CLASS WORLD CUP 2010

Stadion 2010 FIFA World Cup Final

2010-07-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

World Cup 2010

2010-07-12T20:57:00.000-07:00

World Cup 2010 Final

2010-07-12T20:55:00.000-07:00

World Cup 2010 Final

2010-07-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

world cup 2010 team uruguay

2010-07-10T13:17:00.000-07:00

world cup 2010 team jerman

2010-07-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Germans Costum World Cup 2010

2010-07-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

Netherlands VS Brazil

2010-07-02T13:38:00.000-07:00

For some reason this feels like an upset. I thought I considered Netherlands and Brazil to be pretty much equals going into this game, but Netherlands 2-1 win now feels like an underdog biting one of the alpha dogs.

Argentina 2010 World Cup Shirt

2010-06-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

Argentina 2010 World Cup Shirt - Official licensed Argentina 2010 world cup shirt, made from 100% polyester ClimaCool material. This is the match shirt that will be worn by the Argentina soccer team during the 2010 soccer world cup! Highly suitable for Argentina soccer enthusiasts and avid Argentina sports supporters. Remember to select your size.

TEAM ARGENTINA WORLD CUP 2010

2010-06-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

Argentina is a country teams never missed the World Cup. Since 1930 until 2010, Argentina participated. Just got in 1938 until 1954, Argentina's rewind and do not follow the World Cup.

Of the 15 times that followed the World Cup, Argentina managed to become World Champion two times, namely at the 1978 World Cup in the era of Mario Kempes and World Cup 1986 Maradona era.

With quality players like Lionel Messi, the world's best player in 2010 and Carlos Tevez, who play in the English League, plus a coach who is no stranger, Diego Maradona, the Argentine could not be taken lightly.

Nike Unveils World Cup Football

2010-06-28T14:52:00.000-07:00

The fever of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is at its all time high, and with just 100 days left for the first match of one of the most cherished sporting events in the world, the entire world is gearing up to dwell themselves in the colors and humiliations of soccer. One of the primary sponsors of the soccer teams, Nike Inc. has decided to ‘Go Green’ for this year’s World Cup and in the spirit of the conservation of the environment, has unveiled its 2010 World Cup kits, that are made from recyclable materials.

The all new official team uniforms from Nike have been designed and developed using 13 milloin discarded plastic bottles, gathered from landfills in Japan and Taiwan, that went through the melting process and then turned into fabric, to produce the jerseys for some of the biggest names in soccer.

Nike is the sponsor of three of the most immensely favored teams of the FIFA World Cup that includes Brazil, Portugal, and the Netherlands among others. The all new jerseys created by Nike for these teams have been termed as the most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced kits in football history.

As per Nike, each of the shirts have been fabricated with up to eight plastic bottles, amounting to a reduction of an impressive 30% in energy consumption, as against the energy used in the process of manufacturing jerseys from virgin polyester. Emphasizing in the enormity of the project, Nike stated that, is the 13 million plastic bottles would cover an area about 3,000 kilometers, that is even bigger than the entire South African coastline, the host nation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup

World Cup 2010 Adidas Foot Ball

2010-06-28T14:43:00.000-07:00

Cristiano Ronaldo Portugal's 'Superman'

2010-06-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ronaldo has failed to transfer his superb club performances into the international arena in recent years, and is currently enduring a barren spell for Portugal, which has seen him score just one goal in the past two years.

This dry patch has coincided with a dip in form for Portugal, who limped through qualifying – scoring just 17 goals and requiring a play-off victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina to make the finals,However, Queiroz believes that the 25-year-old’s troubles in the national colours are behind him and is backing his captain to shine in South Africa.

"Cristiano is a champion and, as a player, is Superman," Queiroz said. "In terms of his mental approach to the game, he is so strong and so confident.

"It has always been this way since I first started working with him as an 18-year-old. He has a champion mind. He is someone who has always been able to perform above the demands of the game.

"It is fantastic to work with a really special player in our squad, who has shown the world that he is a winner even before the tournament begins.

Ivory Coast vs. Portugal World Cup 2010

2010-06-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

Ivory Coast vs. Portugal World Cup 2010 Live Scores and Results – The second football gamescheduled June 15, 2010 between Ivory Coast vs. Portugal was already concluded and it was a draw. Unfortunately, the scores were 0-0 which means that no team scored any goals. This was so far the second football match with a tie of both zero goals after Uruguay vs. France which happened during the first day of the World Cup 2010 last June 11.

The first half of the World Cup 2010 football match between Ivory Coast and Portugal held at Nelson Mandela Stadium was one of the most even of the tournament so far since both football teams just kept pushing forward. Ivory Coast’s attacking trio composed of football players Gervinho, Salomon Kalou and Aruna Dindane confirmed themselves to be full of pace and movement in the football field. However, it was Portugal’s forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, who had the best chance of the opening period.
The second half was more exciting than the first one. Ivory Coast had a couple chances in the opening minutes of the second half, but neither came to goals. Portugal’s football Liedson had a header on goal in the 58th minute. However, the looping ball was easily blocked by Barry, Ivory Coast’s goalkeeper, in striking a goal.

Portugal’s win was much expected in this World Cup 2010 football match against Ivory Coat considering that they have won two World Cup titles already. However, it seemed that Ivory Coast was also trained enough to counter Portugal’s attacks in the football field. With this draw, Ivory Coast will now face Brazil in Johannesburg’s Soccer City on Sunday, while Portugal will fight against Korea DPR the following day in Cape Town.

Stay tuned to us as we will once again give you the live scores and results for the last match between Brazil and North Korea which will be held at Ellis park Stadium in Johannesburg.

Tags: FIFA, Football, Ivory Coast, Portugal, World Cup

Argentina's Lionel Messi

2010-06-21T09:34:00.000-07:00

Argentina star Lionel Messi has declared that he isembarrassed to be compared to World Cup winning legend and current coach Diego Maradona.

The Barcelona forward and current FIFA World Player of the Year is regularly judged against the abilities of the past master Maradona but Messi says he doesn't like the comparisons, labelling them an "offence" to 'El Pelusa'.

The talismanic 22-year-old also declared that he still has to prove himself at a World Cup finals to be considered amongst the greats.

"I do not like it. I'm embarrassed that I get compared to Diego. It's an offence [to him]. To be the best player in the world I have to prove it at the World Cup," Messi is quoted as saying by Sport before adding that he is proud to represent the Albicelestes.

"I am Argentine and I like to play for my country."

Argentina kick off their World Cup campaign against Nigeria on June 12.

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Why Africa will be biggest winner of the 2010 World Cup

2010-06-20T13:13:00.000-07:00

The 32 nations are in their groups, Fifa president Sepp Blatter has finished flirting with the television presenter – and everyone seems to think England have an easy draw.

But the image that remains in the memory from last night’s World Cup draw here is not the expressions on the faces of men like Fabio Capello when they discovered their team’s fate.

It is the sight of Nelson Mandela, old and frail now, but still the personification of all that is dignified and fine in humanity, staring out at the star-studded audience in the Cape Town Convention Centre through a camera.

His message to a sporting world salivating about who was going to play who, where and when was beautifully simple. “It’s time,” he said.

It is time, too. Time for England to prove that they are strong enough mentally not just to get out of a relatively easy group but that they can deal with what comes next.

Because it does not look like such a great draw when you consider that our likely second round opponents are Ghana or Serbia, both fine sides, both better than the Ecuador team England struggled to beat at the same stage in Germany four years ago.

But more than that, it’s time for football and its supporters finally to embrace the prospect of Africa staging the biggest event in sport.

Time to realise that this is going to be an event heavy with significance and symbolism, a tournament that is about more than a series of football matches.

It’s about Africa taking centre stage at last, about changing perceptions of South Africa and, at least in some small ways, improving the lot of some of the people who live here.

Time to stop worrying about perceived problems and start realising that this is going to be one of the greatest and most joyous celebrations of the sport there has ever been.

Time to start thinking about the residents of Soweto who are so desperate to transform negative perceptions of their country that they are inviting supporters to stay with them in their homes during the tournament.

That way, they can see that life in the townships is not all about murder, rape and drunkenness. That way, they can see life there can be vibrant and full of warmth and hospitality.

