2010 fifa world cup handbook
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2010 FIFA
TOP EXPERTS’ EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS
ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO32 TEAMS
64 GAMES
736 PLAYERSWORLDCUP
TM
HANDBOOK
ENGLAND
EXPECTS...
ROONEYWORLD’SNUMBER
ONE?
CAPELLONATURAL BORN WINNER
Supported by
Hyundai, Official Partner of the FIFA World CupTM
13.05.2010 15:00 Twist 235
17.05.2010 12:21 Twist 235
Editor in Chief Aleksander Korab
Art director Mia Korab
Deputy editor Joost de Jong
Contributors Paul Baldwin (England),
Emmanuel Bousquet (France),
Marco Bresolin,
Valerio Mingarelli (Italy),
Marije Van't Hoog,
Jeroen Haverkort (Netherlands),
Ignacio Garcia Alonso (Spain),
Elisabeth Braw,
Marek Krzesniak (MWN)
WORLD CUP
2010 FIFA
TM
CirCulation 2.25 million Copies; DistributeD in englanD, FranCe, italy, netherlanDs, spain
EDITORIAL
PRODUCED BY
IT
AL
Y
FR
AN
CE
NE
TH
ER
LA
ND
S
SP
AIN
HANDBOOK
ENGLAND TEAM 4-5The men carrying a nation’s hopes
ENGLAND STAR 6-7Wayne Rooney
ENGLAND COACH 8Fabio Capello
WORLD CUP ANALYSIS: 9-38Teams, players, experts, statistics
GAME SCHEDULE 22-23
DESTINATION 39South Africa
WORLD CUP ARENAS 40-41
TV GUIDE 42
MWN Editor in Chief
Maggie Samways,
85 Fleet Street,
London England EC4Y 1AE
Photos AFP, Getty
Print Prinovis Dresden GmbH,
Germany
Metro World Newswww.readmetro.com
40-41
39
14.05.2010 14:10 Twist 235
54
ENGLAND TEAM
Without David Beck-ham, but with WayneRooney, Steven Gerrard,Frank Lampard, JohnTerry, Rio Ferdinandand Ashley Cole - Eng-land have talent inabundance. But a ques-tion mark still hangsover the No1 shirt...
age: 31
Caps: 76 (3)
position: defender
Club: Man Utd
age: 27
Caps: 39 (12)
position: forward
Club: Tottenham
Jermain
defoe
age: 29
Caps: 37 (20)
position: forward
Club: Tottenham
peter
CrouCh
age: 39
Caps: 49 (0)
position: goalkeeper
Club: Portsmouth
david
James
age: 21
Caps: 9 (3)
position: winger
Club: Arsenal
theo
WalCott
age: 24
Caps: 6 (0)
position: midfielder
Club: Arsenal
James
milner
Supported by
WILL THE LIONS ROAR AGAIN?
CAPTAIN
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ferdinand
age: 29 Caps: 77 (0)
position: left back Club: Chelsea
ashley Cole
age: 32 Caps: 57 (7)
position: forward Club: Aston Villa
emile heskey
age: 31 Caps: 19 (1)
position: defender Club: West Ham
mattheW upson
age: 29 Caps: 78 (16)
position: midfielder Club: Liverpool
steven gerrard
age: 28 Caps: 30 (6) position:
Winger Club: Manchester City
shaun Wright-phillips
age: 29 Caps: 59 (6)
position: defender Club: Chelsea
John terry
age:29 Caps: 36 (2) position:
midfielder Club: Manchester City
gareth barry
age: 25 Caps: 20 (0) position:
right back Club: Liverpool
glen Johnson
age: 31 Caps: 77 (20) position:
midfielder Club: Chelsea
frank lampard
age: 30 Caps: 9 (0) position:
goalkeeper Club: West Ham
robert green
age: 24 Caps: 58 (25) position:
Forward Club: Manchester United
Wayne rooney
14.05.2010 14:47 Twist 235
ENGLAND STAR
FACTSNAME: Wayne Rooney
BIRTHDAY: 24/10/1985
BIRTH CITY: Croxteth,
Liverpool
HEIGHT: 178 cm
WEIGHT: 78 Kg
CLUB: Manchester United
ENGLAND POSITION: For-
ward
ENGLAND DEBUT:
12/02/2003 Australia
FIRST ENGLAND GOAL:
06/09/2003 Macedonia
FIRST CLUB: Joined Everton
youth team age 10
DID YOU KNOW? Rooney
was the Everton mascot at a
Merseyside derby in 1996/97
FORM
In the form of his life,Wayne Rooney has theability to become thetournament’s biggeststar and help Englandlift the World Cup in
South AfricaBY PAUL BALDWIN
ph
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y
t is impossible to over-state theimportance of Wayne Rooney toEngland’s World Cup campaign.If the Three Lions are to get their
combined hands anywhere near thetrophy then it will be thanks in hugepart to this 24-year-old ManchesterUnited striker.Rarely has England had a world classtalent maturing so beautifully in timefor football’s biggest competition. Butin 2010, in South Africa, they have pre-cisely that.No less a judge than Carlo Ancelotti,currently managing Premier Leaguearch-rivals Chelsea, callshim “The world’s numberone player.” And this is a coach withDidier Drogba and Sa-lomon Kalou in his side.He says Rooney is, cru-cially, “the most decisiveplayer in the world whonever drops, and alwaysimproves his perform-ance.”And he’s right. Liverpool-born Rooney is the modelof a committed player. Thehot-headedness of JnrRooney has now maturedinto a fearlessness - butit’s a fearlessness coupledwith vision, in-your-facephysicality, technical brilliance inevery area and 100% effort until thefinal whistle.United’s loss of Cristiano Ronaldo lastyear was Rooney’s gain. Previously hewould tend to tuck in just behind thePortuguese maestro but this season hehas been an out and out striker, andthis new appetite and confidence forfinding the net has made him both thePremier League’s and England’s num-ber one goal scorer this year.
PLAYER OF THE YEARHe has found the net 25 times for Eng-land in 57 appearances and scorednine goals in the 10 qualifying games.It surprised no-one that Rooney wasvoted player of the year by his peersin the Professional Footballers’ Asso-ciation a few weeks ago - no otherplayer was ever going to come close.And the official commendation servedto underline the man’s importanceboth to the team and the English foot-ball fans.It read: "The fact that the whole na-tion held its breath as an injury toUnited and England's main manthreatened to wreck our summer saideverything you need to know aboutone of the most complete forwardsthis country has produced. Crucial toboth club and country.''
Few begrudged the man his title, notleast because Rooney is all about thefootball.
CAPELLO’S MATCHUnlike so many players of his status heshuns the spotlight. He is uncomfort-able in interviews and tends to avoidnightclubs and the lenses of the pa-parazzi.He plays with the enthusiasm of a 10-year-old kicking a ball around a localpark and with a deep love of the gamewhich is glaringly obvious even to op-posing fans.
He says he prefers goinghome to his wife Coleenand new baby Kai. Admit-tedly Coleen has appearedon her fair share of tabloidnewspaper pages, butrarely with her husband.And all of this is music toEngland coach FabioCapello’s ears. They sharethe same disciplined mind-set - that the game is every-thing - and if ever anexperienced and wily coachand a gifted striker weremade for each other then itwas these two.Capello understands he hasa player who can comfort-ably stand shoulder to
shoulder with the likes of Ronaldo,Messi, Torres and Kaka.
“HE CAN WIN THE WORLD CUP”Even Franz Beckenbauer believesRooney has the ability to help Englandlift the World Cup in South Africa. The 64-year-old, who won the trophyas both a player and a manager, said:"If he continues scoring and playinglike that, he can win the World Cup forEngland. I have never seen him playbetter and I have been watching himfor a long time now."Of course, Argentina have LionelMessi who, along with Rooney, is thebest player in the world right now.”But the final word should go to theunder-stated Scouser.Without resorting to over-the-topclaims it is clear that Rooney relishestaking on the ‘other best players in theworld’ and showing them what’s what.Helping a typically over-expectant Eng-lish nation breathe a collective sigh ofrelief recently he said: "I'll be fine forthe World Cup."Brazil and Spain are favourites andthen there are a pack of teams behindthem including ourselves who with abit of luck could win this tournament."We have the squad to win it.''The squad? Maybe not. But they mightjust have the man.
I
Rooney hasa fearless-ness cou-pled withvision andtechnical
brilliance inevery area.
WAYNE’SWORLD
Supported by
6
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
SHOOTING AC-
CURACY
ROONEY IN QUALIFIERS
SUCCESSFUL
paSSES
DUELS WON
OPP HALF
DEBUT
Made his professional debutin 2002 and his first goalmade him the youngestgoalscorer in PremierLeague history at the time.
With United he has won
the Premier League three
times, the 2007–08 UEFA
Champions League and
two League Cups.
On his Old Trafford
debut in September
2004 he netted a
hat-trick against
Fenerbahce.
VALUE
His £25.6m move to Man-chester Utd before the startof the 2004–05 season madehim the most valuable teenager on the planet.
His performances have
contributed to England’s
100% record in the 2010
FIFA World Cup™ Quali-
fiers. Rooney has been
clinical, converting al-
most one third of the
shots he has attempted
(30%). He also has five
England goal assists to
his name.
9GOALS
5ASSISTS
2.25CHANCES CREATED
7
14.05.2010 14:47 Twist 235
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8
GROUP C
Ph
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win
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:aFP,
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CO
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TEXT: PAUL BALDWIN
FABIOCAPELLO:NATURAL
BORNWINNER
FACTSnAmE:
Fabio CapelloAGE: 63nAtionAlity:
Italian
prEvious joB:
Real Madrid
manager 2006-07
mAritAl stA-
tus: Married to
Laura, two chil-
dren
HoBBiEs: Opera,
collecting art
his ‘cast iron’ place in the back foursuddenly looked vulnerable. As far as Capello is concerned thefunction of a footballer is to play thegame – anything that detracts fromthis is to be ruthlessly snuffed out.And of course this is exactly what isrequired for any team with even theslightest notion of winning theWorld Cup.The man’s management recordspeaks for itself – a glittering arrayof honours at Milan, Roma, RealMadrid and Juventus.But a common thread of discipline,respect and everyone having to earntheir place runs deep.Ruud van Nistelrooy, who playedunder Capello at Real, said: "When he walks into a room thereis a presence there and it is his wayor the highway."He is tough, he is direct and deepdown you know that he's right. Heknows what is necessary to get thebest out of players."It is this direct, precise approachthat has provided England withtheir best chance of lifting the Cupin almost half a century.
FABIO Capello hasbeen a big fan ofWassily Kandinsky formany years.
Kandinsky is not, it should bepointed out, an up-and-coming Slovakian attackingmidfielder, but the pioneering1920’s artist who helped createthe Bauhaus movement.In some ways the idea ofCapello as aesthete sits un-easily with his accepted imageof him as a‘man’s man’ andindeed a ‘man-agers’ man-ager’.But the Bauhauswas all aboutform followingfunction andabout every-thing earning itsplace and know-ing exactly whatit was there for.Everything elsewas windowdressing to be
stripped away and thrown inthe trash.It is exactly how Capello hasbuilt his team – no-nonsensesolid and workmanlike under-pinnings creating an overall in-tegrity and no little brilliance.David Beckham’s guaranteedplace was the first windowdressing to go. Flashy talismanhe may have been, but he had-n’t really earned his place forsome time and (injury
notwithstanding)his form definitelywasn’t followingCapello’s func-tion. Next in Capello’ssights was JohnTerry, whose bed-hopping anticsleft him splashedacross the pagesof the Britishtabloids for all thewrong reasons.He was immedi-ately stripped ofthe captaincy and
The functionof a footballeris to play the
game – anything
detractingfrom that isruthlessly
snuffed out.
F
9
GR
OU
P C
IT’S ABOUTTIME FORENGLAND
England and the USA are definitely the clear favorites to go through in this group.
But don’t count out the Slovenes, nor thenorthern African ball wizards from
Algeria! Slovenia made it to South Africa as one of
the biggest surprises, eliminating Guus Hid-dink’s Russia in the European play-offs while
Algeria defeated African champs Egypt tofind themselves on the way to their third
World Cup finals.But of course all eyes are on Rooney and Co,looking for the first English world title since
the legendary win on home soil in 1966.That’s 44 years ago, so it’s time they took the
World Cup back to London once again.
QUALIFICATION CHANCES
90
.2%
73
%
21
%
15
.9%
EN
GL
AN
D U
SA
SL
OV
EN
IA
AL
GE
RIA
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
The numbers describe the statistical probability of each team finishing in
the specified position. England and USA should be clear winners and run-
ners-up of group C. Algeria are most likely to finish 4th.
AN
AL
YS
IS
The player towatch in thisgroup?
EXPERTS
ROGER MILLA
ROBERTPIRES
HOWARD WILKINSON
Which teamwill win thegroup?
Which teamcould be thedark horse?
Because of the players they have, Eng-
land cannot be less than favourite. But
it’s still a very tough competition so
certain heads might be cut off.
Algeria has finally got its team in
place. They proved at the Africa Cup
of Nations that they are able to re-
cover from set-backs. Everyone must
beware of Algeria!
Karim Ziani. The former Marseille
player has been working hard. He
is much more disciplined than he
was.
England. They have a lot of great
individuals and one of the best
coaches in the world, Capello. He
can take the Three Lions really far.
Algeria. This technically good
team could surprise. They
proved their temperament by
beating Egypt in Karthoum.
Wayne Rooney: Since Ronaldo
left Man United, he shines for the
Red Devils. He does not hesitate
to sacrifice himself for the cause.
England. No question. They should
win comfortably. A lot depends on
whether Rooney is fit, but they
should win anyway.
USA. They are really getting their
act together and they are very thor-
ough in their preparation.
The England goalkeeper. It’s possibly
the only position on the field for
which there is no automatic choice
and it’s such an important position.
African football iconand Cameroon star
Arsenal icon. World Cup winner
with France
Twice caretakermanager of the
England team
GROUP PREDICTION
ST
EV
EN
GE
RR
AR
D
ENGLAND 63.6%
USA 44.4%
ALGERIA 50.2%
SLOVENIA 39.2%
1
2
3
4
13.0613:30 Algeria - Slovenia
18.0616:00 Slovenia - USA
20:30 England - Algeria
23.0616:00 Slovenia - England
16:00 USA - Algeria
FIX
TU
RE
S
First game in the group andthe most interesting. Could
the Yanks shock Englandlike they did in 1950?
