After a couple weeks’ hiatus, the Staff Pick ‘Em is back. Only the best and brightest participate from the Wahoo Wire and we even gave you our reasoning this week. Beyond our picks, if you plan on checking the NCAA Football Odds on these games to see how well we do against the spread and the over/under on the game, click the link.

The games for this week are:

Eastern Michigan at UVA

Oklahoma at Missouri

LSU at Auburn

Wisconsin at Iowa

Nebraska at Oklahoma State

Ben Faust

Finally, an FBS team that won fewer games than UVA did last year.  There’s no way we lose this game…right? UVA 38, Eastern Michigan 13

The Sooners have to show up and defend the criticism they’ve taken since they popped out as Number 1 in the BCS Rankings.  Mizzou isn’t the potent offensive threat they used to be, but it is a home conference game so they keep it closer than it should be. Oklahoma 35, Missouri 24

If you look up “overrated” in the dictionary, there’s a picture of the 2010 LSU football team there; they haven’t dismantled anyone good yet and did not deserve to win at least 2 of their games.  Don’t be surprised if Auburn gets higher than 31 after smacking Arkansas for 60+ last week. Auburn 31, LSU 10

The Badgers had such a huge win over Ohio State that I don’t see them retaining that momentum heading into Iowa.  The Hawkeyes have a habit of ruining the happiness of other Big 10 teams (see Penn State last year) and I think that trend continues this week. Iowa 24, Wisconsin 20

Nebraska was exposed as overrated and I think people are sleeping on the Cowboys.  Add in home-field advantage, OK State’s always high scoring offense, and the fact that a typical Big 12 midseason shootout hasn’t happened yet, and I see a lot of TD’s in this one. Oklahoma St. 38, Nebraska 31

Jaryd Waegerle

After three straight losses, it is time for UVA to take some frustration out on an even weaker opponent. UVA 48, Eastern Michigan 0

This week the number one ranked team will not falter on the road to a ranked team, or so the Sooners hope. Oklahoma 31, Missouri 17

LSU has been getting lucky all year and have not impressed me. Auburn on the other hand has a real home-field advantage. Auburn 24, LSU 10

Iowa is very inconsistent, but has been playing weaker teams so they  appear to be better than they are. Wisconsin on the other hand, showed that the Big Ten is wide open. Wisconsin 20, Iowa 17

Oklahoma State is coming off their first win at Texas Tech in over 60 years. Nebraska got crushed by a weak Texas team. Need I say more? Oklahoma St 28, Nebraska 13

Lance Zimmerman

Eastern Michigan ended their 18 game losing streak last week in overtime thriller against Ball State.  Despite the win, UVA should be able to stroll to a comfortable win over the Eagles by utilizing a physical running game. UVA 31, Eastern Michigan 10

Look for Oklahoma and DeMarco Murray to roll over this untested Missouri squad.  Missouri has yet to play a ranked opponent and will be unable to handle this offense. Oklahoma 41, Missouri 28

The LSU defense has given up more than 14 points only twice this season.  Expect that trend to change as dynamic quarterback Cameron Newton leads the Auburn offense.  The 3rd ranked LSU defense will have to be better than usual against Newton, who already has 25 touchdowns this season. Auburn 30, LSU 27

This match-up will work its way into a defensive struggle.  In the end, senior quarterback Ricky Stanzi will make critical plays and the stout Iowa defense will lead the Hawkeyes to victory. Iowa 21, Wisconsin 17

The Nebraska defense has only allowed 14 points per game this season.  Nebraska will be tested against this 2nd ranked Cowboys offense, but expect them to stay strong in a raucous environment and for the running game to open up the offense. Nebraska 24, Oklahoma St. 17

Peter Szeremeta

Captains called a players-only meeting after blowout loss to UNC this past Saturday to address lack of effort in some key areas. I think UVA gets back on the winning track versus a markedly inferior Eastern Michigan squad. UVA 35, Eastern Michigan 3
Oklahoma is in its first week as the #1 ranked team in the nation, and I look for the Sooners to break the recent trends of newly appointed #1 losses with a victory at Missouri. Oklahoma 38, Missouri 28

LSU has been frankly quite lucky in recent victories (recall a too-many-men on the field penalty that gave them an extra down on the goal line against Tennessee). Auburn Heisman-hopeful QB Cam Newton has been playing stellar football, look for them to win at home. Auburn 30, LSU 21

Coming off an upset of previous #1 Ohio State, Wisconisin has some serious momentum heading into Saturday’s contest at Iowa. Wisconsin RB John Clay is having a great season, look for him to expose Iowa’s defense. Wisconsin 31, Iowa 20

Oklahoma State is currently undefeated and in 1st place in the Big 12 South, but have not really been tested all year. Nebraska is coming off a tough loss at home to Texas, and they will be hungry. Nebraska 41, Oklahoma State 24

Ellington Arnold

After coming off 3 disappointing losses, UVA is locking to bounce back at home against a weak Eastern Michigan team whose one win of the season came from beating Ball State (1-6) in overtime last week. UVA 28, Eastern Michigan 10

Oklahoma jumped to #1 in the polls after a good showing last week and now has its biggest test of their schedule, playing the #11 Tigers at Missouri. The Tigers have yet to play a ranked opponent and will have their hands full with the Sooners offense with QB Landry Jones throwing for 14 touchdowns and RB DeMarco Murray rushing for 11 touchdowns already this season. Oklahoma 31, Missouri 21

