Group B - South Korea

Group B

Argentina

Nigeria

South Korea

Greece

Nickname: Taeguk Warriors (fans are often called The Red Devils)


Colors: Red, White

Current World Ranking: 53

Manager: Huh Jung-Moo – in his third stint as the national team manager, Huh is back at the helm after 5 successive foreign coaches, including the Dutchman, Guus Hiddink who led them to their most successful finish in the 2002 World Cup in Korea. A former midfield for the national team, Huh scored a goal against Italy in the ’86 Cup in Mexico and quite interestingly faced off against Argentina’s current manager, Diego Maradona.

History: Asia is not known for its soccer super powers but several regional nations have performed admirably on the international stage and South Korea is one of them, having qualified for 7 straight Cups and boasting the best FIFA World Cup record in Asia. The highlight of their World Cup history came 8 years ago when they jointly hosted the tournament with Japan. They finished fourth overall narrowly losing the third place match to Turkey 2-3, thanks to a lot of hard work, high energy, and a pretty rabid red-clad fan base known as the “Red Devils”. It was the first time the Cup had ever been held in Asia and the one and only time it was or will be co-hosted. South Korea was in Group D along with the United States, Poland, and heavy favorites Portugal. The US shocked Portugal in the opening match of the group 3-2 while South Korea handled Poland 2-0. South Korea then earned a 1-1 draw against the US before beating Portugal themselves to advance in first place in the group with the US just behind them. In the knockout stage South Korea again shocked a European super power, Italy, 2-1 in sudden-death extra time before taking down another European giant, Spain, in the Quarters on penalty kicks. That game was notable because Spain had scored twice, though both goals had been disallowed by the ref. South Korea then lost to Germany 0-1 in the Semi’s leaving them to face Turkey in the third place match.

They failed to make it out of the group stage in the 2006 World Cup even though the performed admirably beating Togo 2-1, drawing France 1-1, then losing to Switzerland 2-0.

Qualification was basically a breeze for these guys as they were the only Asian team to go through unbeaten, including a 2-0 win at Saudi Arabia, their first in 19 years.

Players: Basically, if you want to imagine South Korean style soccer, just think of a bunch of ninjas flying around the pitch. That sounds horribly stereotypical but it’s actually pretty true. These guys are fast, agile, and more the one of them is likely carrying a pair of nunchucks.

Park Ji-Sung: Captain of the Korean team, Park is the most decorated player on the national team thanks to his time spent with Manchester United since 2005. Quick, direct, and a non-stop worker on the pitch, the 29-year-old has endless energy, which the commentators will mention at least 5 times during every match he plays in. He doesn’t play every game for United, but when he does he almost always contributes. In fact, he’s scored in three of his last four starts against the likes Liverpool and AC Milan.

Park started his international career in 2000 and was part of the ‘02 squad in Korea, and has amassed 85 caps and 11 goals since then. He is the unquestionable leader and motivational force behind the Korean team.

Interestingly, Park was originally selected to the national team by the current manager, Huh, back in 2000 and was considered one of the most unpopular players on the team at the time. Fast-forward ten years and here he is captaining the team who is once again coached by Huh.  

Park Chu-Young: Fifa.com had this to say about the 25-year-old, “After arriving in Europe without much fanfare in 2008, Park Chu-Young has become one of the hottest properties in the French top flight and an automatic starter for Korea Republic's national team.” Park was just in high school when his nation hosted the Cup in 2002 and performed so well, and it was just a few years later in 2005 when he made his international debut and scored in a draw with Uzbekistan, having just won the Asian Young Player of the Year award in 2004 after scoring 9 goals in 4 games in a single tournament. He was scoring goals by the boatload for his club and nation, but couldn’t keep on the pace and was nothing more than a marginal player in 2006 in Germany.

