Okay so its time to wrap up the analysis of the World Cup Draw with the final four groups.
GROUP E:
- Switzerland (8) (5/2)
- Ecuador (23) (4/1)
- Honduras (41) (20/1)
- France (19) (5/6)
This group screams of Brown envelopes being handed around FIFA HQ as France have somehow come out of another draw favorably. Having only just scraped through a a playoff with Ukraine and with another team in turmoil, it is hard to see the French going much further than the group stages. Undoubtadly they have some extremely talented players but I have serious doubts as to whether Didier Deschamps is the right man to guide them to this World Cup, he lacks imagination tactically and more importantly at International level, he seems to be inept motivationally also. Wins against Honduras and Ecuador should see them progress and they do have a very good record against Switzerland in recent times despite the disparity in World Rankings. If Ribery and Benzema show up firing on all fronts for these games then they should top the group, but a last 16 or quarter final exit looms large on the horizon.
Switzerland and legendary coach Ottmar Hitzfeld will be relatively confidant about progression from this group. Hitzfeld’s wealth of experience at the highest level will be a major advantage in trying to tame the French for top spot, However Basel frontman Marco Strellar aside, it is hard to see where the required goals are going to come from and having topped what was considered an extremely easy qualifying group, one can argue that they haven’t really been given a stern test in reaching Brazil . Their biggest game will be against Ecuador led by Manchester United winger Antonio Valencia to determine who will go through as runners up in my view.
Ecuador and Honduras are the other teams competing in group E and will be largely unknown to European viewers. Honduras boast Premier League players such as Wilson Palacios and Maynor Figeroa in their ranks but they are justifiably rank outsiders in this group. They have qualified for 2 previous World Cups in 1982 and 2010 finishing bottom of their groups and failing to win a game in the process and this could easily be 3rd time unlucky for the Central American side. Ecuador qualify for their 3rd World Cup and boast Antonio Valencia and ex Man City striker Feilepe Caicedo now of Lokomotiv Moscow in thier ranks. They will be very physical and strong in midfield but they are seriously lacking in creativity and with the majority of their players plying their trade at home in the “Barcelona” team or in Mexico, they lack any experience of top level football for the most part. They will be hard to breakdown but the European teams should have too much for them over 90 minutes.
GROUP F:
- Argentina (3) (1/25)
- Nigeria (36) (13/10)
- Bosnia (21) (10/11)
- Iran (45) (5/1)
You can tell by such prohibitive odds and any football fan will know that anything other than a final appearance would be a major disappointment for Lionel Messi and co. in their own continent. Having breezed through the qualification campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Venezuela the only upset to speak of. They will be quietly confident going into Brazil if Lionel Messi returns to full fitness and form before the end of the European club season. Many of you will not have heard of manager Alejandro Sabella, the ex Sheffield United and Leeds player who will lead them in Brazil and this is because he is relatively inexperienced. He was a coach under a few managers until handed the reigns of Estudanties in 2009 where he went on to win the Copa Libratadores is the same year. He resigned from his position in 2011 and agreed to manage UAE league side Al-Jazira before the AFA came asking him to replace Sergio Batista. He has only lost 4 games as coach so far but as his CV clearly states, he is untested at the highest level and as I previously stated with Ottmar Hitzfeld at Switzerland, in tight games, experience can be a vital tool in pulling out a result and I fear his naivety could prove to be Argentina’s achilles heel.
First time Qualifers Bosnia are odds on to qualify from the group stage at the first time of asking and are very well equipped to do so. Playing a very attacking 4-1-3-2 formation and with Man City star Edin Dzeko leading the line, the scored 30 goals in the qualifying campaign and that scoring prowess should see them overcome Nigeria and lowly Iran to qualify as runners up. Ranked officially as the poorest country in Europe and with no domestic league to speak of it is a footballing miracle that the Bosnians have a side at all and coach Safet Susic will have them playing with unbelievable pride and fervour in the jersey which will make them dangerous to any team in the competition. I hope they give a good showing in their first tournament and with the right draw I could see them making a quarter final appearance.
Nigeria and Iran have both exceeded expectations to qualify for Brazil from their own qualifying regions and with a tough draw, will be hoping they can maintain National pride by beating one another in a dead rubber game. Nigeria have a proud tradition at the World Cup and with experienced players like Mikel and Efe Ambrose of Celtic. They should have enough about them to pick up 3 points against what I think is an awful Iranian side. Nigeria will be no pushovers for the top two but they still have the traditional African frailties in their play and that will always prove to be costly on the World stage.