This match-up pits the two remaining undefeated teams in the SEC against one another for a chance to be a top the conference. LSU has had close calls this season, most notably against Tennessee and Florida with the winning scores coming in the last minute of the 4th quarter. Auburn has been lead well by QB Cameron Newton who has thrown for 13 TDs as well as run for 12 more. At home I pick Auburn, who averaged 40 points a game, to give LSU their first loss. Auburn 38, LSU 24

Wisconsin is looking for another win after upsetting the #1 ranked Ohio State last week. Iowa however has been strong this year as well as boasting a 18-2 record at home since the 2008  season, with the two losses coming only from Northwestern. That, plus a defense that averages 13.2 points against (6th in the FBS), is why I pick Iowa to pull the upset 32 -28 over the Badgers. Iowa 32, Wisconsin 28

#16 Nebraska is coming off a 20 – 13 loss over Texas last week at home giving them their first loss. They will now be looking to beat a ranked opponent, as Oklahoma State is the first ranked team they have faced this year. This is also #14 Oklahoma State’s first ranked opponent they’ve faced this year as they hope to continue their undefeated season another week (they are 6-0). Ok State averages 49.5 points a game, 2nd most in the country, and has the homefield advantage. Oklahoma State 35, Nebraska 28

Brian McElhinny

Eastern Michigan is (hopefully) on a whole new level of bad football. UVA 41, Eastern Michigan 10

The beat-down of FSU looks more impressive every week. Oklahoma 35, Missouri 10

LSU’s unbeaten luck–and it has been just that, luck–will run out. Les Miles screws up with clock management again in the final minute. Auburn 30, LSU 24

This one’s basically a toss-up for me, so I’ll go with the Hawkeyes since they’re at home. Iowa 17, Wisconsin 14

The Huskers will be out for vengeance after last week’s disappointing loss to Texas. Nebraska 30, Oklahoma State 21

Pierce Bishop

The ‘hoos have to stop the skid at some point. It’ll be a nice breather in the middle of ACC debauchery. UVA 35, Eastern Michigan 21

The Sooners are good, real good. They stomped FSU (the best ACC team) and I see them having no issue with a phony Mizzou team. Oklahoma 45, Missouri 27

Cam Newton will supplant himself as Mr. Heisman here. Les “than bright” Miles will finally get caught in his ineptitude and idiotic nature of coaching. Auburn 23, LSU 13

Their toughest opponents come to them and the Hawkeyes are nothing to sneeze at. Look for them to win comfortably after a strong start. Iowa 30, Wisconsin 17

Yeah, they’re really peeved after losing to Texas. I don’t care about OK State’s offense and higher ranking, try and stop Martinez two weeks in a row. Nebraska 35, Oklahoma State 21

Drew Fallen

We all know that Virginia football has been dismal over the last few years, but luckily for the ‘Hoos, Eastern Michigan has been worse. The Eagles come into Saturday’s matchup against Virginia fresh off an overtime win over Ball State, marking their first win in their last 19 games. Expect the reeling U.Va. offense to put up big numbers against the Eagles, who are giving up 43.4 points per game (119th in the nation). UVA 49, EMU 7

The story of this game will be the battle between Oklahoma’s offense and Missouri’s defense. The Sooners rank 12th in the nation in pass yards (303.0) and 17th overall in points per game (36.0), while Missouri, on the other hand, is only giving up 10.8 points in each contest (2nd in the nation). In this battle of unbeatens, look for the more battle-tested Sooners to get the job done, despite the hostile environment at Faurot Field. Oklahoma 14, Missouri 10

Homefield advantage will play a huge role in this matchup of top ten opponents, as LSU will have to beat Auburn in the always unfriendly confines of Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn’s Cam Newton has had a field day behind center this year, racking up a combined 25 touchdowns in just seven games. While LSU is giving up just over 14 points a game, Auburn’s rushing attack will be too much for them to handle this weekend. Auburn 31, LSU 17

Wisconsin is coming off a huge upset against #1 Ohio State last weekend, but they now have to travel to Iowa for another huge Big 10 matchup against the Hawkeyes. The key to this game will be how Iowa’s defense is able to handle Wisconsin’s rushing attack, lead by running back John Clay. Look for the Hawkeyes’ line to contain Clay for the most part and Iowa to get its seventh win it its last nine games against the Badges. Iowa 24, Wisconsin 17

This game features two teams with highly touted offenses, with Nebraska’s unstoppable rushing game going against Oklahoma State’s aerial attack. Even though Nebraska is fresh off of being upset by Texas, look for their secondary to stop Oklahoma State’s Brandon Weeden at home and come away with a victory. This game has a lot of question marks around it though, as neither team has faced another high caliber team (with the exception of Texas). Nebraska 27, Oklahoma State 21

Doug Fowler

Should be another big win for the Cavaliers against a weaker opponent, at least this time it counts towards bowl eligibility. UVA 48, Eastern Michigan 3

Oklahoma will retain its number 1 ranking with a much better offense and defense. Oklahoma 38, Missouri 10

Auburn is legitimate, LSU is not. Auburn 28, LSU 7

My grandmother went to Iowa and Wisconsin’s win against an overrated Ohio State did not impress me. Iowa 24, Wisconsin 20

Should be a game with a lot of scoring and not a lot of defense, but Oklahoma State has not faced this dynamic of a team. Nebraska 31, Oklahoma State 20

The five games chosen this week are:

Florida State at Oklahoma
Miami at Ohio State
Penn State at Alabama
Georgia at South Carolina
Virginia at USC

Feel free to post your picks in the comments section!

