Scolari & Van Gaal main failure was to abandon their teams' core tactical values.

The Brazil FIFA World Cup 2014 will be the battle of South America vs Europe for world supremacy, but the teams are not what most experts predicted as the World Champions Spain & hosts Brazil failed to reach the final.

Brazil 2014 has produced one of the closest & most exciting World Cups of all time. Nevertheless, most of the knockout stage battles have been very tight & the tournament has produced a not all too impressive SEVEN penalty shootouts (most since 8 in 1990) & the first ever 0-0 semi final in the World Cup history.

At the same time, we have witnessed defending World Champions Spain losing 5-1 in their opening match, Germany handing over Brazil their heaviest defeat in World Cup by beating them 7-1 in a record semi final score with German striker scoring his record breaking 16th World Cup goal in the match, and both Germany & Brazil surpassing 100 World Cup matches.

Undoubtedly Brazil 2014 will forever be remembered for Brazil's total capitulation in their humiliating 7-1 defeat to Germany. Brazilians had carried the pain of the 2-1 defeat in the World Cup in 1950 for 64 years. Brazil 2014 was meant to wipe that painful memory but instead has replaced it with the 7-1 humiliation at the hands of Germany.

And whilst many expert commentators have analysed both semifinals, one simple fact is clear: Both Van Gaal & Scolari failed to reach the final because they abandoned their teams' core strengths. 

In case of Brazil, hometown advantage turned to intense pressure & panic for the players. But that was not the only reason Brazil collapsed. Nether was it the absence of Neymar & even Thiago Silva. The fact is Brazil are back to their ugly playing days of World Cup 1994 when they won the final in a penalty shoot out after a drab 0-0 vs Italy. Jogo Bonito or the Beautiful Game has been dead under Dunga & now Scolari & the team lacks true leadership. Following Germany's first goal in the 10th minute, David Luiz, who as it turned out was clearly a poor choice as the Captain, & the rest of the team started playing as if they had 5 minutes left to equalise! They abandoned all discipline & all systems! Germany, who like Spain & Italy, are renowned for following core systems in their style of play, clearly saw the chaotic defence & lack of visionary leadership as a great opportunity & took full advantage scoring 4 goals in 6 minutes to finish the first half at 5-0! By the middle of second half it almost looked as if the Germans were too embarrassed for Brazil to try to score in case they hit double figures!

I said in a post before the World Cup that in my opinion the weakest link for Brazil was Scolari's lack of true genius tactical ability (as proven by Portugal's home defeat in final of Euro 2004 to Greece). As it turned out, Scolari once again froze & was unable to alter the course of the the reckless brain freeze by David Luiz, Marcello, Fernandinho & co! Brazil must now regroup & go back to rebuilding with players who can deliver on the Brazilian footballing culture by 2018 & not the disappointing rubbish we have witnessed from Scolari's team.

But as much as Scolari is a nice father figure & not a tactical genius, Luis Van Gaal is the exact opposite! The truth is Van Gaal in fact overachieved with this otherwise young inexperienced Holland team with a clear lack of world class talent (at this stage of its development) save RVP, Robben & Sneijder. The 5-1 opening thrashing of a totally out of sorts belied the difficulties in beating a brave Australia 3-2, and the 2-0 win vs Chile scarcely hid the major short comings of this developing team in subsequent poor display: 2-1 win vs Mexico with a 88th minute lifesaver & a questionable 93rd minute penalty, and two subsequent 0-0 penalty shootouts. Van Gaal however has a lot to answer for & must take the lion share of the blame here because he should have taken both games to Costa Rica & Argentina & could have potentially won bot. Instead he resorted to super cautious defensive tactics, rough physical ploys & man marking Messi, none of which are true to Holland's core style & footballing culture.

Germany vs Argentina:

Argentina have generally displayed a very solid defensive style (except in the 3-2 wobble vs Nigeria)
& have had 4 clean sheets in 6 matches, although in those 4 matches they have scored a miserly 3 goals.

With Di Maria still doubtful & Aguero not fully fit, and most worrying Messi looking injured or not fully fit in the semi finals, Argentina will not be able to trouble a disciplined & highly confident German side. Germans are familiar with Argentinian defensive weaknesses, which arguably no team (except Nigeria) has so far managed to expose. But at the same time, it is clear that without Messi at the top of his game, Argentina can not score easily.