“You have been to Soweto,” Bareng-Bartho Kortjaas, a senior writer for the Sunday Times in South Africa told me yesterday. “Did you need a police escort? Did a black man come running after you with a machete?

“Even this morning, I saw a television report from Britain saying that our stadiums are all ready but that it doesn’t matter because some of our people don’t have running water.

“But we never said that the World Cup would bring everybody water. We never said it would cure everything. Come on, what crime have we committed that people should say these things about us?”

Carrasso was France’s choice goalkeeper

2010-06-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

The biggest surprise in this turn of events (I never thought FIFA would grant us the exception)- is that Monaco’s Ruffier was being touted as Carrasso’s replacement instead of Landreau who was the 4th keeper sent home when Domenech narrowed his list from 30 to 24 players. Perhaps Landreau went on vacation and wasn’t available to return to the squad? Its an interesting development and gives some insight into future goalies who might be called up to serve Les Bleus!

PLAY MATCHES ARGENTINA 1-0 NIGERIA

2010-06-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

What did you think about the game?
What can be corrected? How?
Do you think the new tactical system can get the best from Messi?
What did you think about the game of our little genius?
How did you feel during the anthem when Mascherano was full of emotion?

VAMOS ARGENTINA!

Arsene Wenger Discusses Brazil

2010-06-19T14:20:00.000-07:00

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger thinks that the Brazil against North Korea did not look a team that would win the World Cup.

On his flight to Polokwane to watch France’s terrible showing today, the manager told the Times of India, “I felt that they lacked pace, and the midfield lacked creativity. To win a World Cup, that is important.”

The Times asked Wenger if Dunga made a mistake by not picking Ronaldinho in this final squad. He responded by stating, “You can never really tell. It is true that Ronaldinho is not Ronaldinho of two years ago. Maybe Dunga knew that best, but it is also true that Brazilian players are not as good now as they were earlier.”

Wenger finally stated that the team he had been most impressed with in the tournament after their first match was Germany.

I think Wenger is absolutely correct about the team lacking pace, particularly in the first half of the North Korea match. Felipe Melo and Juan were outrun on a couple of occasions. However, I think he does not give Brazil’s bench enough credit. I also expect the team to improve from Tuesday’s performance.

During the North Korea match, Robinho slid into Kaka’s position when Nilmar came on for him. I thought that helped increase the pace and creativity, along with Dani Alves’ substitution for Elano. If Juan gets beat like he did against North Korea again, Thiago Silva is on the bench waiting.

Gilberto Silva

2010-06-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

In his press conference today, Dunga told the media that Gilberto Silva will play against the Ivory Coast. The manager stated it was a simple injury scare yesterday, after Globo reported that the midfielder was doubtful. Dunga stated that Gilberto Silva has been cleared to play by the team physician, and practiced normally this afternoon.

Team physician Dr. José Luiz Runco also confirmed Dunga’s words and guaranteed that Gilberto Silva would play tomorrow.

Didier Drogba

2010-06-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

Drogba, along with Chelsea teammate Salomon Kalou, makes up a formidable attacking group. However, it’s an attacking group that Inter Milan teammates Lucio and Maicon comfortably know a lot about.

South Africa 0 Uruguay 2 - Host keeper sent off as Diego Forlan nets penalty

2010-06-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

2010 World Cup, football, soccer, USA, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Uruguay, Paraguay, Italy, Côte d'Ivoire, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Ghana, Brazil, Germany, France, England, Slovenia, Korea Republic, Mexico, Netherlands, Serbia, Slovakia, South Africa, Korea DPR, Cameroon, Chile, Côte d'Ivoire, Denmark, Italy, Japan, Portugal, USA, Uruguay, Switzerland, Honduras, Greece, New Zealand, Spain, Nigeria

South Africa 0 Uruguay 2 - Second half in progress

South Africa: Khune, Gaxa, Masilela, Mokoena. Tshabalala, Mphela, Pienaar, Modise, Letsholonyane, Dikgacoi, Khumalo.

Uruguay: Muslera, Lugano, Godin, Fucile, Cavani, Suarez, Forlan, A Pereira, Perez, M Pereira, Arevalo Rios.

Goal: Forlan 24, 80 pen

First-half report: A stunning strike from Diego Forlan handed Uruguay a 1-0 half-time lead over World Cup hosts South Africa.

Both sides were positive in the early stages but neither could test the goalkeepers.
Siphiwe Tshabalala, who netted the first goal of the tournament, opted to play in Steven Pienaar and curled an effort over the crossbar.

Uruguay were enjoying a good amount of possession and Luis Suarez nutmegged Bongani Khumalo and rifled a shot straight at the goalkeeper.

And it was during this spell that a moment of magic from Forlan stunned the home crowd.

The Uruguay frontman picked up possession 30 yards out and, under no pressure from any South African player, unleashed a 25-year strike that clipped Mokoena and looped past a helpless Itumeleng Khune.

Suarez continued to be a danger to Bafana Bafana and beat Khumalo once again, only to hit the side-netting with his shot from a tight angle.

At the other end Teko Modise swung in a cross but Katlego Mphela could not direct his header on target.

South Africa’s bid to reach the last 16 then suffered a further setback two minutes before the break.

Player Of The Day: Robinho - Brazil

2010-06-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

Robinho - Brazil

Maicon - Brazil

Broke the deadlock in fortuitous style with a cross that beat the opposing goalkeeper at his near post – or was it a great shot? Got forward effectively for much of the night and had several good efforts on goal.

Winston Reid - New Zealand
The promising defender had a match he will never forget. Though he lost Vittek for the opening goal, he more than atoned for his error with a superb last-ditch challenge to deny Vittek his second goal and then he popped up in injury-time with an incredible headed equaliser. New Zealand has a new national hero and he isn't an All Black.

Gervinho - Ivory Coast
Potentially one of the stars of the tournament, the winger was lively with trickery and willingness to take on either full-back. Drifted out of the game in the second half, though he did more than anyone on his side to force an opening.

Argentina Coach Diego Maradona Pleased With 'Mature' Lionel Messi

2010-06-16T13:27:00.000-07:00

Argentina coach Diego Maradona has revealed how impressed he has been with Lionel Messi since the Barcelona forward joined up with his squad for the World Cup and praised his display against Nigeria this past weekend.

"I want to say one thing about Lionel. I see him so relaxed. He’s so mature, I feel great,” Maradona told a press conference.

“He needed a match like the one he had against Nigeria. He showed leadership, playing well with his team-mates, especially when the match was close in the second half.

“That's when we saw the best version of Messi, he was never shy. He kept on trying to play. Him, together with [Carlos] Tevez, took away Nigeria's confidence in the second half.”

Argentina face South Korea in their second Group B fixture tomorrow and Maradona revealed he was looking forward to the prospect of facing a less physical side.

“Every time we collided with a Nigerian player it was like hitting a wall,” he said. Whereas against South Korea we won't suffer from it as much, we will be more equal with them in that regard.”

World Cup 2010: South Africa Midfielder Siphiwe Tshabalala Gives Hope To Bafana Fans

2010-06-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

Siphiwe Tshabalala

Tshabalala has been a loyal servant if the South African national team for many years, and last week, during the World Cup match between Mexico and Bafana, he picked up his 50th cap. He celebrated that feat with a fantastic goal, allowing the hosts to draw with a talented El Tri side in the opener.

Speaking to fans throughout the day in South Africa, Goal.com discovered that the fans are hoping he comes to the party once again against Uruguay in a crucial Group A match.

Felicity was dressed in green and gold in anticipation of the game, and she was hoping to see her hero perform once again. "Shabba is going to make another goal tonight. He is a Kaizer Chiefs player and that's my team. I know he will score, he is too good."

Rasta had a similar view, saying, "It's all about scoring goals for South Africa, it has been our major problem and we need to rely on our attacking midfielders like Tshabalala and (Teko) Modise. Tshabalala especially, did you see that goal the other day? What a strike."

Finally, Loyiso was confident in the skillful midfielder's ability to score and decide the match. "He is good under pressure and the other players look to him for the goal or for a good through ball. He won't disappoint."

