This group contains the hosts South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and France. The obvious favourites would be France, but they haven't been in the best form of late and only qualified courtesy of Thierry Henry's left hand.
Mexico played England recently and impressed, despite going down three one while in last year's Confederation Cup South Africa looked strong and competed well with the likes of Spain and Brazil. Uruguay qualified by one goal in the CONCACAF play offs against Costa Rica.
South AfricaKey Men: Steven Pienaar. Had a great season in the Premier League in 2009-10 for Everton. Was one of their best players and hardly ever has a bad game. He is skillful, and can create something out of nothing. Their captain Aaron Mokeona will be influential in defence and midfield.
Story of qualifying: As hosts, didn't have to enter qualifying rounds but joined in to make up the numbers. If they hadn't been hosts they would never have qualified. They did not even qualify for the third round, which means they have not qualified for the next African Cup of Nations.
How will they do: If the home crowds get behind them, and support them well they could cause an upset. However, I don't think they will. 4th.
Key men: Cuauhtémoc Blanco is one of the best ever Mexican footballers, and he has a role to play in the squad despite being 37 years old. Another old(ish) player would be Franco, who has just been released by West Ham. They have young attackers like Giovani Dos Santos and Carlos Vela of Arsenal who are quick and will help lead that front line. Javier Hernandez, who has just signed for Man Utd will also be in and around the team.
Story of qualifying: Mexico finished second in the fourth round qualifying behind USA. They finished three points clear of Honduras and Costa Rica, and it was never easy for them. They sacked Sven Goran-Eriksson midway through the qualifiers and brought in Javier Aguirre, and they never looked back.
How will they do? They pinned England back for long periods of the game last Monday, especially in the first half but weren't clinical enough. They found it hard to break down the English defence even though they weren't that good that night. I think they will just miss out. 3rd
Key men: They have to of the top scorers in Europe. Diego Forlan has been a revelation since moving to Spain a few years ago and Ajax captain Luis Suarez has been on fire in the Dutch league. If they can recreate their form in their group, they have a great chance.
Story of qualifying: They were pipped to a fourth qualifying spot in their group by Argentina, but overcame Costa Rica 2-1 on aggregate. If they come second and Argentina come first in their group, or vice versa, they will have their chance to gain revenge.
How will they do? They have two of the best attackers in the whole tournament, let alone their group and I see them doing well. 1st
Key men: The favourites of the group and finalists in the 2006 World Cup. They have some of the best footballers in the world, like Franck Ribery and Thierry Henry. Lassana Diarra has been ruled out, he would have been key and manager Domenech has oddly left out Arsenal star Samir Nasri and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema. Nicolas Anelka will be their main forward.
Story of qualifying: Probably the most controversial games ever. In the play off second leg in extra time, Thierry Henry handled the ball and crossed for William Gallas to tap in. Irish players went mental, but the referee gave nothing. France went through as a result of this and many claim they do not deserve to be there. In their group, they came second to Serbia and performed below par.
How will they do? I think they will get through. Just. They have the quality the others don't and that alone could get them through. 2nd
The whole group will be tight, any of them could sneak through. Who do you think will go through? Have a guess!
*Note that this is not part for predicting in the prediction league.
I hope the French lose all their games, but they won't! cheating gits don't deserve to be there. I liked Mexico's style, and hope they win the group.
ReplyDeleteOnly saw the goals but the Dutch beat Mexico too, doesn't bode too well for them.
ReplyDeleteFrench participation in this tournament leaves a slightly sour taste in the mouth. Sooner they're out the better, but I reckon they'll get through too, in spite of the French Mclaren at the helm.
Forlan has the knack of scoring big goals at the right time, I fancy them for a bit of a run this year.
Great blog Louie, I think I'm going for the French who seem to have borrowed the luck of the irish for this tournament
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