It’s here.
The long awaited World Cup 2010 begins tomorrow in South Africa. It is the first worldwide sports event to be held on the African continent and it comes with very high expectations. From the American point of view, this is just another soccer tournament that is sure to prove how far behind we are in the sport. To the rest of the world, however, this is the single-most important sporting event that takes place only once every four years.
The World Cup 2010 boasts a number of powerful teams that have an opportunity of winning the tournament. The favorites coming in are Brazil and Spain, but other teams have just as much of a shot at winning. This is a preview of the teams most likely to succeed in the World Cup this year:
Brazil already holds the record for most World Cup victories with five and looks to extend that record this year. The Brazilians have been the top-ranked team for the past year and have not lost a match since June 15, 2008. They won the South American qualifying tournament with ease and defeated the United States 3-2 in the 2009 Confederations Cup Final in South Africa. This Brazilian team has a different look than teams in the past because they are without former stars Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. What they do have is a potent offensive attack and one of the best and most experienced goalkeepers in Julio César. Unfortunately for Brazil, they are in the “Group of Death”, along with Portugal, Ivory Coast, and North Korea.
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As for the Spanish, the second-ranked team in the world has also looked unstoppable over the past two years, with their only loss being a monumental upset to the United States in the 2009 Confederations Cup Semi-final.
Winners of the 2008 European Cup, Spain has been consistent with their roster and confidence. Their squad includes a long list of the world’s top players including David Villa, Fernando Torres, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi Alonso, Cesc Fábregas, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, and Gerard Pique. Spain swept through qualifying, winning all ten of their matches. Their most recent match, a friendly against Poland in which Spain dominated 6-0, left no doubt that the Spanish team would have a legitimate shot at winning the World Cup.
Injuries have played a significant role over the past year for Spain with Iniesta, Torres, and Fábregas all missing time. They will all be available for their Group H opener against Switzerland on June 16. Getting past the group stage won’t be difficult for Spain as they face Chile, Switzerland, and Honduras. As the tournament goes on, however, it will be interesting to see how the team plays together when they face adversity.
Another team with high expectations for the World Cup 2010 is England. Somehow, England has slipped from 3rd to 8th in the FIFA World Rankings over the past year. This squad has a lot of talent with 23 players coming from different English Premier League clubs. Their star-studded lineup includes Ashley Cole, Jamie Carragher, John Terry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Peter Crouch, and of course Wayne Rooney. Rooney is quietly announced as the third-best player in the world right now and his ability must shine on the field for England to win.
The English were dealt a huge blow when they lost their best defender and captain, Rio Ferdinand, to injury last week. England has performed well over the past two years, with their only losses coming to Brazil, Spain, and a surprising defeat to Ukraine in October. They did manage to win nine out of ten qualifiers though. Playing in Group C along with the United States, Algeria, and Slovenia, England has a relatively easy road to the Semi-finals. If it plays out the way it should, that would put them in a death match against Brazil.
A dark horse to win the tournament is Netherlands. Their team has been consistently ranked in the top 5 in the world over the past 4 years. They certainly don’t dominate their opposition, but they play well and know how to win. Over the past couple of years, they have proved their worth on the world stage, losing only one match to the Australians in September 2008.
The Dutch possess a very experienced group of midfielders and forwards including Wesley Sneijder, Mark Van Bommel, Rafael Van der Vaart, Dirk Kuyt, Arjen Robben, and Robin Van Persie. Though their offense was rather unproductive in qualifying, scoring only 17 goals in 8 games, their experience could prove very successful against the teams in Group E. Denmark, Japan, and Cameroon will try to slow down the Dutch but a quarterfinal match between Netherlands and Brazil seems likely.
Another team in South America that has the ability to win it all is Argentina. Though they struggled in qualifying, having to win the last game in order to advance, many still expect them to perform better and have a shot at winning the tournament. A lot of news has surrounded this team, mainly due to Coach Diego Maradona saying he will run around naked if Argentina wins the World Cup. He will have to hope that his star and top-ranked footballer, Lionel Messi, can unite his team in search for victory. Messi will join with Carlos Tevez, Diego Milito, and Javier Mascherano to make it past Group B which includes Nigeria, South Korea, and Greece.
A team that always finds itself in the mix for winning the World Cup is Germany. The Germans have a great history of being one of the last four remaining teams, and that could continue this time around. Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, and Bastian Schweinsteiger are the big three for Germany now that Michael Ballack is out due to right ankle injury. In 2008, the Germans lost to Spain in a close 1-0 game in the Euro Cup Final. The Germans were unbeaten through qualifying and secured the top spot in Group D along with Australia, Serbia, and Ghana. If they win their group, they would face the winner of Group B, which could possibly be Argentina.
The third best team in the world, according to the FIFA World Rankings, with the highest-profile player in Crisitano Ronaldo, is Portugal. The Portuguese have been on a steady rise in the rankings since their loss to Germany in the European Cup Semi-finals in 2008. They did struggle through qualification, however. They actually made it into the tournament following a two-game playoff with Bosnia. Their team is made up of a number of great players including Daniel Fernandes, Duda, Bruno Alves, Ricardo Carvalho, Ricardo Costa, Paulo Ferreira, Deco, Pepe, Pedro Mendes, Simão, Hugo Almeida, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
The question mark surrounding the Portuguese team is whether or not these world class players can play together as a team. They need to soon because they join Brazil, Ivory Coast, and North Korea in the “Group of Death”.
What good would a World Cup preview be without looking at the defending champions?
The Italians won the World Cup in 2006 with a team that was rather old at the time. This year, the team is even older, which is certainly a cause for concern for Italian supporters. Nine players return from the 2006 roster, including one of the world’s best goalkeepers, Gianluigi Buffon. Italy did manage to fly through qualification with an unbeaten record, outscoring opponents 18-7. Italy is expected to win Group F, which includes Paraguay, New Zealand, and Slovakia. If they do, they would likely face Spain, the same team that ousted them from the 2008 European Cup.
So here we are, just hours away from the start of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. It’s the world’s biggest sporting event, held on the world’s biggest stage. Millions of viewers will tune into these games from June 11-July 11. Many supporters from the countries listed above and others worldwide will live and die by this tournament. That isn’t an exaggeration either. Only one of the 32 teams in the tournament can call themselves World Cup Champions, but all of the 32 teams will do whatever it costs to get there. As it always does, the great spectacle that surrounds this event will capture the hearts of many and leave them impatiently waiting for the start of the next World Cup…2014 in Brazil.