Wildly popular in Korea, Park is lightning quick, agile, and a great free-kick specialist. Having recaptured his form in the French league Park contributed several goals and assists during Korea’s run-up to the Cup. Their success in this tournament will largely depend on his ability to score goals. As an interesting side note, in his career he’s already scored against Nigeria’s U-20 squad.

Prediction: Despite their strong qualification and overall domination over the other Asian teams, South Korea has never advanced past the Group Stage in any Cup other than the one they hosted. They recently performed well in a friendly against the Ivory Coast winning 2-0, which may just have given them valuable experience against an African team similar to Nigeria. Again, Argentina is the clear favorite in this group and should breeze through. If South Korea is to have a chance they’ll have to beat Greece and Nigeria. Each of these three teams has over achieved and similarly underachieved in past competitions, so it’s going to come down to who wants it most. My money is on the home-continent advantage, so I think Nigeria will be advancing with the South Americans.

Group B - Nigeria

I want to digress for just a moment to make a suggestion to any of the readers out there (assuming that my wife isn’t the only one reading this) who do not currently consider themselves fans of soccer but are interested in getting into it for this World Cup: The absolute best way to get into soccer, and especially a tournament like this one, is to chose a team, or a couple teams, make them your own, and root for them with reckless abandon. I would definitely say that everyone should root for the United States, otherwise you’re just an unpatriotic communist, but you should also choose at least one other team. Maybe start with your heritage; if you’re French, root for France; if you’re Dutch, root for the Netherlands; if you’re Slovenian, well, sorry about your luck, both for your heritage and your soccer team because they suck, so root for Australia or something. When you have something vested in one of the teams it makes it a lot easier to really get into the sport and truly enjoy it.

Group B

Argentina

Nigeria

South Korea

Greece

Nickname: Super Eagles

Colors: Green and White

Current World Ranking: 21

Manager: Lars Lagerback - Just instated as the head coach in February 2010.  He is replacing former manager Shaibu Amodu who after a poor showing at the African Cup of Nations (they placed 3rd) decided to step down.  Lagerback has huge experience of international coaching.  He was co-coach of Sweden at the UEFA Euro 2008 and led the team as head coach from the summer of 2004 through 2009.  He resigned from Sweden after failure to qualify for the World Cup with them.

History:

-Nigeria is in the CAF Federation and has been to 3 World Cups (1994, 1998, 2002). 

-The official Nigerian National Team played their first game in 1949 as a British Colony. 

-Biggest rival is Cameroon.  They have met many times in the African Cup of Nations and been beat out of an African title 4 times by Cameroon.  They also narrowly missed qualifying for the 1990 World Cup because of losses to Cameroon.

-1994 was Nigeria's first World Cup appearance.  They came out #1 from the group stage (Bulgaria, Argentina, Greece) and almost made it to the quarter finals but ended up losing to Italy in extra time. 

-1998 World Cup was much like the first where they made it out of the group stage (Spain, Bulgaria, Paraguay) but didn't advance after Denmark knocked them out.

-2002 World Cup they didn't make it past the group stage (Argentina, Sweden, England)

-Nigeria was strong in World Cup Qualifying beating out Tunisia, Kenya and Mozambique.

-Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa meaning they have a lot of players to choose from, most of whom play in European leagues making them very competitive with the top European nations. 

-They also came in 3rd in the 2009 Africa Cup of Nations giving them momentum going into the WC and the boost of being on "home soil."  I think all the African teams will benefit from the South African venue.

Players:

Nwankwo Kanu - Forward

The captain and veteran of the team with 81 caps is forward Nwankwo Kanu.  He currently plays for Portsmouth in the English Premier League and this World Cup will be his last (he participated in the 1998 and 2002 WC teams).  He has also played in Italy and Denmark picking up league titles and Champions League Gold.  He was also on the Nigerian Olympic Team who won gold at the 1996 games in Atlanta.  Despite his age (33) he brings great experience and with 13 international goals is one to look out for. 