Amanda Swanson (5-0)

Oklahoma

Ohio State

Alabama

Georgia

Virginia

Peter Szeremeta (5-0)

FSU

OSU

Alabama

USC

USC

Vanessa Applebaum (1-0)

Oklahoma

Miami

Alabama

Georgia

USC

Blair Capps (4-1)

FSU

Miami

Alabama

Georgia

USC

Matt Lewis (4-1)

Oklahoma

Ohio St

Alabama

South Carolina

UVA

Pierce Bishop (4-1)

Oklahoma

Miami

Alabama

Georgia

USC

Lance Zimmerman (4-1)

Oklahoma

Miami

Alabama

South Carolina

USC

Eric Diamonstein (4-1)

OSU

USC

Alabama

Oklahoma

UGA

Jason Drangstveit (4-1)

FSU

OSU

Alabama

South Carolina

USC

Drew Fallen (4-1)

FSU

OSU

Alabama

USC

USC

Doug Fowler (3-2)

Florida State

Ohio State

Alabama

South Carolina

USC

Sean McGoey (3-2)

FSU

OSU

Alabama

South Carolina

USC

Brian McElhinny (0-0)

FSU

Miami

Alabama

South Carolina

USC

Ellington Arnold (0-0)

Oklahoma

Ohio State

Alabama

Georgia

USC

Patrick Kennedy (0-0)

Oklahoma

OSU

Alabama

UGA

USC

Jaryd Waegerle (5-0)

Did not make picks this week

Ben Faust (5-0)

Did not make picks this week

No college football season would be complete without a Staff Pick ‘Em. Here at the Wahoo Wire only the bravest members of staff decided they could publicly release their picks. During the course of the season the five best games of the week as chosen by our President are sent out to the staff and we make our picks based on a variety of factors (including who has a better mascot). Feel free to post your own picks in the comments section.

The five games chosen this week are:

University of Richmond at UVA
Colorado versus Colorado State
#24 Oregon State versus #6 TCU
#21 LSU versus #18 UNC
#3 Boise State versus #10 Virginia Tech

Ben Faust

UVA

Colorado

TCU

LSU

Boise State

Lance Zimmerman

UVA

Colorado

TCU

LSU

VT

Sean McGoey

Richmond

Colorado

TCU

LSU

Virginia Tech

Matt Lewis

UVA

Colorado St

TCU

LSU

Boise State

Pierce Bishop

UVA

Colorado State

TCU

LSU

Boise State

Peter Szeremeta

UVA

Colorado

TCU

LSU

Boise State

Eric Diamonstein

UVA

Colorado

TCU

LSU

VA Tech

Amanda Swanson

UVA

Colorado

TCU

LSU

Boise State

Drew Fallen

UVA

Colorado

TCU

LSU

VT

Blair Capps

UVA

Colorado State

TCU

LSU

Boise State

Jaryd Waegerle

UVA

Colorado

TCU

LSU

Boise State

Jason Drangstveit

UVA

Colorado

TCU

LSU

Virginia Tech

Doug Fowler

UVA

Colorado

Oregon State

LSU

Virginia Tech

Vanessa Applebaum

Boise State

At long last the soccer season is finally here.  The UVA Women’s Soccer team will look to improve upon last year’s deep NCAA Tournament run with only one starter having graduated this past May.  The young Cavaliers finished last season 11-7-4 in a brutal ACC that had 8 teams (including UVA) make it to the NCAA Tournament, including eventual champions North Carolina.  During the regular season they did well to beat then #4 Florida State in addition to drawing with #5 Wake Forest, #15 West Virginia, and #19 Maryland.  After a heartbreaking penalty kicks loss to #6 Boston College in the ACC Tournament, the UVA Women’s Soccer team regrouped and got an invite to the NCAA Tournament for the 16^th consecutive year.

In the NCAA Tournament the Cavaliers beat St. John’s on penalties in the first round, beat the #4 seed Penn State 6-2 in the second round, and lost in the round of 16 to #1 seed and eventual semi-finalists UCLA 3-0 in Los Angeles.  It was the fifth appearance in a row in the round of 16 for the Cavaliers who will look to make it even further this year.

Though the team will miss former starting forward Caitlin Miskel and contributing seniors Jess Rostedt, Amanda Stewart, and Blair Weymouth, there are many players ready to fill their voids including a strong class of 7 first years.  Amongst the seven are Forwards Gloria Douglas, who has played for U-18 United States National Team, and Mary Morgan, who if she plays anything like her former classmate at Maury High School (Norfolk, Va.) and former UVA Men’s Soccer standout and New York Red Bulls Midfielder Tony Tchani, the UVA Women’s Soccer team could be a force to be reckoned with for years to come.

Currently there are 7 ACC teams ranked in the top 20 though (including UVA which is ranked 17^th), making this season not just a walk in the park for the UVA Women’s Soccer team.  Overall, the Cavaliers will play 8 currently ranked teams, with away games at #6 Florida State, #13 Penn State, #15 Virginia Tech, #16 Maryland, and  #24 West Virginia and home games versus  #1 North Carolina, #7 Boston College, #10 Wake Forest.  The team’s 10 other games are not easy either, with hard away games at ACC foes Miami and Clemson as well as a tough early season neutral field match against Connecticut.  Regardless of how hard the schedule is, I think the UVA Women’s Soccer team will finish the regular season 10-4-4, win a game or two in the ACC Tournament, get a three seed in their 17^th straight NCAA tournament and at least make it to the round of 16.