World Cup 2010: Switzerland Defender Philippe Senderos Could Miss Rest Of Tournament

2010-06-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

Senderos of switzerland

Switzerland defender Philippe Senderos could miss out on the rest of the World Cup after suffering an ankle injury in his side’s historic 1-0 win over Spain today.

"Senderos has a sprained ankle and he may have ruptured a ligament or worse,” coach Ottmar Hitzfeld told Sky Sports.

“He has to go to the hospital to have some tests. It will be very difficult to replace him and it will be a major blow for my team if we were to lose him.”

Senderos, who has just signed for English Premier League team Fulham, left the field in the 35th minute after clashing with team-mate with Stephan Lichtsteiner.

World Cup 2010: Yakubu Confident Nigeria Will Progress To Second Round

2010-06-16T13:17:00.000-07:00

Yakubu Aiyegbeni

Nigeria striker Yakubu has vowed to make the Super Eagles’ doubters eat their words and help his country qualify from World Cup Group B.

“People were writing us off even before the tournament started, but I think we made some people eat their words,” he told Fifa.com.

“We gave as good as we got against one of the best teams in the world,” he said of his side’s 1-0 defeat to Argentina last weekend. “We have what it takes to reach the next round.”

The 27-year-old Everton striker went on to say that he was happy with his performance in the competition so far and that he would do everything in his power to make his country proud.

“As a striker you're always under pressure to score goals,” he said.

“You can play well and contribute, but if you don't put the ball in the net people will criticise you and say you're not doing the right things. I want to get goals more than anybody to make the people back home in Nigeria happy.”

Nigeria continue their World Cup campaign against Greece tomorrow afternoon.

South Africa 0-1 Uruguay

2010-06-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Diego Forlan - Uruguay

South Africa endured another disappointing opening half however this time they could not do enough to remain level at the break as a much more confident and high quality Diego Forlan-inspired Uruguayan side controlled the game.

Uruguay had the first chance when Forlan and Luis Suarez linked up however the angle was too tight for the Ajax man and he sliced his effort harmlessly wide. Oscar Tabarez clearly sent his side out to make a more concerted effort to be positive in the knowledge that a win would be a giant step towards the knock-out stages.

South Africa for their part were more wasteful in the opening exchanges with the understandably confident winger Siphiwe Tshabalala guilty of getting a little too carried away with his shooting prowess. Lacking in the fluency they had found as the game against Mexico had wore on, set-pieces offered a chance to endanger the Uruguayan goal however Bafana Bafana failed to capitalise. Suarez gave a glimpse of his ability in tight spaces when he turned on a sixpence to outfox Bongani Khumalo before unleashing a stinging shot which stung the palms of Itumeleng Khune in the home goal.

La Celeste took the lead midway through the first half when Diego Forlan smashed the ball past Khune with the aid of a deflection via the upper body of the unfortunate Aaron Mokoena who was desperately trying to close the dangerman down. However Khune had a point when berating his defence for allowing Forlan enough room, given the striker's deadly ability from distance.

Uruguay continued to have the upper hand and Suarez fired into the side-netting from a tight angle. South Africa created few chances but Teko Modise did cross in for Katlego Mphela who nodded wide under not inconsiderable pressure from Diego Godin. At half-time, the South Americans are excellent value for their lead.

Portugal vs. Ivory Coast 0-0

2010-06-16T13:07:00.000-07:00

Portugal vs. Ivory

In a game of first round in group G, which is called "group of death" of World Cup 2010, first match played Portugal and Ivory Coast. The match ended without goals, score was 0-0.

This match has not offered an interesting football. Both teams are concentrating more on defense than on offense part of game. That approach resulted in a match without goals in which both teams won one point.

The most interesting moment of the first half, and of the whole game, occurred in 11 minute when Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck with a shot from distance over 25 meters, but the ball hit the goal frame.

In the second half there were a few interesting situation for both teams, but without a distinct opportunity for a goal. So, in this match the most excitement offered Didier Drogba who entered in the game in the 65th minute of match, replacing Solomon Kalou. Drogba played just 10 days after he broke his arm in a friendly match against Japan.

Brazil vs. North Korea 2-1

2010-06-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

Brazil vs. North Korea

The second match in the Group G of the World Cup 2010 was played between teams of Brazil and North Korea. As expected, the winner was Brazil, and result was 2-1.

However, the victory of Brazil was not as easy as many expected from 5 times World champions. The first half ended without goals. North Korea was great defending from one of the best teams in the World.

But in the second half Brazil took the lead in 55th minute of the match when Maicon scored a great goal, probably one of the most beautiful in the World Cup 2010. The second goal for Brazil scored Elano in 72nd minute of the match.

Final score, 2-1, is set by Ji Yun-Nam who scored the goal in the 89th minute.

Shock for Spain : Spain vs. Switzerland 1-0

2010-06-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Spain vs. Switzerland 1-0

Last match of the first round of World Cup group stage has brought an amazing match in which Switzerland defeat favored Spain with 1-0 result. So European champion, and the main favorite for the World Cup title experienced a shock which nobody hoped for.

World Cup has finally brought us a real drama! Spain dominated from the first to the last minute of the match, but failed even to get a single point. With brilliant tactics of Swiss team succeeded to stop Spain thanks to great defense and great Swiss goalkeeper Diego Benaglio.

The biggest hero in this historical victory of the Swiss team was midfielder Gelson Fernandes who scored only goal on the match in the 52nd minute. The action began goalkeeper Benaglio with long ball.

Despite the fact that the whole match played a subordinate role, Switzerland, in addition to this goal, has several good opportunities and could score second goal, especially from the great opportunity in the 74th minute. Then Eren Derdiyok done a great job in the Spanish penalty area, but had no luck because he hit the goal frame.

Cesc Fabregas World Cup 2010 Spain

2010-06-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

Cesc Fabregas

Football Body Painting

2010-06-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

This is new blog post about Body Painting Wall Paint Resemblance.

Football Body Paint WorldCup Baby

2010-06-15T19:18:00.000-07:00

This is new blog post about Football Body Paint WorldCup Baby.

Image On Body Painting Women

2010-06-15T19:08:00.000-07:00

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Body Painting World Cup 2010

2010-06-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

Body Painting World Cup Picture

Body Painting World Cup Picture

Body Painting Picture on the World Cup

2010-06-15T19:03:00.000-07:00

Body Painting Picture

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Body Painting Pictures On South African World Cup

2010-06-15T19:00:00.000-07:00

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Ronaldo: Don't count us out

2010-06-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Cristiano Ronaldo

On the eve of his country’s South Africa 2010 bow, Portugal’s captain is quietly confident. As his team finalised their preparations to face Côte d’Ivoire in Port Elizabeth on Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo told FIFA that, while A Selecção das Quinas may not rank among the favourites, anything is possible with their fans behind them and their customary team spirit to call upon.

In an exclusive interview with FIFA, the Real Madrid stiker expressed his delight at having the chance to take part in Africa’s first FIFA World Cup™. For Ronaldo, the differences between South Africa 2010 and Germany 2006 are obvious: “Yes, of course it’s different. It’s the first World Cup ever played in Africa and more importantly we’re playing in winter. But ever since we arrived the experience has been fantastic and I think that’s the way it is going to be until the final game of the tournament.”

Ronaldo happily admitted that Carlos Queiroz’s squad is revelling in the atmosphere. “We’re all very happy to be here. A lot of our squad haven’t played in a World Cup before, and so they’re desperate to play. We’re also confident that we’re going to play well and give a very good account of ourselves. Fortunately everything is going well so far.”

In spite of his relatively tender age, the 25-year old is one of the most experienced members of the Portugal squad and he will have the honour of wearing the captain’s armband at the finals, something he considers a genuine privilege. “What do you need to captain a team? Firstly, I think it’s important not to change what you do just because you’re captain, and above anything else, you have to be totally honest.

"Everyone has their own personality and character. I’ve got mine, and I don’t change who I am whether I’m captain or not. But of course, for me it is a privilege to be captain of Portugal. It makes me very proud. My team-mates know me very well, and I know them, and everything is going very well. There’s a great camaraderie in our squad, we’re great friends, and there’s a real family atmosphere. That’s the only way we can win and be successful.”

