The most anticipated tournament in years has finally arrived. The 2010 World Cup, hosted in South Africa, will show exactly what the world has to offer when it comes to the international game of futbol. Now, if your in the United States, I guess it is politically correct to say soccer, but if the American’s opening round opponent (England) were to here that being said, it might be considered to be fighting words.
So which country actually has the upper hand in this years tournament? Is it South Africa, who is playing host, and might I add that they are doing an outstanding job so far? Others might argue that it is the Argentinians, led by Lionel Messi, who are going to sneak past the other clubs and take the cup home. Don’t argue with the more traditional futbol fans however, who have the always mighty Brazilians atop their leader board. All I can guarantee, is that over the next month you will witness skills unknown to man. You will witness some of the greatest athletes this universe has ever produced. YOU WILL WITNESS HISTORY.
Here is BoutSportsReport.com’s predictions for the first round of the tournament……..
Group A
France – The french are just too unpredictable, however, they will find a way to make it to the next round.
Mexico – With the speedy Giovanni Dos Santos leading at forward, the Mexican National team won’t only beat the home town team in the opening game, but also take this group.
South Africa – The South Africans have played an excellent host during the tournament, and many fans of the game would love to see them make it out of the first round, but it’s not going to happen.
Uruguay – It’s been 60 years since Uruguay has taken the cup home, and don’t look for it to happen this year either.
Winner: Mexico Runner Up: France
Group B
Argentina – Lionel Messi…enough said.
Greece – Greece should be thankful that they are thrown into this group. This team should have what it takes to make it out of this round, but that might not have been the story if they were placed somewhere else.
South Korea – Park Ji Sung, who has lead this team in scoring, will be the only hope. Unfortunately it won’t be enough for the South Koreans.
Nigeria – Lacks the technical skill and ability to make it out of this group.
Winner: Argentina Runner Up: Greece
Group C
Algeria – Their only chance to advance is to beat Slovenia in the opening game, and then hope for an upset down the road.
England – Wayne Rooney is playing good ball right now, and England will coast through this group into the second round.
Slovenia – Outmatched against the opposition, a quick exit for the Slovenians.
United States – Hopefully Jozy Altidore’s injury is not significant for the Americans. If it is, don’t look for them to go much further past the second round.
Winner: England Runner Up: United States
Group D
Australia – Forward Tim Cahill will have to pull something out of his bag of tricks for a good showing in the tournament.
Germany – The mighty Germans will find themselves in the 2nd round of the tournament.
Ghana – Posting up a small lineup might not go into Ghana’s favor in this group.
Serbia – With tight defensive play, and Aleksandar Lukovic on their side, this might be enough for them to sneak into the next round of play.
Winner: Germany Runner Up: Serbia
Group E
Cameroon – This young squad was unable to win any of the prelim matches, however they have not let this factor deter from their confidence going into this tournament.
Denmark – Solid playing toward the end of the season got them in, but don’t expect much in the tournament.
Japan – Is the blame on the coach, on the trainers, or on the players? Nobody knows, but it doesn’t matter anyway.
Netherlands – With a top 5 ranking going in, the Dutch success will bleed into tournament play.
Winner: Netherlands Runner UP: Cameroon
Group F
Italy – The Italians are looking for their 5th World Cup, and not much stand in their way in this group.
New Zealand – This quad should just be happy that they made it to the big stage.
Paraguay – It’s going to be a toss up between Paraguay and Slovakia to advance to the 2nd round. Who has more heart?
Slovakia – Can Slovakia slip past this group and advance? Let’s flip a coin.
Winner: Italy Runner UP: Paraguay
Group G
Brazil – #1 Coming into the tournament….#1, at least in this group.
Ivory Coast – This group is just a stack above the rest, and will be dominated by two teams. Unfortunately the Ivory Coast is not one of them.
Korea DRP – Coming into the tournament ranked 105th. Thanks for showing up.
Portugal - Game vs Brazil could have world cup championship implications.
Winner: Brazil Runner Up: Portugal
Group H
Chile – With Humberto Suazo out, so is Chile.
Honduras – If Honduras focuses on one game at a time, their chances of making it out of this round might not be as bad as some might anticipate.
Spain – This is a decently talented group, with Spain leaps and bounds ahead of the competition.
Switzerland – 2 questions….One, how serious is Alex Frei’s injury? Two, will it keep them from advancing to the next round?
Winner: Spain Runner Up: Honduras
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