The Cavaliers have played really well in preseason beating #4 Notre Dame 4-1 and drawing with a scrappy James Madison 1-1.  Though the score did not show it, UVA dominated JMU outshooting their opponent 21-8.  The offense is led by last year’s three leading goal scorers fourth year attacking midfielder and first team All-ACC Sinead Farrelly, fourth year forward Meghan Lenczyk, and third year forward Lauren Alwine.  Lenczyk and Alwine had a goal and assist each and Farrelly had an assist versus Notre Dame.  Douglas (who scored against JMU), second year transfer from Vermont Forward Emily Perrin, and fourth year midfielder/defender Colleen Flanagan rounded out the rest of the preseason scoring.  Beyond a strong attack, the UVA Women’s Soccer team is also very strong at the back, led by third year goalkeeper and member of the U-23 United States National Team Chantel Jones.  Jones’ talents are not known only to UVA fans though; the US national team has kept tabs on her, even having her miss the 2008 season because she was playing in the U-20 World Cup.  Other teammates with some international experience include fellow U-23 team member Flanagan, U-20 United States National Team member Julia Roberts, and Douglas as previously mentioned.  With so much talent and experience, this is a team you will want to pay attention to this season.

The UVA Women’s Soccer season starts August 20^th versus Liberty at 7pm at Klöckner Stadium. For a complete team schedule, click here

Baseball

UVA Baseball finished their season 51-14, one win shy of a second consecutive appearance at the College World Series. After earning the fifth overall seed in the tournament, the Cavaliers hosted the NCAA Regionals, beating VCU, Ole Miss, and St. John’s on their way to the NCAA Super Regionals. UVA hosted the NCAA Super Regionals, and after winning the first game against Oklahoma 3-2, they lost the next two; eliminating them from the tournament.  Though the players are surely let down, not making the College World Series should not take away from the fact that the baseball program had a very successful season and will be in contention again to make noise at the NCAA tournament.

Nine members of the team, Jarrett Parker, Phil Gosselin, Robert Morey, Kevin Arico, Dan Grovatt, Tyler Cannon, Tyler Wilson, Kenny Swab, and Neal Davis, were chosen in the 2010 MLB Draft.

Men’s Tennis

Alex Domijan, who is the top rated American junior player, has signed a National Letter of Intent to play at UVA, showing that the quality of the UVA Men’s Tennis team will continue to be high. Current team members Sanam Singh, Drew Courtney, and Michael Shabaz were named Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-Americans. In Tennis Alumni news, Virginiasports.com reported that Dominic Inglot has been given the men’s doubles wild card draw at Wimbledon.

Men’s Lacrosse

The 2010 Major League Lacrosse Draft saw three UVA players get selected. Ken Clausen was chosen fifth (first round), Brian Carroll sixth (first round), and Ryan Nizolek twenty seventh (fifth round). After great seasons for UVA, it’s nice to know it wasn’t just because we are UVA fans that we knew Clausen, Caroll, and Nizloek were such good players.

Golf

The UVA Men’s Golf team had a great showing at the NCAA Tournament, finishing 11^th(out of 30), only one stroke behind 8^th place which would have placed them in a four way playoff for the eighth seed to move on to the match play portion of the Golf NCAA Tournament. The team also finished only two strokes behind 7^th place. Will Collins and Ben Kohles were named to the Golf Coaches Association of America’s All-East Region team and Kohles was also an honorable mention all-american.

Image Courtesy of fifa.com

Group A

1. France

2. Mexico

3. Uruguay

4. South Africa

Group B

1. Argentina

2. Nigeria

3. Greece

4. South Korea

Group C

1. England

2. USA

3. Slovenia

4. Algeria

Group D

1. Germany

2. Australia

3. Serbia

3. Ghana

Group E

1. Netherlands

2. Denmark

3. Cameroon

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

France comes into this World Cup with a cloud of controversy (due to the “hand of the gaul”), but no real pressure or expectations. They have been given an easy draw to gain momentum from and their quality is such that realistically they could be the dark horse team to win it all this year. They have a good mix of young and old and very few injuries. Nigeria may be on their home continent, but the pressure of being the only African team to advance to the second round (and the superior quality of the French side) will be too much for the Super Eagles to handle.

France

England v. Australia

Both countries are strong Rugby nations, but only England is seen as a real soccer nation. If this game is to happen, many non-soccer loving aussies will watch as the former colony tries to beat the mighty former colonizer. Unfortunately for them, their side is still lacking the striker up front needed to make a deep push. Expect a close game, but for England to squeak by.

England

Netherlands v. Paraguay

Though often struggling with internal issues, if the dutch can keep their off the field issues at bay, they easily have enough talent to win the tournament. The “Total football” will again put on a show as the Oranje cruise through to the quarterfinals. Paraguay should be happy with the fact it qualified above both Argentina and Uruguay.

Netherlands

Brazil v. Chile

Only one point separated these two teams in the South American Qualifiers leading up to the World Cup. Chile plays a wonderful to watch, attacking minded style of soocer. Brazil also play a very technical, attacking style, but this Worl Cup the team is no longer solely about Joga Bonita, tending to have two holding midfielders (usually some combination of Gilberto, Felipe Melo, and Dani Alves) to cover for the backs who like to attack (and not necessarily get back afterwards). I think Brazil will win in a high scoring affair.

Brazil

Argentina v. Mexico

A rematch of the 2006 knockout round game, only this time Mexico will be an even weaker side. I cannot see Mexico’s not so perfect defense stopping any of Argentina’s five world class strikers. Mexico will be lucky not to lose by more than three.

Argentina

Germany v. United States

The US soccer team has come a long way since it hosted the World Cup in 1994. The MLS gets better (and bigger it seems) every year, usually due to the mix of young american stars and imported players past their european primes, and no longer are we the laughing stock of every soccer nation. Yes, last summer the US did beat Spain to make it to the Confederations Cup final, but I cannot see them repeating magic of that caliber in this World Cup. Germany has too efficient and strong of an attack for the Americans to handle. Do not be surprised to see another 1-0 heartbreak.

