Who will make it past the World Cup group stage? (Part I)

By Kenneth Tan/Red Sports

32 national teams will fight it out in eight groups for the biggest prize in football — the World Cup. Which 16 teams will make it through to the second round and continue to live their dreams?

14 A Division football players join us for our World Cup daily coverage. In Part I of this story, the players will give their predictions on how Groups A to D will finish.

Click here for Part II.

Group A
Guest Pundits: Mohd Asyraf Akbar and Parvesh Dhillon (Victoria Junior College)

18-year-old Mohd Asyraf Akbar is the captain of the Victoria Junior College (VJC) team that finished 3rd in this year’s A Division Football Championship. His incisive running and accurate crossing on the left flank created many opportunities for his forwards to score. He will be rooting for France in this year’s World Cup.

17-year-old Parvesh Dhillon also hails from VJC and plays as a centre back for his team. Described as a “composed and skilful defender”, Parvesh helped to keep seven clean sheets in nine matches in the A Division this year. He will be supporting England for the World Cup.

Asyraf Says: France and Mexico

Group A is probably the hardest to predict, and it looks set to be a tight affair. Despite scraping through the qualifying campaign, France should still be strong enough to finish top of their group, even without the likes of Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema in the squad.

Between the other three teams, young Mexico seem the most likely to clinch the second qualifying spot ahead of Uruguay and hosts South Africa. Mexico will take a lot of confidence from beating holders Italy 2-1 in a recent friendly.

I honestly feel bad for predicting that South Africa as host country will not make it past the first round of the World Cup, but like Uruguay, there just doesn’t seem to be enough quality within their ranks, although they will put up a tough fight.

Group B
Guest Pundits: Khairul B Anwar and Alfred Ali (Victoria Junior College)

17-year-old Khairul B Anwar is also part of the VJC team that finished 3rd in this year’s A Division Football Championship. Partnering Parvesh Dhillon in the centre of defence, they kept the VJC backline tight as they conceded only three goals throughout the tournament.

18-year-old Alfred Ali is the man with the scoring boots. He scored a massive 16 goals in nine games for VJC to clinch the A Division Golden Boot Award. He will be rooting for Spain to lift the trophy this year.

Alfred Says: Argentina and South Korea

Argentina has a strong team this year especially with their main man Lionel Messi having such a great season with Barcelona. Along with Messi at the forward line is Real Madrid’s Gonzalo Higuain who has banged in goals at will for Madrid last season. Even though veteran defensive midfielder Cambiasso is excluded from the squad, the young and physical Mascherano should be able to add in the extra bite required in the middle of the field.

After a disappointing 2006 World Cup, South Korea would love to repeat their 2002 World Cup form whey they achieved 4th position. With players like Park Ji-Sung playing for world-class clubs like Manchester United, along with other national team members playing in the European leagues, I don’t see why they cant go far. South Korea will once again be the dark horses to spring a surprise in this group.

Even though Greece were the 2004 European Champions, they have never been able to play at such a high level again. Their shaky qualification for the World Cup confirms the fears that they will not make it into the top 16.

With their driving force John Obi Mikel out with an injury, Nigeria are expected to be the underdogs for every match in this World Cup.

Group C
Guest Pundits: Khairul Azmi (Meridian Junior College) and Cheah Wen Bin (Serangoon Junior College)

Khairul Azmi is a member of the Meridian Junior College (MJC) team that reclaimed their A Division Football Championship title. A traditional goal poacher, he scored the winner against Raffles Institution in the semi-finals to send his team to the final. He will be supporting Brazil for the World Cup.

18-year-old Cheah Wen Bin is the captain of Serangoon Junior College team that surprised many by toppling traditional powerhouse Anglo-Chinese JC in the first group stage and managing to qualify for the second round for the third time in their history. Being equally comfortable at the heart of defence and in the centre of the park, his aggressive style and leadership qualities gave his team a cutting edge. He is a fervent England supporter.

Khairul Says: England and USA

The obvious favorites in this group, England, should have little trouble coming out tops. Despite the injury blow to captain Rio Ferdinand prior to the start of the tournament, England should have no problems overcoming Slovenia and Algeria. The only test for England in this group could come in their first match against the United States. The English though, should have too much firepower in their arsenal for the Americans to overcome.

The USA are no newcomers when it comes to the World Cup. Appearing in every finals since the 1990 edition, they should qualify for the knock out round from this group. The USA should have no trouble overcoming newcomers Algeria, who are appearing in their first world cup finals ever, while their match against Slovenia could be the all important match to see who qualifies behind England from this group. With a host of English Premier League players, such as Clint Dempsey of Fullham and Jozy Altidore of Hull, the USA should prove too much for Slovenia.

