Wahoo Wire

Image Courtesy of fifa.com

Group A

1. France
2. Uruguay
3. Mexico
4. South Africa

Group B

1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. South Korea
4. Greece

Group C

1. England
2. United States
3. Algeria
4. Slovenia

Group D

1. Germany
2. Serbia
3. Ghana
4. Australia

Group E

1. Netherlands
2. Cameroon
3. Denmark
4. Japan

Group F

1. Italy
2. Paraguay
3. Slovakia
4. New Zealand

Group G

1. Brazil
2. Portugal
3. Ivory Coast
4. North Korea

Group H

1. Spain
2. Chile
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras

Second Round

France v. Nigeria

Assuming France has found there step by this point they should be a promising outfit. A mostly uninjured, a star filled squad will be vital to any team from this point on. For a Nigeria team whose highlight was holding midfielder Jon Obi Mikel before he was injured, this is hardly present. France should win the game, though not as convincingly as most would expect.

FRANCE

England v. Serbia

This game will be tough and draining for both teams. England boast a strong squad and should have the ideal set up to bring out the best in their main goal scoring threats (Rooney and Gerrard.) The Serbian defence is fantastic, but has been breached by New Zealand in friendlies, who by this point will probably have already been assessed as the worst team in the tournament. England should win, but at some cost to their already depleted stamina and their commitment. Don’t be surprised if a key injury gets picked up here.

ENGLAND

Netherlands v. Paraguay

The Dutch probably dominated their group to get to this game. Given that their group competition was pretty strong they should be on a high because of this. Paraguay should be somewhat rested after finishing groups with the easier fixtures. Assuming there are no additional injuries to Holland besides Robben (Van Persie is a little fragile,) Holland should take this game comfortably.

NETHERLANDS

Brazil v. Chile

Conquering the Group of Death will have the favourites tag even more firmly on Brazil. Just getting out of groups will feel like an accomplishment in itself for the young Chile squad. Having lost to Brazil in both World Cup qualifiers, they will know the task is daunting, but will be keen to give it their all. Unfortunately for Chile, this will be a David versus Goliath battle, without the David versus Goliath result.

BRAZIL

Argentina v. Uruguay

This match will be particularly interesting to watch. Two free flowing attacking teams will try to outscore each other. Argentina may have the more in-form strikers than Uruguay, but both can only field so many at a time, which evens that out. So the key will be Coach Maradonna’s player selection and whether he can unleash the right attackers for the job. Argentina should win, but expect a high scoring affair.

ARGENTINA

Germany v. United States

The U.S. will have revenge on the mind for their close loss to Germany in the quarterfinals in 2002. Given the German squad at the moment, they could not have found a better time to try. However, I learnt long ago that it is unwise to bet against the Germans this early, plus what’s still in their squad should be enough to squeeze out the win against the U.S.

GERMANY

Italy v. Cameroon

By this point the older legs of the Italy camp will start to feel the years catching up to them. The comfortable group will have helped them settle but may lead to them to find autopilot. Also important for the Azurri is how fit Andrea Pirlo will be at this point. Cameroon will be in high spirit after a close qualification campaign over a favored Danish team. I just see Cameroon having more of the passion required to see the defending champions out with an early exit

CAMEROON

Spain v. Portugal

In the Confederations Cup last year, Spain showed that they can get too lax when dispatching opponents in group stages and then fall in Knockout stages to the US. That said, this is the only blemish one can find in an otherwise flawless squad. Portugal’s greatest threat will be Christiano Ronaldo and he is capable of swiping the game from Spain’s grasp in an instant. However he can only be effective if he gets the ball, and the Spanish are masters at keep-away passing. It would be more assuring if an experienced defensive midfielder was there to further disrupt Ronnie (still a little annoyed at Marcos Senna’s exclusion,) but young Sergio Busquet should be up to this task.

SPAIN

Quarterfinals

France v. England

Not as tantalizing a fixture as it was a few years back. The English will be tired from their match against Serbia and the French will honestly still be a team that can not face top-flight opposition. Both teams know each other well, playing in largely the same leagues and teams. The more cohesive English unit should see this out

ENGLAND

Netherlands v. Brazil

This quarterfinal will be huge. Both teams have the quality to win it all. Both teams showed in qualifiers they can attack as well as defend and have the pedigree on their bench to cope with whatever. This will be a showcase of class against class, flair against flair, and strength against strength. As far key playmakers go, Holland will have the more in-form option going into the tournament in Schneider over Brazil’s Kaka. For this reason I’ll take Holland for the upset. This prediction will either make or break my bracket.

NETHERLANDS

Argentina v. Germany

Both teams had their set backs going into the tournament. Argentina struggled qualifying and Maradona’s coaching ability came into question repeatedly. I’ve seen decent betting odds for the tempestuous former-great getting removed from the game. The increased tension of the later stages will add to this probability. Germany went in with neither their captain nor their first choice goalkeeper and now relies on a crop of the new emerging generation to find glory. The comparatively better Argentine attack will prove the decider in this match. While their defense may seem frailer than the Germans, it means little if they can outscore what they concede.

ARGENTINA

Cameroon v. Spain

The Indomitable Loins represent Africa’s last hope and should have majority of the local support behind them. Defeating Portugal will demonstrate how Spain can overcome the presence of a world class individual with their own. This time their attention will turn to Samuel Eto’o, Cameroon’s main threat. The aged Cameroon defence will not be able to deal with the guile and speed of the Spanish offence, who surely will have a match-fit Fernando Torres. The dream of an African Champion will be over.

SPAIN

Semi-finals

England v. Netherlands

England’s reliance on Emile Heskey over proven goal scorers like Darren Bent has been a question of debate. while he holds up the ball, is unselfish and good for teammates, his finishing is less than clinical and when he’s not playing well he is more of a liability than a valuable addition. If this problem has not highlighted itself yet, it should become apparent  heea as he will be surrounded by a Holland team with far superior ball control compared to him. Overall, the game should be close, I predict Holland coming out on top.

NETHERLANDS

Argentina v. Spain

If any team has knows how dangerous Lionel Messi is its Spain. All but three players play in the Spanish league that the Argentine dominated all year. Of those, seven play with him in Barcelona. So precaution and care will be taken to keep him from finding his best. Here the Argentine defense will show its weakness. Having defensive side backs will give Spain more of a chance to hold possession and while it strengthens the rock-solid defence, it only invites an all too willing and capable attack.

SPAIN

Third Place Game

Argentina v. England

Both teams will probably be gutted at having gotten so close to the final that this game will only feel like a side event, which it is. But they will not pass up the chance to pick up the one final honor available. This fixture also is part of an age old-rivalry between the two, going back to the Falkland’s War. It has been highlighted by memorable Diego Maradona’s Hand of God and goal of the century in 1986 and Michael Owen’s wonder-goal in 2002. The match will be close and could go to penalties, which England will dread given their poor track record. Argentina will prevail.

ARGENTINA

Final

Netherlands v. Spain

The two teams that won every qualifying game will face off for the chance to become the new nation to join the winners club. Both teams were deserving to have reached this point. It’s hard to over-analyse an imaginary World Cup final without thinking your completely insane, so I will just sum up by saying that I see Netherlands coming out as World Champions

NETHERLANDS

Awards

Golden Ball: Wesley Sneijder

Golden Boot: Lionel Messi

Yashin Award (Goalkeeper): Iker Casillas

Best Young Player: Sergio Busquets