DO
N’T
MIS
S!
12.06
20:30
ENGLAND vs USA
*Added value of 4 countries FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking points
GR
OU
PS
TR
EN
GT
H
Group
totAl FiFA points*
Group powEr
H
4094
1
G
3998
2
D
3736
3
C
3699
4
B
3554
5
E
3549
6
A
3251
7
F
3161
8
14.05.2010 14:48 Twist 235
GROUP CSupported by
Tim Howard. The Everton goalkeeper has twoof the safest hands in the UK Pre-mier League. He won an FA Cupwinners medal with ManchesterUnited in 2004 and was electedbest goalkeeper at last year’sConfederations Cup. But he’llneed to be at the top of his gameif the USA are toprogress to thesecond round oreven further thanthat. He is a manof great willpower whichhelps him dealwith hisTourette’sSyn-drome.
13/20This is a deceptively tough groupand it’s hard to see anything buta first round exit for the Stars
and Stripes team. Anything elsewould be an upset. But the teamlead by experienced attacker
Landon Donovan proved duringthe Confederation Cup that on agood day they can beat anyone.
11
USA STARS TO EARNWORLD CUP STRIPES?
AN
AL
YS
IS
Sixth consecutive World Cup appear-ance for the USA side who reachedthe second round in 1994 and quarter-finals in 2002. USA also caused thefirst great shock result at a World Cup,beating England 1-0 at the 1950 eventin Brazil. Scorer Joe Gaetjens becamea national hero for life.
The US team are often wanting inthe last third of the field. They haveno player who can turn a game onhis own. Many players spend most of theirtime sitting on benches of Europeanclubs. They miss regular football.
TEAM
HISTORY IN WC
STAR
THE QUESTION MARK
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What they lack in technical finessethey make up for in speed and hus-tle – as European champs Spainfound out when they were beaten2-0 in the 2009 Confederations Cupsemis. In the final Brazil only cameback from 0-2 down to win 3-2 inthe dying seconds. First in qualify-ing group.
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Coach Bob Bradley was appointedonly on an interim basis, but an un-beaten streak of 10 games earnedhim a permanent contract. He puts to-gether a well-drilled squad of proveninternationals and up-and-comingstars. Scored more goals (42) than anyother country in qualification.Bradley, whose son is a midfielder inthe USA team, focusses on team
spirit, dedication and mental prepara-tion. When he took over the team, heused the famous ‘Miracle on Ice’ –young, unexperienced college ice-hockey players winning the 1980Olympic gold by defeating the muchbetter rated Soviet team – as an inspi-rational example for his players. Forthem, South Africa 2010 might wellresult in a miracle on grass.
Netherlands 2-1 USA
USA 2-1 El Salvador
USA 1-3 Honduras
Denmark 3-1 USA
Slovakia 1-0 USA
USA 2-2 Costa Rica
Honduras 2-3 USA
Trinidad & Tob. 0-1 USA
USA 2-1 El Salvador
Mexico 2-1- USA
Jonathan Bornstein
Oguchi Onyewu Conor Casey
Michael Bradley
Benny Feilhaber
Landon Donovan
Damarcus Beasley
Jozy Altidore Tim Howard
Carlos Bocanegra
Jonathan Spector
10
Wayne Rooney.On fire for ManchesterUnited all season, the 24-year-old has the fight,energy, and skill tomake the 2010World Cup hisown. Grabbednine goals in ninegames played,helping Englandto reach a Euro-best of 34 goalsin the qualifyingcampaign. Whenhe earned his firstcap for England in2003 he becamethe youngestplayer to play for the na-tional team, a recordonly to be broken byTheo Walcott in 2006.
17/20The whisper on the streets inLondon is ‘maybe, just maybe’ –and, 20 years after the Turin
penalty disaster against Ger-many, this talented side reallyshould be among the last four
once again. It’s now or never forEngland.
ENGLAND: TIME TO END44 YEARS OF HURT?
John Terry. The Chelsea defender wasstripped of captaincy after sleeping
with the girlfriend of fellow defenderWayne Bridge, sparking an apparent
rift in the dressing room. It remains tobe seen how England players and staff
cope with that and with tabloid pres-sure that might want to try to recycle
the story causing new scandals.
Won it in 1966 for the first and onlytime. Since then only made it past thequarter-finals once. England have his-
torically been a team of big namesunable to transfer their club talent tothe international stage. England willbe hoping to avoid a penalty shoot-
out. From the last six exits, four wereafter penalty kicks.
TEAM
THE QUESTION MARK
STAR
HISTORY IN WC
�����
Only lost to Ukraine in the quali-fiers and under coach Capello Eng-land have been playing with aconfidence and consistency notseen for decades. After qualifyingthey defeated African championsEgypt 3-1 in London and lost 1-0 toBrazil in a friendly played in theQatari capital, Doha.
�����
����� England 3-1 Egypt
Brazil 1-0 England
England 3-0 Belarus
Ukraine 1-0 England
England 5-1 Croatia
England 2-1 Slovenia
Netherlands 2-2 England
England 6-0 Andorra
Kazakhstan 0-4 England
England 2-1- Ukraine
AN
AL
YS
IS
No-one will relish playing an Eng-land team with Wayne Rooney, RioFerdinand, Frank Lampard, StevenGerrard and John Terry on the field,and undoubted tactical genius FabioCapello in the dugout. England needto put the twin ghosts of their disap-pointing 2006 World Cup and miss-ing Euro 2008 to rest and will be upfor the fight.
Team cohesion took a blow after JohnTerry’s private affairs spilled over intothe dressing room, but Capello hopesto have closed the matter. On the pitch, one of the crucial deci-sions the Italian has to make is whohe puts in goal. After a season of in-juries and lack of form for Englishgoalkeepers, it now looks like it’s be-tween Ben Foster and Robert Green.
Ashley Cole
John Terry
Glen Johnson
Gareth Barry
Steven Gerrard
Emile Heskey
Aaron Lennon
Wayne Rooney
Robert Green
Rio Ferdinand
WH
O I
SN
EX
T
1/8 1/4 1/2 Final 1/8 1/4 1/2 Final
If England qualify 1st they are most likely to play: If England qualify 2nd they are most likely to play:
Source: www.castrolfootball.com Source: www.castrolfootball.com
EN
GL
AN
D
PLAYER TO WATCH
FORM
CH
AN
CE
S
�����FORM
73.0%
USA’s chance of getting to second
round.
36.0%
USA’s chances ofgetting to Quarter
Finals.
17.3%
USA’s chance of getting to
Semi-Finals.
6.5%
USA’s chance of getting to the Final
2.4%
USA’s chance of winning 2010 Fifa
World Cup™ US
A
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Frank Lampard PLAYER TO WATCH
14.05.2010 14:48 Twist 235
FORM
12
GROUP CSupported by
13
AL
GE
RIA
ALGERIA WANT ‘82SHAME REVENGED
AN
AL
YS
IS
First qualified in 1982, which still is a sorepoint in Algerian history. In Spain theymemorably beat West Germany 2-1 and Chile 3-2 but then became the vic-tim of one of the most controversialWorld Cup games ever. Germany al-legedly agreed to draw 0-0 with the Aus-trians - sending Algeria home. In Mexico1986 they took only one point from six.
Homesickness. Algeria have onlywon two away games since 2003.Also hard to see where the goals aregoing to come from - neither Ghezzalnor Djebbour are world-class strikers.The Desert Warriors are capable ofdrawing with each team in this groupbut are they strong enough to win atleast one game?
TEAM
HISTORY IN WC
STAR
THE QUESTION MARK
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Lost two of the three of their firstround qualifiers against Senegal (0-1) and Gambia (0-1), but made it toplay-offs. Knocked out Africanchamps Egypt amid much badblood. Finished fourth at January’sAfrican Cup, losing to Egypt in thesemis (0-4) and Nigeria (0-1) forthird place.
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Don’t count them out. Many of the Al-gerian players were born in France,had their footballing education thereand are now playing all over Europe.Without exception, they are techni-cally very capable and possess goodpace. Midfield is Algeria’s strength, withcaptain Yazid Mansouri – who playsfor FC Lorient in France – spreading
the ball around dangerously. KarimZiani (VfL Wolfsburg) and MouradMeghni (Lazio Roma) have excellentvision and are the most likely playersto spark danger. Striker Karim Mat-mour has been proving a dangerouswinger. In goal Faouzi Chaouchiseems to have replaced former firstchoice Lounés Gaouaoui, who lost hisplace after an appendix infection.
Nigeria 1-0 Algeria
Algeria 0-4 Egypt
Ivory Coast 2-3 Algeria
Angola 0-0 Algeria
Mali 0-1 Algeria
Malawi 3-0 Algeria
Algeria 1-0 Egypt
Egypt 2-0 Algeria
Algeria 3-1 Rwanda
Algeria 1-0 Zambia
Milvoje NovakovicThe FC Koln striker is the na-
tion’s third highest ever goal-scorer with 13. As captain of the
team, he tookfive out of 20
during qualifyingand, at 31, the
Ljubljana-born for-ward is, at this FIFA
World Cup, approachingthe peak of his powers. At
his club he played a crucialrole in promotion in 2008. At
FC Koln he teams up withGerman striker Lukas
Podolski up front.Clever and capableon and off the ball.Elected 2008 Player
of the Year in hiscountry.
11/20The Slovenes were surprise quali-fiers but it will be no surprise ifthey are on the first plane back
home. They may have shockedthe world kicking out Guus Hid-dink’s Russia, but this group may
be just too tall an order. Lack ofreal quality will at the end of theday be the crucial factor.
SLOVENES ARE SEEKING MORE SCALPS
A thin squad, and the midfield is a bigworry. Best playmaker is England based
skipper Robert Koren (West BromwichAlbion) who is both resourceful and
hard-working but woefully short on bigstage experience. Can coach Kek, in his
first really big competition, keep thecollective spirit? Simply being in the
spotlight might cause loss of focus andconcentration.
This young country only became in-dependent from Yugoslavia in
1991. This is the second appearanceafter a disastrous 2002 campaign.
In 2002 the Slovenes lost threegames, conceded seven goals andhad their only star Zlatko Zahovic
sent home after a dispute withcoach Srecko Katanec.
TEAM
THE QUESTION MARK
STAR
HISTORY IN WC
�����
Slovenia’s defenders only concededsix goals in 12 qualifying games –
a performance only bettered byHolland. Surprisingly knocked outRussia in the play-offs after finish-
ing behind group winners Slovakiaand ahead of the Czech Republic
and Poland. This year only playedQatar (4-1).
�����
�����Slovenia 4-1 Qatar
Slovenia 1-0 Russia
Russia 2-1 Slovenia
San Marino 0-3 Slovenia
Slovakia 0-2 Slovenia
Slovenia 3-0 Poland
England 2-1 Slovenia
Slovenia 5-0 San Marino
North. Ireland 1-0 Slovenia
Slovenia 0-0 Czech Republic
Bojan Jokic
Bostjan Cesar Robert Koren
A. Radosavljevic
Andraz Kirm
Zlatko Dedic
Valter Birsa
M. Novakovic
Samir Handanovic
Marko Suler
Miso Brecko
PLAYER TO WATCH
Nadir Belhadj
Antar Yahia
Yazid Mansouri
Mourad Meghni
Karim Matmour
A. Ghezzal
Karim Ziani
Rafik Saifi
Faouzi Chaquchi
Madjid Bougherra
Rafik Halliche
AN
AL
YS
IS
Coach Matjaz Kek has, since 2007,been building his team around a rock-
solid defence and a collectivestrength. “Everyone’s equal to every-
one, there’s no room for stardom,”Kek says. Arguably the best known
player in the team is FC Koln strikerMilivoje Novakovic. Together with
goalkeeper Samir Handanovic (Udi-nese), forward Zlatko Dedic (VfL
Bochum) and captain Robert Koren inmidfield, they make the backbone of
the Slovenian team. Dedic became a national hero for bag-
ging the deciding goal in the 1-0 vic-tory over Russia that guaranteed theirWorld Cup tickets. As a reward for thisachievement, national prime minister
Borut Pahor cleaned all the players’boots after returning home.
WH
O I
SN
EX
T 21.0%
Slovenia’s chance of getting to
second round.
5.4%
Slovenia’s chance ofgetting to
Quarter Finals.
1.3%
Slovenia’s chance of getting to Semi-Finals.
0.3%
Slovenia’s chance of getting to
the Final
0%
Slovenia’s chance of winning 2010 Fifa
World Cup™
�����FORM
8/20Algeria are undoubtedly the
minnows of the group. But bewarned: they are extremely ca-
pable individual players. Can’tbe ruled out of a surprising and
historic last 16 finish. If they
keep their composure and staydisciplined they could be very
hard to beat .
15.9%
Algeria’s chance of getting to
second round.
3.5%
Algeria’s chance ofgetting to
Quarter-Finals.
0.8%
Algeria’s chance of getting to Semi-Finals.
0.1%
Algeria’s chance of getting to
the Final
0%
Algeria’s chance of winning 2010 Fifa
World Cup™ WH
O I
SN
EX
T
SL
OV
EN
IA
Karim ZianiBorn and raised in France, his fatheris from Bejaia in the northern-Alger-ian region of Kabylie and his motheris from France. The 27-year-old was aregular with Sochaux andOlympique Marseille before joiningGerman champions Wolfsburg lastyear. Hasn’t yet shown best of hisabilities in Germany, but for his national side he is the absolute key man – was involved in more than 80% of Algeria’s qualifying goals.
PLAYER TOWATCH
14.05.2010 15:02 Twist 235
14�
GROUP ASupported by
15
FR
AN
CE
G
RO
UP
A
GR
OU
P A
FORM
Without Henry’s blatant hand-ball against Ireland, France
would not even be in Africa sothey have a lot to prove. Re-
cent games have seen aFrench team lacking rhythm.
With an injury question markhanging over Ribéry plus
Henry's lack of playing time,Les Bleus face an uphill task.
�����
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
What to do with ThierryHenry? Should he be on the
left side, playing through thecentre, or on the bench as he
usually is at FC Barcelona?This will be his third World
Cup. At 32, the once talis-manic striker will be taking
part in his last tournament sohe will want to make it count.
TEAM
Les Bleus are not the teamthey were 12 years ago but
they still count real worldclass players among their
number. Franck Ribery, Nico-las Anelka, William Gallas,
Yoann Gourcuff, Lassane Diarra and Thierry Henry canstill go up against the best in
the world.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
France have reached the finaltwice. In 1998, they beat the
Brazilians, led by Ronaldo, (3-0). 2002 was a big dissapoint-ment - France finished last in
their group without scoring agoal. But in the last World
Cup Domenech’s men wereonly edged out on penalties
by an uninspiring Italian side.