Germany

Italy v. Denmark

There might be a lot of the same people in the squad as when they won the World Cup, but this Italy side is not nearly as good (or as young) as they were four years ago. That said, Denmark is not the strongest side either. The danes are gritty and have an excellent goalkeeper in Stoke City’s Thomas Soerensen, but they will need to come up big if they want to beat Italy. A boring game for sure, but Italy will win.

Italy

Spain v. Portugal

Easily the most exciting sounding game in the first round of the knockout stages, this game could be played too cautiously and end up being not much to write home about. Spain are superior at every position except for one; whatever position Cristiano Ronaldo is playing. The Portuguese have also looked flat in their warm-up matches while the Spanish look unbeatable. Spain should take this one, but it will not come easily.

Spain

Quarterfinals

France v. England

France shocked the world last World Cup as they beat defending champions Brazil in the quarterfinals. This time around they will not be playing a defending champ, but instead a hungry England side looking to finally make it to the semifinals for the first time since 1990. It will be a battle of the rest of England’s “golden generation” (minus David Beckham, Garry Neville, and Michael Owen) versus the rest of France’s “golden generation” (sans Zinedine Zidane and Fabien Barthez). Fabio Capello’s superior management abilities will lead England to victory in this match.

England

Netherlands v. Brazil

This will be an amazing game to watch (if it happens). The dutch and brazilians are so strong in attack that if this game has less than 8 goals it will be a let down. Both teams could win the World Cup, but only one can. I cannot forsee any team stopping Brazil on the road to its sixth title, therefore Brazil wins in a match filled with Sportscenter Top 10 highlights.

Brazil

Argentina v. Germany

Much like the Netherlands – Brazil match, this game could end up being filled with goals. Both teams have strong attacks, both teams have attacking defenders, and both teams lack an amazing goalkeeper. This World Cup will be Leo Messi’s internationl breakout party though, and when the (arguably) world’s best player plays his best, no one will be able to stop him, especially not the shoddy german defense. Maradona gets dangerously close to having to streak Buenos Aires.

Argentina

Italy v. Spain

In a battle of countries known for their football flopping, high unemployment rates, and good food, the youthful and superior spaniards will end up victorious. It was a very successful, deeper than expected run for Italy, and finally Spain will live up to expectations and make it to the semifinals for the second time in World Cup history (1950 was the other time).

Spain

Semifinals

England v. Brazil

In a rematch of the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan, sadly the same result will occur. At least this time I will not have to be up at 2:30 am to watch it and I cannot see David James being lobbed from 42 yards out. England, you finally made it to a semifinal which is better than most from the rest of the world will probably expect. Brazil marches on to the finals.

Brazil

Argentina v. Spain

Messi will have to play against many of his Barcelona teammates that contribute to him being so good. He will wish he was playing with them though, as no matter what he does, Spain still will find a way to outscore him. At least Messi will leave the tournament no longer hated on for not showing up while playing for Argentina.

Spain

Third Place Game

Argentina v. England

In a game that will be most disappointing for both sides, the hungry reserves of England will beat the Argentine reserves. Capello’s job is secure, but the future does not look so bright for England. Argentina on the other hand has a bright future, should it relieve Maradona of his duties that is.

England

Final

Brazil v. Spain

This may seem like a cop-out prediction for the final, but I think it will happen. Brazil and Spain are the two best teams in this tournament and deserve to be playing here. I think Kaka will have the game of his life and Brazil’s defensive midfield scheme will hold Spain’s potent offense at bay enough for the win.

Brazil

Awards

Golden Ball: Kaka

Golden Boot: David Villa

Yashin Award: Júlio César

Best Young Player: Thomas Müller

Image Courtesy of fifa.com

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Chile

Chile is impressively back in the World Cup after a twelve year absence, finishing second in qualifying; one point behind Brazil and ahead of Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. La Roja are led by manager Marcelo Bielsa who is the only manager in this group to have been to the World Cup before (with his home country of Argentina in 2002). Bielsa has brought beautiful attacking football to the squad, favoring a 3-4-3 or 3-1-3-3 with six attacking players, a defensive midfielder, and three defenders. Given their mixture of youth and experience, the team has had no trouble adjusting to the new system and finding the back of the net. Luckily for Chile, the worries over weather and altitudes do not apply to them as, like South Africa, Chile is in the southern hemisphere and mountainous. Additionally, they play Spain in their last game so they do not have to worry about their hardest game until they have probably already qualified for the knockout round.

Leading the attack for Chile are wingers Mark Gonzalez and Alexis Sanchez. Gonzalez was actually born in Durban, South Africa, and currently plays for CSKA Moscow after spells at Real Betis and Liverpool. Sanchez, also known as “wonder boy,” is only 21 and plays in Italy’s Serie A for Udinese. The defense is led by Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo who has helped place my favorite Spanish club, current (but not for long) Segunda side Real Sociedad, into promotion zone (they currently lead the league with 2 games left). Bravo is finally fit after a knee injury and will be very important in determining how far Chile goes.

Honduras

Honduras is in their second World Cup ever, with their first coming in 1982. Led by manager Reinaldo Rueda, this team is older, focuses on the attack, and has an inexperienced defense. They made it to South Africa on the last day of CONCACAF qualifying after they beat El Salvador and the US managed to tie Costa Rica, thus giving Honduras the third and final guaranteed spot in the World Cup from the region (along with Mexico and the US). They will have to hope this past weekend’s performance against Romania (a 3-0 loss) was purely getting their jitters out or this could be an embarrassing couple of weeks.