Germany on the other hand, need Hummels to be fully fit & Lahm to stay as right back if they are to avoid a narrow 1-0 loss to Argentina. Argentina will try to attack Howedes on the left hand side but the great defensive wall of Schweinsteiger & Khedira should be able to deal with Argentina whilst if Kroos & Muller replicate their semi final form they will cause Argentine's defense plenty of problems.

Most commentators are predicting a very tight match due to Argentine's record at this World Cup. I tend to be more encouraged by Germany's record & predict a win by a 2 goal margin by Germany.

And then there were Four: Brazil 2014 semi finals: Clash of Football Titans!

And then there were four! 

The semi final pairings have been decided. Following 4 tight quarter finals & a penalty shoot out elimination of the gallant romantic minnows Costa Rica, the final four are footballing World Cup royalties.

When the World Cup draw was made, a quick calculation suggested a classic semi final draw of past winners Brazil vs Germany & Argentina vs Spain.

And despite Brazil 2014 producing many exhilarating displays, goals, attacking football, surprising results & excitement in the likes of Costa Rica, Colombia, Chile, Belgium & Algeria, the semi finals pairings are close to classic predictions.

The only difference was Netherlands thrashed World Champions Spain 5-1 in the group stage to revenge the World Cup 2010 Final defeat. The four finalists have appeared in a total of 21 finals between them. They have won a total of 12 World Cups between them with only Holland having lost in all their previous 3 final appearances.

However, in true form of Brazil 2014, none of the four teams have been fully dominant on their way to the semi finals & all have shown frailties.

Brazil vs Germany:

Alongside Italy, Germany & Brazil are statistically the two most successful nations in the World Cup history. Amazingly however, these two giants of the game have only previously met once before in the World Cup: The Final of the 2002 World Cup when Big Phil & Ronaldo led Brazil to a 2-0 World Cup victory.

Brazil & Germany are the only two nations that have played more than 100 world Cup matches(following Brazil 2014). each have reached the final 7 times up to now & have won the World Cup 8 times between them (Brazil 5 times, Germany 3).

This semi final has all the ingredients to be a classic: Home page advantage for Brazil, absence of star Neymar, Germany's class of 2006 & 2010 semi finalists finally coming of age in only the second ever meeting between the two.

Brazil will have a huge a home hometown advantage in their semi final clash with Germany. 

They were once again ineffective up front against Colombia & without Neymar & their Captain Thiago Silva to lead from the back they will have to regroup. However, in Bayern Munchen's defender Dante they have a ready made replacement for Thiago, whilst Bernard & Willian can step up in place of Neymar & give Oscar a more creative role. Brazil will also have Luiz Gustavo back to sure up their defensive midfield.

Germany on the other hand produced something unique vs France, a first ever in the Loew: A missing ingredient in their impressive & yet ultimately unsuccessful semi final/final appearances in the last 4 major tournaments: (Last two World Cup semi finalists, and Euro 2008 finalists & Euro 2012 semi finalists):

They stopped playing the attractive & yet at times easy to break down football introduced by Klinsman/Loew since 2006 & instead for the first time in Loew's years displayed the tough classic match winning German mentality that this undoubtedly talented group of players have been accused of failing to produce at crucial times in the past.

Loew finally reverted back to their trusted 4-2-3-1 formation against a fast & attack minded France, with Lahm at his best in the right back position & Schweinsteiger/Khedira defensive pairing produced the classic non spectacular yet steely German display which had so often won Germany titles in the past. The pairing of Boeteng & Hummels in central midfield also paid off handsomely as the faster Boeteng replaced the slow to turn Mertesacker & backed the more attack minded (Man of the Match) Hummels.

If Neymar's absence does not tempt Loew to revert Lahm back to a midfield position, and the newly found steely German mentality continues to be present, Germany can & will beat Brazil without their key man Neymar.

Argentina vs Holland:

Many sycophant commentators have tried & tried to justify Argentina's semi final presence in the World Cup. But despite Messi's undoubted great work to take Argentina this far, they are the least deserving team amongst the 4 semi finalists. To design an entire team to feed to Messi, and in the process stifle the brilliant talents of the likes of Di Maria is simply an act of desperation which has produced less than scintillating displays & at times less than exciting matches. nevertheless, Argentina remain a threat because of the one & only Messi.