�����
FORM
Revitalised under coach JavierAguirre (nicknamed El Vasco)the Aztecs won 12 matches in
a row. They are ranked sec-ond in Concacaf behind the
USA. Undefeated in the lastfive qualification games.
�����
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
The youngsters in the side.Aguirre, who has been a suc-
cessful coach at Spanish clubsOsasuna and Atlético Madrid,
must manage the mix ofolder players with European
league experience and hiskeen youngsters getting their
first taste on football’sbiggest stage.
TEAM
In the past few years the teamhas seen three coaches trying
out 60 players. Now with JavierAguirre, “El Tri” have found
their balance. The team led by36-year-old veteran Cuauhte-moc Blanco is dangerous up-
front but the real strength liesin defence commanded
by Barcelona skipper RafaelMarquez.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
With 13 appearances out of apossible 18, “El Tri” have
made more tournament ap-pearances than any otherteam. However, they have
never gone further than thequarter finals. In the 1986
Mexico World Cup they wereknocked out by Germany who
went on to win.
�����
15/20This is not the Zidane side of 2006, but there’s real class
here. Good team led by unconvincing coach could eitherend up very high or crash out in the group stage.
ME
XIC
OG
RO
UP
A
13/20Always a threat, especially now with Vela and Barcelona’s
Rafael Marquez in the line up. Should progress at least be-yond group stage.
STAR PLAYER:Franck Ribery
“Scarface” will be a major transfer target this sum-mer. He consistently plays his heart out on the leftfor Bayern Munich. He delivers assists, tears down
defences and can often dictate the game. Ab-solutely tireless for 90 minutes and a French side
with him in it is a faster and braver one. After ascandal with an underage prostitue Ribery will
want to let his football make the headlines inSouth Africa.
STAR PLAYER: Andres Guardado
One of the youngest players in the team this 24-year-old dynamite left winger, has played 80 gamesfor Deportivo La Coruna and almost 50 for Mexico. Guardado played his first professional game at 18.A few months later he made his debut for the na-
tional team. The wonderkid quickly ended up in LaLiga where his pace, talent and character make him
a top player in his position.
�����
�����
te
xt
BY
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k k
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; g
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: m
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AN
AL
YS
IS HOW FAR CAN BAFANABAFANA GO?A wide-open group. Surprisingly many book-ies make Uruguay the likely group winnersbut who would bet against France? Le Bleusqualified via the play-offs, and a cynical hand-ball from Thierry Henry, but they have a longtradition of performing on the big stage.Uruguay and Mexico have no-where near thesame consistency.And then there’s the host-nation wild card.Bafana Bafana are the weakest team onpaper but their football-obsessed fans will betheir 12th man on the pitch. As has been seenin so many other World Cups the home ad-vantage can never be underestimated. Mex-ico face a baptism of fire as they face SouthAfrica in their first game.
QUALIFICATION CHANCES
GROUP PREDICTION
GR
OU
PS
TR
EN
GT
H
Group
totAl�FiFA�points*
Group�powEr
H
4094
1
G
3998
2
D
3736
3
C
3699
4
B
3554
5
E
3549
6
A
3251
7
F
3161
8
*Added value of 4 countries FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking points
ST
EV
EN
P
IEN
AA
R
The player towatch in thisgroup?
EXPERTS
ROGER MILLA
ROBERTPIRES
JACQUES SANTINI
Which teamwill win thegroup?
Which teamcould be thedark horse?
France. The team used to be world
champions. Although the country is a
real promised land for football, it is not
yet sure that it will qualify.
South Africa. It’s the team that is play-
ing at home and has the support of its
public. It’s important. That’ll probably
make the team excel and win games.
Franck Ribéry. If he is mentally pre-
pared, he can do great things. In spite
of the troubles he got himself in re-
cently, I don’t see him being distracted.
France: I know the players, they want
to erase the poor image of national
team. Their pride has been been
hurt. France is a wounded beast.
I put my money on Uruguay. For
La Celeste will be competitive. It
can count on highly dangerous
strikers, such as Diego Forlan.
Ribéry, despite his controversial
season. I love this player. He’s
outstanding. The World Cup can
allow him to reach his true level.
Diego Forlan. He is underestimated,
but he proved that he is one of the
best strikers in the world. He's been
at his best at Atletico Madrid.
African footballicon and Cameroon
star
Arsenal icon. World Cup cham-pion with France
Ex-coach of French national
team
61
.5%
59
%
49
.5%
30
%
UR
UG
UA
Y
FR
AN
CE
ME
XIC
O
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
SO
UT
HA
FR
ICA
URUGUAY 34.4%
FRANCE 30.4%
SOUTH AFRICA 42.4%
MEXICO 26.3%
1
2
3
4
Graph presents sta-
tistical prediction of
final group order.
The numbers de-
scribe the liklihood
of team finishing in
specified position.
Surprisingly statisti-
cally Uruguay is
most likely to win
Group A.
11.0620:30 Uruguay - France
16.0620:30 S. Africa - Uruguay
17.0616:00 France - Mexico
22.0620:30 Mexico - Uruguay
20:30 France- South Africa
FIX
TU
RE
S
(The opening match. First World Cupgame on African soil.The atmosphere shouldbe as hot as hell.)
DO
N’T
MIS
S!
11.06
20:30
S. AFRICAvs. MEXICO
France. Group stage games will be
difficult, but they are much stronger
than the other teams. I am sure that
Les Bleus can reach the quarter finals.
Uruguay could finish 2nd because
Tabarez has a solid group of players.
However, the South African team on
their own soil could spring a surprise.
14.05.2010 15:04 Twist 235
79
.1%
47
.3%
46
.1%
27
.6%
AR
GE
NT
INA
NIG
ER
IA
GR
EE
CE
SO
UT
HK
OR
EA
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
ARGENTINA 54.2%
NIGERIA 28.9%
S. KOREA 43.5%
GREECE 28.3%
1
2
3
4
LE
O M
ES
SI
17
GROUPS A,B
16�
UR
UG
UA
Y TEAM
STAR PLAYER:Luis Suarez
GR
OU
P A
AN
AL
YS
IS
Coach Oscar Tabarez has cre-ated a formidable mix ofyoung guns and experiencedinternationals. La Celeste areat their strongest going for-ward. Diego Forlan and LuisSuarez had very good seasonsin Europe. Charismatic DiegoLugano is the key man in theback four.
At just 23 Suarez is captain of Ajax and one of themost prolific goal-scorers in Europe. On his day can take apart defences with embarrass-ing ease usually playing just behind the front manfor Uruguay. He has a stunning scoring record for Ajax Amster-dam: 85 goals in 120 games. He and in-form DiegoForlan are a lethal strike force. His weakness is hisannoying habit of diving in the penalty area.
�����
FORM
Erratic. Lost to Argentina andsqueezed through after beat-ing Costa Rica in a play-off.However, in a friendly againstSwitzerland in March, La Ce-leste impressed by swappingtheir usual physical game forflair and finesse to comfort-ably beat the Swiss 3-1.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Uruguay used to play themost beautiful football in theworld. Won the Cup twice - in1930 at home, and in 1950 inBrazil - and made the semi-fi-nals in 1954 and 1970. Butthat’s ancient history - at thelast five World Cup finals LaCeleste made just two appear-ances
�����
THE BIG QUESTIONMARK
Uruguay have not passed thegroup stage since Italy 1990.And the world’s biggest stagemight prove too big a hurdlefor the young and inexperi-enced stars this time aroundtoo.
TEAM
South Africa have the secondlowest ranking of the qualify-ing teams. As host nation theydidn’t have to qualify but thisteam of experienced playersled by coach Carlos AlbertoParreira, have the advantageof home turf and thousandsof supporters behind. Andthat makes them a threat.
�����
FORM
Bafana Bafana didnt play ansignificant game for twoyears but they had good re-sults in March, during a cam-paign orchestrated byParreira. They won five friend-lies against African teamswithout conceding a goal, butthey are seriously short ofreal international games.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
South Africa was bannedfrom international footballfor more than 30 years. Theyqualified in 1998 for the firsttime and played in Korea in2002. In both cases the dreamended in the group stage.
�����
THE BIG QUESTIONMARK
In the recent movie “Invictus”Matt Damon leads SouthAfrican Springbok team fromunderdogs to victory in RugbyWorld Cup. They have thewhole nation behind them, in-cluding Nelson Mandela, butwhether life can imitate art re-mains to be seen.
12/20This is a very tough group for Uruguay. Even if they manageto beat the always dangerous Mexico and the unpredictablehost team, La Celeste are unlikely to reach the next phase.
SO
UT
H A
FR
ICA
STAR PLAYER: Steven Pienaar
GR
OU
P A
Johannesburg-born midfielder had an excellent sea-son in Everton. The Toffees as well as South Africateam were dependent on his form. “The MightyPeanut” is a fast and versatile player, and can playas creative attacking midfielder or winger. Big trans-fer targets for European clubs this summer. Lastsummer he was being sued by his ex-girlfriend for 1milion euro for not marrying her.9/20
Host team always enjoy the advantage of own ground,friendly referees, fanatic supporters. But this time BafanaBafana will need help of wizards to even leave the group.
�����
�����
Supported by
te
xt
BY
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k k
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es
nia
k;
ph
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afp,
gr
ap
hic
s:
mia
GOD DIEGOAND HIS
MESSI(AH)All four teams have very contrasting styles,
which makes the clashes between them fasci-nating. All of them are capable of beating one
another on their day. It resembles the situationfrom the World Cup finals in the USA. In 1994
in one group Argentina met Nigeria, Greeceand Bulgaria (now replaced by South Korea).The Greeks lost all three matches scoring nogoals. So now for Greeks, it is enough simplyto score to have the best World Cup finals intheir history. But they hope for second place,as Nigeria and S. Korea do. Favorites are Ar-
gentina, but remember their shaky qualifyingcampaign and the unpredictible Diego
Maradona, who he has more self confidencethan experience as manager.
QUALIFICATION CHANCES
12.0613:30 S. Korea - Greece
17.06
13:30 Argentina – S. Korea
16:00 Greece - Nigeria
22.0620:30 Nigeria - S. Korea
20:30 Greece - Argentina
FIX
TU
RE
S
Latin American giants verusAfrican Super Eagles. Expect
a lot of beautiful attackingfootball.
DO
N’T
MIS
S!12.06
16:00
ARGENTINAvs. NIGERIA
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
The stats show
just what a
tight group
this is. Nigeria
and Greece
are neck and
neck.
GR
OU
P B
The player towatch in thisgroup?
EXPERTS
ROGER MILLA
ROBERT PIRES
CESARE MALDINI
Which team will win thegroup?
Which teamcould be thedark horse?
Argentina: Theoretically, they are
made up of very technically strong
players.
Nigeria: This team will take advan-
tage of playing in Africa. As an
African team during the first round
they will have the public on their side
Leo Messi: He is currently the
world’s best player. He should con-
firm it during the World Cup.
Argentina are experienced at this
level of competition. They have a
great first eleven and substitutes
who are better than average.
Greece. They are simply a frustrat-
ing kind of team, not spectacular,
but hard to beat. They have a cast
-iron defence and can counter at-
tack amazingly quickly.
Messi. Although he is a fantastic
player with Barca, he is often in-
visible in the Argentinian jersey.
Despite the problems shown last
year, Argentina have got much more
talent than all the other teams. They
start with an advantage.
In the qualifying matches Greece
played very good football. They
could cause many problems to all
the other teams.
It is Leo Messi without any doubt,
even if he has not played very well
in his National team shirt so far.
African footballicon and
Cameroon star
Arsenal icon andFrench World
Cup Winner
The former coach of the Italian
national team
GROUP PREDICTION
GR
OU
PS
TR
EN
GT
H
Group
totAl�FiFA�points*
Group�powEr
H
4094
1
G
3998
2
D
3736
3
C
3699
4
B
3554
5
E
3549
6
A
3251
7
F
3161
8
*Added value of 4 countries FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking points
14.05.2010 15:09 Twist 235
19
Supported by
18
GROUP B
AR
GE
NT
INA TEAM
STAR PLAYER:Lionel Messi
GR
OU
P B
Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero,Carlos Tevez, GonzaloHiguaín, Javier Mascherano,Gabriel Heinze, are among thefrightening army of talentthat Argentina can field. Addveteran stars Juan Veron andJavier Zanetti and they ar-guably out-shine Brazil. Butare they a team?
World Player of the Year Messi will celebrate onlyhis 23rd birthday during the World Cup but, morethan team coach Diego Maradona, he is the realleader of this Argentine side. Brilliant in every de-partment, if he can replicate his form at Barcelonahe could win this World Cup on his own.
�����
FORM
Worst qualifying form ever -won 8 but had 4 draws and 6losses including a humiliatingdefeat 1-6 in Bolivia. Only gotthrough in the last matchagainst Uruguay. In friendlieslost 2-1 to Spain in November2009. But this year looks bet-ter: wins against Costa Rica,Jamaica and Germany.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Argentina played in the firstWorld Cup in Uruguay in 1930and lost in the final. They wonthe cup twice, in 1978 and in1986 and lost the final to Ger-many in 1990. This is their15th World Cup finals. In 1998and 2006 they made the quar-ter finals. In Korea, surpris-ingly failed the group stage.
�����
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Diego Armando Maradona. Asbrilliant on the pitch in 1986as he is worrying off it in 2010.Volatile and unpredictable –Argentina could just as easilybe finalists or be on the firstplane home. Is it really possi-ble to win World Cup withbrilliant players but a shockingcoach?
TEAM
Experienced. Two players - for-mer Dortmund defender LeeYoung-Pyo and goalkeeperLee Woon-Jae - have over 100caps. Many players play in Eu-rope: Park Ji-Sung (ManUnited), Park Chu-Young (ASMonaco), Cho Won-Hee(Wigan), Kim Dong-Jin (Zenit),Lee Chung-Yong (Bolton).
�����
FORM
The South Koreans were un-beaten in 14 games and con-ceded only seven goals on theway to their seventh consecu-tive World Cup. In friendliesthis year, they beat Latvia 1-0,Hong Kong 5-0, Japan 3-1 andIvory Coast 2-0. Only China got the better of them with a 3-0 win.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
In 1954 they did not score agoal and lost 9-0 against Hun-gary. After 32 years they qual-ified in 1986, then 1990, 1994,and 1998 but failed to getpast the first round. In 2002,when they co-hosted WorldCup, they stunned the worldwith a fourth place finish.