The Real Madrid talisman is one of world football’s biggest stars, and the focus of huge attention wherever he goes. The many thousands of people of Portuguese extraction who live in South Africa have offered him a hero's welcome, and Ronaldo is grateful for the reception he and his team-mates have been afforded. “Well, of course we knew that there were going to be lots of Portuguese here and that they would encourage the team and that makes us very happy," he said. "Having that little bit of extra backing when we’re on the pitch is crucial. And that’s why I would like to take the opportunity to thank the fans for all of their support so far.”

Naturally, those passionate Portuguese fans are dreaming of roaring their team towards FIFA World Cup™ glory. For his part, Ronaldo believes that his side are in with a genuine chance: “As I said before the finals, we’re not one of the favourites. But that doesn’t mean that a supposedly unfancied team can’t become world champions. I think that some of the teams at this World Cup have got a bit more about them than we have, and that’s no secret, but we’re going to fight all the way. We’re going to give it our best shot and if we do anything could happen.”

At the Portuguese helm is a coach who knows exactly what it takes to get to the summit of world football. Carlos Queiroz led his country to two FIFA U-20 World Cup titles, in 1989 and 1991, and his captain is quick to sing the praises of the man who will be hoping to repeat the trick with the senior side. “I got to know Carlos Queiroz a few years ago and fortunately for me I’ve had the pleasure and the privilege of working with him, firstly when I was at Manchester United and now with the national team. He has been crucial for my career because he has helped me to improve my style of play. I very much enjoy working with him.”

Not everything has gone smoothly for the Iberian side in the run-up to their FIFA World Cup opener. A shoulder injury robbed Manchester United winger Nani of the chance to play in the finals, and his former team-mate at Old Trafford will readily admit that he will miss his old friend, both on and off the pitch. “Nani was playing really well, he was in great form and obviously we’re going to miss him. Not only for what he can do on the pitch, but also because of his presence in the squad and the way that he would support his team-mates. He was a key player for us. Unfortunately he has picked up an injury and we’ve got some very good players who can take his place, but of course he will be a very big loss.”

One of the main talking points surrounding Portugal’s game with Côte d’Ivoire on Tuesday has been the fitness of the Africans’ star striker Didier Drogba and more specifically whether he will recover from injury in time to play some part in the game. Portugal’s own superstar, however, is less concerned about whether Drogba plays or not because, as he says, Les Elephants are not a one-man team.

He said: “Everybody is only talking about Drogba, and whether he plays or not, but to be honest, we’re not really thinking about that. We’re only concerned with ourselves. We’re feeling good, we’re confident and ready to make a good start to the competition. If Drogba doesn’t play, someone else will take his place and so we have to be ready. We just need to focus on ourselves."

Group G to the fore, with licence to thrill

2010-06-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

The only country to have won the FIFA World Cup™ outside their own continent, five-time champions Brazil take their opening bow at South Africa 2010 against Group G outsiders Korea DPR. Following their untimely quarter-final exit at Germany 2006, A Seleção Pentacampeã have their minds firmly fixed on adding another world title to their already impressive collection.

The other game in the section, between Portugal and Côte d’Ivoire, has a cup-tie feel about it. Les Eléphants are still waiting on Didier Drogba, who had an operation on his injured elbow nine days ago and remains doubtful for a match that will be crucial to the final outcome in the section. Largely unimpressive in qualifying, A Selecção das Quinas enjoyed a promising build-up to the finals, winning two and drawing one of their warm-up games. And with a proven matchwinner in Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks, the Portuguese are sure to pose a potent threat up front.

Slovakia are warm favourites going into their game with New Zealand, who are back on the big stage for the first time in 28 years and only the second time in their history. Vladimir Weiss’s side has a solid look about it, with Liverpool central defender Martin Skrtel, Napoli playmaker Marek Hamsik and Stanislav Sestak, their top scorer in the qualifiers, making up a formidable spine.

The matches
New Zealand-Slovakia, Group F, Rustenburg, 13.30
Côte d’Ivoire-Portugal, Group G, Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, 16.00
Brazil-Korea DPR, Group G, Johannesburg (Ellis Park), 20.30

The big game
Brazil-Korea DPR
Brazil’s qualifying campaign featured some pedestrian performances, including goalless draws with Argentina, Bolivia and Colombia, and some irresistible ones, most notably an emphatic 3-1 win over the Argentinians and a 4-0 thumping of Uruguay. The question is, which Seleção will turn up in South Africa? One thing we can expect is defensive solidity and blistering counter-attacks. A FIFA World Cup winner at USA 1994, national coach Dunga has fashioned a team in his own image, making those two attributes and the team ethic the unmistakable hallmarks of the class of 2010.

Braced for just their second participation in the world finals, the counter-punching North Koreans will need to be at their very best if they are to reprise the country’s most famous victory: a 1-0 defeat of Italy at England 1966.

In focus
Chelsea v Chelsea
The match between Côte d’Ivoire and Portugal could feature no fewer than five Chelsea players. Blues defenders Ricardo Carvalho and Paulo Ferreira seem certain to line up in the Portuguese defence against club colleague Salomon Kalou, with Ivorian talisman Didier Drogba a potential absentee. The fifth and final member of the Chelsea contingent is impish midfielder Deco, who could tilt the match in Portugal’s favour.

Netherlands 2-0 Denmark

2010-06-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

A freak own goal from Denmark defender Daniel Agger helped Netherlands on their way to victory in the World Cup Group E contest at Soccer City.

After a tight first half, the crucial breakthrough came moments after the break as Simon Poulsen tried to head a Robin van Persie cross clear only for the ball to strike Agger on the back and fly past a wrong-footed Thomas Sorensen.

At the time the goal was harsh on Denmark after Morten Olsen’s side matched the Dutch in the opening period, but they offered little having fallen behind and can have few complaints about the result.

The Dutch wrapped it up with five minutes left when lively substitute Eljero Elia raced on to a through ball and after his shot struck the post, Dirk Kuyt tapped in the rebound to add gloss to the scoreline.

But in truth, the ninth game of the tournament followed many of its predecessors as both teams struggled for any sort of fluency and neither could find any real attacking momentum in the Johannesburg sunshine.

With World Cup greats Johan Cruyff, Michel Platini and Zinedine Zidane watching on from the stands, it provided another sharp reminder that, Germany apart, so far this tournament has significantly failed to provide the entertaining, creative football many had expected.

Netherlands were many people’s dark horses coming into the competition, but, missing the wing play of the injured Arjen Robben, they struggled to find a way through a dogged Danish defence.

Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Van Persie all threatened to deliver in the early stages, but the Dutch build-up was too laboured and with Denmark getting men behind the ball they managed to frustrate Bert van Marwijk’s side.

After Van der Vaart had a shot deflected behind and then curled narrowly off target it seemed as though Netherlands had found their feet, but that only prompted the best spell Denmark had in the game.

The Scandinavians burst into life as Nicklas Bendtner headed a gilt-edged chance wide from six yards, Dennis Rommedahl shot straight at Martin Stekelenburg and then Thomas Kahlenberg forced a fine save from the Ajax stopper.

Unfortunately for Denmark, that was as good as it got as, seconds after the restart, Poulsen and Agger’s calamitous moment gave the Dutch an initiative they never looked likely to surrender.

Denmark had no answer to falling behind and the Netherlands began to press for a second they knew would put the result beyond doubt as Van der Vaart brought a sprawling save from an increasingly extended Sorensen.

When the Dutch brought on Elia his pace and directness presented another problem the Danes could not deal with and after Sneijder’s shot was deflected on to the bar, the goal that killed the game arrived soon after.

Elia’s pace took him clear of the static Danish backline and after his shot stuck the post, Kuyt was only hand to wrap up the three points for the jubilant Dutch.

The nearly had another in the closing stages, only for Poulsen to produce a fabulous clearance with an overhead kick, but the damage had already been done and the Netherlands’ World Cup campaign got off to a winning start.