John Mikel Obi - Midfield

As one of the youngest on the team (22) he has the chance to make an impact for Nigeria and create a name for himself on the world stage, however he will have to keep his cool and stay on the pitch.  Mikel isn't afraid of controversy and has a history of losing his cool but he has also put in some great performances for Chelsea in the EPL (it pains me to say that).  Mikel is undeniably the Nigerian player with the most promise to perform at the World Cup.   

Prediction: As you could see above, Nigeria and Argentina are no strangers to one another having met in the ’94 and ’02 Cups. Argentina won both of those matches and we probably should expect the same here. The interesting thing is how similar this Cup’s group looks to the ’94 group, which also had Greece in it. Nigeria thrashed Greece 4-0 and consequently Greece finished last in the Group without a single point or goal to their name and 10 goals scored against them. Again, don’t be surprised to see that happen here again. Nigeria should advance easily behind Argentina but don’t count them out against Argentina. It’ll be the first match of the tournament for this group, Nigeria is practically playing on home soil, they qualified strong and performed well in the Africa Cup of Nations, while Argentina was anything but brilliant in qualifying. One big question mark for Nigeria though – how well will a brand new foreign manager settle in with the team with so little time ahead of the Cup?

[Thanks to the Cristiano Ronaldo of Columbus for putting together everything about Nigeria in this post]

Group B - Argentina

Group B

Argentina

Nigeria

South Korea

Greece

Nickname: Albicelestes (White and Sky blue)


Colors: Sky blue and white

Current World Ranking: 8

To understand Argentina is to understand two men: their whacked-out, coked-up, obese, headline-making manager and former player and captain of the team, Diego Maradona, and the greatest player on the face of the earth right now, diminutive midfielder Lionel Messi.

Maradona: You will not find a greater hero and villain embodied in the same form in all of sports than Diego Maradona. In the best case, he is one of the greatest players to ever step on a pitch having played in 4 World Cups and winning 1 in 1986 over West Germany while captaining the team, scoring 5 goals, adding 5 assists, and playing every single minute of every game. In his career he played 86 games for his country, scored 34 goals, and was recently voted player of the century alongside Pele.

In the worst case he is a lying, cheating, manipulative, cocaine addicted hack. You won’t find a bigger drama queen on the pitch, doing everything in his power to win even the smallest advantage in the match, or in the most extreme case, the biggest, most deceptive moment of cheating in all of sports. In the 1986 World Cup Quarter Finals in Mexico against England he executed what has long been dubbed “The Hand of God”, when a high, arcing ball came through the box from the right wing and he elevated to meet the ball, stretching higher than anyone imagined possible to head the ball into the back of the net. Except, after close inspection it wasn’t his head at all but instead his hand that hit the ball into the goal. While Thierry Henry’s hand ball against Ireland in qualification could potentially be dismissed as incidental as Henry claimed, there is no mistaking the fact that Maradona intentionally used his hand to score that goal. But just like Henry’s incident, Maradona’s goal counted, and became the most infamous goal in the history of soccer. He followed that up later in the game with a legitimate goal after he took a 60-yard run slicing through the English defense and scoring what has been called “The Goal of the Century.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0zjx4MAHzk&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jk-kXwjASEE

In 1991 he was suspended for 15 months for testing positive for cocaine then was sent home from the 1994 World Cup in the US for being in possession of ephedrine.

As a manager Maradona has been no less controversial. Since his inception in November or 2008 he immediately became the same polarizing figure he was when he played the game. So much so that one of the all time Argentinean greats, and perhaps their best players at the 2006 Cup, Requelme announced he would no longer be playing for the national team because of a dispute with Maradona. There’s no shortage of young talent that’s waiting in the wings to fill his shoes, but a player of the caliber of Requelme is a big loss for any team (if only he had dual citizenship in the US!).