�����
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
No really prolific goalscorersin the side and, despite com-mendable discipline at theback, a question mark hangsover the team’s ability to copewith the physical game of theSouth Americans and Euro-peans.
17/20A shadow of their former selves and Maradona remains areal worry – but it would be foolish to rule out any teamstarting with Lionel Messi up front.
SO
UT
H K
OR
EA
STAR PLAYER:Park Ji-Sung
GR
OU
P B
Korea’s best known player and a fixture in the Man-chester United team since 2005. Nicknamed ParkThree-Lung for his impressive stamina, the mid-fielder is a disciplined captain and, with 5 goals inqualifications, team’s leading scorer.
12/20There’s enough talent here to progress from this unpre-dictable group, but it will be an uphill battle for the SouthKoreans.
NIG
ER
IAG
RO
UP
B
FORM
Didn’t lose a game in quali-fiers (9 wins, 3 draws). This
year they were beaten byGhana 0-1 and Niger 0-2 andbeat Zambia (on penalties),
Algeria 1-0 and DR Congo 5-2.
�����
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
Are the Super Eagles capableof flying high again? Was hir-ing Swedish coach Lagerbacka good move? On the day theNigerians are a match for any-one but the coach’s dreams of
reaching the quarter-finalslook to be exactly that.
TEAM
Many names well known onthe world stage, like Kanu
(Portsmouth), Aiyegbeni (Ever-ton), Odemwinge (Lokomotiv
Moscow), Yobo (Everton),Mikel (Chelsea) and Obinna
(Málaga). New Swedish man-ager’s Lars Lagerback’s task isto blend these quality players
to a good team.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Nigeria reached the last 16 attheir first ever World Cup fi-
nals in 1994 and repeated thefeat four years later. In 2002,they failed to advance from
the group, and did not qualifyfor World Cup 2006.
�����
FORM
Only qualified via the play-offs from a notably weak
group. Beaten twice bySwitzerland and only drew
with Moldova. A pre-tourna-ment friendly against Senegal
on home turf saw themsoundly beaten 2-0. Will need
to work hard to get past firstround.
�����
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
Can the Greeks score theirfirst World Cup goal? Can
they win their first World Cupmatch? The pressure on themwill increase with each gameas they start against theoreti-
cally the weakest group op-ponent Korea, then play
Nigeria and finally Argentina.
TEAM
Coach Otto Rehhagel hasbuilt a compact unit, convinc-
ing particularly in defence.Goalkeeper Alexandros Tzor-
vas was impressive in play-offs against Ukraine. Midfield
relies on Garagounis andKostas Katsouranis. Strikers:
Angelos Charisteas, TheofanisGekas and Giorgos Samaras.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
The Greeks have played in theWorld Cup only once – in the
USA in 1994. They lost all 3matches, scoring none and
conceding 10. Their finesthour was winning Euro 2004,
but that now seems a longtime ago.
�����
11/20Anything but an early plane home looks a very tall order
for the Nigerians – but they have wrong-footed pundits be-fore.
GR
EE
CE
GR
OU
P B
8/20In the big tournaments the Greeks either bomb out or winthe title. If the fearsome defence holds up, the last 16 is a
real prospect.
STAR PLAYER: Obafemi Martins
Wolfsburg striker and former teenage sprint cham-pion in Nigeria, Martins has 24 caps and 15 goals.An injury meant he only played in three qualifiersbut scored twice. Fast and deadly. In a 2007 game
playing for Newcastle United against Tottenham hisshot was clocked at 84 mph!
STAR PLAYER: Theofanis Gekas
At 30, and at the top of his game the Bayer Lev-erkusen forward is the qualifying campaign's topscorer with 10 goals (almost half of the 21 Greekgoals). He was the only Greek player who was on
the pitch in all 12 preliminary matches and a tower-ing influence on the team.
�����
����� �����
�����
14.05.2010 15:09 Twist 235
More fans! More fun! At your nearest Hyundai Fan Park!
Feel the game! 2010 FIFA World Cup
TMSupported by Hyundai
13.05.2010 13:37 Twist 235
MATCH
JOHANNESBURGSoccer City
GROUP MATCHES
NELSPRUITMbombela
BLOEMFONTEINFree State
DURBANDurban
PORT ELIZABETHN. Mandela Bay
JOHANNESBURGEllis Park
RUSTENBURGRoyal Bafokeng
CAPE TOWNGreen Point
POLOKWANEPeter Mokaba
TSHWANE Loftus Versfeld
GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D GROUP E GROUP F GROUP G GROUP H
GR
OU
PS
FRI
JUNE
11
SAT
JUNE
12
SUN
JUNE
13
MON
JUNE
14
TUE
JUNE
15
WED
JUNE
16
THU
JUNE
17
FRI
JUNE
18
SAT
JUNE
19
SUN
JUNE
20
MON
JUNE
21
TUE
JUNE
22
WED
JUNE
23
THU
JUNE
24
FRI
JUNE
25
SAT
JUNE
26
SUN
JUNE
27
MON
JUNE
28
TUE
JUNE
29
WED
JUNE
30
THU
JULY
1
FRI
JULY
2
SAT
JULY
3
SUN
JULY
4
MON
JULY
5
TUE
JULY
6
WED
JULY
7
THU
JULY
8
FRI
JULY
9
SAT
JULY
10
SUN
JULY
11
ROUND OF 16
QUARTER FINALS
SEMIFINALS
3/4 PLACE& FINAL
RE
ST
D
AY
S
RE
ST
D
AY
S
RE
ST
D
AY
S
South Africa (RSA)
Mexico (MEX)
Uruguay (URU)
France (FRA)
Argentina (ARG)
Nigeria (NGA)
Korea Rep. (KOR)
Greece (GRE)
England (ENG)
USA (USA)
Algeria (ALG)
Slovenia (SVN)
Germany (GER)
Australia (AUS)
Serbia (SRB)
Ghana (GHA)
Netherlands (NED)
Denmark (DEN)
Japan (JPN)
Cameroon (CMR)
Italy (ITA)
Paraguay (PAR)
New Zealand (NZL)
Slovakia (SVK)
Brazil (BRA)
Korea DPR (PRK)
Ivory Coast (CIV)
Portugal (POR)
Spain (ESP)
Switzerland (SUI)
Honduras (HON)
Chile (CHI)
16:00
RSAvs
MEX
16:00
ARGvs
NGA
20:30
ENGvs
USA
20:30
URUvs
FRA
13:30
KORvs
GRE
13:30
ALGvs
SVN
20:30
GERvs
AUS
16:00
ESPvs
SUI
13:30
NEDvs
JPN
20:30
NGAvs
KOR
16:00
PORvs
BRA
20:30
CMRvs
NED
13:30
PORvs
PRK
20:30
ENGvs
ALG
20:30
ITAvs
PAR
16:00
JPNvs
CMR
16:00
GREvs
NGA
13:30
SVKvs
PAR
16:00
FRAvs
RSA
20:30
SUIvs
HON
20:30
DENvs
JPN
16:00
MEXvs
URU
16:00
GHAvs
AUS
13:30
NZLvs
SVK
13:30
HONvs
CHI
16:00
ITAvs
NZL
20:30
AUSvs
SRB
16:00
PRKvs
CIV
16:00
SVKvs
ITA
20:30
ESPvs
HON
16:00
SVNvs
USA
20:30
BRAvs
PRK
13:30
NEDvs
DEN
13:30
ARGvs
KOR
20:30
BRAvs
CIV
20:30
GHAvs
GER
20:30
FRAvs
MEX
20:30
GREvs
ARG
16:00
PAR vs
NZL
16:00
SRBvs
GHA
20:30
RSAvs
URU
20:30
CMRvs
DEN
16:00
USAvs
ALG
20:30
CHIvs
ESP
16:00
1Fvs
2E (6)
20:30
Loser Ivs
Loser II
16:00
5vs
7 (c)
16:00
1Avs
2B (1)
16:00
1Evs
2F (5)
20:30
Bvs
D (II)
20:30
Avs
C (I)
16:00
2vs
4 (B)
20:30
1Hvs
2G (8)
16:00
1Dvs
2C (4)
20:30
1Cvs
2D (3)
20:30
1Gvs
2H (7)
20:30
1Bvs
2A (2)
20:30
6vs
8 (D)
20:30
1vs
3 (A)
20:30
Winner Ivs
Winner II
16:00
SVNvs
ENG
16:00
CHIvs
SUI
13:30
GERvs
SRB
16:00
CIVvs
POR
Supported by
5Most World Cup wins - Brazil of
course. Second are Italy
with 4.
25Most World Cup
games played – byLothar Matthaus
(Ger). Paolo Maldini(Ita) played 23
times.
15Most goals in World
Cup - by Ronaldo(Bra). Second isGerd Müller (W.
Ger) with 14.
42Oldest player in
World Cup – Roger Milla
(Cam). Youngest –Norman Whiteside
(N. Ire) 17.
17The youngest scorer–Pele (Bra). The old-est was Roger Milla
42.
WO
RL
D C
UP
RE
CO
RD
S
22 23
15.05.2010 12:10 Twist 235
GERMANY 48.3%
AUSTRALIA 48.2%
GHANA 42.8%
SERBIA 27.6%
1
2
3
4
JEROME BOATENG
24�
GROUP DSupported by
25
GE
RM
AN
YG
RO
UP
D
FORM
Germany qualified unbeaten,winning eight and drawingtwo, and going through as
group winners by defeatingRussia in Moscow 1-0. In
friendly matches they havenot been so impressive (a 2-2draw with Ivory Coast and 1-0
defeat at the hands of Ar-gentina).
�����
THE BIGQUESTION
MARK
Strength in depth. This is anot an old-fashioned German
team packed with qualityacross the field. The Groupstage should pose no prob-
lems but Low will have to beat his tactical best in the later
stages.
TEAM
Quality stars with foreign rootsbrought new flair to the Ger-
man game. Top scorers in qual-ifications, Miroslav Klose and
Lukas Podolski are of Polish de-scent. That said, the German
talent for discipline and relent-less pressure should see them
steam-roller the other groupteams.
�����
A massive force in World Cupfinals. They have lifted the cup
three times - only Brazil (five)and Italy (four) have done bet-
ter. They have also come sec-ond four times, third threetimes and have more semi-final appearances than any
other team. Have reached thelast eight in the last 14 finals.
�����
FORM
In their first attempt as an in-dependent nation, Serbia
qualified in first place aheadof France and Romania. Went
on to win all friendlies afterqualifications without con-ceding a goal - 1-0 against
Northern Ireland, 1-0 againstSouth Korea, 3-0 against Alge-
ria, 3-0 against Japan.
�����
THE BIGQUESTION
MARK
Will Chelsea defenderIvanović be fully fit after his
knee ligament injury? Experi-enced coach Radomir Antic,
former FC Barcelona, RealMadrid and Atletico Madridboss, needs a plan, becauseVidic is good but can’t hold
the line on his own.
TEAM
A real package of interna-tional experience: topscorer
Milan Jovanovic (5 goals,Standard Liege) and Milos
Krasic (CSKA Moscow) -played all qualifiers - ,
Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea) -most minutes - and captain
Dejan Stankovic (Inter). Cov-ered at the back by the huge
Nemanja Vidic.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Technically a debutant as theRepublic of Serbia has only
existed since 2006.Four years ago as Serbia and
Montenegro they played inGermany and exited in the
group stages.As FR Yugoslavia they
reached the last 16 in 1998.
�����
17/20They might have slipped down the FIFA rankings a little
but who ever heard of a semi-finals without the Germans?
SE
RB
IAG
RO
UP
D
15/20Fearsome attacking power and the even more fearsomeVidic at the back makes Serbia a potential surprise pack-
age. They will be the dark horse of this World Cup.
STAR PLAYER:Michael Ballack
The 33-year-old Chelsea midfielder is the captain ofthe German national team and arguably its biggeststar. Prior to the World Cup finals he is probably set
to earn his 100th cap. Three times German Foot-baller of the Year, Ballack is also one of the na-tional team’s top goalscorers with four goals in
2010 qualifiers and 42 over his career. Since June2005, Germany have never lost when Ballack has
scored.
STAR PLAYER:Nemanja Vidic
General of the Serbian back line and towering cen-tre back for Manchester United. Was instrumental
in the Red Devils’ record run of 14 consecutivematches without conceding a goal in 2008/09 sea-
son for which he won the Player of the Seasonaward. A match for any striker the tournament can
throw at him.
�����
�����
AN
AL
YS
ISG
RO
UP
D
BROTHERAGAINSTBROTHERThis could be the group with the fewestgoals, because Germany, Serbia and Ghanaare all known for their excellent defences.The most interesting clash sees two broth-ers playing against each other. Jerome andKevin-Prince Boateng grew up in Berlin asthe sons of African immigrants. Now theywill be on opposite sides when Germanymeet Ghana. Kevin-Prince (27), mid-fielder for Portsmouth, used to play forthe German youth teams, but he optedfor a nationality switch. Younger brotherJerome (22) defender for HSV (tipped to leave forManchester City) has three caps for the Germans.His side is (as always) group favorite. Everyone elseis playing for the runner-up slot.
QUALIFICATION CHANCES
GROUP PREDICTION
13.0616:00 Serbia - Ghana
20:30 Germany - Australia
18.0613:30 Germany - Serbia
19.0616:00 Ghana - Australia
23.0620:30 Australia - Serbia
FIX
TU
RE
S
If both Boatengbrothers play itwill be historic
DO
N’T
MIS
S 23.06
20:30
GHANA vsGERMANY
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
GR
OU
PS
TR
EN
GT
H
Group
totAl�FiFA�points*
Group�powEr
H
4094
1
G
3998
2
D
3736
3
C
3699
4
B
3554
5
E
3549
6
A
3251
7
F
3161
8
*Added value of 4 countries FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking points
The player towatch in thisgroup?
EXPERTS
ROGER MILLA
ROBERT PIRES
CESARE MALDINI
Which teamwill win thegroup?
Which teamcould be thedark horse?
Germany. They are used to world
competitions. Germany have also a
group of new players ready for the
challenge.
Australia. Everybody will focus on
Ghana, Germany, and Serbia. The un-
derdogs may not have big names, but
their players are warriors.