Netherlands

01 Stekelenburg
02 Van Der Wiel
03 Heitinga
04 Mathijsen
05 Van Bronckhorst Captain
06 Van Bommel
08 De Jong Yellow card (De Zeeuw, 88)
10 Sneijder
23 Van der Vaart (Elia, 67)
07 Kuyt
09 Van Persie Yellow card (Afellay, 77)

Substitutes:

16 Vorm,
22 Boschker,
12 Boulahrouz,
13 Ooijer,
15 Braafheid,
14 De Zeeuw,
18 Schaars,
20 Afellay,
11 Robben,
17 Elia,
19 Babel,
21 Huntelaar

Denmark

01 Sorensen
03 Kjaer Yellow card
04 Agger
06 Jacobsen
15 Poulsen
02 Poulsen
10 Jorgensen Captain
12 Kahlenberg (Eriksen, 72)
20 Enevoldsen (Gronkjaer, 56)
11 Bendtner (Beckmann, 62)
19 Rommedahl

Substitutes:

16 Andersen,
22 Christiansen,
13 Kroldrup,
23 Mtiliga,
05 Kvist,
07 Jensen,
08 Gronkjaer,
14 Poulsen,
17 Beckmann,
21 Eriksen,
09 Tomasson,
18 Larsen

Venue: Soccer City
Referee: Lannoy
Attendance: 83,465

Germany 4-0 Australia

2010-06-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

Germany provided a real signal of intent with a thrilling demolition of 10-man Australia to get their 2010 World Cup campaign off to a flying start.

Coming into the tournament without injured talisman Michael Ballack, doubts over the future of coach Joachim Loew and the second-youngest squad in the competition, many might have expected Germany to struggle in South Africa.

But if their effervescent display in Durban is anything to go by, the three-time champions could be real contenders for the title come 11 July.

Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose continued their remarkable scoring record at international level with a goal apiece to take their joint tally to 88, Thomas Mueller and Cacau added the gloss, while in playmaker Mesut Ozil they appear to have found a real superstar.

They were aided by the harsh dismissal of Australia’s key man Tim Cahill, given a straight red card for a clumsy but hardly malevolent challenge on Bastian Schweinsteiger on 55 minutes.

Germany, though, had given evidence of their attacking class long before that.

Klose has already been denied by Aussie keeper Mark Schwarzer when Podolski drilled in the opener from Thomas Mueller’s cross, and moments after Klose had wasted another glorious chance, poking wide from eight yards, the Bayern Munich man nodded in Phillip Lahm’s delicious cross to make it 2-0.

In fairness, Australia had the odd half-chance too, Jason Culina heading a Brett Emerton cross over and Richard Garcia sending a snap-shot past the post – while a second-half appeal for handball against Per Mertesacker in the box might have warranted close inspection.

But what Germany lacked in defensive strength, they more than made up for in pace, power and technique up front.

Ozil twice had the chance to get on the scoresheet having been sent through one-on-one, his first effort cleared off the line by Lucas Neill and his touch failing him the second time.

And then came Cahill’s sending off, after which Germany’s domination was absolute.

Schwarzer did his best to keep the score down, saving twice from Klose, and once apiece from Sami Khedira and Podolski as Germany tore through the Australia defences time and again.

But the Fulham keeper could do little about Germany’s third, Mueller tucking in off the post from the edge of the area, and even less about their fourth, substitute Cacau tapping in from Ozil’s centre.

Loew took the opportunity to rest the likes of Klose, Ozil and Podolski thereafter and, as a result, the Germans were unable to maintain their fluidity in attack in the closing stages.

Australia even carved a late chance for a consolation, Nikita Rukavytsya volleying straight at keeper Manuel Neuer from Scott Chipperfield’s cross.

However, the Germans’ night’s work had long been done at that point and they saw the match home in comfort to take hold of top spot in Group D and serve warning to their rivals in South Africa in emphatic fashion.

Germany

01 Neuer
03 Friedrich
14 Holger Badstuber
16 Lahm Captain
17 Mertesacker
06 Khedira
07 Schweinsteiger
08 Ozil Yellow card (Gomez, 73)
10 Podolski (Marin, 81)
11 Klose (Cacau, 69 Yellow card)
13 Muller

Substitutes:

12 Wiese,
22 Butt,
02 Jansen,
05 Tasci,
20 Boateng,
04 Aogo,
15 Trochowski,
18 Kroos,
21 Marin,
09 Kiessling,
19 Cacau,
23 Gomez

Australia

01 Schwarzer
02 Neill Captain Yellow card
03 Moore Yellow card
07 Emerton (Jedinak, 74)
11 Chipperfield
04 Cahill Red card
05 Culina
08 Wilkshire
13 Grella (Holman, 46)
16 Valeri Yellow card
19 Garcia (Rukavytsya, 64)

Substitutes:

12 Federici,
18 Galekovic,
06 Beauchamp,
20 Milligan,
21 Carney,
15 Jedinak,
22 Vidosic,
23 Bresciano,
09 Kennedy,
10 Kewell,
14 Holman,
17 Rukavytsya

Venue: Moses Mabhida Stadium
Referee: Rodriguez
Attendance: 62,660

Serbia 0-1 Ghana

2010-06-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

An 85th-minute penalty from Asamoah Gyan ensured Ghana began their Group D campaign with victory against 10-man Serbia.

The striker converted emphatically from the spot when Serbia substitute Zdravko Kuzmanovic was penalised for handball attempting to clear a dangerous cross.

Raddy Antic’s side had struggled to contain Ghana’s dominance in midfield and their task was made even more perilous when defender Aleksandar Lukovic was red carded for his second bookable offence in the 74th minute.

The four-time African champions had dominated large stretches of the game, creating sufficient opportunities to win by a greater margin than the scoreline suggested.

Serbia boss Raddy Antic named his strongest starting XI following Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic’s return from illness.

Meanwhile, Ghana manager Milovan Rajevac, a Serb, omitted European Cup-winning midfielder Sulley Muntari in midfield, while Kevin-Prince Boateng, who represented Germany under-21s, lined up for only his second appearance in a Black Stars shirt.

Despite the lack of clear-cut first-half chances, the first 45 minutes were played at a rapid tempo as both sides displayed slick passing moves, albeit without the crucial addition of a quality final ball.

Ghana created the first genuine opportunity of the match when a stinging goalbound left-foot strike by Kwadwo Asamoah was deflected wide by the sprawling right leg of striker Nikola Zigic, while John Mensah and Asamoah Gyan failed to capitalise on half-chances shortly after.

Serbia’s best opportunity came from a set-piece when Aleksandar Kolarov’s superbly struck 30-yard left-footed free-kick curled past the left-hand post.

Ghana once again dictated the tempo at the start of the second half, with Andre Ayew miscuing a header wide with his marker Vidic well beaten.

Gyan went even closer soon after when he leapt elegantly to meet John Pantsil’s long throw into the 18-yard box, only for his powerful six-yard header to skim the outside of Vladmir Stokjovic’s left-hand post.

Although Serbia were not without their chances – a Marko Pantelic cross was well blocked by Isaac Vorsah with Zigic lurking – Antic’s side showed little attacking threat in the final third.

And Serbia were forced to endure a nervous final 15 minutes when Lukovic was sent off for a second bookable offence when he held back Gyan on the half-way line.

However, Richard Kingson produced a fine stop to deny Milos Krasic when the CSKA Moscow midfielder fired a stinging 12-yard strike straight at the keeper following an enterprising left-wing run from Pantelic.

But Ghana eventually made their dominance count when Kuzmanovic inexplicably left his arm lingering when attempting to head clear a dangerous cross, allowing Gyan the opportunity to step up and wrong-foot goalkeeper Stokjovic with a powerful penalty.

The Rennes striker almost added a second in injury time when his curling shot struck the post with Stokjovic beaten.

