World Cup Preview: Group D
May 31
Group of Hurt is what I’m calling this one. We all know the real Group of Death, but this one isn’t much less competitive! Germany is obviously the favourite in the group, but the #2 isn’t as clearly defined. Each other country has their strengths that ultimately could put them into that second spot.
Boston Pizza at Yonge + Sheppard is my partner in presenting these World Cup previews and if you stop by and mention to the server that I sent you, they’ll hook you up with a 15% discount! Let’s be honest, Boston Pizza’s food is delicious, so 15% off definitely makes it even more tempting (I know I’m using my own discount sometime in the next week haha).
Germany (GER)
Ranked 6th
Odds of winning the World Cup 12-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Die Mannschaft (The Team)
Oh how I love Bastian Schweinsteiger blonde hair… it makes me smile. Germany is the clear favourite in the group, though without their usual Captain Michael Ballack (injured) it will come to some younger players to step up (and this is a young team – 13 players under 24). Fortunately for Germany, they are not short in talent. In fact, the coach of Die Mannschaft has yet to cut down to his final roster to 23, and has admitted it’s a difficult process. Germany play aggressive and are always pushing. They went undefeated in qualifying. Expect some pretty header goals! I worry a little about their keepers though.
Key Players: DF Philipp Lahm, MF Bastian Schweinsteiger, FW Miroslav Klose, FW Lukas Podolski, FW Cacau
Australia (AUS)
Ranked 20th
Odds of winning the World Cup 151-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Socceroos
Australia in 2006 barely lost to the Italians in the second round so they’ll want to build on that success. The Australians dominate (from what I understand) in Rugby, and a lot of those skills translate well to soccer so you can never count out the Socceroos. They have a Dutch coach who’s proven that he can lead this squad having successfully cleared Japan in the qualifiers with ease. As I said this is the group of hurt, so expect for that second spot to be a dogfight with Australia right there.
Key Players: GK Mark Schwarzer, DF Scott Chipperfield, DF David Carney, MF Brett Emerton, MF Marco Bresciano, MF Tim Cahill, FW Harry Kewell
Serbia (SRB)
Ranked 15th
Odds of winning the World Cup 67-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: Beli Orlovi (White Eagles)
The Serbs are the darkhorse of this tournament. I think it’s possible they could surprise a lot of people and maybe be the creator of a couple upsets. They destroyed Romania in the qualifiers 5-0. The 0 is an important number because Serbian defense is pretty good, lead by Manchester United’s Vidic and Chelsea’s Ivanovic, so don’t expect any cheap goals scored on them. They also have some nice talent offensively that should strike some worry into opposing keepers. Keep your eye on the Serbs!
Key Players: DK Vladimir Stojković, DF Nemanja Vidić, DF Branislav Ivanović, MF Dejan Stanković, MF Milan Jovanović, FW Nikola Žigić, FW Danko Lazović
Ghana (GHA)
Ranked 32nd
Odds of winning the World Cup 81-1 (via bwin)
Nickname: The Black Stars
This will be Ghana’s second appearance in the World Cup and based on 2006′s World Cup, I guess they would be considered the favourite to end up in 2nd in the group. In 2006, they made it to the final 16 but were knocked out by Brazil. With veteran talent Mensah balancing younger talents on the team, the Black Stars want to improve on their 2006 showing. Do they have enough defense? That I question especially with the loss of Essien.
Key Players: GK Richard Kingson, DF John Paintsil, DF John Mensah, MF Stephen Appiah, MF Sulley Muntari, FW Asamoah Gyan, FW Matthew Amoah
So who goes through?
1 – Germany
2 – Serbia
3 – Ghana
4 – Australia
