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Probably when you speak of World Cup 2010, the one team that will always come to your mind as a favourite team is Argentina. Just because of its past performance and great players like Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta, Riquelme and the list just goes on endless. This year could probably be the year when Argentina again has its foot hold on the Soccer Map.

This year also marks a special appearance for the Soccer GOD Diego Maradona, who is currently the coach of the national team, inspite of its qualifying hurdles and lack lustre in qualifying for the World Cup and now finally making it through. Their last game against the Black eagle was not only refreshing to see but also a strong warning to its openents that they are back and back with a bang.

Lets us now review their chances, technically they have the world best striker and recently crowned Footballer of the Year “Lionel Messi” and if he gets going there is no way he will be stoppable. Players like Juan Sebastain Veron, Heinze,Tevez, Mascarenho are equally dangerous. One thing with which I was really impressed against the game with Nigeria is that they played attacking Football which they are know traditinally and that is the way they play always and all grat Argentinian players are. What was also good to see is that their defense was not bad either and  they tackled the ball preety hard when they needed them to tackle. Certain if they play like this and their trunp player Messi strikes it would be hard for any team to curb this potential dynamite footballing nation under daddy Diego’s guidance.

In the previous post we looked at  “The Usual Suspects” when it comes to picking the favourites for a FIFA world cup. But strangely this time around,its “The Underachievers” who will head into the tournament as the front-runners.

Spain are bookmakers’ favourite this time around and we shouldn’t be surprised by that, should we?  At previous world cups they have had teams which were good enough to win the competition. But forget about winning, the fact is that they have not even made it to the final of any world cup. The currnt Spanish team is very different very though. They are on a high after Euro 2008 success and a quite comprehensive qualification campaign. This can attributed to the recent success of FC Barcelona,which have as many as eight players in the national team. Spain’s playing style is based on retaining the possession, much similar to that of Barcelona. This restricts the opponents from having the ball for long periods and they end up creating a very few chances. The players like Cesc Fabregas, “Best Player of Euro 2008″ Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso are extremely accurate with possession and passing. Also they have two of the supreme target men around in Fernando Torres and David Villa.  Expect loads of goals from this team. (Spain vs Argentina is a match-up I would like see, it is possible in the semi-finals, considering the draws )

Whenever England arrive at every world cup, they bring along with them, the expectations of millions of passionate fans not only from home but also from all over the world, who religiously follow the English Premier League and  the burden of such high expectations have made Englishmen crumble more often than not. But everything seems to have changed since Fabio Capello has taken over the role of management. “Three Lions” have become ruthless and enterprising under his management.This current crop of English players is  regarded by many as “The Golden Generation” of English football. They have quality throughout the pitch with the likes of “Red Hot” Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole in their ranks. Their bench strength is probably the strongest in the tournament.For me, they are the most COMPLETE team in the competition and I expect them to go VERY FAR.

If you ask me, which team will you label as ‘the biggest underachiever’ in world cups? my answer would be plain and simple..Its Holland. Its really amazing to see the number of world class players that this country does produce time and time again.They always have at least have four or five players in their team, who are blessed with supreme talent and mesmerizing skills. This time around also, they have Arjene Robben, Wesley Sniejder, Roben van Persie, Rafael van der Vaart in their team, who are second to very few, when it comes to the skills. But football matches are not won with individual talent but with teamwork and this is my concern with this team. Also they lack that “substance”  in the team, which is so mandatory when it comes down to the business end of the tournament. I think “The Oranges” are a good bet to reach at least quarter finals.(There is a lip-smacking prospect of Brazil vs Holland quarter-final).

France and Portugal , I afraid, will not be able to fulfill the expectations of their fans. French football team is so notorious for their internal rifts and ego clashes that I would be very surprised if they go beyond quarter-finals. Portugal on the other hand are just not good enough. They will rely very heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo, with now Nani out injured.

Denmark and Serbia would be my “Dark Horses” for this edition. Both have had very impressive qualification campaigns and are very organized. We should not get shocked, if we see either of these teams at least in the quarter finals.