GROUP G :
- Germany (2) (1/8)
- USA (14) (13/5)
- Portugal (5) (1/2)
- Ghana (24) (11/4)
Many people’s pre-tournament favourites Germany will not be best pleased with what is a very tough draw. Having recently beaten USA comfortably with a second string side you would have to feel that they will have too much for the Americans but make no bones about it they will face a test in each of their group games. Ronaldo will hope his Portugal side will put the cat amongst the pigeons and Ghana are an ever improving nation on the world stage so Johacim Low will under estimate this group at his own peril. His biggest dilemma though could be who to leave behind as the Germans appear to have ridiculous strength in depth especially in midfield. They can go as far as they like in this World Cup and it may just be left to the home nation to stop this footballing revolution taking the crown jewels.
Despite Portugal being odds on to progress I feel that Ghana may be ready to cause an upset in this group. The Portugese simply do not have a striker worth mentioning and are so overly reliant on the goals of Cristiano Ronaldo. Now as proved in the playoff against Sweden, this is not necessarily a major hinderence but you feel that someone will need to chip in with a goal or two somewhere along the line if they are to go deep into the competition. Also their goal keeping situation leaves alot to be desired. Rui Patricio just does not cut it at the top level in my view.Should have given Heilton citizenship before Brazil decided to cap him. For the sake of the competition it would be nice to see Ronaldo progress but I feel the team around him are just not good enough at the moment to make any inroads.
Why Ghana you are asking? Well compartively speaking, bar Ronaldo , Ghana have a better team player for player in my view. Ex Sunderland man Asamoah Gyan along with the Ayew brothers of Marseille and Kevin Prince Boateng and AC Milan’s Sulley Muntari mean they have a very strong spine of the team and unlike most African sides they can match the finesse with the power side of the game. They will play a 4-5-1 formation but not in the defensive traditional sense. They will press high up the pitch and look to regain possession in the final third of the pitch which is a very new concept to African football. They are growing in confidance the more they learn the system and I think this World Cup will be the culmination in this change in Philosophy. Am I saying the will win or get to the final? no . But I think they do have enough to progress from the group stage and give any team a stern test in the next round.
GROUP H:
- BELGIUM (11) (1/5)
- RUSSIA (22) (1/2)
- SOUTH KOREA (54) (7/4)
- ALGERIA (26) (9/2)
Belgium will enter this World Cup as one of the most hyped and talked about teams in the competition due to the sheer number of players they seem to have spread across Europe’s top clubs. Bookies have seen thousands of euro’s placed each-way on these guys already and with their star studded line-up it is hard to argue against them reaching at least the semi-finals.Again the one thing I will mention against them is in-experience. Will they get caught up in the hype back home and start believing their chances or will they handle all pressure and stay focused? Many will point out that they are professionals at top clubs used to dealing with pressure week in and week out but when you have the weight of a nation on your shoulders, it can be a new experience entirely. In terms of this group however it should be a relative cake walk in my view. Fabio Capello and Russia may have something to say about that but realistically the Belgians should have too much firepower for them.
Russia have turned to ex England manager Fabio Capello in the hope that he can revive the teams fortunes having failed to qualify for the last 2 World Cups and the move has paid off. They topped their group with consumate ease and Capello himself will be looking to fix what was a dismal showing from England in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. While not too many of the side will be household names for everyone they do work very well as a cohesive unit. They will be well organised and have one or two players capable of unlocking a defense, the former Arsenal man Andriy Arshavin springs to mind. They will have plenty to see off South Korea and Algeria at the very least.
The remaining sides in this group I believe to be quite poor. South Korea scraped in ahead of neighbours North Korea and Algeria’s playing squad has taken a massive fall from grace in their home land since the 2010 World Cup. They will completely be playing for national pride and respectability in this competition. South Korea has really failed to kick on from that amazing showing over ten years ago now where they shocked the world by reaching the Semi-Finals, their team is an aging one and this will no doubt be talisman Park Ji Sung’s last stand in their colours. They will hope he can go out in a blaze of glory but I think this glory will be reserved to one win against Algeria and an early trip home to begin his retirement from football.
Well there you have it. My views on the recent World Cup Draw in Brazil. It certainly has thrown up many interesting matches and I’ve a sneaking suspicion this could be one for the ages. I will give you my predictions as we come closer to the time but for the moment all that is left to do is say follow me on @Sports_Hangout to keep up to date with my blogs and views on the major sporting events. Feel free to tweet me your thoughts and views on this or any sporting matter.
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