Wen Bin Says: England and USA

I personally feel this is a rather easy group as compared to Group G. Anything but first place would be considered an epic failure for England and we can say goodbye to Mr Capello!

“With Rooney, England have a player with the world at his feet. If Messi is the Messiah of Argentina, Rooney is the King of England. Alongside him we have Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard, both of whom are capable of winning games on their own.

“Even with the absence of Rio Ferdinand, there’s Ledley King or Michael Dawson for replacement. Which country could boast of such a strong depth in the squad? There are no excuses not to qualify for the 2nd round.A source of concern for England would be goalkeepers. England is the only country which has not found their first-choice goalkeeper.

“The fight for 2nd place would be between the USA and Slovenia. That match will be a crucial decider. The USA may have a slight edge over Slovenia with Landon Donovan, Damarcus Beasley, Jozy Altidore and Tim Howard in the squad. These are players who have been outstanding in the leagues they ply their trade in. Do watch out for them!

Group D
Guest Pundits: Andrew Chua (Raffles Institution) and Amsyar Omar (Meridian Junior College)

Andrew Chua is a member of the Raffles Institution (RI) team that finished 4th in the this year’s A Division Football Championship. Keeping goal for RI, he shone with his excellent handling of the ball and excellent kicking with both feet. He is a Germany supporter.

Amsyar Omar hails from the victorious MJC team and plays as a midfielder for his team. His two-goal heroics against former champions VJC helped his team to achieve top spot in their second round group.

Andrew Says: Germany and Serbia

Germany
While it is pretty much a universal consensus that this year’s German team lacks quality, it is unfairly premature to condemn them to an early exit. Despite losing big-name players like Rene Adler and Michael Ballack, the German squad remains uncompromisingly skilful.

Adler’s replacement in goal, Manuel Neuer, is perhaps equally capable between the posts, and there is no shortage of talent around the rest of the park. With stars such as Phillip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mesut Ozil set to prove Germany’s detractors wrong.

Unfortunately, the one stumbling block Germany faces is their desperate lack of an in-form striker, with Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski.

The first-choice strikforce had endured lacklustre Bundesliga seasons for their respective clubs. Even with promising Thomas Muller waiting to make his mark, the aforementioned striker is not yet a proven goalscorer and may fail to rise up to the occasion when called to the task. However, Germany, as always, should find a way to pull through comfortably.

Serbia
“Touted as the dark horses of Group D, the Serbians have surprised many by putting up immensely spirited performances throughout their qualifying campaign, shocking the likes of once-mighty France in the process.

“This somewhat intimidating team ethic, together with various established players such as Nemanja Vidic and Branislav Ivanovic in defense, and Dejan Stankovic and Marko Pantelic in attack, makes Serbia a force to be reckoned with. Serbia can also count on set-piece specialist Milan Jovanovic to pop a goal or two from dead-ball situations.

However, their seeming overall lack of talent across the pitch may be their downfall and Serbia may be unable to conjure anything special in dire situations.

Australia
Despite being identified by many as a certain qualifier for the next round, Australia will likely stumble at the first hurdle, simply because they lack a consistent attacking threat and are questionable at the back.

Despite the likes of in-form Tim Cahill, who can play in midfield or up front as he so often was forced to do at Everton this season, their only other clear attacking option is Harry Kewell- a striker struggling to overcome a persistent groin injury.

Defense-wise, only Lucas Neill and Mark Schwarzer appear to be the only significantly established names and although they are very much tried-and-tested, the latter showed a dangerous propensity to lose concentration, notably gifting Arsenal with the first of four goals in the last match of the Premiership season. With so many questions and too few answers, Australia may not come close to progressing at all.

Ghana
Known for their mean defense, Ghana will be a tough nut for the rest of Group D to crack. With the recent loss of Michael Essien to injury, the Ghanian defense is a lot less intimidating than before.

The loss of their indispensable holding midfielder may prompt Ghana coach Milovan Rajevac to push more players back behind the ball for defensive security with the fast-break counter-attack in mind.

However, Ghana suffers from an unquestionable lack of star quality without Essien, with Sulley Muntari and lesser-known Fulham defender John Pantsil being amongst their better players. Although they are not to be written off (read: Senegal at 2002 World Cup), Ghana will probably not go very far.

Look out for part II of the story where six other guest pundits give their views on Group E to Group H!

(Ed’s note: Red Sports will be covering the World Cup daily and so join us each day to share your opinions about the night’s action!)

For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/

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For the World Cup fixtures list with Singapore broadcast timings as well as group tables and the list of CCs with free screenings, go to: http://redsports.sg/2010-world-cup-fixtures-groups/

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