Prior to the World Cup kicked off in Johannesburg on June 11, there were a few clear favourites for the title, including 2008 European champions [Spain and international football heavyweights Brazil.
Spain have drifted slightly after a shock 1-0 opening game loss to Switzerland. Nevertheless, the Spaniards will know victory over Chile will see them qualify for the next phase, after they got back on track with a 2-0 win over Honduras on Monday.
The form of several Spain players needs to improve, including Fernando Torres, but you never want to peak too early.
Brazil, on the other hand, have raced out of the blocks with two victories although during their opening win over DPR Korea, a 2-1 result, they showed signs of nerves. They followed that up with an emphatic 3-1 hammering of the Ivory Coast, with Luis Fabiano scoring twice to suggest he’ll be a danger at this cup.
The red card for Kaka was a shocker, but he’ll only miss the Portugal and he’ll be ready for the knockout phase (they’ve already secured qualification for the next round).
Other pre-World Cup favourites included Germany who started off in style with a 4-0 rout of Australia, with Mesut Ozil starring, but they were brought back to earth when they lost 1-0 to Serbia, with Miroslav Klose seeing red and Lukas Podolski missing a penalty. The Germans, though, should still progress and victory over Ghana will see them top their group, putting them in the box seat.
They could end up facing England in the next round, with the English battling through Group C. England have been one of the big let-downs in South Africa, as they have drawn both of their games, 1-1 with the USA and 0-0 with Algeria. It’s led to some internal troubles with John Terry publicly criticising coach Fabio Capello. Striker Wayne Rooney lost his temper at the boo-boys too.
Brazil:Argentina> are one nation who were underestimated pre-World Cup but have been superb to watch. Diego Maradona’s presence as coach scared off many pundits from backing the Argentinians, but Lionel Messi’s brilliance and Gonzalo Higuain goalscoring nous shouldn’t be ignored and they’ll go a long way in this tournament.
The Netherlands have begun the tournament with few worries, as they cruised past Denmark 2-0 and Japan 1-0. They’ve already qualified for the next round, but you fancy they’ll face tougher challenges later and will need to step it up.
Reigning champions Italy have been underwhelming too, following draws with the impressive Paraguay and the gutsy New Zealand. There’s some issues for the Azzurri, but they’ll know victory against Slovakia in their final game will seal their passage through.
The greatest underachievement of all, though, has come from France. Les Bleus haven’t scored a goal, haven’t won a game and appear to not want to train anymore. There is still a chance they could progress with a big win over South Africa, but the players appear to have given up early following Nicolas Anelka’s expulsion from the team.
Portugal are another side considered a chance in South Africa and their 7-0 thrashing of North Korea has them in good form. Cristiano Ronaldo getting an assist and a goal is good for their chances.
Beyond the obvious candidates, the only other realistic challengers seem to come from South America, with Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil:Chile> all surprising with great starts to their campaigns to top their respective groups.
The same can’t be said for African teams, with Cameroon, South Africa and Nigeria all bottom of their respective groups, while Ivory Coast appear destined for elimination. Ghana are the only hope left in the World Cup held on African soil.