Serbia

01 Stojkovic
03 Kolarov
05 Vidic
06 Ivanovic
13 Lukovic Yellow card Red card
10 Stankovic Captain
11 Milijas (Kuzmanovic, 62 Yellow card)
14 Jovanovic (Subotic, 76)
17 Krasic
09 Pantelic
15 Zigic Yellow card (Lazovic, 69)

Substitutes:

12 Isailovic,
23 Djuricic,
02 Rukavina,
16 Obradovic,
20 Subotic,
04 Kacar,
07 Tosic,
18 Ninkovic,
19 Petrovic,
22 Kuzmanovic,
08 Lazovic,
21 Mrdja

Ghana

22 Kingson
02 Sarpei
04 Pantsil
05 Mensah Captain
15 Vorsah Yellow card
06 Annan
13 Ayew
23 Boateng (Addy, 90+1)
03 Gyan (Owusu-Abeyie, 90+3)
12 Tagoe Yellow card
21 Asamoah (Appiah, 73)

Substitutes:

01 Agyei,
16 Ahorlu,
07 Inkoom,
08 Mensah,
19 Addy,
09 Boateng,
10 Appiah,
11 Muntari,
17 Ayew,
20 Owusu-Abeyie,
14 Amoah,
18 Adiya

Venue: Loftus Versfeld Stadium
Referee: Baldassi
Attendance: 38,833

Algeria 0-1 Slovenia

2010-06-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

Robert Koren’s late goal gave Slovenia victory over 10-man Algeria in their opening World Cup game in Polokwane to send them top of Group C.

The former West Brom midfielder’s dipping 20-yard drive slipped through the grasp of Algeria keeper Faouzi Chaouchi and into the corner of the net to give the European side their first ever World Cup finals win.

The goal came just seven minutes after Desert Foxes substitute Abdelkader Ghezzal had seen red for two bookable offences as what had until then been a truly dire encounter came briefly to life.

In the 72 minutes prior to Ghezzal’s dismissal, for a needless handball, two limited sides were only able to fashion a handful of chances between them, the best of which Algeria defender Rafik Halliche headed wide from a corner.

With group favourites England having drawn 1-1 with their perceived closest rivals USA yesterday, Algeria and Slovenia knew a victory here would send them top and raise their hopes of achieving an unexpected place in the last 16.

This tantalising prospect made for two anxious, edgy teams and an error-strewn encounter, characterised by the regular relinquishing of possession by both sides.

At their best Algeria are a capable outfit, as arch-rivals and qualifying play-off victims Egypt will testify, and the Desert Foxes looked arguably the sharper, aiming to exploit the pace and ability of Karim Ziani and Nader Belhadj.

The early signs were promising when Belhadj drew a good save from Slovenian keeper Samir Handanovic with a curling 25-yard free-kick in the third minute but this turned out to be the only effort on goal in the opening quarter of the match.

It was not until the 36th minute that either side fashioned anything further of meaning.

Ziani’s well-taken corner was met by Halliche, who had found space amongst a crowd of players in the box, but he failed to make full contact with his header and the ball flew past the far post with Handanovic stranded.

Slovenia’s only previous World Cup appearance came in Japan and South Korea in 2002, during which they failed to claim a single point and scored only twice.

Prior to Koren’s decisive strike, the closest they came to adding to their tally was a 20 yard shot from Valter Birsa, which drew a fine one-handed save from Chaouchi just before half time, and an Andraz Kirm 10-yard shot from an angle early in the second half which the Algerian keeper also saved.

Algerian substitute Ghezzal’s presence on the pitch was short but eventful. In 15 minutes he produced two headers which failed to find the target and picked up two bookings – the first for shirt pulling, the second a needless handball when trying to provide another header on goal – which resulted in his side playing the final 15 minutes of the match with 10 men.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Algeria were presented with a glorious chance to score minutes later as Handanovic’s pass out to defender Marko Suler was intercepted by Ziani but his first touch was too heavy and the keeper was able to gather at his feet.

Slovenia’s next attack proved decisive as Chaouchi badly misjudged the flight of Koren’s speculative, dipping effort and allowed it to pass him and find the corner of the net.

While not a good game for a neutral, it will make for heartening viewing to England and their fans who will fancy their chances of securing positive results against both these sides.

Algeria

16 Chaouchi
02 Bougherra
03 Belhadj
04 Yahia Captain
05 Halliche
08 Lacen
15 Ziani
19 Yebda Yellow card
21 Foued Kadir (Guedioura, 82)
11 Djebbour (Ghezzal, 58 Yellow card Red card )
13 Matmour (Saifi, 80)

Substitutes:

01 Gaouaoui,
23 M’Bohli,
12 Bellaid,
14 Abdelkader Laifaoui,
18 Medjani,
06 Mansouri,
07 Boudebouz,
17 Guedioura,
20 Mesbah,
22 Abdoun,
09 Ghezzal,
10 Saifi

Slovenia

01 Handanovic
02 Brecko
04 Suler
05 Cesar
13 Jokic
08 Koren Captain
17 Kirm
18 Radosavljevic Yellow card (Komac, 87 Yellow card)
10 Birsa (Pecnik, 84)
11 Novakovic
14 Dedic (Ljubijankic, 52)

Substitutes:

12 Handanovic,
16 Seliga,
03 Dzinic,
06 Ilic,
19 Suad Filekovic,
22 Mavric,
07 Pecnik,
15 Krhin,
20 Komac,
21 Stevanovic,
09 Ljubijankic,
23 Matavz

Venue: Peter Mokaba Stadium
Referee: Batres
Attendance: 35,000

Italy 1 – 1 Paraguay

2010-06-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

Italy 1 – 1 Paraguay

86 mins

Italy are going for it, they are rushing. Simone Pepe’s fizzing free-kick is brilliantly headed away by Victor Caceres – the Paraguayans have shown they know how to defend tonight too.

76 mins SUBSTITUTION

Oscar Cardozo comes on for Paraguay.

70 mins YELLOW CARD

Mauro Camoranesi is booked for a late challenge on Paraguay’s Enrique Vera.

69 mins

Paraguay bring on £18m striker Roque Santa Cruz for Nelson Valdez.

63 mins

GOAL Italy 1-1 Paraguay (De Rossi)

62 mins

First yellow of the game – after the hour mark – is for Paraguay’s Victor Caceres after his late challenge on Riccardo Montolivo.

56 mins

Italy are being restricted to shots from range as Riccard Montolivo fires one in from 25 yards, but it’s a routine save for Justo Villar. Mauro Camoranesi is being readied by the Italians.

55 mins

Oooof, that would’ve made life even more interesting. Paraguay are causing Italy problems when they go forward and the holders are not convincing at the back by any means. The ball falls for Enrique Vera on the right and he fizzes a drive just past the angle of post and crossbar.

53 mins

Will someone please learn how to shoot from outside the box? A Paraguay corner is half-cleared to the edge of the Italy box and Enrique Vera lazily swings his left foot at the ball, sending it miles off target. At the other end, Simone Pepe tries an ambitious overhead kick from Gianluca Zambrotta’s cross but fails to make contact.

48 mins

Here’s what’s going to happen in the next 45-odd minutes: Italy are going to have most of the ball, and Paraguay are going to get everyone behind the ball to keep them out. It’s intriguing.

45 mins INJURY TIME

We’re into one added minute at the end of the first half. Fabio Cannavaro is not a happy man.

41 mins

That really is a magnificent header. Are we about to see a major, major upset at the 2010 World Cup finals?

39 mins

GOAL Italy 0-1 Paraguay (Alcaraz)

35 mins

It’d be entirely fair to suggest that this game in Cape Town has become bogged down into an all-too-familar midfield stalemate, with both teams really struggling for creativity. I, however, am loving it, because it’s the World Cup.

33 mins

Hey Katie in Lancashire at about 18:44, you still awake? Have you lost the will to live? Clever clogs.

28 mins

Domenico Criscito is doing well for Italy at left-back, trying to get up and support the attack at every opportunity. Looks a good prospect, the 23-year-old from Genoa.

23 mins

More danger from the Paraguayans, perhaps incensed by my comment after 18 minutes. A cross from the right bounces outside the box to Aureliano Torres, but he cannot get hold of a left-foot shot and it’s well wide in the end.

21 mins

Paraguay make a rare foray into the Italy box and an inswinging corner causes a moment of panic before the super-cool Fabio Cannavaro clears. Up the other end and Italy break, but Riccardo Montolivo’s low shot dribbles into the arms of Justo Villar.

20 mins

Haha, well done to David Pleat for making me chuckle. Is he’s reading this (unlikely, I know), David, could you make sure Forest sign Nicky Shorey this summer please? Thanks. What? Oh there’s nothing going on in Cape Town right now, don’t you worry.

18 mins

This game, and our evening, is in Italy’s hands. Paraguay would snatch your hand off if you offered them a draw right now, so it’s up to the holders to make a proper match of it. In the Azzurri we trust.