Netherlands on the other hand have also been a pragmatic team under Van Gaal. Whilst they have a much less impressive fool of talent at their disposal in Brazil, they have been a free scoring team (at least until they met Costa Rica). Holland are the first team with a truly tactically gifted coach facing Argentina in this World Cup & are more than capable of beating Argentina for their 4th World Cup final appearance (and to revenge the 1978 final loss to Argentina!)

And 40 years later, history may repeat one of the greatest & most talked about World Cup finals of all time: The rematch of the 1974 Final between Germany vs Holland ....and at last a European team will claim the World Cup in South America!

Brazil are the overwhelming favourites to win the World Cup on home soil.

No matter which way you look at it, Brazil are the overwhelming favourites to win the World Cup for a record sixth time.

They have the talented world class players, tactical quality & the added advantage of home soil in "South America" where no European team has ever succeeded.

As my regular World Cup posts kick in from this week, here I will make some personal observations (rather than tactical) about some of the favourites & dark horses & what can potentially make or break it for them:

Brazil can & will most probably win the World Cup. In the Confederation Cup final, they comfortably beat the defending World & European Champions, potentially their strongest opponent, 3-0.

However, the high expectations as well as home crowd pressures can play against them. The ghost of the defeat in the 1950 tournament in home soil & the widespread discontent with the costs associated with staging the games mean the slightest hick up can turn things against Brazil, both psychologically & in terms of home crowd support.
However, in my personal opinion, Brazil's biggest worry is in fact their coach Scolari. Unlike most fans, I am not a big fan of "Big Phil" & believe if Brazil get in trouble, he may not have the tactical ingenuity to save them. 

Spain, the defending Champions, also have the players, the tactical ability and a brilliant coach in Del Bosue. The fact that they will not meet Brazil unless both teams reach the final is another advantage for them. The only thing against Spain is that their style of play is no longer an unknown factor (as demonstrated by their loss to Brazil, and Barcelona's decline in the last two European season). Also, there are lingering doubts in the quality of Spain's defence & who Del Bosque decides to use as central defenders & full backs.

However, a Brazil vs Spain Final is a the most probable outcome.

Germany are in one of the two very tough groups in the tournament & must be very careful not to get embarrassed at this World Cup by any of their more than capable opponents in the group stage.

They do have an enviable World Cup record to defend after all! They have reached the last 8 in every one of the last 15 World Cups, whilst making it to semi finals in 12 occasions & the final 7 times. However, the psychological barriers are disturbing! Germany lost their semi final matches to the eventual winners Italy & Spain in the last two World Cups in 2006 & 20010 respectively. They also lost out to Spain in the final of Euro 2008 & Italy in the semi final of Euro 2012.
The advantage for Germany is that the core of the players in those tournaments are at their prime in the current side & their experience may take Germany all the way.

Like Spain & Brazil, Germany have both the player quality & tactical capability to win the tournament. However, not only absence due to injuries of the likes of Gomez & Gundegan (and even Scheweinsteiger & Khedira's lack of fitness) will potentially play havoc to Germany's tactical plans, but also, Germany will probably meet Brazil in the semi finals where their suspect central defence and lack of a world class quality left full back can catch up with them & be their undoing. However, if they get through the current psychological barrier of being tagged as losing semifinalists, this time Germany win through to the final, I strongly believe they will win the Cup.

Argentina can only seriously challenge if they have learned from the lessons of World Cup 2010, where despite being entertaining, they relied too heavily on an underwhelming Messi & had major defensive shortcomings which were exploited in the 4-0 thrashing by Germany in the quarter finals. They are tactically better post manic Maradona period & will go a long way if Messi can reproduce his Barcelona magic. However, they cannot succeed if they try to use Messi for Plan B if things go wrong.

Italy, in my opinion, will go far in this year's tournament. Italy were thrashed in the Euro 2012 Final by Spain following their surprise 2-1 semi final win vs Germany in Euro 2012. Following that loss, they have been continuously overlooked by the media as a major contender. Since then however, Prandelli has done a magnificent job of refining the team tactically. They have massive World Cup winning (2006) experience in defence supporting the evergreen Buffon in goal, whilst another evergreen master, Pirlo, is still at the top of his game & can dictate & turn most sticky situations t Italy's favour.This year however, Italy also have a very potent attacking line up in the unpredictable Balotelli but also the likes of hugely dangerous & talented Immobile, Cerci & Insigne. This is why they must be considered one of the favourites.

