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

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 as guest pundits in our World Cup daily coverage. In Part I of this story, we reviewed Groups A to D. Here is the second part where the pundits give their predictions for Groups E to H.

Group E
Guest Pundit: Alvan Tay (Raffles Institution)

18-year-old Alvan Tay was a member of the Raffles Institution (RI) team that finished 4th in this year’s A Division Football Championship. His laid-back playing style draws comparisons with Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov and, as such, is nicknamed “Berbatay” by his teammates. He will be rooting for Holland to win the Cup.

“Berbatay” Says: Holland and Cameroon

Group E comprises of Holland, Cameroon, Japan and Denmark.

Having witnessed Holland’s trouncing of several nations in their friendly matches, the most recent of which was a 6-1 thrashing of Hungary, leading up to the World Cup finals, it is to nobody’s surprise that Holland is one of the favourites for the World Cup in South Africa this June. Armed with arguably the best attacking force in football on a national level at the moment, it is hard to imagine the likes of Japan, Denmark or even Cameroon, posing a challenge to the sheer class and quality in the Dutch team. Expect the Oranje to steamroll to a relatively easy finish at the top of this group.

Cameroon will face Japan in their first group-stage match. Though Japan has not been pulling off fantastic results in their friendly matches, their recent display against England has shown what they are capable of. This match will undoubtedly be a tricky one for Cameroon but one can expect the Indomitable Lions to edge out Japan with their quick attacks, as well as the pace and power of captain Samuel Eto’o. Cameroon should also be able to be able to beat Denmark and though they are likely to crumble against Holland in their last group-stage match, they would have already qualified for the next round of the World Cup finals.

As an Asian, I sincerely hope for all the Asian nations to progress to the latter stages of the World Cup finals. However, this time round, Japan is unlikely to repeat their feat in the 2002 World Cup where they qualified for the round of 16. Japan might be fast on their counter-attacks but they might be overwhelmed by the quality of Holland and Cameroon in their first two games. Though they could grab a victory against the Danes in their final group-stage match, it would then be too little too late for the Japanese.

In Group E, Denmark appears to have the weakest squad of the four nations. Holland and Cameroon should prove too strong for them in the first two games so by the time they meet Japan in the last match, any result might well prove inconsequential by then. Holland and Cameroon to qualify for the round of 16.

Group F
Guest Pundit: Muhammad Nuri (Raffles Institution)

18-year-old Muhammad Nuri captained the Raffles Institution (RI) team to their fourth-place finish in this year’s A Division Football Championship. His conversion from a centre back into a central forward was a highly successful one as he was the top scorer for his team with seven goals.

Nuri Says: Italy and Slovakia

This group is relatively straightforward. Undoubtedly, there are hardly any teams to look out for other than Italy. They will qualify quite comfortably from Group F due to the tremendous amount of talent ranging from Gianlugi Buffon, Fabio Cannavaro and Andrea Pirlo.

It is rather hard to pick out the second team to qualify from this group. Judging based on the teams’ road to the World Cup and the amount of talent in the team, I would go for Slovakia to qualify ahead of New Zealand and Paraguay. This is perhaps because Slovakia has a fair amount of talent and are capable of shocks for example their 2-0 victory over Czech Republic in the crucial playoff to reach the World Cup.

Group G
Guest Pundits: Ryson Yap and Dilip Thapa (Victoria Junior College)

17-year-old Ryson Yap was a member of the Victoria Junior College (VJC) that finished third in this year’s A Division Football Championship. His speed and trickery on the ball troubled many opposing full backs. He also currently plays for the national Under-17 squad.

18-year-old Dilip Thapa also hails from VJC and was the biggest revelation in the A Division this year. His superb close control and playmaking skills anchored his team’s free flowing style of attacking football. He is widely regarded as this year’s best A Division football player. Both Ryson and him will be rooting for Brazil to lift their sixth World Cup trophy.

Ryson Says: Brazil and Portugal

I think Brazil and Portugal will qualify because both teams have experienced players as well as fantastic individuals.

They have more players playing in the more competitive leagues like England and Spain, but Ivory Coast and North Korea are capable of creating an upset as well.

Dilip Says: Brazil and Portugal

Brazil and Portugal will be the two going through to the next round. I feel that these two teams are more experienced in such big tournaments. They boast the likes of Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco who plays a high level of football in the Spanish league and English Premier League.

However the ball is round, so I might be wrong. North Korea is a disciplined team and Ivory coast also have very good players. But i still think Brazil and Portugal will pull through this round.

Group H
Guest Pundits: Mohd Naufal Nur Hakim (Meridian Junior College) and Ong Zhi Hao (Raffles Institution)

Mohd Naufal Nur Hakim is a member of the Meridian Junior College (MJC) team that finished as champions in this year’s A Division Football Championship. His physical presence up front provided his teammates with strong support throughout the tournament. Like Ryson, he is also a member of the national U-17 squad.

17-year-old Ong Zhi Hao stood out in this year’s A Division campaign with his playmaking skills and surging runs from midfield. He is a member of the national Under-17 squad alongside Ryson and Naufal. He will be rooting for Spain to break their World Cup duck.

Zhi Hao Says: Spain and Chile

I think Spain and Chile will be the two teams to qualify.

Having a talented team, with many quality players like Xavi, Iniesta and David Villa, Spain are the hot favourites to top their group. The only reason why they may not qualify will be due to defensive errors. Having a good look at Spain’s squad, I see no issue in the team in terms of attack as they have a good number of creative players who will be able to bring in the goals for the team.

However, I do notice that the Spain’s midfield is physically smaller than the other midfielders in the tournament. Hence, this might bring about problems on the team’s defense as they may not be as aggressive.

I think Chile will be up for second spot as they are in good form now. Looking at the qualifying rounds, Chile had performed superbly to qualify in second position, in the South American qualifying region, just a point behind table-toppers Brazil. They are a more experienced team as compared to Honduras and Switzerland as they have more World Cup appearances.

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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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