15 mins

It’s absolutely hammering it down in Cape Town. We’ve had nothing but sunshine all day in Johannesburg. I thought it was supposed to be the other way round? Happy days.

13 mins

Paraguay beat Argentina and Brazil in South American qualifying for the World Cup, but they’ve shown us absolutely nothing so far in Cape Town.

11 mins

Paraguay are content to defend so far, they aren’t making life easy for themselves by giving the ball away so easily. But (see 19:22), the toys stay in the pram, remember? Daniele di Rossi is tripped by Victor Caceres, but nothing given.

6 mins

Some of the players are slipping over, it’s so wet. Italy have made a decent start, showing plenty of will to get forward and get the ball in the Paraguay box.

1 min

Cristian Riveros goes in hard on Riccardo Montolivo, but catches the Italian just above his ankle. Bit naughty, that – he’s probably lucky it happened so early on.

Japan 1-0 Cameroon

2010-06-14T16:18:00.000-07:00

Japan 1-0 Cameroon

Japan edged out Cameroon in a dour encounter at Bloemfontein’s Free State Stadium which produced little in the way of goalmouth action.

A far from capacity crowd witnessed two out-of-form teams struggle to find any inspiration in another tepid World Cup encounter.

After a dire opening half-hour the Japan took the lead against the run of play when Dalsuke Matsui’s cross looped over Stephane Mbia and was met by Keisuke Honda, who fired in coolly at the back post.

Japan almost doubled the lead when Makoto Hasebe crashed an effort towards goal but it was well saved by Souleymanou Hamidou before the offside Shinji Okazaki clattered the post as he followed up.

Cameroon finally found some urgency in the closing stages as Mbia rattled the crossbar from 25 yards but the well-drilled Japan side were able to hold on and go level with the Netherlands at the top of Group E.

The Blue Samurai, who had lost four straight games in their World Cup build-up before drawing 0-0 with Zimbabwe, set out so defensively it seemed they would be happy with a point from the opening whistle.

And although Cameroon showed more endeavour, the fact that star striker Samuel Eto’o was played wide on the right and was often found lurking very deep, they lacked any sort of cutting edge.

A 37th-minute shot from Eyong Enoh was the first goalmouth action of the game and, although it was comfortably collected by Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima, it did finally suggest Cameroon may start to find gaps in the Japanese defence.

But the opposite was true as, despite their lack of attacking intent, Japan took a surprise lead one minute later.

Matsui’s deep left-footed cross was completely missed by the Cameroon defenders and Honda had time to control the ball before passing into the net.

The Indomitable Lions are the most successful African side in World Cup history having qualified for the World Cup six times, but the pride and passion shown by previous incarnations was sadly lacking in this first tournament on their own continent.

Immediately after half time however, it suddenly seemed Cameroon had roused themselves from their slumber.

Three-time African Footballer of the Year Eto’o finally showed a glimpse of his ability when he picked the ball up on the right and beat two men on his way into the area before squaring to Maxim Choupo-Moting but the striker could not control his finish and blasted over the bar.

But that impetus was not to last and it was not until the 85th minute that Cameroon found two efforts which could have stolen them a point.

In a moment of inspiration totally out keeping with the rest of the game, Mbia hammered a stunning effort towards goal from 25 yards which crashed off the crossbar and following that Kawashima saved from Pierre Webo in injury time.

In fairness to Japan the Asian side’s tactics worked almost perfectly as they defended solidly but on this evidence the Netherlands and Denmark will have little to worry about going into the tournament’s second week.

Japan

21 Eiji Kawashima
03 Komano
04 Tanaka
05 Nagatomo
22 Nakazawa
02 Abe Yellow card
07 Endo
08 Matsui (Okazaki, 68)
17 Hasebe Captain (Inamoto, 88)
18 Honda
16 Okubo (Kisho Yano, 81)

Substitutes:

01 Narazaki,
23 Kawaguchi,
06 Uchida,
13 Daiki Iwamasa,
15 Konno,
10 Nakamura,
14 Nakamura,
20 Inamoto,
09 Okazaki,
11 Tamada,
12 Kisho Yano,
19 Morimoto

Cameroon

16 Hamidou
02 Assou-Ekotto
03 N’Koulou Yellow card
05 Bassong
21 Matip (Emana, 63)
11 Makoun (Geremi, 75)
18 Enoh
19 M’bia Etoundi
09 Eto’o Captain
13 Choupo-Moting (Idrissou, 75)
15 Webo

Algeria vs. Slovenia 1-0

2010-06-14T16:15:00.000-07:00

Algeria vs. Slovenia

Slovenian national team recorded their first victory at the World Championships (their second participation). Namely, in today's first match on the 2010 World Cup, in the group C, Slovenian team beat Algeria with 1-0 score.

In a game that did not offer much excitement, and in which Algeria was slightly better in the first part of the match, Slovenia earned three points and took first place in the group C.

The only goal on the match scored captain of Slovenia, Robert Koren, after shooting from a distance, and helped with Jabulani ball, which has bounce and cheated the goalkeeper of Algeria, who was pretty good in today’s match.

Last 15 minutes of the match Algerina team played with ten players, because Abdelkader Ghezzal after only 20 minutes of game earned two yellow cards and has to left the game.

Netherlands vs. Denmark 2-0

2010-06-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Netherlands vs. Denmark

Dutch National team started the competition at the World Cup with victory. Although the Dutch team was playing without their biggest star, Arjen Robben, they defeated Denmark with 2-0 score.

Although the Danes played very well in the first half, at the very end they unhappily received a goal, it was an own goal in the 46th minute of game which was scored by Simon Poulsen.

In the second half the Netherlands national team players played much better, and it was only a matter of time when the second goal will be achieved. It happened in the 85th minute of match, and the scorer was Dirk Kuyt.

It is interesting to note that this was the first match at the World Cup 2010 in which both teams were from Europe.

Ivory Coast vs Portugal Match Preview

2010-06-13T10:01:00.000-07:00

Time: 15th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, South Africa

The first match from this tournament’s much discussed Group of Death: Group G, is between African favourites the Ivory Coast and strong European side Portugal. The match will take place at Nelson Mandela Bay, kicking off at 16:00 local time on June the 15th.

This group will be one of the most keenly watched of the first round, with these two sides and Brazil all competing for just two places in the knockout stage.

The Ivory Coast are strongly favoured among the African teams, with some outstanding world class players like captain and Chelsea star Didier Drogba, Eboue, Toure and Kalou. They are 30/1 at best, from bwin, to win the competition outright, and are evens favourites with most bookmakers to be the top African team, despite being drawn in the tournament’s hardest group.

Portugal, who also have a notoriously strong team with Cristiano Ronaldo among the front runners with the bookmakers to win the Golden Boot, are 28-1 to win the tournament with most bookmakers including Stan James and bodog.com.

This is the closest match of the group stages in terms of the bookmakers’ offerings with several, including Blue Square and 888sport.com refusing to call it at all and offering 8/5 on both teams to win. The majority of bookmakers are offering 11/2 on a draw. The bookies who are offering a slight difference in odds between the two teams vary in both directions.

The odds on both teams to score are short, with William Hill offering 17/20 on this eventuality. A no score draw is seen as far less likely at 7/1.

The best odds on a 1-0 result are with Victor Chandler, who offer 7/1 for either team to win with this scoreline. For 2-0 it gets interesting, with Paddy Power offering 14/1 on the Ivorians and 10/1 on the Portuguese, but conversely Tote offering 9/1 on the Ivory Coast and 10/1 on Portugal – the bookmakers are not in greement on their predictions for this match.

Portugal are 6/4 to keep a clean sheet, with the Ivory Coast 15/8, both with William Hill.

Prediction

This is one of the only games in the group round that is hard to call just because both teams are so good. It is guaranteed to be a good watch for the neutral, and in fairness probably isn’t the best match to bet on.

Because of the fantastic goal scorers on both sides, this could be a high scoring match, but it would be strange if one team wins by a big margin.

Both sides are capable of winning this, but the hype around African teams in this first African World Cup and the climate advantage could give the Ivory Coast the slight edge.

Brazil vs North Korea Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:59:00.000-07:00

Time: 15th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JEP, South Africa

Second favourites Brazil take on rank outsiders North Korea in Johannesburg on day five of the World Cup. The match will start at 20:30 local time.