Philipp Lahm. He’s very good at play-
ing offensively or defensively with
Bayern Munich. He’s shown it during
the Champions League.
Germany. Their strength is based
on its presence, even though its
football game is poor. They are
warriors who never give up.
Serbia is a gifted team which is
ready to shine. The Serbians
caused lots of trouble to Les
Bleus during qualifications.
Bastian Schweinsteiger. He im-
pressed me in Champion’s League.
He is an tireless midfielder who is
able to shine offensively.
Germany will never fail in the World
Cup and I think they can win the
group quite easily.
Ghana is, of course, one of the best
African teams. They can play good
football.
Klose is a forward without great tal-
ent but he is always at his best while
playing with the national team. He
can score many goals.
African player iconand Cameroon star
Arsenal icon andFrench World
Cup winner
The former coach of the Italian
national team
The Australia v Serbia game is the last in the group and may
well decide who qualifies along with Germany.
74
.4%
48
.2%
47
.9%
29
.5%
GE
RM
AN
Y
AU
ST
RA
LIA
SE
RB
IA
GH
AN
A
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
HISTORY IN THE WORLD CUP
14.05.2010 15:19 Twist 235
�7
GROUPS D,E
�6�
GH
AN
A TEAM
STAR PLAYER: Sulleyman Muntari
GR
OU
P D
Serbian coach Rajevac has puttogether a solid team. Anyteam with Michael Essien(Chelsea), Sulley Muntari(Inter) and Dominic Adiyiah(Milan) has real internationalclass. Watch Matthew Amoah(NAC Breda) for goals.A lot will depend on Essienbeing fully fit.
Since a question mark hangs over Michael Essien;sfitness, the biggest star and leader of the team isthe 26-year-old midfielder from Inter Milan - Sulley-man Ali “Sulley” Muntari. He was recently excludedfrom the national team due to disciplinary prob-lems, but he issued a full apology to his countryand coach. Muntari’s thunderous strikes are anightmare even for world class goalkeepers.
�����
FORM
Ghana were the first Africancountry to qualify for theWorld Cup finals – with twogames to spare. Finished sec-ond in the African NationsCup (beat Nigeria 1-0 in semi-final and lost final 0-1 toEgypt) in January. After that,lost a friendly match toBosnia-Herzegovina (1-2).
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
The ‘Black Stars’ are playing intheir second World Cup finals.They made their first appear-ance four years ago in Ger-many where they lost 0-2 toItaly then beat Czech Republic(2-0) and USA (2-1), goingthrough as the only Africanside. Brazil stopped them (0-3)in the second round.
�����
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Michael Essien’s fitness. Hemissed the African NationsCup due to injury earlier thisyear. Huge presence for Ghanaand a genuine internationalclass player. But he picked upa knee injury at the end ofseason at Chelsea. Besidesthat, there are some questionsover team discipline too.
TEAM
Handful of Premiership play-ers. Experienced but ageing.Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzerfrom Fulham, an internationalfor 16 years, is 37-years-old.Defender Stan Lazaridis (Birm-ingham) is 34, Craig Moore(Newcastle) 34, Brett Emerton(Blackburn) 31, Harry Kewelland Lucas Neill, are 31 and 32.
�����
FORM
Top of Asian Group 1 with 6wins and 2 draws. Scored 12goals and had the best defen-sive record in the Asian quali-fying zone with just fourgoals conceded in their totalof 14 qualifiers. More recentlythey lost to South Korea 1-3and were held to a goallessdraw with Holland.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Third World Cup finals for theSocceroos. A poor debut in1974 saw them lose to Westand East Germany and drawwith Chile. In 2006 they madeit to the last 16, finishing justbehind Brazil in the Group.Only knocked out by Italythrough a Totti penalty in thefifth minute of added time.
�����
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Australia’s system is focusedon tightening the back four. Itmeant keeper Mark Schwarzerlet in only four goals in thequalifiers. But relatively pooropposition in the Asian quali-fying process did not reallytest the team. How will the de-fence system will work againstthe world’s top stars?
12/20Good start in Africa Cup of Nations but could be accused ofbeing a one-man team and though they will fight hard it’sdifficult to see them progressing.
AU
ST
RA
LIA
STAR PLAYER: Tim Cahill
GR
OU
P D
The 31-year-old Everton midfielder is a walkingAustralian football statistic. He scored the first goalby an Australian at World Cup and was the firstAustralian player to score in the Asian Cup. He wasvoted Best Oceania Player in 2005 and despitebeing relatively small (5ft 10ins/177cm) the major-ity of his goals come from headers. In the 2008/09season he was Everton’s leading scorer.10/20
For the most of these Socceroos this will be the lastchance to impress an international audience. But they areunlikely to deliver any real surprises.
�����
�����
GR
OU
PS
TR
EN
GT
H
Group
totAl�FiFA�points*
Group�powEr
H
4094
1
G
3998
2
D
3736
3
C
3699
4
B
3554
5
E
3549
6
A
3251
7
F
3161
8
*Added value of 4 countries FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking points
AN
AL
YS
IS
FRIENDSWILL BE
FRIENDS?This is an encounter of footballing acquaint-ences. Historically, many Danes have played
in The Netherlands, like today’s veteran starsJon Dahl Tomasson (Feyenoord), Dennis
Rommedahl (Ajax) and youngster ChristianEriksen (Ajax). Until last winter, Japan’s new
star Kei suke Honda played for lowly Dutchoutfit VVV-Venlo, where he impressed with
silky passing and killing shots. Cameroonmidfielder Eyong Enoh (Ajax Amsterdam)
and their unquestioned star Samuel Eto’o arealso familiar with the Dutch. Eto’o now is
Wesley Sneij der’s teammate at Inter. Before,he shared dressing rooms with Dutch captain
Giovanni van Bronckhorst at FC Barcelona.
QUALIFICATION CHANCES
14.0613:30 Netherlands - Denmark
16:00 Japan - Cameroon
19.0613:30 Netherlands - Japan
20:30 Cameroon - Denmark
24.0620:30 Denmark - Japan
FIX
TU
RE
S
Both teams have anattacking mentality and in
this tight group the lastgame is set to be a cracker.
DO
N’T
MIS
S!24.06
20:30
CAMEROON vs
NETHERLANDS
SA
MU
EL
ET
O’O
GR
OU
P E
The player towatch in thisgroup?
EXPERTS
ROGER MILLA
ROBERTPIRES
ERWINKOEMAN
Which teamwill win thegroup?
Which teamcould be thedark horse?
Netherlands. Currently one of the
most in-form teams with many tech-
nically and physically accomplished
players.
Cameroon if they are well prepared. I
know this team well and I know that it
is possible for it to be tremendous if its
players are in top shape.
Alexander Song. The young Arsenal
player is getting more powerful. He
has become a first eleven player,
which made him more mature.
Netherlands: They never have a
generation gap. Watch out for the
Dutch terrifying with Sneijder, Van
der Vaart, Robben and Van Persie
Cameroon. They play it by ear. If
Le Guen succeeds to make them
play as a team, The Lions can
trouble all opponents.
Wesley Sneijder: He has it all.
Technique, huge shot power, he
can speed up his team. He is a
hell of a midfielder. So smart!
Netherlands are the strongest team,
they also have good substitutes. The
strength of the bench proves the
team’s strength.
Cameroon are a big question mark.
Either they will play very well or
very poor. There’s no in between.
There’s also trouble in the squad.
Arjen Robben. With his speed and
variation he can open up a game.
And I also expect also great things
from Robin van Persie.
African footballicon and
Cameroon star
Arsenal icon. World Cup cham-pion with France
European Champion withHolland in 1988
GROUP PREDICTIONSource: www.castrolfootball.com
te
xt:
Joo
st
de
Jo
ng
; P
ho
to
:aFP
; g
ra
Ph
ics
: m
ia
te
xt:
ma
re
k k
rz
es
nia
k;
Ph
ot
o:a
FP
Supported by
NETHERLANDS 54.3%
DENMARK 29.1%
CAMEROON 38.4%
JAPAN 29.9%
1
2
3
4
Denmark will
most likely fin-
ish in the sec-
ond spot.
79
.8%
49
.5%
38
.5%
32
.3%
NE
TH
ER
LA
ND
S
DE
NM
AR
K
JAP
AN
CA
ME
RO
ON
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
14.05.2010 15:22 Twist 235
29
Supported by
28
GROUP E
HO
LL
AN
D TEAM
STAR PLAYER:Arjen Robben
GR
OU
P E
One look at the big namesand every opponent will fearthe Dutch. Arjen Robben (Bay-ern Munich), Rafael van derVaart (Real Madrid), Robin vanPersie (Arsenal), Wesley Snei-jder (Inter) and Mark vanBommel (Bayern Munich) areworld class. But something al-ways seems to go awry.
The Dutch have an embarrassment of world classforwards but the Bayern Munich hitman may proveto be the pick of the bunch. Plays a crucial role atclub level, physically strong, intelligent and calmunder pressure. Scored some wonderful and crucialgoals for his Munich side this season. Sublime inthe Euro 2008 tournament.
�����
FORM
They sailed through thequalifiers, winning all eightgames and conceding justtwo goals. Coach Van Mar-wijk is building on a teamand he isn’t a man who likeschange. That stability andtrust is reflected in the play-ers’ performances. Dutchconfidence is very high.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
The scintillating football ofCruyff and Co put Holland onthe World Cup map in 1974but they lost the final to West-Germany. In 1978 they againreached the final, this timelosing to Argentina. In 1998Brazil proved too strong in thesemis. They get the compli-ments but never the cup.
�����
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Robin van Persie’s fitness. Outalmost all season for Arsenalwith a nasty ankle injury. Hisreturn to full fitness will becrucial for a Dutch team intenton making the last eight. If he’at full fitness Van Persie willprobably be the number onestriker up front for the Dutch.
TEAM
‘The Untameable Lions’ haveexperience rough times.Awful early qualifying gamesled to a change of coach. Newboss Paul Le Guen fared bet-ter, but there has been frictionwith big names Rigobert Songand Geremi. His tough disci-pline doesn’t seem to begoing down too well.
�����
FORM
Disappointing performance inthe African Nations Cup inJanuary. Cameroon started asone of the favourites butwere eliminated by eventualwinners Egypt. Playing an im-portant tournament in thesame year as the World Cupfinals may not be the bestway to prepare.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Sixth time for Cameroon onthe big stage. Four times theydidn’t survive the first roundbut in 1990 an aging but exu-berant striker called RogerMilla took Cameroon by thehand. The fairytale ended inthe quarter final against Eng-land (3-2). No African nationhas ever performed better.
�����
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Coach Paul Le Guen’s relation-ship with Song. Controver-sially dropped as captain inthe African Nations Cup, Songhas been the steel runningthrough the Cameroon teamfor years. With more than 130caps, at 33 this is surely hislast World Cup. It remains tobe seen what his role will be.
16/20Definite dark horses. If they stay focussed, work for eachother and replicate the wonderful play of the Euro’s, thebeautiful football could have a beautiful result.
CA
ME
RO
ON
STAR PLAYER: Samuel Eto’o
GR
OU
P E
No contest. The striker is one of the best players in
the world. Won a fistful of titles with Barcelona in-
cluding the Champions League in 2009 and is now
at Internazionale. Scored more than 100 goals for
Barça and 43 for the national side. A brilliant and
inspiring captain.
12/20It feels about time Cameroon replicated their 1990 success
and there’s enough talent in this side for that to happen.
African Nations Cup disaster could be an inspiration.
GR
OU
P E
FORM
Led a tough qualifying groupwhich included Sweden, Por-
tugal and Hungary, the Danesnow know their strengthsand weaknesses very well.
Their 3-2 win over Portugal inLisbon was heroic. They have
enough in the tank to takethem to the last 16.
�����
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
Age and lack of strength indepth. Many Danish players
will probably end their careerafter the World Cup. Some
great players – Sorensen,Agger and Bendtner among
them – but not many replace-ments if they get injured or
suspended.
TEAM
National hero Morten Olsenis coaching a team that plays
an attractive and energeticgame. Old warriors such as
Jon Dahl Tomasson (Feyeno-ord) and Dennis Rommedahl
(Ajax), mix with promisingyoungsters like Rajko Lekic,Peter Nymann and 17-year-
old Christian Eriksen.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Denmark’s fourth appearanceat the World Cup. Their
biggest achievement to datewas making the quarter-finals
in 1998. Oddly the Daneswere more memorable in thefirst appearance at World Cup1986 when they played won-derfully in the group stages.
�����
FORM
Sailed though the qualifyingstages, only losing to Aus-
tralia and Bahrain. But coachTakeshi Okada used 10 differ-ent forwards in 14 games and
they only got six goals be-tween them. Well organised,
they beat Togo 5-0 in Octo-ber. This year lost to South
Korea (3-1) and Serbia (3-0).
�����
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
Will Nakamura be able tostep aside for Honda? The
youngster is the rookie of theteam and some of the Japan-
ese players think him arro-gant but he remains a key
man for Japan.
TEAM
Former Celtic star ShunsukeNakamura is hoping to shineone last time on the interna-
tional stage, but his time maywell have come. The 23-year-
old Shinji Okazaki is a promis-ing striker, while Keisuke
Honda is a proven goal-scorerfor Russian side CSKA
Moscow.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
2010 is Japan’s fourth WorldCup appearance in a row but
they have only survived thegroup stage once, in 2002
when they hosted the eventtogether with South Korea.Repeating that would be a
major upset.
�����
12/20Denmark are expected to be fighting with Cameroon forthe No 2 spot in Group E behind Holland. Anything morethan the last 16 stage will be huge success.
JAP
AN
GR
OU
P E
8/20The Japan team are convinced that they will reach the
semi-finals. In truth they will be lucky to go home with apoint.
STAR PLAYER: Christian Poulsen
Poulsen is a very physical, defensive midfielder inthe Michael Laudrup mold. Plays his club football
with Italian side Juventus. A big presence at theback and mentally tough too, he never shies awayfrom a tackle and can score goals. Every forward’s
nightmare.
STAR PLAYER:Keisuke Honda
Midfielder and sometime left back, he is deadly
from free-kicks. Reads the game intelligently and
can stick the ball in the net too. Played for lowly
Dutch VVV-Venlo before switching to Russian side
CSKA Moscow last winter. Scored a crucial Champi-
ons League goal for his new club to take them to
the quarter final.