England & Holland on the other hand, in my opinions will potentially fail to get past the group stage.

Holland are a very inexperienced albeit talented side which as entertaining as they may be, simply do not have the player experience at this level & are in danger of losing their spot to an impressive & dangerous Chile who will undoubtedly cause a headache or two for Spain as well. Whilst Van Gaal is a master of getting the best out of young talent, the experienced players in his squad who are on top of their game are only a handful. With the news this week of Van der Vaart injury blow Holland's prospects have got even worse. Even if Holland make it out of the group stage, they will most probably face Brazil, and unlike 2010 when they beat Brazil, this Holland team is not experienced enough to cause a huge upset this time around against the tournament favourites.

England have also finally started to produce some real quality young talent again. The likes of Shaw, Barcley, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Sturridge have the potential to shine at the world stage this year & make an impact.
However, England are in a very tough group (group of death) & must overcome Italy & Uruguay to go further. The British media's unhealthy obsession with their domestic league (EPL) as usual does not help either as it makes the English myopic. At the same time, whilst Roy Hodgeson is an excellent manager & much more suited to the job than Capello ever was, his capacity to guide a team to the world summit must be questioned.
I don't believe England can finish first in their group. However, if they manage to finish second, they will meet a hugely talented Colombia side which will probably beat them in the next round.

France meanwhile, will get through their easy group as well as round of 16th before coming unstuck at the quarter finals when their tournament will end. All that the French public are hoping for is a united team of talented players to make up for the farcical embarrassment of World Cup 2010 group stage elimination.

As for the teams with lower profiles, Colombia, Uruguay & Chile are all capable of causing huge upsets this year. Not only all three teams are tactically superb, their players will find playing in South America easier than most of their European counterparts.

Chile have only built on Bielsa's great work & their unlucky elimination in the last World Cup & if anything are even more entertaining & dangerous this year. I predict they will go through at the expense of Holland this year....and then in the elimination rounds anything is possible.

Uruguay are not doubt sweating on the fitness of their star player Luis Suarez. They have the quality to pip both Italy & England to the post in the Group of Death & have the memories of their famous World Cup triumph of 1950 in Brazil to carry them psychologically.

Columbia, like Uruguay, are also praying to have their undisputed start Falcao fit just in time for the games (although after a lengthy absence due to injury). However, there are several other talented players in the side that can carry them in Falcao's absence. Whilst it appears they may have an easy group on paper, they are in fact in a tough group as matches vs Ivory Coast & Japan will be anything but easy. However, it is in the round of 16 that Columbia's world cup plans may unravel, when they will meet one of the trio of England/Italy/Uruguay from Group D

Amongst the remaining European teams, Belgium offer the best of the rest. They have a young talented side with several stars playing across Europe's top leagues & in Champions League. They are also in a reasonably easy group on paper. However, in the round of 16, they will potentially meet Germany & Portugal. This is where their palyers' lack of World Cup experience can potentially work against them. nevertheless, this Belgium side will be a force for the next few years.

And how about the so called minnows of the game? 

There is no doubt that Australia's Socceroos have been incredibly unlucky in drawing the 2010 World Cup finalists Spain & Holland, as well as one of the dark horses of the tournament Chile. Hopefully, the Socceroos will use Brazil to prepare for Asian Championships which are held in Australia in January 2015.

As for the rest, Japan & Ivory Coast have many talented players but are unfortunately drawn in the same group! Boznia-Hertegovina on the other hand, can potentially overcome Nigeria & Iran & make it to the knockout stage in their first ever World Cup as an independent state.

The most watched event in the history begins on June 13th. All matches are live & exclusive to SBS. No doubt we will witness the full spectrum of sporting drama, good, great, not so good & ugly.......from heartache to bad luck, to time wasting, poor refereeing decisions to player cheating. No matter what THE WORLD GAME will once again entertain, enrage & thrill the fans all over the world!

To paraphrase the words of the legendary Liverpool Manager Bill Shankly: ..."...to the fans......football is not about life & death! It's much more important than that!"

Bring it on!

Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup draw, the winners & the losers

The FIFA World Cup draw for Brazil 2014 was conducted on Friday night & as usual, some groups ended up being more difficult than others. This year however, South America have 6 representatives (instead of 5) & Europe have 13 instead of the usual 14.