As I have mentioned in my previous post, I can’t see African teams posing any real threat to the “Established” ones. Almost all the African teams have been hampered by injuries,which will make their task even harder.Nigeria have a good chance to reach knock out round, considering their group. But believe me, it will be the fans of these teams which will make this world cup VERY SPECIAL.

I really fear for Asian teams. There is a serious possibility that we may not see even a single Asian team in the Round of 16. All the hopes of Asia will resting on Korea republic who have the best record amongst the Asians in the world cups.

VERDICT:  huh!! its prediction time. For me, this is the most open World Cup in recent decades. England and Spain are DEFINITELY going to last long in the tournament. Also Brazilians have everything in them, which is required to win the cup.

LET THE FESTIVAL BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!  Joga Bonito!!!

When South Africa won the bid to host 2010 world cup, many eyebrows were raised. People  (especially the Europeans) were uncertain about the infrastructure and facilities that need to be provided by “The Rainbow Country”.But the South Africans showed the world that how much love the African continent has for “The Beautiful Game” by completing the herculean task of building stadiums and other infrastructure in the stipulated time line.Although everyone in Africa is very optimistic about their Teams’ chances, this tournament could be a harsh “Reality Check” for the African teams.

Whenever we talk of football world cup, one name immediately comes to the mind..well, no prizes for guessing …its Brazil. They always enter any competition as the stark favourites. They have always shown their pedigree at the World cups,no wonder they have won the trophy most number of times. But, this time around their ride won’t be as easy as compared to their previous campaigns. Though they have some of the best players in the world in Kaka,Pato and Robinho, they lack experience which is so crucial at this level.But I won’t be surprised at all, if we see Lucio lifting the cup on July 11th, 2010

Brazil’s South American counterparts, Argentina will also be one of the contenders for this year. Their qualification campaign was extremely sluggish to say the least. Somehow Diego Maradona’s men made it through to the last 32. Yes,there are serious doubts about his coaching abilities, but one thing we should remember that he is a seasoned campaigner of four world cups and we should not underestimate him. Also they have probably the BEST attacking force at this world cup, with the likes of  “Numero Uno” Lionnel Messi, Carlos Tevez, Gonzalo Higuan,Diego Milito,Sergio Aguero in their ranks. But they have some real concerns in  brittle defence and average midfield. Expect very entertaining games and lot of goals from Argentina.

One thing which  really astonishes is how Germans perform so well at the World Cups. No matter whichever team they put up , it has discipline,dedication and organization running in their veins. Though historically their players have not been blessed with as much skills as say Brazilians or Argentinians have, their tremendous team spirit always takes them through. The secret behind this could be the charismatic  leaders that they produce decade after decade, be it Franz Beckenbauer,be it Lothar Matthaeus, be it Jurgen Klismann,be it Oliver Kahn,they always have someone who has the presence similar to that of an Army General. But unfortunately this is exactly that they will be missing this time around with talismanic Michael Ballack out injured. But there wont be any respite for the teams facing  the “Mannschaft”. Under the management of Joachim Loew, they have opted to play a high tempo game,which is difficult to cope with for most of the teams. They have some of the best young talent in the world with Lucas Podolski,Thomas Muller,Mario Gomez. It will take “some” doing to get past this stubborn team.

How Italy managed to win four world cups so far,without being favourites for none of them, is surely beyond most of us.In most of the matches,performance wise they tend to be second best, but result wise they end up being the best.This has much to do with their playing style which is based on the strong defence. But one thing we should note that their “Brand of Football” though very pragmatic, is very effective and designed with only one thing in mind, “We will not lose”. But this makes them probably the “Most Boring team” to watch.Though they do not have many charismatic players in their ranks, the  World Cup holders boast a team of seasoned professionals like Gianluigi Buffon,Andrea Pirlo,Fabio Cannavaro,Gianluca Zambrotta,Gennaro Gattuso who know how to win matches at this highest level. Also they have most of the players from 2006 campaign still in their team with the manager Marcello Lippi still at the helm. “Azzurries” would again be very hard to beat.