�����
�����
�����
TE
XT
: JE
RO
EN
HA
VER
KO
RT
; P
HO
TO
:AF
P
�����
DE
NM
AR
K
14.05.2010 15:19 Twist 235
84
.3%
73
.3%
38
.8%
3.6
%
ITA
LY
PA
RA
GU
AY
SL
OV
AK
IA NE
WZ
EA
LA
ND
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
ITALY 52.8%
PARAGUAY 39.7%
NEW ZEALAND 82.1%
SLOVAKIA 48,7%
1
2
3
4
31
Supported byGROUP F
ITA
LY
GR
OU
P F
FORM
Italy won their qualifyinggroup comfortably but, withthe exception of Ireland, op-
ponents were weak. Lippi’smen won seven and drew
three. But last year they faredworse - in the Confederations
Cup Italy were poor and lostto Brazil. Also recent friend-
lies have been disappointing.
�����
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
Cannavaro, voted the team’stop player in the last World
Cup in Germany, is no longer‘the wall’ he used to be and
the Italians’ famously impen-etrable back line can now bebreached. Also, can they find
a Paolo Rossi-style hero upfront to score?
TEAM
Coach Marcello Lippi will relyon the heroes of Berlin whoraised the trophy four years
ago. Buffon, Cannavaro, Pirlo,Gattuso, De Rossi,
Camoranesi, Iaquinta andGrosso are proper interna-
tional class players and ‘Az-zurri’s’ trump card is Serie Atopscorer Antonio Di Natale.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
This is Italy’s 16th World Cup -they have only missed 1930
and 1958. They have won thecup four times (1934, 1938,1982, 2006) and been run-
ners-up twice (1970, 1994).Both times they were beaten
by Brazil.
�����
FORM
Best ever qualifying cam-paign, reaching the finals
with two games to spare aftera shock 1-0 win over Ar-
gentina. Took four points offMaradona’s side and im-
pressed with a concrete de-fense. Finished just a point
behind Brazil and in front ofArgentina and Uruguay.
�����
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
The Paraguayans have a ten-dency to sit back and surge
forward on the break, causingsome critics to question their
passing game. Quite a fewvolatile players too.
TEAM
Missing top scorer Salvador Ca-banas due to a life threatening
shooting incident in Mexicowill be a blow. However, coachMartino has three strikers with
European experience: Roque Santa Cruz
(Manchester City), NelsonValdez (Borussia Dortmund)
and Oscar Cardozo (Benfica).
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Fourth consecutive WorldCup finals for Paraguay and
their eighth appearance ever.They have made the last 16
three times (Mexico 1986,France 1998 and Korea-Japan
2002), but have neverreached the quarter-finals.
�����
17/20Italy continue to be one of the foremost football teams inthe world, but they need to raise their game considerably
to reach the final again.
PA
RA
GU
AY
GR
OU
P F
13/20Paraguay are far from perfect but have a habit of punching
above their weight. All eyes will be on the Italians in thisgroup but Paraguay could prove the bigger surprise.
STAR PLAYER:Gianluigi Buffon
A unique player, and at 32, still probably the bestgoalkeeper in the world. He has produced count-
less match-saving performances for the Italian na-tional team over the years. Marcello Lippi knowshe can count on his presence and leadership and
his determination to prove that he is still the worldNo 1.
STAR PLAYER: Roque Santa Cruz
Although he played in few of the qualificationmatches, he is still the most deadly forward avail-
able to Argentine coach Gerardo Martino. Brilliantin the air, but can also score with both feet. The
€20 million Manchester City striker is a goal-poacher par excellence. His shaky physical condi-
tion might be an obstacle though.
�����
30�
te
xt
BY
Jo
os
t d
e J
on
g
AN
AL
YS
ISG
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UP
F
PLAY ITAGAIN, FABIOWithout a doubt Word Cup holders Italy arethe most likely team to clinch first placehere. It will be a fitting swansong for theircaptain, and the best player of the 2006World Cup, Fabio Cannavaro. But the bat-tle for second spot will be fascinating. Thebig two are Paraguay - in great form aftertheir best qualfying campaign ever (thewin over Argentina which sealed theirplace earned the country a national holi-day) - and World Cup debutants Slovakia.New Zealand will be delighted to be herebut even they must know they’ll be watch-ing the second stages in the pub.The clever money is probably on experi-enced Paraguay to join Italy.
QUALIFICATION CHANCES
GROUP PREDICTION
14.0620:30 Italy - Paraguay
15.0613:30 New Zealand - Slovakia
20.0616:00 Italy - New Zealand
24.0616:00 Slovakia - Italy
16:00 Paraguay - New Zealand
FIX
TU
RE
S
Big fight which coulddecide second roundspot. Great stage forSkrtel and Hamsik vs.Valdez and Cardozo
DO
N’T
MIS
S 20.06
13:30 (12:30)
SLOVAKIAvs PARAGUAY
GR
OU
PS
TR
EN
GT
H
Group
totAl�FiFA�points*
Group�powEr
H
4094
1
G
3998
2
D
3736
3
C
3699
4
B
3554
5
E
3549
6
A
3251
7
F
3161
8
*Added value of 4 countries FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking points
According to
our statistics
Italy and
Paraguay are
too strong for
Slovakia and
New Zealand.
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
The player towatch in thisgroup?
EXPERTS
ROGER MILLA
ROBERT PIRES
CESARE MALDINI
Which teamwill win thegroup?
Which teamcould be thedark horse?
Italy. They own the trophy and they
are a team like Germany. Once the
first round is over they become very
dangerous.
Slovakia. They performed well during
the qualifications. They are a strong
team with some very good players
such as Marek Hamsik
Buffon. He’s one of the best goalies in
the world. Every time Italy are having
trouble he helps them to win, or at
least, not to lose the game.
Italy. They are World Champions
and they will pass through to the
2nd round easily. Their strength is
realism - by any means necessary.
Paraguay. They made it easily to
the final stages. They are very
skilled with the ball and they love
to run.
Andrea Pirlo. He is not that spec-
tacular but is incredibly efficient,
especially when it comes to shoot-
ing, free kicks and passes.
I think Italy start with an advantage.
They have just added young players
of good quality to an already well-
drilled team.
Paraguay. They always do their best
in the World Cup running a lot and
having great imagination. I am sure
they will have a great tournament.
I expect a lot from Giorgio Chiellini.
In South Africa he has to show every-
body that he’s one of the best de-
fenders in the world.
African footballicon and
Cameroon star
Arsenal icon. World champion
with France
Former coach of the Italian
national team
�����
14.05.2010 15:29 Twist 235
BRAZIL 70.3%
PORTUGAL 37.5%
N. KOREA 77.4%
IVORY COAST 38.4%
1
2
3
4
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
Portugal are most likely to take second
place, Ivory Coast 3rd. But the difference is very small.
33
GROUPS F,G
32
SL
OV
AK
IA
TEAM
STAR PLAYER: Marek Hamsik
GR
OU
P F
Solidity and a team mentalityare without question thetrump cards of the only teamdebuting at the World Cup fi-nals. Coach Vladimir Weisscan filed a formidable backfour, thanks to goalkeeper JanMucha (playing for Evertonnext season) and Liverpool’sMartin Skrtel.
All round attacking midfielder who as a 17-year-oldleft childhood team Slovan Bratislava for Italianside Brescia. Now, five years later, he plays his clubfootball at Serie A team Napoli where he has beentop scorer for two seasons. Looks slight, but is un-compromising going forward and deadly givenspace. Has wonderful technique.
lllll
FORM
Few would have backed Slo-vakia to win their qualifyinggroup so easily, taking outPoland and the Czech Repub-lic on the way. Booked theirplace by crushing San Marino7-0. A team with few bignames (Skrtel being an excep-tion) but a fantastic workethic and desire to win.
lllll
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
This is Slovakia’s first ever ap-pearance and follows thebreak up of the former Czech-slovakia. The former nationplayed at Italia 90. Back thenthey reached the quarter-fi-nals but were defeated 1-0 byeventual winners Germany.
lllll
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Strength in depth. CoachWeiss - whose father playedfor Czechslovakia and at timespicks his son as well - has torely on key players such as Skr-tel and Hamsik. If they get in-jured or suspended thereplacements are a poor sec-ond best.
TEAM
Few huge talents but greatdetermination. Defence is themost reliable part of thesquad thanks to the resilientcharacter of many of the play-ers. Scoring goals is clearlythe main problem for theteam - in the qualifying gamesNew Zealand scored just 15goals in two years.
lllll
FORM
Easily won their group butagainst weak opponents: NewCaledonia, Fiji and Vanautu. Inthe subsequent play-off withBahrain (then ranked 61st inthe world) they first drew 0-0in the desert, then won 1-0 athome, thanks to a Rory Fallonheader and a penaltysave by Mark Paston.
lllll
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Second time at the finals.They played in Spain 1982 butlost all three matches andconceded 12 goals. Havingreached South Africa after 28years is already a major winfor the ‘All Whites’ named be-cause of their white strip incontrast to their rugby AllBlack brothers.
lllll
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Lack of real international qual-ity and experience at the high-est levels. Only six squadmembers play outside NewZealand or Australia and onlyNelsen in a senior league.Every player will have to put inthe performance of their livesto qualify.
11/20Very hard to beat thanks to their back line Slovakia couldqualify for the last 16. The team is much more than thesum of its parts.
NE
W Z
EA
LA
ND
STAR PLAYER:Ryan Nelsen
GR
OU
P F
The undisputed star is full back Ryan Nelsen. Hasplayed for English Premiership club BlackburnRovers since 2005-2006 and is the solid, experi-enced cornerstone of the young New Zealandteam. Voted Oceania player of the year in 2006.Coach Richard Herbert, a former national teamplayer himself, knows that his young, inexperi-enced side cannot do without him. 8/20
The first game against Slovakia will be key. If they grab apoint here they could be a different, more confident team,like they were at last year’s Confederations Cup.
lllll
lllll
te
xt
BY
ma
re
k k
rz
es
nia
k
AN
AL
YS
IS
THREESOMEAND NORTH
KOREAA three team group. A point, even
a goal, scored by North Koreans will be a major surprise. The Asian team is out-
side the top 100 FIFA rankings. Whoever losespoints to North Korea may as well pack theirbags. Brazil and Portugal are huge favorites,
but the Ivory Coast could show everyone thatthe Mundial is taking place on their conti-
nent. In the first match they meet Portugal –which may turn out to be the key game. The
runners-up for this group will face the winnerof Group H, very likely to be Spain. That
means that Brazil against Portugal in the lastround of the group matches would not be a‘friendly’ game, but a fierce battle to avoidthe in-form Spaniards in the second round.
QUALIFICATION CHANCES
15.06
16:00
IVORY COASTvs. PORTUGAL
First and the most impor-tant game in this group.Brazil will win the group
so both teams will be des-perate to secure 2nd place.
DO
N’T
MIS
S!
FIX
TU
RE
S15.0620:30 Brazil - North Korea
20.06
20:30 Brazil - Ivory Coast
21.0613:30 Portugal - North Korea
25.0616:00 Portugal - Brazil
20:30 North Korea - Ivory Coast
GR
OU
PS
TR
EN
GT
H *Added value of 4 countries FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking points
GR
OU
P G
The player towatch in thisgroup?
EXPERTS
ROGER MILLA
ROBERT PIRES
CESARE MALDINI
Which teamwill win thegroup?
Which teamcould be thedark horse?
Brazil are automatic favourites even
though they’ve had difficulties for
two years. Now they’re back on track.
Ivory Coast. They have just changed their
coach. Now it’s high-class Sven Goran
Eriksson and they don’t want to repeat
failure from Africa Cup of Nations.
Robinho. He has failed in Europe but
since returning to Brazil with Santos
he is brilliant. He is responsible for
Santos’s Brazil champions title.
Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo.
They benefit from the best player
in the world. And at the back, Pepe
and Carvalho play hard.
Brazil. I guess they are a little
below par, but even so, I don’t
worry for them. Ronaldinho and
Kaka are not as decisive as they
were.
Nilmar. He has so much skill.
In Villareal, he is skyrocketing
even though he doesn’t play in his
favorite position.
Brazil are very strong and Dunga is a
great coach. Of course, they start as
favourites in their group.
If Brazil and Portugal start with an ad-
vantage for the qualification, I am
sure that Ivory Coast could be the sur-
prise in the group.
Cristiano Ronaldo wants to show
everybody he is a superstar even in
his national team shirt. I expect a
great tournament from him.
Arsenal icon. World champion
with France
African footballicon and
Cameroon star
The former coachof the Italian na-
tional team
GROUP PREDICTION
Supported by
CR
IST
IAN
O
RO
NA
LD
O
91
.7%
52
.4%
50
.5%
5.4
%
BR
AZ
IL
PO
RT
UG
AL
IVO
RY
CO
AST
NO
RT
HK
OR
EA
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
Group
totAl FiFA points*
Group powEr
H
4094
1
G
3998
2
D
3736
3
C
3699
4
B
3554
5
E
3549
6
A
3251
7
F
3161
8
15.05.2010 10:43 Twist 235
3534
GROUP G
BR
AZ
IL
TEAM
STAR PLAYER:Kaká
GR
OU
P G
A glance at the players in thecanary yellow shirts of the ‘Se-leção’ shows why Brazil arethe country to beat. Theteamsheet is dripping withtalent - Kaká, Lucio, Robinho,Luis Fabiano, Diego, FelipeMelo, and Julio Cesar in goal.Skyhigh global expectationswill create pressure though.
Brazilian playmaker and captain Ricardo Izecsondos Santos Leite. But you’ll know him as Kaká. RealMadrid paid AC Milan €65 million for him last yearand probably consider that a bargain. Sublime inmidfield and even better up front, on his day he isuntouchable. A golden boot beckons. Already has aUEFA Champions League medal, Golden Ball andFIFA World Player of the Year award.
lllll
FORM
The road to the World Cup fi-nals was bumpy at first (los-ing 0-2 to Paraguay and 0-0draws with Bolivia andColombia) but they went onto win seven of the next 10games. Booked their ticketswith three games to go, out-playing Argentina (3-1). Onlytwo losses in two years.
lllll
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Brazil is the only country tohave played in every WorldCup tournament. They arealso the greatest ever WorldCup champions with five titles(1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and2002). Historically wheneverthe Finals are held outside ofEurope a South Americanteam wins – usually Brazil!
lllll
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Kaká has had an injury-plagued first season at RealMadrid and was out for al-most all of March and April.His replacement – Julio Bap-tista from Roma – has alsoseen little first team actionthis year.