The team has a fair amount of players that ply their trade in the Honduran league. In terms of overseas big names, Wilson Palacios, a midfielder for Tottenham Hotspur, has spent the past two and a half years in England’s Premiership. The 25 year-old is highly rated though has not scored much in England. His younger brother Johnny Palacios is a defender on Honduras and hopes to make a switch to Europe after the World Cup. David Suazo has spent 10 of the past 11 years in Italy’s Serie A, including a year with Inter Milan in 2007. Defender Maynor Figueroa and Midfielder Hendry Thomas play for Wigan. The quality is there but the team’s struggle with inconsistency could send them home early.

Spain

Spain has qualified for the World Cup in style. Easily one of the favorites to win the tournament, Spain won all ten qualifiers and has only lost once in its last forty five games (that was to the US in the Confederations Cup semifinals last summer in South Africa). Even with all this momentum, the European Championships 2008 winners face a set of major injury concerns and pressure from high expectations and the previous World Cup failures. They are led by manager Vicente Del Bosque who thrives off of the many options he has and knows a thing or two about winning; having coached Real Madrid for four years and winning a title each year (two Champions League, two La Liga). Del Bosque usually implements a free flowing and attack oriented 4-1-3-2, but should Fernando Torres be unfit, then a 4-5-1 will still be sufficient to see this team dazzle viewers. If they play like they did the other day against Poland, Spain might be unstoppable.

The main injury concerns on this team are Andres Iniesta (thigh), Xavi (torn calf muscle), Cesc Fabregas (fractured leg), and Torres (knee surgery). Iniesta and Xavi are the midfield maestros, Fabregas is the super sub with great passing and leadership, and Torres is half of arguably the most deadly striker combination in the world. Luckily all seem to be probable, but how they hold up over the next three weeks will make or break Spain’s quest for a first World Cup title. Barcelona bound Striker David Villa will be fit and coming off of a great year with Valencia that saw him score 21 goals. The strong defense will also be healthy with Iker Casillas in net and Sergio Ramos and Carlos Puyol making sure the keeper sees minimal action. Again, their only weakness is injuries and expectations, on paper they are perfect.

Switzerland

Appearing in their second consecutive (and 9^th overall) World Cup, Switzerland will hope to get second place in this group. The road to South Africa was not easy, having at one point lost to Luxembourg, but after an unbeaten streak they edged out Greece to win their qualifying group. At the helm is manager Ottmar Hitzfeld, famous for leading two german clubs (Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund) to Champions League titles. He is aware of his team’s lack of stars, but they are disciplined, hard working, and will not be going out without a fight. The Swiss will hope to emulate their success in 2006 which saw them not allow a single goal, yet they got eliminated on penalties in the second round. Their most important match is their first versus Chile, if there is a winner of that game, they will be in the driver’s seat for second place in the group.

The most important player for Switzerland will be striker Alexander Frei. They will need goals to make it anywhere in this tournament and he will be heavily relied upon to score should he be healthy (Frei tore knee ligaments in the 2008 European Championships and was rumored to have picked up an injury in training recently). Another important player in the Swiss attack will be Tranquillo Barnetta, the 25 year-old winger for Bayer Leverkusen. The midfield will be held down by Udinese’s defensive midfielder Gokhan Inler who is a workhorse and has been sought after by big clubs such as Arsenal. The defense will be anchored by Philippe Senderos, formerly of Arsenal and now of Fulham, who did not play much this season. A surprise inclusion to look out for is FC Basel’s 18 year-old midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri.

Overall Prediction

Even with injury problems and previous World Cup failures to worry about, Spain will have no trouble cruising through this group. The main battle for second place will be between Switzerland and Chile. Given Chile’s attacking style and Switzerland’s lack of firepower, I see Chile advancing on goal differential or beating both Switzerland and Honduras. Honduras is too inconsistent and do not have enough young blood upfront. I expect them to at best get a draw in finishing last.

Image Courtesy of fifa.com

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Australia

The Socceroos are making their third World Cup appearance, this time they qualified through winning their Asian Football Confederation group instead of winning the Oceania region and having to beat another federation’s team in a play-off to qualify. Australia was the first team to qualify for South Africa after going undefeated (6-0-2) in qualifying and only letting in one goal. Four years ago in Germany they lost a 1-0 heartbreaker to eventual World Cup Champions Italy because of a penalty given in injury time. Manager Pim Verbeek will look to lead the team like his mentor Gus Hiddink as far, if not farther, this World Cup with most of the players from 2006 returning. Their hardest game will be first against Germany, though no game is easy in this group which has the most depth top to bottom.

The big question mark for this team is who will fill in the large cleats of the only major player missing from the 2006 World Cup campaign, striker Mark Viduka. Goals will be all the difference in this group and with Harry Kewel’s injury problems ever present, it is unclear who will be supplying the goals up front. Luckily for Australia their defensive spine is very solid starting with Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer who’s past two seasons with Fulham have seen them finish in 7^th (the highest to date finish for Fulham in the Premiership) and reach the Europa League Final. Lucas Neil and Luke Wilkshire are experienced and imposing in defense and will also be supported by holding midfielder Brett Emerton. Tim Cahill of Everton will look to be the main offensive spark.