Also, Belgium, Colombia & Switzerland were seeded due to their superior FIFA rankings in Nov 2013 & as a result powerhouses of England, Italy, Holland, Portugal were demoted to the 2nd pot.

It is too early to try to predict which teams will be successful in the first round simply because teams' forms can dip or improve between now & June next year and key players may get injured & miss out.

However, whilst playing at the World Cup is difficult regardless of the draw, there are groups which are more difficult to prove than others: Here are my early tips until I decide on my final tips by around March 2014:

Group A Hosts Brazil are the clear favourites following their mesmerising triumph at Confederation Cup. On the other hand, Mexico have had a torrid time with 4 different coaches & only qualified through the play offs by beating New Zealand. Croatia are always difficult to beat & possess enough talent to overcome Cameroon & finish second.

Group B is the first group of death & sees the two finalists of WC 2010 ie Holland & Spain paired against each other. You can't help but to feel sorry for Chile for being paired with Spain for the second WC in a row, and for the Socceroos who will no doubt have a torrid time against all of their 3 vastly superior opponents. However, Chile are a brilliant team & with a bit of luck are capable of knocking out either of their two most illustrious opponents.

Group C see hosts Columbia as a well deserved seed. Columbia are once again spoilt with talent & should win the group. Greece are on the other hand becoming an experienced tournament nation & are slight favourites to outdo Japan & Ivory Coast.

Group D, at least on paper, is THE group of death. However, reputations aside, I believe Uruguay & Italy are clearly far stronger sides than an England side which is desperately short of creative talent in the midfield & lacks depth in many positions including in defence. Costa Rica can & probably will pinch crucial points too.

Group E sees Switzerland seeded & France as the main giant in the group. If Ribery & co play the way they played against Ukraine in the 2nd leg of the play offs, they will be the clear favourites to win the group. Switzerland coach has on the other hand built a team which is extremely difficult to beat although Switzerland have in the past got eliminated unbeaten!

Group F will see Argentina as comfortable winners. Bosnia, Nigeria & even Iran, are all capable of finishing second if they take their chances & other results go their way.

Group G is a tough group for Portugal & Germany & there are no easy matches in this group. Ghana only lost to Germany 1-0 in the group stage in WC 2010 & finished 2nd, and USA in fact topped their group in WC 2010. On top of that, USA is coached by the former Germany Captain & coach Jurgen Klinsman & the USA team consisted of several German born players who play their football in the German Bundesliga. However, at least on paper, a talented Germany side & Portugal by the irreplaceable Ronaldo are favourites to go through.

Group H see the seeded Belgium side oozing with young talent. Whilst I believe Capello's Russian side are overrated, in South Korea & Algeria, they have two of the weakest teams in the tournament & both Russia & Belgium will easily qualify for the knockout round.

What if Barcelona didn't have Messi & Messi didn't have Xavi, Iniesta & co?

Before any criticism is directed at me for the title of this post, let me start by qualifying my personal opinion:
I am old enough to have seen many great players gracing the world game in almost 40 years as a serious football fanatic, and have watched most classic matches before my time in the 1950s & 60s to see the best of those era in action.

Based on that, I admire Messi as one of, if not the most skillful & graceful player of all time. At the same time, I rate the Barcelona team of the last decade (from Frank Rijkaard days as a coach to now) as one of the greatest teams of all time, both at club & national level.

Having stated the above, when Messi did not return after the half time due to an injury in the quarter final clash in the Champions League against PSG, it became more than ever clear to me that Messi & Barcelona must win titles without each other in order to be crowned as the greatest individual player & best team of all time respectively:

Here's the simple reason why:

Messi has won everything with the support of the incomparable Xavi & Iniesta, who have in turn led other hugely talented players in support of Messi. This was evident with the inch perfect pass of Daniel Alvez to Messi for his goal vs PSG. Therefore, Messi needs to prove his leadership qualities in a team which does not include Xavi & Iniesta in particular! ie he must lead Argentina to the World Cup triumph in order to displace Pele & Maradona from their nominal & arbitrary position as the greatest players of all time.

And the reverse simply applies to Barcelona! They are the most watched & copied team in the world & football fans across the world are lucky to be following football in the era of Barcelona, Messi & co. But Barcelona must win the Champions League & La Liga without Messi & his goal scoring feasts in order to become the undisputed best team of all time!

