Group G
Brazil
Ivory Coast
Portugal
North Korea
 
Out of all the groups drawn in Cape Town, South Africa, Group G was possibly the most fascinating with three teams tipped to go a long way in the tournament. Five times World Cup winners Brazil were placed with a Cristiano Ronaldo inspired Portugal and arguably the strongest African opposition in the [...]

Group F
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia
 
Defending your title in any sport is never an easy task. However, 2006 World Cup winners Italy could not have asked for a much kinder group to begin the defence of their crown. The Azzurri should have no problems navigating out of a group containing minnows New Zealand and Slovakia. Only Paraguay are [...]

Group E
Netherlands
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon
 
With a large hoard of creative players at their disposal, very few would write the Netherlands off from going all the way at South Africa 2010. However, the Dutch have never actually won the biggest tournament in World football despite possessing some of the best players of all time throughout their history. A major [...]

Brazilian football fans could be forgiven for taking a disliking to someone they’ve probably never heard of after Friday’s World Cup draw.
During the draw I logged on to Twitter and saw a “Tweet” from moderately successful comedian Mark Watson saying: “It looks like the traditional easy route for Brazil.”. Just three minutes later he followed [...]

If the winner of next years’ World Cup does not originate from either Europe or South America, I will eat my straw hat. Never before has a nation from any other continent won, or indeed, reach the final of the most prestigious tournament in the world. But doesn’t mean that they won’t make any sort [...]

AS footballers from all over the globe touch down in South Africa next year for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, a degree of unfamiliarity will undoubtedly overwhelm them.
With the exception of a select few from countries such as the Ivory Coast and the host nation, a large number will experience a different climate, a different [...]

Group D
Germany
Australia
Serbia
Ghana
 
World Cup stalwarts Germany have been handed a tricky 1st round which they will have to overcome if they are to go deep into the tournament as they so often do. The Germans qualified with few worries but lack the depth of talent that they have had in prior tournaments. Nevertheless, the strength of [...]

THE 2010 World Cup is only months away, and the excitement around the planet is bubbling to the surface. Whilst millions of footie fans will be debating which heavyweight will lift the prestigious trophy, a dark horse from the far-east has a chance of causing some major upsets – South Korea.
So why do the Taeguk [...]

Following the excitement of the World Cup draw, the Foreign Office (FCO) expects many travelling England fans to start planning and booking their trips to South Africa this weekend.
Amid the frantic rush to get the best flights and accommodation, FCO is urging England fans to familiarise themselves with South Africa – from its culture to [...]

 
With the world’s biggest football competition fastly approaching, we take a look at what chances our big European teams have of bringing home world cup silverware.
Italy

The first team we look at is four time champions and current holders Italy. Although Italy’s odds of winning the world cup are twelve to one, Marcello Lippi’s side have [...]