Germany

Germany has one of the most impressive World Cup histories having won the title three times, lost in the final four times, finished third three times, and qualified for the fourteenth consecutive time. Every player on the team plays for a team in the Bundesliga, a testament to the recent rise of the Bundesliga’s quality which is ranked fourth in Europe by FIFA barely behind Italy’s Serie A. Germany also barely lost to Spain in the finals of the 2008 European Championships. They are known well for their discipline and ability to step it up during major tournaments. With tactician manager Joachim Low at the helm, the team will be very dynamic; able to play defensively, attacking, and somewhere in between. They will be without captain and midfielder Michael Ballack though, and for the first time in a long time their Goalkeeper will be a weak link. Their familiarity with one another on the club and league level and their strong manager will be enough to override a lack of depth in the group stage, but how far they go in the knockout rounds when they play more dynamic and star studded teams only time will tell.

Without Ballack, attacking midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger will lead the team. Polish born strikers Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski will look to re-create their successful 2006 partnership and put behind them poor club seasons. Strikers Mario Gomez and Thomas Muller will look to add to the German attack as well. Starting Goalkeeper Bayer Leverkusen’s Rene Adler injured his shoulder so Manual Neuer of Schalke will have to step up to the challenge in a major way for Germany to make noise in South Africa. Defender Philipp Lahm will lead an offensively minded defense that will always be involved in the deadly German counter attack.

Ghana

In their second straight World Cup appearance, the Black Stars will look to re-create the magic of their first World Cup this time on their home continent. Ghana beat the Czech Republic and the United States to finish second in the group of death behind eventual World Cup champions Italy in 2006. They were the first African team to qualify for the World Cup and are on a high after winning the U-20 World Cup in October and making it to the finals of the African Nations Cup (which included a win over Nigeria). Unfortunately, (like Germany) they will have to play without their captain Michael Essien. Essien’s importance as a defensive midfielder will be missed and potentially could lead to Ghana not making it out of the group stage.

Even without Essien, this team still has quality in both their youth and their veterans. Though Ghana lacks a major striker, the squad has a very solid group of defenders, defensive midfielders, and creative wingers.  Kevin-Price Boateng is in the squad for the first time despite being born in and having played for Germany up to the U-21 level. Boateng’s tackle for Portsmouth in the FA Cup against Chelsea led to German Captain Ballack’s injury so without even playing a game for Ghana he has already helped their chances. In defense they have Lee Addy of Bechem Chelsea a club team in Ghana, which is impressive as most African players play somewhere in Europe. They also have John Pantsil of Fulham who enjoyed great success on one of Europe’s biggest stages, the Europa League. Sulley Muntari was a favorite of Jose Mourinho’s at Inter Milan and will look to fill the midfield leader role along with Boateng in the absence of Essien.

Serbia

This will be the first time that Serbia is in the World Cup as Serbia. After a disappointing showing as Serbia and Montenegro in 2006 and failing to qualify for the 2008 European Championship, Serbia will look to make their first World Cup a success. They won their group which included 2006 World Cup finalists France with relative ease with impressive displays from their wall of a back line. Though their recent international friendlies have not been too impressive, losing 1-0 to New Zealand, Drawing 0-0 with Poland, and beating Cameroon 4-3, the first two games were in rainy and wet conditions and involved the trying out of different lineups. The defense is there, but scoring will be the difference between early send off and deep run in the knockout rounds.

Serbia’s back line is headlined by Manchester United central defender Nemanja Vidic and Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic. Last World Cup Serbia and Montenegro were without Vidic and it showed. The midfield is led by captain Dejan Stankovic who won the treble this past season with Inter Milan and has spent the past twelve seasons in Italy’s Serie A. Serbia will hope to score a lot off set pieces given the generally large size of the team as well as Nikola Zigic, the 6 foot 7 striker who recently signed for Birmingham City. He will look to get back in goal scoring form after only scoring three goals during qualification and struggling for first team football at Valencia the past three years.

Overall Prediction

This group has no one team that is going to easily win the group. Though Germany is hard to count out, without Ballack or homefield advantage they are not the same team that finished third in 2006 or second at the 2008 European Championship. It is no guarantee, but Germany should still finish first given its much better attack. Australia, with a wealth of experience and no major injuries, and Serbia with their strong defense look best suited to draw with Germany. Ghana is the weakest link solely because the importance of Michael Essien to this team in defense, passing, leadership, and other intangibles make his absence impossible to recover from. All three teams lack a prolific striker up front and have strong defenses though, making second place truly a matter of goal differential. I think Australia will sneak through in second, with Serbia and Ghana a close tied for third.

Image Courtesy of fifa.com

Group A

Group B

Group C

Group D

Group E

Group F

Group G

Group H

Algeria

Algeria comes into their third World Cup (1982, 1986) with no real pressure or expectations. Getting to play in the World Cup in its first time in Africa and having upset arch-rivals Egypt in a playoff match to get to South Africa should be more than enough for Algeria, making any other successes during the tournament icing on the cake. Their Manager Rabah Saadane is the only African manager at this year’s tournament and was the manager during Algeria’s famous victory over West Germany in the 1982 World Cup. It will be up to Saadane to try and get more consistency from a team that on a good day can beat Egypt (to go to the World Cup) and the Ivory Coast (to make the semifinals of the African Nations Cup this past winter) or can lose 3-0 to Malawi (in the group stage of the African Nations Cup).

The Desert Foxes have had some injury troubles of late with starting Defenders Madjid Bougherra and Nadir Belhadj and Defensive Midfielder Hassan Yebda missing time this past season. Belhadj will miss the first game of the World Cup due to a red card at the African Nations Cup while Bougherra will miss the first game due to injury, but both will be back for the team’s second match against England. Starting Goalkeeper Faouzi Chaouchi will miss the first and second game due to suspension from head butting a referee during the African Nations Cup semifinal loss to Egypt. Though short on attacking options, Algeria has a tall back line that likes to get forward so look for them to score their goals predominately on set pieces.

