Group G
Brazil is the #1 ranked team in the world. They are so good that their D squad is better then 90% of the teams in the world. However, there are question marks up top and in the center of the pitch. Fabiano and Kaka were hurt at the end of the season, and Robinho and Elano where eventually shipped off by their club teams because they couldn’t cut it in the premier league. Additionally, Melo had a horrible first season for Juventus, and Gilberto Silva is years past his prime. Nevertheless, with their strong defense, goalkeeping, and bench, they should win this group. Portugal has the second best player in the world, Ronaldo, and talent all over the pitch. The injury to Nani is a huge blow because as a team they lack the ability to score goals. They key is if Deco can play like he did in his Barcelona days and create some goals, because if he doesn’t, Ronaldo will not be able to do it all by himself. Ivory Coast seems to be everyone’s sexy sleeper pick to go far in the tournament. In the Toure brothers, Kalou, and arguably the best striker in the world, Drogba, combined with playing in their home continent, it’s hard to argue against them progressing. The key is if Drogba can come back from his shoulder injury and lead this team to glory. N Korea is the whipping boys in this group. They will sit back against these other powerhouses and hope to somehow score a goal or two in the counter attack. They may squeeze a tie against Portugal or the Ivory Coast but that is about it.
Brazil, Ivory Coast
Group H
Spain is the #2 ranked team in the world and the favorites to win it all. Coming off winning the Euro championships, and with unarguably the most talented squad in the world, it would be a failure if they didn’t at least make it to the finals. Like Brazil, they have so much depth on their squad that their fourth string squad could potentially win the world cup. However, the USA showed in the Confederations Cup that they are beatable if a team can play well defensively and on the counter. Chile are arguably the most underrated team in the tournament. No one talks about them going far, but they are very dangerous on the attack and have a good defensive structure. They can play well in possession and on the counter which gives them a chance to beat any type of squad in the tournament. The key is if the wingers Sanchez and Gonzalez can use their creativity on the ball to create good chances for the rest of the squad. Switzerland is a dangerous squad because of their strong defense. They like to get nine men behind the ball and make it as difficult as possible for the other team to score on them. However, they lack the firepower up front to cause any problems for the opposing defense. Additionally, there are injury problems to their leader, Frei, and their dangerous midfielder, Behrami, which will make it even more difficult for them to create goals. Honduras, like N Korea, look like the whipping boys in this group. Except for hardworking center midfielder, Palacios, they don’t have another world class player on their roster. Their defense isn’t very good and their offense lacks any type of player who can create magic out of nothing. I would be surprised if they even score one goal in any of the three games. Look for them to end the tournament in last place. This group comes down to who wins the Chile Switzerland match.
Spain, Chile
Golden Boot Winner- Van Persie
Finals- Holland 2-0 over Spain
No comments:
Post a Comment