TEAM
It’s not all about Cristiano. Ofcourse Real Madrid’s pin-upboy gets all the attention, butthere’s massive defensivepower with Bruno, RicardoCarvalho and Pepe – if he’s fitagain after knee problems. Inmidfield the experiencedsmarts of Simão and Decocould be decisive.
lllll
FORM
Seemed to be sleepwalking toan early exit from the quali-fiers winning only two oftheir first seven matches.Woke up just in time to finishas runners-up behind Den-mark, and one point ahead ofSweden after five straightwins without conceding agoal in that final sprint.
lllll
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Along with Spain, Italy, Ger-many and France, the Por-tugese are the only team tohave been at every World Cupin the 21st century. Four yearsago they finished fourth, in2002 didn’t pass the group-stage. Their other appear-ances were in 1966 (third)and 1986 (group stage only).
lllll
THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Haven’t really come up againsta strong physical side. Can they rough it with the Ital-ians and Germans? Also, aquestion hangs over Ronaldo’stemperament.
20/20Brazil are runaway favorites, anything less than lifting thecup will be a national disaster. 190 million fans expect to bedefending the trophy at home in four years time.
PO
RT
UG
AL
STAR PLAYER: Cristiano Ronaldo
GR
OU
P G
The world’s highest-paid football player and with
good reason. World Player of the Year 2008, the 25-year-old €94 million-rated Real Madrid playerhas speed, brilliant technique, and arguably takesthe best free kicks in the world. The ultimate at-tacking midfielder of the 21st century. Haunted andhated by defenders, adored and dreamed of by hismostly female fans.16/20
Should make the last 16. Then Portugal will probablymeet Spain, a game neither side will relish.
IVO
RY
CO
AS
TG
RO
UP
G
FORM
Did not lose in qualificationwith 8 wins and 4 draws. Dis-appointing in African Cup (0-
0 against Burkina Faso, 3-1win over Ghana), the Ele-
phants were beaten 3-2 by Al-geria in the quarter-finals. Infriendlies this year they beatTanzania 1-0 and Rwanda 2-0
but lost to South Korea 2-0.
lllll
THE BIGQUESTION
MARK
An experienced team and anexperienced coach in Sven-
Göran Eriksson, who was ap-pointed just two months
before the World Cup. Butcan the new manager adjust
to the team in such a shorttime?
TEAM
The Chelsea duo of DidierDrogba and Salomon Kalou
promises a class performanceup front. Didier Zokora andYaya Toure provide midfield
toughness alongside Mar-seille’s Bakary Kone and the
defence, with EmmanuelEboue, Kolo Toure and ArthurBoka, might be Africa’s best.
lllll
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Second time at the World Cupfinals. Their debut was in Ger-
many in 2006, when theyfailed to progress beyond the
group stage as they lost toboth Argentina and the
Netherlands, beating onlySerbia and Montenegro. But
they are the only team tohave scored in all matches.
lllll
FORM
In their two qualifying roundsthey scored just 11 goals in
14 games, but conceded onlyfive. This year the North Kore-
ans beat Kyrgyzstan 4-0 andMyanmar 5-0, drew with Turk-
menistan (twice) and SouthAfrica and lost to Iran,
Venezuela and Mexico. Notan overly impressive record.
lllll
THE BIG QUESTION
MARK
Hard to see where the goalsare going to come from. Their
defence is as impregnable asa nuclear bunker but to win
you have to score and theNorth Koreans are as likely to
do that as Kim Jong-il is tojoin CND.
TEAM
Probably the most unknownteam at this World Cup finals.Two-thirds of the squad comefrom domestic clubs. But vital
to the North Korean attackare FC Rostov's Hong Yong-Jo
and the powerful Japan-based Jong Tae-Se, alongsideMun In-Guk, the pivot in mid-
field.
lllll
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
In their only previous finals,1966, the military men lost 3-0 to USSR, drew 1-1 with Chile
but then beat Italy to reachthe quarters. After leading
Portugal 3-0, they lost 5-3. Onreturning home they were re-portedly imprisoned for cele-
brations but later wereproclaimed national heroes.
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14/20The best chance of any of the African nations. Don’t be sur-
prised to see Drogba leading his men into a quarter final.
KO
RE
A D
PR
GR
OU
P G
4/20If they get a single point in this group it will be a big sur-
prise. Their only chance is that opponents may rest keyplayers as Italy did in 1966.
STAR PLAYER:Didier Drogba
The 32-year-old Chelsea striker is one of the bestcentre-forwards in the world. Recently named
African Footballer of the Year for the second time.Captained the team in its first ever World Cup ap-pearance in 2006 and netted their first goal. Lead-ing all-time goal scorer for Ivory Coast (41 goals in60 caps). Huge presence up front, and very physi-cal. Drogba has the physique of a fighter and the
balance of a ballerina.
STAR PLAYER: Hong Yong-Jo
One of only three players to play his club footballoutside the notoriously secret nation. The 27-year-
old striker plays for Rostov FC in Russia and is theonly North Korean with any experience of Euro-pean football. Although only a bit-part player atRostov he runs the North Korean front-line, cap-taining the side and taking the penalties. Scored
four times during the Asian qualifications.
lllll
lllll lllll
Supported by
lllll
15.05.2010 10:42 Twist 235
88
.1%
40
.2%
36
.9%
34
.7%
SP
AIN
CH
ILE
SW
ITZ
ER
LA
ND
HO
ND
UR
AS
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
SPAIN 66.9%
CHILE 28.1%
HONDURAS 34.7%
SWITZERLAND 30.4%
1
2
3
4
3736
GROUP H
SP
AIN
GR
OU
P H
FORM
Waltzed through the quali-fiers with 100% record andf
the best performance of anyEuropean team. In pre-WorldCup friendlies ‘La Roja’ seem
to have finally thrown offtheir inferiority complex,
beating former world champi-ons such as Argentina and
France.
lllll
THE BIG QUESTION
MARKInjuries and fitness. Players
like Fernando Torres, AndrésIniesta and Cesc Fábregas
have been struggling with in-juries all season and are stillfar from 100%. The rest willarrive after a long season in
Spain’s notoriously tough do-mestic leagues.
TEAM
For many the best squad inthe competition and a teamstill riding high on their suc-
cess at Euro 2008. The newcoach Vicente del Bosque,
who replaced Luis Arago nés,hasn’t changed much. Whenyou have this much talent in
your team you don’t reallyhave to.
lllll
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
The Mundial is the SpanishAchilles heel. They have al-ready broken some psycho-
logical barriers with Euro2008, but in the World Cupthere’s still the curse of the
quarters which they havestruggled to pass. Best per-
formances were at USA 1994and Korea/Japan 2002.
lllll
FORM
Brilliant qualification in sec-ond place just after Brazil and
ahead of Argentina andColombia who they crushed
4-0 in one of their bestmatches in the competition.Their friendly schedule how-
ever, was affected by theearthquake that hit Chile last
February.
lllll
THE BIG QUESTION
MARKOn their day Bielsa’s men cantake on all the top tier oppo-nents. Now their challenge is
to do that with Spain first and– having reached the second
round – repeat the trick with arival that could be Brazil, Por-
tugal or Ivory Coast.
TEAM
Coach Marcelo Bielsa has oneof the youngest squads at this
World Cup. With an averageage of 23, the Chileans don’t
have that much experiencein big leagues, but they do
have a lot of energy and thecollective power that the Ar-gentine coach always bringsinto the teams he manages.
lllll
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Chile return to the biggeststage after a 12 year absence.Their best showpiece was thelong forgotten third place atthe 1962 World Cup on their
home turf. Chile have beenregulars at the finals, but
never made it into the decid-ing stages.
lllll
18/20Spain should walk the Group stage but could face Portugalin the dreaded quarter-finals. Don’t rule out an early flight
home for the ‘world’s best team’.
CH
ILE
GR
OU
P H
11/20Will be happy reaching second round, but in South Ame ri-
can qualifiers they have shown they can surprise any team.
STAR PLAYER:Xavi
In a team with players such as Fernando Torres,David Villa and Iker Casillas, the most important
man is Xavi. The Barcelona midfielder, voted bestplayer at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland two
years ago, brings style and brilliance to the Spanishmidfield. He’s the grease in the Spanish machine
and vital to many so many parts on the pitch.
STAR PLAYER: Humberto Suazo
‘El Chupete’ has just landed in Europe, after several
brilliant years in his homecountry and in Mexico and
is proving to be a fantastic buy. He was the top
goalscorer in the qualifying phase with 10 goals and
in Spain he helped to rescue Real Saragosa with a pro-
lific scoring record . He can be misleading: he might
not be quick, but he’s always in the perfect position.
lllll
lllll
Supported by
GR
OU
P H
For years the phrase ‘perennial under-achievers’ hardly did justice to justhow ridiculously poor Spain’s WorldCup performances had been. They’vebeen at 12 tournaments but nevermade a final, despite consistently field-ing some of the best players in theworld. This time Vicente del Bosque’smen arrive in South Africa as EuropeanChampions with even more gifted starsthan usual. But tough seasons have lefttheir mark and Fernando Torres andCesc Fábregas are battling injuries. IfLa Roja are without them the capableSwiss or former bits of the Spanish em-pire are more than ready to sink them.
QUALIFICATION CHANCES
GROUP PREDICTION
16.0613:30 Honduras - Chile
20:30 Spain - Switzerland
21.0616:00 Chile - Switzerland
20:30 Spain - Honduras
25.0620:30 Switzerland - Honduras
FIX
TU
RE
S
By no means a foregoneconclusion - the Chileanyoungsters will definitelytest Iker Casillas.
DO
N’T
MIS
S 25.0620:30 (19:30)
SPAIN vsCHILE
te
xt
BY
Jo
os
t d
e J
on
g;
ph
ot
o:a
fp
te
xt
BY
Ig
na
cIo
ga
rc
Ia a
lon
so
; p
ho
to
:afp
GR
OU
PST
RE
NG
TH
Group
totAl FiFA points*
Group powEr
H
4094
1
G
3998
2
D
3736
3
C
3699
4
B
3554
5
E
3549
6
A
3251
7
F
3161
8
*Added value of 4 countries FIFA/Coca Cola World Ranking points
Spain is No.1. There is only a hairline difference between
other teams fighting for second place.
Source: www.castrolfootball.com
FE
RN
AN
DO
T
OR
RE
S
AN
AL
YS
IS
The player towatch in thisgroup?
EXPERTSROGER MILLA
ROBERT PIRES
RAFAEL M. VÁZQUEZ
Which teamwill win thegroup?
Which teamcould be thedark horse?
Spain are logically favourites. There
is no better team in Europe. They
have accomplished players and,
above all, they are very rigorous.
Switzerland suffered a few difficulties
during the Euros two years ago, but
since then they’ve put in place a very
competitive team.
Xavi, for he is now the best midfielder
in Europe. He will be the Spanish
team’s pivot.
Spain are the best team in the
world. The European champions
have to confirm that - but it’s often
the hardest thing to do.
Chile. They are small, fast,
skilled and could steal the 2nd
spot which has been promised
by too many to Switzerland.
Xavi. He’s like a kid playing in
the back yard. No pressure. His
overview is amazing.
It is not the strongest group of the
World Cup, but Spain have rivals to
take into account. The Spanish selec-
tion is odds-on favorite.
Chile has become quite good with
Bielsa in charge. They are a strong
competitor for Spain. Honduras and
Switzerland are not that good.
Apart from the Spanish players -
Chilean striker Humberto Suazo,
who had scored many goals for Real
Zaragoza.
African footballicon and
Cameroon star
Arsenal icon. World champion
with France
Former Spain in-ternational. Real
Madrid icon.
THIS TIME ITHAS TO BESPAIN’S CUP
15.05.2010 10:43 Twist 235
3938
GROUP HSupported by
things you have to do
in South Africa5
BY paul BaldwIn
TR
AV
EL
TABLE MOUNTAIN
The World Cup no-brainer. Whetheryou take three hours walking orthree minutes by cable car, you haveto get to the top of this 1,000m natu-ral wonder which dominates CapeTown. The views are truly amazingand the food’s not bad up there ei-ther. But dress sensibly – you’re ontop of a mountain in the middle ofwinter. The cable car costs 130 Randreturn. If you have the time thethree-day Hoerikwagga Trail is a fab-ulous hiking route.http://tablemountain.net
WINE TOUR
Whether you’re cele-brating a historic winover Algeria, commiser-ating a humiliation byBrazil or just killingtime between gamestake a look at the Con-stantia wine route. It’svery close to CapeTown on the easternslopes of Table Moun-tain and is a very man-ageable and enjoyabletrek around five es-tates. All of them, itshould be noted, makecracking wines, espe-cially Constantia Uitsigand Steenberg . www.constantiawiner-oute.co.za
ROBBEN ISLAND
Nelson Mandela’s home for 18 of his 27 years inprison is now a museum and one of South Africa’stop tourist attractions. A 200 Rand ticket gets youa four hour tour including ferry trip from the Nel-son Mandela Gateway and guided tour of the is-land. Your guide will be a former political prisonerof Robben Island which adds an unsettling butunique element. Mandela’s cell in B-section is keptin its original, and shocking, state.www.robben-island.org.za
SAFARIIt would be a shame to visit South Africawithout making some attempt to go on sa-fari. The Kruger National Park is arguablythe best in Africa with many elephants,lions, white rhino, and leopards. But recom-mending a day trip there is rather like rec-ommending a day trip to Wales as they areroughly the same size. You will benefit frommeticulous planning and a decent amountof time.www.krugerpark.co.za
VICTORIA FALLS
No it’s not in South Africa, but it’s awonder of the world and you’re justa 30 minute cheap flight away. TheFalls are life-changingly spectacularand may even put your team’s heroicperformance in some perspective.Flights and three nights B&B at theFalls for as little as €440. www.vicfallsconnection.com
SW
ITZ
ER
LA
ND TEAM
STAR PLAYER: Alexander Frei
GR
OU
P H
Looked down and out afterstuttering Euro 2008 display infront of their home crowd andan embarrassing defeat byLuxemburg at the start of theWorld Cup campaign. Arrivalof experienced coach OttmarHitzfeld set them on fire andthey qualified ahead of Greecewhom they defeated twice.
Switzerland’s all time topscorer with 40 goals andwithout any doubt the Swiss team’s biggest influ-ence. Heir to the mantle of Stephane Chapuisat, Freiis a strong centre-forward in the style of those thatreign in the German Bundesliga. Injury interruptedhis season, but now he’s ready for what might be hislast big challenge at the highest international level.
