World Cup Preview: Group C

11 days! I need an advent calendar for the World Cup! Oh it’s so exciting. Group C… well, there’s little doubt WHO will go through, I guess it’s just a matter of in what order. June 12th will be the most interesting match of the group USA vs England (and one of the most interesting of the group stages all together).

If you need somewhere to watch the game, check out Boston Pizza @ Yonge+Sheppard. Let your waiter know I sent you and they’ll hook you up with 15% off your meal! Hey they are on Facebook too and always have good deals, lots of special events and always sports on the TVs! Just check em out!

England (ENG)
Ranked 8th
Odds of winning the World Cup 7-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: The Three Lions

England has reclaimed some of the greatness that they’ve been saying for years. This was supposed to be England’s time, with a great crop of young, very talented players all coming into their own at roughly the same time. Well, that confidence didn’t translate into wins.. until now. England won 9 of 10 in the qualifying stage and scored and impressive 34 goals (9 belonging to Rooney). Their new Italian coach (Fabio Capello) has clamped down on the players and brought discipline to the English squad. As the favourites in this group and slated as a real contender for the Cup, expect England to come out gunning for victory. Perhaps England’s time is here? One thing… Rooney, don’t get yourself a red card!

Key Players: DF Rio Ferdinand, DF John Terry, MF Steven Gerrard, MF Frank Lampard, MF Joe Cole, FW Wayne Rooney, FW Peter Crouch

USA (USA)
Ranked 14th
Odds of winning the World Cup 81-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: The Yanks

The USA has been overachieving lately. The Confederation Cup they managed to upset Spain and even led 2-0 against Brazil (before they[Brazil] flipped the switch and ended up winning 3-2). They are running on confidence, confidence that will be short lived. While I’m not saying they are slouches, I don’t think they have what it takes to beat England. They hope to have one of their primary defenders back (Oguchi Onyewu) from injury, but that’s not a guarantee and would be a painful loss to their defense. Ultimately, I think they know they have been overachieving which adds a degree of dangerousness to them because they can play without tension, all of that will be on England. It will all come down to Landon Donovan.

Key Players: GK Tim Howard, DF Carlos Bocanegra, MF DaMarcus Beasley, MF Clint Dempsey, MF Landon Donovan, FW Jozy Altidore

Slovenia (SVN)
Ranked 25th
Odds of winning the World Cup 401-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: None.

This one comes down to the keeper and a ton of luck, fairy dust, four leaf clovers and rabbits feet. If Jesus himself comes back as one of these guys and uses his Jesus power to play football, I still don’t think the Slovenians will go very far. There’s just not enough firepower, speed, defense, creativity or finesse. 401-1 odds are being nice if you ask me. Handanovic has shown to be a solid keeper and even Novakovič is solid, but two players don’t make a team of 11. Sorry to any Slovenian readers, just being honest.

Key Players: GK Samir Handanovic, DF Boštjan Cesar, DF Marko Šuler, MF Robert Koren, FW Milivoje Novakovič, FW Zlatko Dedič

Algeria (ALG)
Ranked 30th
Odds of winning the World Cup 501-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Les Fennecs (The Desert Foxes)

I’m a little shocked to see them at 501-1. I’d put them more in the 250-1 range. The Algerians have more tools to work with than the Slovenians. They barely made their way into this though and I guess that’s why. They haven’t been in the World Cup for 24 years and will likely see an early exit. They have some solid players that play regularly in the top tier leagues and don’t lack passion. Expect to see them come out swinging their first game to hopefully, at the very least get 3 points.

Key Players: DF Nadir Belhadj, DF Antar Yahia, MF Yazid Mansouri, MF Karim Ziani, FW Rafik Saïfi, FW Abdelkader Ghezzal

So who goes through?

1 – England
2 – USA
3 – Algeria
4 – Slovenia