England

After 44 years of heart break, can England finally win another World Cup? This is the last chance for the “Golden Era” which has already seen Michael Owen, Gary Neville, and David Beckham go trophy-less and fall victim to injury and/or poor form. Though I do not fully rule out all of these players, this will probably be the last World Cup in which David James (40), Jamie Carragher (32), Emile Heskey (32), Rio Ferdinand (31), Matthew Upson (31), Frank Lampard (31), Steven Gerrard (30), Gareth Barry (29), John Terry (29), Peter Crouch (29), Ledley King (29), and Ashley Cole (29) play in. Add in Stephen Warnock, Shaun Wright-Phillips, and Joe Cole being no spring chickens at 28 (and SWP and Cole’s reliance upon their speed), and England only has 6 outfield players and 2 goalies likely to feature from the current side in Brazil in 2014. If that is not motivation enough, enter Fabio Capello. Capello, England’s second foreign manager ever after the hated Sven Goran Erikkson, is an amazing manager, having had success with Real Madrid, A.C. Milan, Juventus, and Roma. He also lead England to a 9-0-1 record in qualification for this year’s World Cup that included a +28 goal differential. His signing through 2012 is the best news the team has had since qualifying. A tough road lies ahead of him, but if anyone can get this group to win a title, it is him.

The biggest obstacle facing England’s World Cup aspirations, in addition to age, is injury. Both Coles have had some trouble staying healthy this season, Ferdinand spent most of the season on the sideline (and injured his left knee today casting his World Cup dreams in doubt), King has chronic knee problems, Barry injured his right ankle a month ago and just started training again, Aaron Lennon has nagging injury problems, and Wayne Rooney has yet again entered a World Cup with an injury as he hopes to shake both an ankle and groin injury. Poor form also plagues England as Terry, Heskey, and James have not impressed this past season. Heskey was still chosen over Darren Bent who is much younger, faster, and scored 25 goals (third most in the Premiership) in 40 games this season for mid-tabler Sunderland. James has been given the number 1 shirt, but it remains to be seen whether or not his knee will be healthy enough to play. Robbie Green will most likely start in net should James been unable to, though I think Joe Hart is their best option. The team will also have to hope they do not end a knockout round match in a draw as England are 0-3 in World Cup penalty shoot-outs (1990, 1998, 2006) and also crashed out of the European Championship in 1996 and 2004 on penalties.

Slovenia

With the smallest population of the 32 nations competing in this year’s World Cup, Slovenia will look to show the world size does not matter. After finishing second behind Slovakia in their qualifying group which included Poland and the Czech Republic, Slovenia made it to South Africa by beating a strong Russia side in a playoff. During qualifiers they even had the second best defense, second to the Netherlands who played two fewer games and had Scotland as their competition in the group. This recent success is quite a reversal of fortune after finishing second to last (ahead of Luxembourg) in their 2008 European Championship qualifying. This is Slovenia’s second World Cup (2002).

Much like Greece, Slovenia is more about the team than star players, with few of their players on major European sides. The main notables are their Goalkeeper and their main Striker. Between the sticks they have 25 year-old Samir Handanovic who plays for Udinese of the Italian Serie A. Handanovic only allowed four goals in their ten qualifying matches. Up front is Milivoje Novakovic who has spent the past three seasons playing for Cologne in Germany. In the past two seasons in the top division in Germany (The Bundesliga) he has scored 22 times.  He also scored 5 times during the World Cup qualifiers.

United States

Though no longer the laughing stock of international soccer, the United States still are not fully respected and will look to change that this year in their 6^th consecutive World Cup appearance. Manager Bob Bradley hopes to lead his physically tough team to the knockout rounds after a disappointing World Cup in 2006. Bradley has shown he can do big things with this team, having won the 2007 Gold Cup, reached the final of the 2009 Confederations Cup (including a win over then #1 in the world Spain snapping their 35 game winning streak), and finishing atop the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying group. The United States have also drawn the easiest group arguably since they hosted the World Cup in 1994. The hardest game is first, playing England for the first time in a World Cup since beating them 1-0 in 1950.

The main issues for the Red, White, and Blue will be their defense. Oguchi Onyewu has not played in a real match since October 2009 after tearing left knee’s patellar tendon. Should he not be healthy the usual back line will lack a tall, enforcing central defender. Forward Jozy Altidore is also an injury risk after spraining his right ankle yesterday in addition to poor form this season which yielded only 2 goals in 17 starts and 30 overall appearances. Altidore has been very solid for the national team though, and will be needed with limited forward options due to striker Charlie Davies’ need for more recovery time after a car crash last year. On the bright side, the US has a great keeper in Everton’s Tim Howard and its two star midfielders Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey are in good club form. Donovan played well enough in his loan stint with Everton that he has finally shown he can play with the best in Europe. Expect the US team to rely on Donovan and Dempsey to make big plays and for Howard to make many saves if they are to make it through to the first knockout round and beyond.

Overall Prediction

Although England has a lot of injury problems, the quality of their side and their management is such that I cannot see them finishing worse than second. I expect England to win the group. The United States should be able to beat both Slovenia and Algeria and potentially set up a grudge match with Germany (they lost in the quarterfinals to Germany 1-0 in the 2002 World Cup) in the knockout round. Slovenia will give England and the US some troubles, but I don’t think they will have enough to beat (or even draw) against either. I think Algeria’s injury concerns, inconsistency, and lack of attacking options up front will be their downfall, with them losing all three games like they did at the 1986 World Cup.