�����
FORM
After a miserable start –drawing away to Israel, losingto Luxemburg at home – thenewly inspired Swiss finishedwell, with six wins and twodraws in the last eight quali-fiers. But a 3-1 defeat toUruguay in a friendly in St.Gallen in March stifled theoptimism again.
�����
HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Ninth appearance at a WorldCup for the Swiss. It didn’tstart badly for them, reachingquarter finals in 1934, 1938and later on in 1954 as hosts.From then on they qualifiedfour more times for the finals,but only reached the secondround stage in 1994 and 2006.
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THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Will the mix of youngsters andveterans work? After doing sobadly at Euro 2008, Hitzfeldbrought in young players. Thegeneration of PhilippeSenderos, Tranquillo Barnettaand Valon Behrami has to workwith old hands like AlexanderFrei and Blaisse N’Kufo to passthe Group stage.
TEAM
The weakest in this group andone of the weakest in thetournament. they have greatathletic power and are full ofself-belief since just managingto qualify. Colombian coachReinaldo Rueda, who missedGermany 2006 with Colombia,is now a hero in his adoptivecountry.
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FORM
Reasonable qualification cam-paign, with two wins overMexico and a deserved thirdplace in the Concacaf zone.However, losing to Venezuelaand Turkey in friendliesleaves one feeling that the‘Hondureños’ will have tohope for a South African mir-acle to come their way.
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HISTORY IN THEWORLD CUP
Second performance on thebiggest stage, after theirdebut in Spain 82. After twodraws and a loss, Honduras’principal objective will nowbe to win their first WorldCup game. A warning forSpain: one of those draws 28years ago was actuallyagainst them.
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THE BIGQUESTIONMARK
Is Reinaldo Rueda the luckiestcoach in the world? TheColombian made Honduranhistory qualifying for theWorld Cup, but he would havebeen in South Africa anyway.He entered a text messagecompetiton and won an all-in-clusive trip to the World Cup!
9/20Looks like they’ll have to fight for 2nd spot with Hondurasand Chile. But Hitzfeld is a winner managing Europeanchampions Borussia Dortmund.
HO
ND
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AS
STAR PLAYER:Wilson Palacios
GR
OU
P H
With respect to David Suazo, a striker who played
in Italy’s Serie A, the Tottenham midfielder is the
big star here. He showed amazing strength when
he returned training just a day after burying his
brother Edwin, who was kidnapped and killed in
Honduras. On the pitch, his marshalling skills and
capability to win the ball drew Sir Alex Ferguson’s
attention, who wanted him for United.7/20They look tiny and weak, but watch out: World Cup historyis full of ugly little dwarfs who slayed giants. Their objective:win a game and then take whatever comes next.
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41
Supported by
40
SOUTH AFRICA STADIUMS
PORT
ELIZABETH
CAPE
TOWN
PRETORIA NELSPRUIT
SWAZILAND
JOHANNESBURG
RUSTENBURG
POLOKWANE
DURBAN
MO
ZA
MB
IQU
E
SOUTH AFRICA
NAMIBIA
ZIMBABWE
BOTSWANA
LESOTHO
TEN ARENASSOCCER CITY
MOSES MABHIDA STADIUMGREEN POINT STADIUM ELLIS PARK STADIUM
City: JohannesburgCapacity: 94,700 Opened: 1989 Trivia: Hosted thefirst Nelson Mandelarally after his releasein 1990. Design in-spired by African pot-tery. No spectator ismore than 100 m(330ft) from the pitch.
WC 2010 matches: 11.06 South Africa
vs Mexico (A)
14.06 Netherlands vs Denmark (E)
17.06 Argentina vs South Korea (B)
20.06 Brazil vs Ivory Coast (G)
23.06 Ghana vs Germany (D)
27.06 Round of 16 (1B vs 2A)
02.07 Quarter Final (49 vs 50)
11.07 Final
City: DurbanCapacity: 69,957Opened: 2009Trivia: The top ofthe arch is 106 mabove the pitch.WC 2010 matches:13.06 Germany vs
Australia (D)16.06 Spain vs
Switzerland (H)
19.06 Netherlands vs Japan (E)
22.06 Nigeria vs Korea Republic (B)
25.06 Brazil vs Portugal (G )
28.06 Round of 16 (1E vs 2F)
07.07 Semi-final (59 vs 60)
City: JohannesburgCapacity: 62,567 Opened: 1928Trivia: Hosted thefinal of the 1995Rugby World Cup.In 2001 a stampededuring local derbyfootball match left42 people dead. In 2005 Ellis Park be-came the first black-owned stadium inSouth Africa.WC 2010 matches:12.06 Argentina vs
Nigeria (B) 15.06 Brazil vs North
Korea (G)18.06 Slovenia vs
USA (C) 21.06 Spain vs
Honduras (H)
24.06 Slovakia vsItaly (F)
28.06 Round of 16(1G vs 2H)
03.07 Quarter Final (55 vs 56)
City: Cape TownCapacity: 69,070 Opened: 2009Trivia: Artistic sta-dium is not far fromthe ocean and themountains. Will become asport and musicvenue after 2010.WC 2010 matches:11.06 Uruguay vs
France (A)14.06 Italy vs
Paraguay (F)
18.06 England vs Algeria (C)
21.06 Portugal vs Korea DPR (G)
24.06 Cameroon vs Netherlands (E)
29.06 Round of 16 (1H vs 2G)
03.07 Quarter Final (52 vs 51)
06.07 Semi Final (58 vs 57)
LOFTUS VERSFELD STADIUM NELSON MANDELA BAY STADIUM FREE STATE STADIUM
City: PretoriaCapacity: 51,762Opened: 1906 Trivia: One of theoldest stadiums inthe country. South Africa's na-tional teamachieved their firstever victory over aEuropean side atthis venue whenthey beat Sweden 1-0 in 1999.
WC 2010 matches:13.06 Serbia vs
Ghana (D) 16.06 South Africa vs
Uruguay (A) 19.06 Cameroon vs
Denmark (E) 23.06 USA vs Algeria
(C) 25.06 Chile vs Spain
(H)29.06 Round of 16
(1F vs 2E)
City: Port ElizabethCapacity: 48,459 Opened: 2009Trivia: NicknamedThe Sunflower, be-cause the roof ismade up of a seriesof white 'petals'.One of a few stadi-ums in the worldoverlooking a lake.WC 2010 matches:12.06 South Korea vs
Greece (B) 15.06 Ivory Coast
vs Portugal(G) 18.06 Germany vs
Serbia (D)
21.06 Chile vs Switzerland (H)
23.06 Slovenia vsEngland (C)
26.06 Round of 16 (1A vs 2B)
02.07 Quarter Final (53 vs 54)
10.07 3rd Place Play-off
City: BloemfonteinCapacity: 48,000 Opened: 1952 (completely rebuiltin 1995)Trivia: Bloemfonteinin Dutch means“fountain of flow-ers.” It is known as "thecity of roses" be-cause of great abun-dance of theflowers.Stadium is alsoknown as VodacomPark.
WC 2010 matches:14.06 Japan vs
Cameroon (E)
17.06 Greece vs Nigeria (B)
20.06 Slovakia vs Paraguay (F)
22.06 France vs South Africa (A)
25.06 Switzerland vs Honduras (H)
27.06 Round of 16 (1D vs 2C)
PETER MOKABA STADIUM MBOMBELA STADIUM
City: Polokwane
(formerly Pieters-
burg)
Capacity: 45,264
Opened: 2010
Trivia: Design in-
spired by the iconic
African Baobab tree.
WC 2010 matches:13.06 Algeria vs
Slovenia (C)
17.06 France vs
Mexico
(A)
12.06 Greece vs
Argentina
(B)
24.06 Paraguay vs
New Zealand
(F)
City: Nelspruit
Capacity: 43,589
Opened: 2009
Trivia: Newly built
stadium with 18
roof supports re-
semble giraffes.
WC 2010 matches:
16.06 Honduras vs
Chile (H)
20.06 Italy vs New
Zealand (F)
23.06 Australia vs
Serbia (D)
25.06 Korea DPR vs
Ivory Coast
(G)
City: Rustenburg
Capacity: 44,530
Opened: 1999
Trivia: Named after
the Bafokeng peo-
ple who live in the
area.
WC 2010 matches:
12.06 England vs
USA (C)
15.06 New Zealand
vs Slovakia (F)
19.06 Ghana vs
Australia (D)
22.06 Mexico vs
Uruguay (A)
24.06 Denmark vs
Japan (E)
26.06 Round of 16
(1C vs 2D)
ROYAL BAFOKENG STADIUM
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14.05.2010 15:43 Twist 235
FOOTBALL WISDOM
"I definitely want Brook-lyn to be christened
though I don't know intowhat religion yet."
david Beckham
"The Belgians will playlike their fellow Scandi-navians, Denmark and
Sweden." andy townsend
“Argentina are the sec-ond-best team in theworld, and there’s no
higher praise than that.”Ron atkinson
"A game that had beencontrolled by Argentina
has turned 360 de-grees."
ESPN’s glenn davis
“I’ll bet there are eightteams in the last 16 whowon’t win the competi-
tion.” andy gRay
"No regrets, none at all.My only regret is that we
went out on penalties.That's my only regret but
no, no regrets." mick mccaRthy
4 2
TV GUIDE
TV FIXTURES
Friday 11th June
15:30 South Africa vs Mexico ITV
19.30 Uruguay vs France bbc
Saturday 12th June
12.30 South Korea vs Greece BBC
15.00 Argentina vs Nigeria ITV
19.30 England vs USA ITV
Sunday 13th June
12.30 Algeria vs Slovenia BBC
15.00 Serbia vs Ghana ITV
19.30 Germany vs Australia ITV
Monday 14th June
12.30 Netherlands vs Denmark ITV
15.00 Japan vs Cameroon BBC
19.30 Italy vs Paraguay BBC
Tuesday 15th June
12.30 New Zealand vs Slovakia BBC
15.00 Ivory Coast vs Portugal ITV
19.30 Brazil vs North Korea ITV
Wednesday 16th June
12.30 Honduras vs Chile ITV
15.00 Spain vs Switzerland BBC
19.30 South Africa vs Uruguay BBC
Thursday 17th June
12.30 Argentina vs South Korea ITV
15.00 Greece vs Nigeria BBC
19.30 France vs Mexico BBC
Friday 18th June
12.30 Germany vs Serbia BBC
15.00 Slovenia vs USA BBC
19.30 England vs Algeria BBC
Saturday 19th June
12.30 Netherlands vs Japan ITV
15.00 Ghana vs Australia BBC
19.30 Cameroon vs Denmark ITV
Sunday 20th June
12.30 Slovakia vs Paraguay BBC
15.00 Italy vs New Zealand ITV
19.30 Brazil vs Ivory Coast BBC
Monday 21st June
12.30 Portugal vs North Korea BBC
15.00 Chile vs Switzerland BBC
19.30 Spain vs Honduras ITV
Tuesday 22nd June
15.00 France vs South Africa ITV
15.00 Mexico vs Uruguay ITV
19.30 Greece vs Argentina BBC
19.30 Nigeria vs South Korea BBC
Wednesday 23rd June
15.00 Slovenia vs England BBC
15.00 USA vs Algeria BBC
19.30 Australia vs Serbia ITV
19.30 Ghana vs Germany ITV
Thursday 24th June
15.00 Paraguay vs New Zealand ITV
15.00 Slovakia vs Italy ITV
19.30 Cameroon vs Netherlands BBC
19.30 Denmark vs Japan BBC
Friday 25th June
15.00 North Korea vs Ivory Coast BBC
15.00 Portugal vs Brazil BBC
19.30 Chile vs Spain ITV
19.30 Switzerland vs Honduras ITV
Saturday 26th June
15.00 Winner A vs Runner Up B TBC
19.30 Winner C vs Runner Up D TBC
Sunday 27th June
15.00 Winner D vs Runner Up C TBC
19.30 Winner B vs Runner Up A TBC
Monday 28th June
15.00 Winner Evs Runner Up F TBC
19.30 Winner G vs Runner Up H TBC
Tuesday 29th June
16.00 Winner F vs Runner Up E TBC
16.00 Winner H vs Runner Up G TBC
Friday 2nd July
15.00 World Cup Quarter Final 1 TBC
19.30 World Cup Quarter Final 2 TBC
Saturday 3rd July
15.00 World Cup Quarter Final 3 TBC
19.30 World Cup Quarter Final 4 TBC
Tuesday 6th July
19.30 World Cup Semi Final 1 TBC
Wednesday 7th July
19.30 World Cup Semi Final 2 TBC
Saturday 10th July
19.30 World Cup 3rd Place Play Off TBC
Sun 11th July
19.30 World Cup Final TBC
“The unexpected is always likely tohappen,” warned legendary BBCfootball commentator John Motson.Words which might be well heededby the team of journalists, ex-play-ers, failed managers and assortedoddballs heading for South Africa totake on the role of that most curiousof beasts - the football pundit.In England most of the games will bewatched on the BBC, and they will bedescribed in sometimes informed ,sometimes sketchy, and sometimesplain daft language by a team whichincludes, former England hero andnow full-time TV presenter GaryLineker, German World Cup winnerJurgen Klinsmann, four-times Cham-pions League winner Clarence See-dorf, Alan Hansen, Alan Shearer, LeeDixon, Mark Lawrenson, Mick Mc-Carthy and Martin Keown. On the
face of it, a strong team. But this isfootball commentary – a gamewhere apparently sane individualscan become gibbering wrecks over90 minutes.Ex-Liverpool man Lawrenson for ex-ample gave us the earth-shattering:“to be a great game, one of theteams has to score first.” The sameunique brain left ours befuddled with“you need at least eight or nine menin a ten-man wall” and the mathe-matically improbable “Ireland willgive 99% - everything they've got.”But amid the nonsense there’s alsounlikely insight. Ponder the monu-mental existential truth of GarthCrooks’ “Football's football: If thatweren't the case it wouldn't be thegame that it is” or David Pleat’s Con-fucius-like inversion “a game is neverwon until it’s lost.” Wisdom indeed.
TV COMMENTARY - IT’S A FUNNY OLD GAME...
HOT SHOT: SHAKIRAWILL SING AT THEOPENING CEREMONY
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14.05.2010 15:43 Twist 235
17.05.2010 11:02 Twist 235
Supported by Hyundai
Feel the game!
Hyundai, Official Partner of the 2010 FIFA World CupTM
13.05.2010 13:32 Twist 235
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