Lionel Messi: In contrast to the angel and demon persona of Maradona, Messi is all angel. As the reigning FIFA Footballer of the Year, in my humble opinion Messi is the most complete player on the planet right now. Lighting quick, his feet appear to be moving twice as fast while his eyes are seeing twice as much as any other player on the pitch. He literally looks like he has the ball attached to his foot with a string as he dances his way through defenders, shredding their hopes and dreams with his daft touch. He will do things with the ball that will make you shit your pants. That’s a promise. At the ripe age of 22 he’s already completed all there is to complete as a footballer, except World Cup glory. Last year alone with his Spanish club Barcelona, Messi won 6 out of a possible 6 titles: La Liga, Copa del Ray, Supercopa de Espana, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup. They’re the only team in the history of the sport to do so.

History: Argentina has won two World Cups, ’78 and ’86, and are tied with Uruguay for the most international trophies overall with 19. In recent World Cups they failed to advance out of the Group Stage in 2002 in South Korea, beating Nigeria, losing the England (on a goal from Beckham) and drawing with Sweden, all after being heavy favorites to advance far in the tournament. In 2006 in Germany they advanced out of their group then beat Mexico in the Round of 16 only to lose to Germany on penalty kicks in the Quarters. After the game a fight broke out between the players that further disgraced Argentina and their overall lackluster performance.

Things haven’t been any easier for them since then. They struggled through qualification, losing to Brazil, Uruguay, and getting positively thrashed by Bolivia 6-1. They only earned the 4^th automatic qualification spot in the last game against Uruguay by winning 2-1 at Uruguay, as already described.

Despite that, they are still ranked 8^th in the world right now and again heavy favorites to advance deep into the Tournament.

As mentioned in the analysis of Uruguayan national team, Argentina play a style of soccer that is both beautiful and infuriating. They dribble and pass the ball with expert precision, but also hack, tackle, dive, and deceive with the best in the world. You see this in almost all the Argentine players in Europe and elsewhere.

Unfortunately the Argentine government just recently allowed several hundred of the countries most ruthless hooligans, the Barra Bravas, to travel to the World Cup to support the team, presumably as payment for supporting the incumbent Prime Minister in next year’s election. I can’t possible stress how retarded this is. Soccer hooligans get a lot of headlines and in general they carry with them a lot of mystic and intrigue. But the truth is, these are horrible people that have no business in civilized society. All of the major nations and clubs have gone to great lengths to eradicate hooliganism in their sports, but unfortunately it still exists, and the Barra Bravas of Argentina are the worst of the worst.

Players: In addition to Messi the team boasts a top class roster of international stars. As I mentioned before, the quality of a national team can often be evaluated by the number of players that compete for clubs in England, Spain, Italy, and to a slightly lesser extent, Germany and France. This is especially true for South American teams because their domestic leagues have been ravaged by corruption over the years. Now, most players who compete in England, Spain or Italy have to adopt the English, Spanish or Italian styles of soccer in order to be competitive. If you think all soccer is the same everywhere you’re an idiot. The problem for a lot of foreign players is, when they return to their national team which is comprised of players who compete all over the world they have all different styles of soccer that don’t necessarily mesh into one team, and they suffer as a result. Look no further than the Americans. What’s interesting about the Argentineans though (and the Brazilians too, as we’ll see later), is their style is their style no matter where they are. Yes, an Argentine in England has to adapt to the English style, but it’s evident that he’s still an Argentine. Same is true everywhere. So when they all come back to the national team they all still have the same style, plus they’ve picked up the best of all the other styles. That’s why Argentina has enjoyed so much success on the international stage – they’re like a mutant hybrid of international soccer.