I repeat again,this post is not arguing the magnificent & graceful football of Barcelona & Messi! I am in awe like millions of other fans around the world! But the little niggling matter of "what if Barcelona didn't have Messi & Messi didn't have Xavi & Iniesta" continues to circle in my head every time I watch Barcelona & Messi, as I am sure it does in many other football fans' heads!

The young German lions' path to the final overcomes another hurdle: Germany 4 Maradona's Argentina 0

Miroslav Klose equalled Gerd Muller's 14 WC goals in the 4-0 win vs Argentina & will be aiming to surpass Ronaldo's all time 15 goals in the next two matches

The young German lions did it again! For the second time ina week they scored 4 goals in a World Cup match. This time they systematically disposed of the over the top antics of Maradona & his surprisingly below par & up to now impressive Argentine side.

And in doing so Miroslav Klose equaled the legendary Gerd Muller's record of 14 World Cup goals for Germany, the last of which was scored in the 1974 final win vs Holland.

In my predictions, I have set up my approach for a potential Holland vs Germany final & I hope Klose will break Ronaldo's all time World Cup record of 15 goals in the next two matches.

Loew's faith in Klose & Podolski has fully paid off. They had scored a miserly 5 goals between the two of them in Bundesliga this year going to the World Cup & Klose had become a bit player in Bayern's run to the final of the Champions League & the German media were putting pressure on Loew to axe Klose & Podolski.

Germany, the ultimate "Tournament Team" as they are known in the world of football, have now enhanced their unbelievable record to 12 World Cup semi final appearances (7 finals) and on this form can surprise any team as long as they stay calm & do not get ahead of themselves.

The only slight blemish in tonight's result was the opening goal scorer, the young Thomas Muller will miss the semi final as a result of receiving his second yellow card. Amazingly, during the prematch friendly in March Maradona refused to attend a press conference with Muller, who was receiving his first cap at that match. Maradona called Muller a ball boy & demanded Muller be kicked out of the press conference or he would leave! (You can see this on Youtube). Muller took 3 minutes tonight to exact his revenge!

Well done to Lowe, his assistants & all German players involved, a fully deserved victory which should put an end to the controversy over Lampard's disallowed goal in the 4-1 win against England, and at the same time put the Socceroos loss to Germany in perspective.

On a final note, as I have mentioned in numerous occasions previously: The English speaking media brainwashes fans into thinking the English Premier League (EPL) players are superior superstars!

Not a SINGLE German player in the 23 man squad plays in the EPL. In fact they all play in the German Bundesliga. It is the German Youth Development system that produces such talented young players, something that the English game is suffering from as a direct result of the foreign influx to the EPL.

I have now predicted the first 3 semi finalists & look forward to seeing Germany avenge their Euro 2008 final loss to Spain in the semi final!

An overview of the group matches in South Africa 2010 & the knockout stage. Let's hope for more excitement & goals than we have got so far!

Thank you Argentina, Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain & co. Not just because of your fans! But also for keeping the faint flame of exciting football in the group stages alive & for playing attacking football & trying hard to score lots of goals! Argentina's 7 goals & 30 shots on target made them the only team that averaged more than 2 goals per game & scored in all three group matches (Portugal also scored 7 goals but had two 0-0 draws & a 7-0 win against the hapless North Korea)

Only a handful of other so called footballing giants managed to show glimpses of brilliance in their group stage matches. Brazil, Portugal, Germany (against Australia), Spain, Holland & Uruguay played exciting attacking football at times but not with the consistency of Argentina. On the other hand, the 2006 finalists France & Italy were bitterly disappointing & England have looked lethargic & at times tactically lost!

This has made this World Cup, the tournament for the underdogs to a great extent. Whilst African teams largely disappointed by underachieving overall & only Ghana qualifying, the so called minnows of the rest of the world put up a brave fight & at times even thrilled with their overachievement.

Special mention should go to New Zealand for their brave unbeaten effort & Slovakia for defeating Italy & earning qualification in the process. Their group was meant to be a walk in the park for the reigning champions Italy. Instead the brave effort of New Zealand & Slovakia earned Italy the embarrassing wooden spoon in the group.

Some of the more seasoned but lower ranked World Cup campaigners such as USA, Japan, South Korea, Chile, Mexico & Paraguay also qualified with distinction whilst the likes of Australia's Socceroos, South Africa & Ivory Coast left the tournament with their heads high

As a result, so far South Africa 2010 a group stage that has produced the lowest average goals per match & many defensive & rather dull matches as weaker teams attempt to counter the "in Vogue" 4-2-3-1 style of most attacking teams.

