, he spent some time at Wimbledon in 2001.

Uruguay’s strength lies in their attack. Diego Forlan has had a great year in Spain for Athletico Madrid, scoring in both legs of the Europa League semi final and twice in the final against Fulham. Up top with him will be freescoring Luis Suarez of Ajax. Leading scorer in all of the domestic leagues in Europe this season with 35 goals, he is a target for many top clubs.

My Prediction
1 France
2 Uruguay
3 Mexico
4 South Africa


Group B
Argentina (7) Greece (13) Nigeria (21) South Korea (47)

Argentina has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to forwards, and strength in depth that many qualifiers would be jealous of. Maradonna has been able to leave behind Champions League winners Zanetti and Cambiasso. He did though call up over 100 players in qualification, he has the mercurial talent of Lionel Messi at his disposal, Internazionale’s goal getter Diego Milito plus the hardworking Carlos Tevez to spearhead his attack. Seba Veron has been reborn back in his homeland after disappointing at both Chelsea and Man United in the Premiership. Benfica wide man Angel Di Maria will need to be tamed if Argentina are to be contained. A weak link could be in goal, where the 3 keepers have 13 caps between them. Can Diego match Franz Beckenbauer by collecting winner’s medals as both captain and manager?

Greece have struggled to live up to the success that they achieved in Portugal six years ago. In qualifying they finished second behind Switzerland and needed a play off win over Ukraine to qualify. Still reliant on hard work over flair, Otto Rehhagel has Theo Gekas as the main goal threat. They are led by Giorgos Karagounis who has 92 caps to date. Defensively they have Sotirios Kyrgiakos of Liverpool, paired with Bologna’s 6 foot 5“ Vangelos Moras, we may see teams playing around them rather than through them!

Nigeria are aiming to reach the quarter finals for the first time. They have the easiest draw of the African qualifiers and have turned to the experienced Swede Lars Lagerback after sacking Shaibu Amodu who guided them to a creditable third place at the African Nations earlier in the year. Goals have been spread around on route to South Africa, Victor Obinna and Ikechukwu Uche lead the way, though Uche failed to make the final 23 man squad. Obafemi Martins adds vital experience as does the evergreen Kanu. Joseph Yobo’s calmness alongside man mountain Danny Shittu at the back gives them a stable base. Fulham’s Dickson Etuhu is one of six Premiership representatives.

South Korea were unbeaten in qualifying and are at their seventh successive finals. Lee Chung-yong shone in the Premier League for Bolton this year and Monaco’s Park Chu-yung is the pin up boy of Korean football. Lee Dong-gook played for Middlesbrough between 2006/08 but failed to find the net in 23 apps.
Park Ji-sung remains the lynchpin of the side and netted 5 times on the road to the finals. Ahn-Jung-hwan was sacked by Perugia in 2002 for having the temerity to knock Italy out the world cup with his golden goal.

My Prediction
1 Argentina
2 South Korea
3 Nigeria
4 Greece


Group C
Algeria (30) England (8) Slovenia (25) USA (14)

Algeria are at the World Cup for the first time since 1986, having snuck past bitter rivals Egypt in a volatile play-off. Much is expected of Wolfsburg’s Karim Ziani, and he’ll need support from Hassan Yebda and Nadir Belhadj, both part of Portsmouth’s turbulent year. Goals could come from Rafik Saifi but Rangers Madjid Bougherra has to lead from the back if they are to get out of the group stages. 17 of the 23 man squad were born in France. Eight of the squad have three caps or fewer.

England’s final warm up games will have done little to inspire confidence in the fans, but in fact this reality check could help to quell unrealistic expectations.
Utterly reliant on Wayne Rooney and still unable to get the best out of both Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, Fabio Capello needs Gareth Barry to regain fitness soon otherwise the balance of England’s midfield is all wrong. England carry a threat down the right, with the pace of Lennon but there are questions over his crossing ability. Emile Heskey is a great foil for those around him but will his lack of goals keep him out of the team? Crouch’s goalscoring record is superb, but mostly against weaker opposition. At the back much is expected of Ledley King following Rio Ferdinand’s injury. England will struggle against better teams as the competition moves on if they continue with a rigid 4-4-2 formation.

Slovenia are the smallest nation to have qualified. Star man Robert Koren has been released by West Brom following their promotion to the Premier League and that doesn’t bode well for the Europeans minnows. They were good enough though, to brush Russia aside in the play offs and if anyone shines it is likely to be Cologne striker Milivoje Novakovic.

USA performed strongly at the Confederations Cup, breaking Spain’s 35 match unbeaten run and will take confidence from that but can they repeat 2002’s achievement by reaching the quarter finals? Spirit, mobility, organisation and athleticism come naturally to a Bob Bradley team but will there be any flair? Landon Donovan did well at Goodison Park in a loan spell, but Jozy Altidore struggled at Hull, maybe Clint Dempsey will chip in with important goals following his epic season at Fulham. Maurice Edu and Damarcus Beasley won the Scottish title with Rangers this year. Goalkeeper Tim ‘effing’ Howard had another great season at Goodison and is keeping Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan and Wolves’ Marcus Hahnemann out of the side.

My Prediction
1 England
2 USA
3 Slovenia
4 Algeria


Group D
Australia (20) Germany (6) Ghana (32) Serbia (15)

Australia came through their first Asian qualification campaign with consummate ease, topping both group stages on the way. Twelve of the squad have, or do currently, play in England. Tim Cahill’s goals from midfield will be vital, as will the fitness of Harry Kewall. Mark Schwarzer has had an exceptional year at Craven Cottage and will hope to carry that form into the world cup.

Germany epitomise what is required in tournament football, their ability to time their form, to maximise the great potential in this squad, could take them all the way. Missing their leader Ballack this could be the ideal time for others to step up to the plate. Bastien Schweinsteiger and Turkish born Mesut Ozil will be a driving force in midfield. Miroslav Klose snared 7 goals in qualifying despite rarely starting for Bayern. Much is expected of clubmate Thomas Muller. The keepers have only ten caps between the three of them following injury to Rene Adler and the retirement of Jens Lehmann.

Ghana are reeling from the news that Michael Essien will miss out due to injury. Sunderland’s John Mensah and Fulham’s John Paintsil will play at the back. Portsmouth’s Kevin-Prince Boateng has been granted Ghanian citizenship and ads potency to the midfield, he’ll play alongside Sulley Muntari who has bridges to build with manager Milo Rajevac after falling out, this, coupled with the fading of the reliable Stephen Appiah this could be a tournament to soon for the 2009 under 20 world cup winners and finalists in the Cup of African Nations.

Serbia are the dark horses in this group, flair in midfield will come from Inter’s Dejan Stankovic and Milos Kasic of CSKA Moscow, with the youngster Zoran Tosic out wide there will be many chances for the forward line of Pantelic and Lazovic, not forgetting 6’ 8” Nikola Zigic, just recruited to the premier league by Alex McLeish at Birmingham City.

My Prediction
1 Germany
2 Serbia
3 Australia
4 Ghana