| 1. Brazil, unbelievable talent up front with Ronaldinho, Adriano, Ronaldo, Kaka. Dida and Juan may not be in great form at the back, and Cafu and Robert Carlos are dinosaurs, but Lucio is as good as any central defender in the tourney.This is the strongest Brazillian team I've ever seen; I just don't see how they can be stopped...
2. Argentina- if the youngsters Riquelme, Tevez, Messi, Palacio can settle down early, look out, they are the most complete team in the tourney, especially with Heinze and Ayala back healthy in central defense. I think Argentina is excellent, but much of their success will hinge on countering Riquelme's penchant for moving forward with an adequate Makelele-type defensive midfield position behind him. The problem is that Javier Mascherano is the only defensive midfielder on Argentina's squad. I also don't have much faith in the goalkeeping.
3. France, the combination of a weak group and as much depth as anybody in the tourney is going to surprise many, especially where they are starting to score goals. Henry, Saha, Malouda, Zidane, and Veira provide the firepower and Gallas, Thuram, Sagnol, Abidal and Makalele make it darn tough to break down the defense. Barthez is a flake, but has won a World Cup and a Euro Cup in goal.
4. Holland, they may have a no name defense with guys like Boularouz, Ooijer, Bouma, Kronkamp, but it was extremely effective in the qualifiers. Van Nistelrooy and Robben may not have had the seasons in the league many expected, but both are healthy. Kuyt will make a name for himself in this tourney.
5. Germany- the Ballack injury is a minor calf injury, and they won't need him for the next week or so. Klose has 25 goals and 10 assists in 26 league appearances this year, and enters the world cup in the best form of his life. Podolski and Schweinsteiger are under 21s ready to make names for themselves, and Lahm is the best left back in the tourney if he can get back to form after an injury prone season. The central defense can be a shambles at times, but they have the in-form Lehmann in goal, and will have 60,000 fans per game and a nation of 80 million pulling for them on home soil.
6. England- Rooney, Owen in so-so form, and an untested Crouch up front means that their midfield is going to have to crash the box and produce the goals. This team still struggles to build much through the middle, as both Gerrard and Lampard are aggressive going forward and as dangerous as anyone anywhere near the box, but both are prone to excessive turnovers when trying to hold possession and there is very little defense played in their midfield. Solid central defense in Terry and Ferdinand, but Robinson is merely consistent but not outstanding in goal (in fact, he had major blunders in the two biggest league games in the first half of the season). Fortunately, they have Beckham's impeccable crossing and free kicks to push them through until at least the quarters.
6. Italy- Totti is coming back from injury and has not looked good in recent friendlies, where the Italian offense was stone cold lifeless. Nesta and Zambrotta are out and have to come back in form and Nesta's replacement (Materazzi) is nowhere close to the quality of Alessandro. Then they have a huge loss in defensive midfield without Guttuso, though De Rossi is eventually going to be one of the best players on this team. Toni is force up front (6'4" Italian striker, who would believe), and Cannavaro and Pirlo give this side plenty of quality. The Italians always have the talent to make a run, but there are far more question marks going in, especially in a tough group with the Czechs, Ghana and the US. And this is not to mention the fact that Buffon, Cannavaro and others are dealing with all of the criminal investigations concerning Juventus's ref fixing investigations (their Pres. Maoggi already resigned over it), and Parma's $16 billion fraud/player gambling investigations.
7. The Czech Republic- Koller is back but is the 6'7" tower of power healthy enough after missing 8 months of the season to be a force. Baros is banged up and in so-so form, Rosicky is banged up, and Nedved, Paborsky and Galasek are over a 100 years old combined. There are so younger players working there way in with Jarolim, Plasil, and Polack, but are they of the same quality as Neved and Rosicky? Fortunately, the back line is a an absolute bear with Ufalusi, Jankulovsky, Rozenhal and Grygera, and the flawless Peter Cech in goal.
8. Portugal- Cristano Ronaldo, Deco, Simao, and with Carvalho and Meira in defense and Ricardo in goal, this is a class side all the way. If Portugal had a better record in World Cups and Pauleta had shown even a glimpse of being a world class striker capable of scoring international goals (shut out at the Euro), they could be taken as a serious contender.
9. Spain- lots of flash, but a poor record in internationals, and no proven goal scorer leave questions. Raul is in poor form (age), and neither Torres or Villa has shown yet they can step up in his place as a world class forward. Amazing midfield with Fabregas, Xavi, Xabi and Joaquin on the wing. Defense is adequate with Puyol and Pablo, and Casilles is streaky and can have a great run. Lot of talent and a weak group, they probably should be rated higher, but their tradition of all flair and no bite lives on.
10. Serbia and Montenegro- Vidic and Krastjic may be the best central defensive pairing in the tourney. Djordevic and Stankovic are good in midfield and Kezman didn't have the success at Chelsea that he has enjoyed in the Dutch and Spainish leagues, but is proven goalscorer and the international level (with other players like Milosevic and Pantelic that can jump in and score as well). This team only
conceded one goal in qualifiers.
qtr finals
Germany
vs
Argentina
Italy
vs
Swiz
England
Vs
Holland
Brazil
vs
Spain
SemiFinal
Italy
vs
Argentina
Holland
Vs
Brazil
Final
Brazil
Vs
Italy
Winner
Brazil |
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