Whilst this system can producing exciting attacking football, it is also very effective in protecting a lead once a team scores & can therefore produce overly defensive matches.

regardless of tactics, a major feature of South Africa 2010 was the European teams' poor 7 at times lethargic displays. The South Americans meanwhile have been comfortably impressive. 7 of the 13 European qualifiers, including Italy & France got eliminated.
This will undoubtedly raise calls for a reduction in Europe's quota again, specially as 4 of the 5 South American teams topped their groups & the Oceania Champions New Zealand finished ahead of the World Champions Italy.

It is well known that European teams have never won the World Cup when it has been held in the Southern Hemisphere or Central America & this year has so far been no exception. The knockout stage has produced more difficult passage for the qualifiers in the bottom half of the draw with heavyweights Germany, England, Spain, Portugal & the favourites Argentina all in that section of the draw. Europe's misery is compounded by the fact that its remaining 6 teams have been paired against each other guaranteeing Europe a mere 3 teams in the quarter finals as opposed to 6 in Germany 2006.

Here are my predictions:

Uruguay will get the better of the brave South Korea. This is the first time in many years that Uruguay have produced attractive & attacking football.

USA have been very entertaining & their die hard attitude should eliminate Africa's last remaining representative Ghana. Ghana, whilst fast on the wings, are careless in front of the goal & were lucky to draw with the 10 man Socceroos & only qualified on goal difference.

Holland will have Robben back & will account for Slovakia. Slovakia, in their first World Cup as an independent nation rewrote the history books by gallantly eliminating the reigning champions Italy & should therefore be very proud of their achievement.

Brazil would undoubtedly have preferred to face a non South American team & must be worried about the fearless Chilean side. Chile is coached by the Argentine Marcelo Bielsa, one of the most attack minded coaches in the World. He has instilled self confidence in his young side & as they proved against Spain with 10 men, they are capable of beating any team on their day. The only thing that could get Brazil over the mark is their vast experience at this level

Argentina & Maradona have proven all pundits & commentators wrong. Messi & co have produced disciplined attacking performances & are now favourites to beat Mexico & even go all the way to winning the Cup.

England vs Germany penalty shootout in the semi finals of World Cup 1990 won by Germany

• Germany have overall been more solid than an out of sorts England teams with Rooney struggling to find form. However this ultimate World Cup classic will see players on both side shift up a gear for supremacy in a footballing rivalry which goes back to many decades & has previously produced the 1966 World Cup final, 1970 quarter final & 1990 semi final. This match will be no exception & I am merely picking Germany because I am a life long hard core fan of the Nationalmannschat!

• Paraguay have been solid in defence & disciplined in their attack in topping their group whilst Japan scored two world class free kicks on their way to qualification at the expense of Denmark. This is the battle of equals but the South Americans tactical superiority should prevail.

• Spain & Portugal are both capable of winning this tussle but the fact that Portugal failed to attack or score against Brazil (& Ivory Coast) is a major concern & slightly tips the match in favour of Spain & the free scoring & impressive David Villa.

Whatever the out come of the above matches, let's hope they are all free flowing with an abundance of attacking football & lots of goals! Otherwise South Africa 2010 will go down as the dullest World Cup in history with the lowest average goal per match!

Final round of group matches start tonight: Which teams are likely to make it to the round of 16 in the World Cup?

The second round of all group matches was concluded this morning with Spain's 2-0 win against Honduras.
Tonight the final round of group matches will commence. Although the first two rounds produced the lowest average goal per game of just over 2, the final group round promises to produce lots of thrilling moments as well as a few surprises. The reason for this is because almost all of the European favourites or heavy weights, i.e. Germany, England, Spain, France & Italy, must win their final matches to guarantee passage to the knockout stage of the Cup. The South American teams on the other hand, are all on the way to potentially win their respective groups. As a result, the first knock out stage promises top produce a few blockbusters (such as e.g. England vs Germany) as the favourites in many of the groups will probably finish second instead of the expected first place.

Here's a quick review of each group & my view on which teams will advance (in bold):

Group A: Uruguay & Mexico

As mentioned in my previous emails, France not only embarrassed themselves on the pitch with their inept performances, they also disgraced themselves off the pitch with publicly fought unrest in their camp. South Africa will sadly be the first host nation in the history of the Cup not to advance beyond the group stage.

