‘Second Round At Best’: Or Can They Go Further?

If only the title was decided by the best pre-match entertainment...

Then, the nations entitled with the tag, ‘could spring a surprise, but don’t expect them to.’ Hosts South Africa, showed in the Confederations Cup how they tend to play neat, counter-attacking football, with regular Premiership starters Benni McCarthy and Aaron Mokoena amongst their ranks. But, despite being willed on by thousands of vuvuzelas’, I don’t expect them to overcome the talents of France, Mexico, or Uruguay. Algeria, despite a fantastic victory over rivals Egypt, are not expected to progress from the group stage, either. Whilst a victory over Slovenia is quite possible, they simply do not have enough strength in depth to beat England or the United States. Another side in this category is Honduras, drawn with reigning European champions Spain. With Wilson Palacios pulling the strings from midfield, they are determined and will not be broken down easily, but there isn’t enough of a goal scoring threat to challenge realistically.

Unfortunately for South Africa, Vuvuzela's only scare buffalo, not France, Mexico, and Uruguay...

Amongst the sides looking to qualify for the last sixteen are South Korea and Nigeria, both placed in Group B. With neither seeming a threat to Argentina, and both fancied to beat Greece, it could be down to the result between the two to decide who takes the plane home. Huh Jung-Moo’s side, with stars such as Park Ji-Sung and Park Chu-Young, reached the semi-finals seven years ago, although such a recurrence is unlikely. The Super Eagles qualified from their campaign comfortably, and won’t be affected by the altitude, a factor that could affect many nations next summer. A similar situation is seen in Group E, but with more difficult opponents. Cameroon and Japan are both unlikely to trouble Holland, but could easily surprise Denmark. A side containing Samuel Eto’o can never be ruled out of contention, with the hotshot Inter Milan striker bagging goals consistently at the highest level. Japan recently impressed in a 2-0 victory over Scotland, and, on their day, are a worthy challenge to any side.

Didier Drogba has obviously just seen his side's group draw...

Finally, the sides with serious intentions on making it to the last sixteen at least. Ghana and Australia are, disputably, in the group of death, also containing Germany and Serbia. With Michael Essien providing skill in abundance in both attack and defence, as well as Matthew Amoah and Asamoah Gyan up front, they may just live up to their expectations as the African side with the most hope in the event. Australia showed their quality at the last World Cup, being narrowly defeated by eventual champions Italy. With stars such as Brett Emerton, the Socceroo’s could make it through, but three top performances will be essential. Also part of a tough group are the Ivory Coast, drawn with Brazil and Portugal. However, I feel that they can succeed against Portugal, but only if they can keep Cristiano Ronaldo away from possession. Didier Drogba, the current leading Premiership scorer, can terrorise defences, so don’t be too surprised to see them pitting themselves against the world’s best in the last sixteen. But, I think that the team that can progress the furthest is the United States, who came agonisingly close to winning the Confederations Cup. Bob Bradley has assembled a team that is no longer the ‘joke’ of international football, with predators such as Clint Dempsey lurking for chances to put away. They should progress from their group, and who knows – could they go even further?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 6:43 pm by rushden-till-i-die.