Javier Mascherano: The captain of the current squad was Maradona’s first choice when he became manager and went so far as to describe the team as, “Mascherano and 10 others.” That’s high praise from one of the greatest players ever to play, especially considering the current player of the year, Messi, is also on the roster, but Maradona’s point was well taken – Mascherano is an absolute pit-bull on the pitch, if you can imagine a rabid pit-bull with a terrible case of infected hemorrhoids. He plays in the holding midfield position and does so with such reckless abandon that you can only assume he doesn’t have an ounce of fear in his slight frame. I’m personally partial to the 26 year-old because he plays for my club, Liverpool, though admittedly it took me awhile to warm up to him. His first few years with the club he was a red card waiting to happen every time he suited up, either for nearly breaking someone’s leg or going ballistic on the referee. He’s matured tremendously since then as evidenced by his selection as team captain, but that doesn’t mean he still isn’t standing on the precipice of a yellow card during every second of every game.

Carlos Tevez: If there will ever be an equal to Maradona’s psychotic behavior in Argentina it will be this kid. A fearless striker with unbelievable speed and an unending supply of energy, Tevez has been plying his trade in England for the past several seasons. After moving to West Ham United in 2006 he went on to Manchester United for two tumultuous seasons where he had a lot of success but also a lot of controversy.

After last season he left Manchester United for the greener pastures of Manchester City, and by greener I mean wealthier, because he claimed that United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, the most decorated manager in the history of the galaxy, was disrespectful to him. To be clear, this isn’t the first time Ferguson has been accused of such a thing, but to be more clear, Tevez has been living and playing in England for the better part of 5 years and still barely speaks a lick of English. I have a lot of respect, and fear, for Tevez’s ability on the pitch, but I have zero tolerance for his antics as one of the bigger drama turds in the Premier League.

Fine, fine! I wasn’t going to bring it up but again you insisted – the burn scars on the right side of his body from his ear to his chest are the result of accidentally being scalded with boiling water when he was a child, resulting in third degree burns that left him in the hospital for two months. Are you happy now? (Burns aside, he’s still the ugliest motherfucker to ever put on a soccer uniform. He looks like the goddamn caveman from the Geico commercials.)

Gonzalo Higuain: At just 23, this kid already has an impressive resume. Playing at Real Madrid behind the likes of Ronaldo, Kaka, Benzema and Raul he could easily get lost in the shuffle. Instead, he takes his opportunities when they come and capitalizes with great effect. He’s barely even started his international career but this World Cup could be his coming out party and if they end up hoisting the Cup he will definitely be a big reason for it.

Prediction: On paper this is the easiest Group in the tournament and Argentina should advance without too much trouble. In fact, their biggest opponent in the Group stage will not be Nigeria, South Korea, or Greece, but their own manager and his fickle ways. If the Argentinean team that steps on the pitch in South Africa is controlled by the brilliant feet of Lionel Messi, not only will they advance, they will contend for the title. If the team that shows up for WC10 is controlled by the whacked out mind of their sociopathic manager, it could be a disaster of epic proportions. One thing is for sure though, in either case it will be entertaining.

Group A - France

Group A

South Africa

Mexico

Uruguay

France

Nickname: Les Bleus (The Blues)

Colors: Blue, white, red

Current World Ranking: 7

Manager: Raymond Domenech – Started his tenure with the national team after their early exit from Euro 2004. His team struggled to qualify for WC 2006 until he called up retired legends Claude Makelele, Lilian Thuram, and Zinedine Zidane. The rest is history. They again struggled under Domenech to qualify for this WC, prompting many French natives to call for his resignation. If they fail to perform at this WC, he certainly will be shown the exit in short order.

History: If you’re looking for the luckiest team to be in the World Cup Finals, look no further than France. They fumbled their way through qualification with one under-achieving performance after another, and only made it into the Finals at the hand of one of their legends, literally. After all the qualifying was done, they still had to go into a 2-game playoff with Ireland in order to advance. They played well enough in the first game in Ireland to earn a 1-0 win, which required them only to hold Ireland to a 0-0 draw in the second leg in Paris to advance. But they couldn’t even do that. Ireland led the game after a goal from Robbie Keane in the 32^nd minute, which is how the 90 minutes of regulation ended and sent the game into extra time, tied at 1-1 in aggregate.  