Mexico & Uruguay have been the stand out teams in this group. France need to score at least 3 goals against South Africa & for either Mexico or Uruguay to win their battle in order to have any chance of advancing to the next round. If this does happen, it will be undeserved.

Group B: Argentina & South Korea

Prior to the World Cup, I predicted that Nigeria, despite having so many talented players would disappoint at the World Cup & so far they have been far from competitive with two losses.

I believe despite their heavy loss to the scintillating Lionel Messi & Argentina, South Korea have shown enough to get past the predictably boring Greece & advance to the next round.

Argentina, on the other hand, arguably have the best player in the world in Lionel Messi & are once again one of the main favourites to go all the way & are simply irresistible to watch.

Group C: USA & England

This was supposed to be one of the easiest draws for one of the pre tournament favourites England. But once again they have failed to fire & have been rather disappointing. It all started to go wrong with Robert Green's disastrous mistake in the first game against the USA. It got worse when Ledley King who had replaced the injured Captain Rio Ferdinand in the central defence injured his knee. And to top it all, John Terry, the disgraced former captain destabilised the England camp further by attempting & failing to start a rebellion against the coach Capello on Sunday. Despite all this, England have enough character & calibre to beat Slovenia & advance to the second round for a possible show down with their arch enemy Germany.

I have been very impressed with the USA's fighting spirit, their speed & energy & believe they will be able to break down Algeria's disciplined defense & advance alongside England.

Group D: Germany & Serbia

My heart wanted my favourite two teams Germany & the mighty Socceroos to advance from this group, and Australia to meet England in the knock out phase. However, red cards have dented both Australia & Germany's prospects in their previous matches.

Germany, the record 11 time semi finalist & 7 time finalist in the World Cup have never failed to go through the group stage in World Cup history & should be too strong for Ghana. On the other hand, whilst I am sure the Socceroos will put up a brave fight, I do not believe Australia, in Harry Kewell's forced absence, will have the fire power to get through the solid Serbian defence and score the minimum of 2 goals they require. :(

Group E: Netherlands & Denmark

After a slow start in their first game, Holland found their feat in the second game & will advance as an outside favourite for the World Cup. their odds improve even further if Robben ends up being fit enough to play for them at some stage.

Denmark on the other hand will be too strong for Japan & should be able to win and advance. Japan however, do have a better goal difference. They will aim for a draw ad therefore there is an outside chance that Japan will end up advancing on goal difference.

Group F: Paraguay & Italy

Group F was supposed to be a walk in the park for the defending champions Italy. But Italy's coach Lippi failed to rejuvenate the 2006 team & stuck with the likes of Canevarro who is now 37! Their slow & tired legs has seen Italy ride their luck to two draw their first two matches.

However, those of you who are keen football supporters would know or (in my case) remember how Italy won the World Cup in 1982 after having drawn all their 3 group stage matches & advancing to the knock out stage on the basis of having scored a mere one goal more than Cameron. In more recent times, having experienced their mighty sting against Australia in 2006 & aging New Zealand last week make it hard to write off Italy totally.

Paraguay have on the other hand been the dominant team in this group, and a massive show of admiration also goes to the courageous effort by the great New Zealand side. They have once again overachieved & should be congratulated.

Group G: Brazil & Portugal

After sluggish start in their first respective matches, both teams produced fantastic attacking football & great wins in their second matches making in almost impossible not to go through. The final group game clash between Portugal & Brazil promises to be one of the best matches of the entire tournament.

Group H: Spain & Switzerland

After their shock loss in their opening match against Switzerland, Spain got back on track with a win against Honduras.

I believe they need to beat Chile to guarantee passage to the next round as Switzerland will beat Honduras. This will probably eliminate the impressive Chile on goal difference. However, amazingly, if Chile draw with Spain & the Swiss beat Honduras, Spain, the favourites will be eliminated from the competition.

It must also be mentioned that Switzerland broke the record for the longest time any team has not conceded a goal in the World Cup history last night, although eventually they conceded a goal 7 lost to Chile 0-1. their record started in the 2006 world Cup where they got eliminated without conceding a single goal in open play (eliminated in a penalty shoot out) & lasted two matches into this year's second round match against Chile.

As you can see, the mouth watering excitement of the World Cup is only beginning. Enjoy & check my blog to rate my predictions!

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