Analysis of the eight World Cup groups:
Group A:
France, Senegal, Uruguay, Denmark
The favorites here are the Europeans. Uruguay had a rough ride during qualification, squeezing in only after a playoff with Australia. Senegal qualified first out of Africa, but this is the Africans' World Cup debut and they are the lowest-ranked qualifier from the continent. France is the clear favorite to win the group, as well as many people's pick to become just the third back-to-back champion. Denmark went undefeated through qualifying (6
4) and advanced to the 1998 quarterfinals, falling to runner-up Brazil.
Group B:
Spain, Slovenia, Paraguay, South Africa
A wide-open group. Each team has a credible shot at progressing with Spain and Paraguay possibly having the edge. Both European sides went undefeated during qualification. Spain finished with a plus-17 goal difference. The Spaniards, however, have fared poorly in the World Cup finals. Despite appearing in its seventh straight tournament and 11th overall, Spain only reached the final four once (1950).
Newcomer Slovenia survived a very tough qualifying group, which included Russia and Yugoslavia, before winning a playoff against Romania. Paraguay's form vacillated during qualification, allowing the most goals of South America's five representatives in the draw. However, Paraguay still managed to reach consecutive finals for the first time despite going winless in its last three World Cup qualifiers.
Ageless goalkeeper Jose Luis Chilavert is suspended for the first two games of the tournament, depriving the South Americans of their most inspirational leader. South Africa also lacks consistency. Despite going 5
1 in qualification, the "Bafana Bafana" can be the most mercurial of the African teams, oscillating between brilliance and bafflement.
Group C
Brazil, Turkey, China, Costa Rica
Brazil and Turkey should advance. Brazil slogged through qualification despite being the only nation to have played in every World Cup finals. This may be the weakest Brazilian side in memory, but are still the favorites in this group due to their technical brilliance and history of success. Turkey, which is making its first appearance since 1954, is an emerging UEFA power. The Turks crushed Austria, 6-0 on aggregate, in their two-leg qualifying playoff.
China, led by former United States coach Bora Milutinovic, looks like a team of soccer players until the whistle blows. Then, they appear hulking, slow, and inept. Costa Rica is the wild card here. The CONCACAF winner is a fine team, but lacks the real international experience needed to be a winner. However, the Central Americans managed to reach the second round in their only previous appearance in 1990.
Group D
South Korea, United States, Poland, Portugal
Portugal should easily progress, but the rest is up in the air. Portugal is a more formidable team than two of the top seeds -- Germany and Spain -- and a dangerous presence with a lot of firepower. Midfielder Luis Figo is a perennial FIFA World Player of the Year candidate. Rui Costa and Nuno Gomes add skill and accuracy. Gomes notched seven goals in qualification, second only to Pedro Pauleta's eight. Oddly, this is only Portugal's third World Cup. South Korea is a below average team that may not have qualified had it not hosted and lack goal-scoring ability.
The USA is little better, lacking depth and needing 10 chances to score once. Poland is an aging side with one legitimate great player, Nigerian import Emanuel Olisadebe. The naturalized Pole led the team to the finals. Given a little luck, the United States actually could make it to the second round. But do not bet on it.
Group E
Germany, Saudi Arabia, Cameroon, Ireland
Anybody's guess. Not one of these teams is dominant. Germany has an impressive record of getting up for the Cup but almost failed to qualify, is struggling with internal dissent, and was humiliated by the United States two years ago to signal its slide into chaos. However, Germany a proud Cup record and a lot of pride. The Saudis are not a factor. They piled up a lot of goals against unimpressive qualification opponents. The Irish played well in qualification, posting a 7
3 record, and surrendered only five goals. They are a possible second round entrant. Cameroon has some impressive players (Rigobert Song, Lauren) and has made three straight finals appearances. The bulk of the West African team will be made up of the Under-23 players, who won the 2002 U-23 World Cup.
Group F
Argentina, Nigeria, England, Sweden
Welcome to the "Group of Death." Argentina, the pre-tournament favorite, last failed to advance to the second round in 1962. A dream side led by Gabriel "Batigol" Batistuta and Hernan Crespo, the Argentines are deservedly No. 2 in the world rankings. Nigeria has so much talent and so little discipline that it becomes a hard team to figure out. On any given day, with talent such as Kanu and Okocha, the Nigerians can blow you away with their prowess. However, they also can just blow up. They melted down in 1998, getting routed by Denmark in the second round.
England was revived under coach Sven Goran Eriksson and has all the talent in the world. David Beckham is arguably the game's deadliest player in deadball situations. Michael Owen is a clinical goal scorer. Possessing arguably the best league on the planet, the English should be far better. But they are not and this team also has a history of disappointments in soccer's showcase event. Sweden won Group 4 in European qualifying with a 8
2 record and has Celtic striker Henrik Larsson to lead the attack.
Group G
Italy, Ecuador, Croatia, Mexico
Italy and Mexico should be the favorites, but you certainly cannot count out the other two teams. Croatia, which stunned the world by finishing third in 1998, is led by the ageless Davor Suker, who can score from anywhere at anytime. They are knocked as plodding and old, and they are. But they win games and it is hard to argue with success. Ecuador is making its World Cup debut after finishing an unpredicted second in South America's tournament.
The South Americans have veteran strength in Mexican league star Alex Aguinaga and the Premiership hardened Augustin Delgado. Italy, of course, is legendary, winning the Cup three times. They Italians have plenty of talent in players like Alesandro Del Piero, Paolo Maldini and Filippo Inzaghi. A defensive-minded team (sometimes too much so), Italy has both tremendous pride and pressure. Mexico narrowly made this tourney, taking it down to the final day in CONCACAF. But the team has a lot of talent and played very well in 1998, when it was edged in the second round by Germany. When Alberto Garcia Aspe is on the field, the Mexicans are very tough to beat. However, they have the reputation of playing poorly on the road. Their only two quarterfinals appearance came when they hosted the World Cup in 1970 and 1986.
Group H
Japan, Russia, Belgium, Tunisia
Another group from which any team could progress, Group H appears to be the weakest of the groups. It is made up of an aging Russian side, an untested Tunisian team, a dull Belgian
side and a still-emerging Japanese team. Russia has two Spanish-based midfielders, Celta Vigo's Valeri Karpin and Alexandre Mostovoi, and easily won Group 1 in European qualification. The lack of a strong domestic league, however, hinders Russian efforts to improve their side.
Tunisia has qualified for its second straight Cup. Ali Zitouni, Zoubeir Baya are its key players and the duo played well in qualification. Belgium is a perennial qualifier, but has little depth. Marc Wilmots and Emile Mpenza are their key talents. Japan has improved since the birth of the J-League, but its success largely has come at the youth level. Hidetoshi Nakata is Japan's big gun, but the co-host does not have much else.