The entire qualification then came down to one of the most controversial moments in all of sports: Ireland conceded a free kick about 30 yards from the goal with 17 minutes to play in extra time. Florent Malouda of France lofted a high arcing ball to the back post where Thierry Henry (Tee-air-ey On-ree) converged with Irish goalkeeper Shay Given. The ball bounced once and looked to be heading directly out of bounds until the hand of Henry intervened not once, but twice to keep it in play. Even then it required a remarkable play off the outside of his right foot to knock it into the path of the onrushing William Gallas who headed the ball home in what would prove to be the decisive moment of qualification.

In the immediate aftermath of the event the entire Irish team and nation were in a positive uproar, and rightfully so. Ultimately the goal was allowed because neither the main official nor the sideline official had a clear view of the incident. In that respect, there’s nothing wrong with the goal. But still, in this day and age of high definition slow motion, it was obvious to all that could see, what Henry did was a violation of the rules of the game, and France got away with it. Oh, and by the way, two of the French players were offsides too. Oops. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxw1-Id91lQ

Henry admitted to the world that he handled the ball but said he only did so unintentionally; it was a split-second reaction, he said. He apologized, but the damage was already done. Ireland was martyred. France was vilified. But the reality is, France is in the finals and Ireland is not.

Regardless of the way in which the team qualified, the real concern for France is their horrible form of late. The pinnacle for the French team was undoubtedly winning the World Cup as the host nation in 1998, almost single-footedly by the brilliance of the greatest player to ever suit up, Zinedine Zidane. 2002 in South Korea was a disappointing follow up as they went goalless in the Group Stage and failed to advance, but it seemed that France had climbed back to the top in 2006 in Germany on the shoulders of Zidane until the unbelievable head-butt incident. It’s not an exaggeration to say that France has not been the same since, not least of all because of the retirement of their talismanic captain and god. Ever since that moment they have struggled to find their identity and their form.

Players: So without Zidane, who does the team turn to? In my mind, the answer to that question will determine how far France can advance. If the answer is no one, they won’t make it to the Round of 16. If the heir to Zidane’s thrown is somewhere on France’s current squad, they’ll advance, it’s just becomes a matter of how far.

Thierry Henry: To sum up the man in a single handball is a huge disservice to what has been a great career for Henry. He made his international debut in 1998, won the ’98 World Cup, the 2000 Euro Cup, and in 2007 became France’s top goal score of all-time. In the 2006 World Cup he scored three goals and was one of the 10 finalists for the Golden Ball award for the top player in the Tournament that ultimately went to Zidane. He established himself as a world class player with Arsenal in England from ’99-’07 where he became the club’s all-time leading scorer with 226 goals and captained the club for his final two seasons, then chased fortune, fame, and trophies to Spain with Barcelona. Unfortunately it took him more than a full season marked by persistent injuries to fully acclimate to La Liga and even now in his third term as he’s contributing valuable minutes and the occasional goal, his fragile and aging body has caused his career to fade. At 33 he still has a glimmer of the ability to lead France to greatness, but personally I think the opportunity has passed him by. He can still be the moral leader of the team, but someone else needs to carry them on the pitch.

William Gallas: Also 33, and also having made a name for himself in the Premier League, first at Chelsea then at Arsenal. As a tough central defender Gallas was named the club’s captain in 2007 but was removed from the post for inconsistent play on the pitch and outbursts at his teammates off it. Those days are behind him and he remains a strong veteran for France, anchoring the defense.

Nicolas Anelka: The guy looks like he’s sleep walking on the pitch but make no mistake about it, he’s quick, direct, and can score goals by the boatload. He’s played for just about every club team in the world but finally at the age of 29 transferred to Chelsea and has settled in as a formidable striking partner to Didier Drogba at Chelsea. What I’m saying is, they guy is good. But I’m also saying, I hate this sonofabitch with a passion. You mention the word “Chelsea” to me and you’re likely to get a punch to the throat, that’s how much I hate that team. But France is not Chelsea, so I’ll give him some credit here. While all of his transfers from club to club has made him the second most expensive player in the world on aggregate behind Cristiano Ronaldo, all the movement has limited his ability to make a permanent impression on the national team until just recently. Overall he will definitely contribute, but I don’t think he’s the savior.

Frank Ribery: Born in ’83, Ribery made his national team debut in the run-up to the 2006 Cup and for anyone who watched him play in the Tournament, they were treated to a real spectacle from the youngster who scored their opening goal and featured in all seven matches. Most betting people would put their money on Ribery to succeed Zidane, and Zidane himself has called him, “the jewel of France.” But things have been anything but smooth for RIbery since the 2006 Cup. He and the team had a pitiful showing at the ’08 Euro Cup and he went nearly a year between scoring goals after rupturing a tendon in his ankle. His club play over that same period has been equally rocky. In 2007 he moved to the German club, Bayern Munich, where he quickly established himself as one of the best players in the world. But nagging injuries and constant speculation over being transferred has affected his play. When he’s fit and on the pitch though, the kid is pure magic. It’s all the other stuff that makes me question whether he can lead France though.

One interesting fact about Ribery from a great book called Soccernomics, he is such a successful penalty kicker because no soccer strategist has been able to nail down a pattern to help their goal keeper when defending against him.  Basically, he doesn't even know where he's going to kick when he lines up for a penalty throwing everyone off and almost always scoring. That is an invaluable trait in a tournament like this.

Ok, ok, fine; I wasn’t going to mention it but if you insist on asking – the scars on the right side of his face are from a car accident he was in when he was just two years old. He received over 100 stitches as a result. Are you happy now?

Karim Benzema: Having made a name for himself in 3 season with French club Lyon, leading the league in goals in 2007-08, last summer Benzema joined the likes of Kaka, Ronaldo, and Xabi Alonso who all quit on their previous clubs to chase the fame, fortune, and trophies in Spain with Real Madrid. Unfortunately for him (I personally couldn’t give a shit) things haven’t worked out quite so well. He’s suffered through injuries while the team has failed to live up to the expensive price tag. They’re currently 2^nd behind Barcelona in La Liga and have already bowed out of every other major domestic and international competition, including the Champions League at the feet of his former club, Lyon. But I don’t want that single career move to define this kid because I do believe he’s the One for France. At the ripe age of 23 he has potential oozing out of every orifice. If Benzema plays well, France will advance out of the Group stage. If he plays brilliantly, they may even make it to the Quarters. The question is, is now his time?

Prediction: France was handed a gold-plated gift at the Finals draw after barely qualifying by finding themselves in Group A and avoiding all other international juggernauts like Argentina, England, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Brazil and Spain. Their history alone should have them easily qualify in first place in this group, but they have truly become so unpredictable that I really don’t know what will happen here. According to Soccernomics, France always outperforms what the data on paper tells you.  They score more goals than they should and in a ranking of National teams from 1980-2001 France ranks #3 (behind Brazil and Germany) with a winning percentage of 70% compared to all competition.  So they really are just lucky bastards basically. 

South Africa is the host nation, Mexico has something to prove, and Uruguay will be salivating at a chance to face Argentina in the next round. All of those factors could spell doom for France if they can’t rise to the occasion.

One final note on Group A as a whole: It just occurred to me the other day that South Africa will be in its winter months when this tournament takes place. While the European players are accustomed to playing through the shitty winter months for their clubs this fact alone could be a huge advantage not just for South Africa but for Uruguay too, who share a similar climate.

[A special thanks to the Wayne Rooney of Omaha for the Soccernomics stats]