While the other match in the World Cup’s “group of death”, Group G, is one of the toughest games in the first round to call, with some bookmakers giving the same odds for both Portugal and the Ivory Coast to win, this match is probably the easiest to be found in the group stage.

With Brazil just behind Spain as the second favourites to win the competition outright at 5/1 with nearly all bookmakers, and North Korea conversely second to last behind New Zealand at around 2000/1, barring any serious giant slaying behaviour from the Asian side this should the most comfortable thrashing Brazil will get to deliver as they make their way out of the otherwise tricky group.

Brazil have a wealth of superstar players including Luis Fabiano, Robinho and Kaka, whereas North Korea, who have little World Cup history, are all relative unknowns outside of their own country.

The odds of course reflect this, with even the best odds on Brazil being 1/8, available from Sky Bet. For a North Korea win, the best odds are 33/1 with Victor Chandler – the longest odds of any team to win their first match.

Even predicting the correct scoreline here doesn’t bag particularly great odds (if of course, you favour Brazil), with even 5-0 only returning at best 11/1. 2-0 is the shortest odds score prediction at 6/1, but you can go as high as 10-0 with Brazil for 100/1.

It is 11/1 against North Korea keeping a clean sheet with William Hill, and the odds of both teams scoring regardless of end result are 11/5.

A no score draw is 16/1, everybody is expecting Brazil to get something, probably something substantial, out of this fixture, and they will need to given that the other two matches in their group stage will not be pushovers, and tactically all three of the other sides will be looking to score as much as possible in their North Korea match in case it comes down to goal difference who gets to progress.

Prediction

As potentially the biggest forgone conclusion in this round, it is very difficult to even imagine anything other than a comprehensive win for Brazil in this match. They will be looking for as many goals as they can before taking on the rest of the group. The prediction is therefore 4-0 to Brazil, which gives best odds of 7/1 with bet365 and Victor Chandler at the time of writing.

Brazil vs Ivory Coast Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:58:00.000-07:00

Time: 20th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JSC, South Africa

The “Group of Death” are back in action on the 20th of June with one of the most eagerly anticipated games of the tournament’s group stage – Brazil versus the Ivory Coast. The match is to be held at Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium, and will kick off at 20:30 local time.

Brazil are the second favourites after Spain to win the tournament, whereas the Ivory Coast, even with doubts about captain Drogba’s fitness, are the favourite African team. The two teams have never played each other before, and with both trying to get out of the toughest group on paper in the tournament there is a lot riding on this game.

Brazil are the favourites to win, with the odds at best 8/13 on them coming out with three points. For the Ivory Coast to win the best price is 11/2. For the draw, the odds are 3/1. This shows Brazil to have a lot more backing from the bookmakers, but in this group anything can happen so the odds on the Elephants are certainly worth a look.

It is a similar story with the correct score market, there are short odds on most Brazil winning lines. The favourite being Brazil 1-0 at 11/2 with Bet365 or US Friendly SportsInteraction. 2-0 gets you 6/1 and 3-0 is 9/1. For a win for the Ivory Coast, you are looking at 16/1 for 1-0 – if they pull it out of the bag there is money to be made backing the African team here.

Luis Fabiano is top choice for first goal scorer. He is offered at 17/4 by Sportsbook.com. Kaka is 11/2, and Robinho is 13/2. For Saloman Kalou for the Ivory Coast you will get 10/1.

Prediction

This is a game where there is a clear favourite but the opposition are strong enough that an upset could occur, which is what makes this fixture so fascinating. I can still see Brazil winning this, particularly if Drogba is absent. My prediction is 3-2 to Brazil.

Portugal vs North Korea Preview

2010-06-13T09:57:00.000-07:00

Time: 21st June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Cape Town, South Africa

Portugal have their “easy” group match in the “Group of Death” Group G on the 21st of June when they take on North Korea in Cape Town. The fixture kicks off at 13:30 South African time.

Portugal are, understandably, at very short odds to win this game. The best price you can currently get on a straight Portugal win is 1/5, with Betfred or BetUS. Some bookies are offering as little as 1/6. Most are offering 5/1 on the draw, including Bet365 and 888sport.

A North Korea win is looking unlikely with odds as long as 20/1.

Portugal will be looking to take as much as they can away from this game, as will their group mates Brazil and the Ivory Coast when they meet with North Korea. In a tough group like this where goal difference could matter, they will be looking to score on the North Koreans as many times as possible, rather than just take away the three points.

Looking at the correct score market, the favourite is 2-0 to Portugal, which will get you 5/1. 1-0 and 3-0 are both at 6/1. 4-0 is an interesting bet – Portugal can easily achieve this, and in a game where they will be looking for a high margin win the 10/1 odds could be worth a look, as could 20/1 on 5-0.

The favourite for first goal scoere is one Cristiano Ronaldo. For him to score first you are looking at around 13/5. Liedson is at 14/5, Almeida 16/5, and then it goes out to 5/1 for Nani.

Prediction

I can definitely see Portugal taking away a good few goals from this fixture. North Korea will be the team all the others in the group will be looking to rack up goals against, as they are just not capable of offering up much competition to teams of the caliber of Portugal, Brazil and the Ivory Coast. For this reason the prediction is a 4-0 win to Portugal – odds on this are 10/1.

Honduras vs Chile Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:56:00.000-07:00

Time: 16th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Nelspruit, South Africa

The first games of the final group to kick off their World Cup campaigns, Group H, will take place on the 16th of June. The first, seeing Honduras take on Chile, will be at the Nelspruit stadium and play commences at 13:30 local time.

Honduras are one of the biggest outsiders to win the tournament, just ahead of North Korea and New Zealand at anything from 350/1 with Expekt to 1000/1 with bet365. Their opponents Chile are in the upper middle of the pack with odds ranging from 33/1 with bodog.com out to 66/1 from bwin and Paddy Power among others, in around the same region as Ghana and Serbia.

In a group that also features outright 4/1 favourites to win the title, Spain, and low ranking European side Switzerland, Chile will be hoping, if not expecting, to make it through this group whereas Honduras will most likely expect to go out in the group round and will see just qualifying for the competition as a major achievement in and of itself. Switzerland may have the potential to cause an upset to Chile’s plan, but it is very unlikely Honduras will be stopping any of their opponents in this stage.

The odds for the match reflect the comparative weakness of the Honduras side. The best odds from Chile, available from PaddyPower, are a meagre 4/6. Odds for a Honduras win from most bookmakers are 9/2. A draw would get best prices of 11/4 from Victor Chandler.

In the correct score market, the favourite result is currently a 2-0 win to Chile. This has odds of around 11/2 in most places, with 6/1 the best price from Paddy Power and Stan James. A 1-0 win to Chile also will fetch 6/1 with Victor Chandler, with most bookmakers offering 5/1.

Best prices on Honduras winning 1-0 are 11/1 with Paddy Power, and they also offer the best price of 33/1 on a 2-0 win for the outsiders.

The odds of Chile keeping a clean sheet are good at 10/3, with a clean sheet just 17/20 – both from William Hill. The bookmakers seem confident Chile will score and win in this game.

Prediction

It is hard to expect anything but a win for Chile here, and it will be difficult for Honduras’ inexperienced team to get past their defence and score in this match. For these reasons, the prediction here matches that indicated by the bookmakers’ offerings – a 2-0 win for Chile.

Chile vs Switzerland Preview

2010-06-13T09:55:00.001-07:00

Time: 21st June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, South Africa

The penultimate game in the second round of group stage matches takes place in Nelson Mandela Bay on the 21st of June, and sees a Group H clash between Switzerland and Chile. The match kicks off at 4pm local time.

Chile are the favourites to win this game with evens being offered by most of our favourite bookmakers. Switzerland are offered at around 11/4 as best. This shows that while they are the outsiders, the odds aren’t that long, this is a game where the Europeans could upset the natural order of things. Interestingly, on the three previous occasions these teams have played, Switzerland won two…

The best odds on a draw here are 12/5, but the favourite scoreline in the correct score market is a 1-1 draw. This is offered at 11/2 by Bet365, though they offer the same price for a Chilean 1-0 win. For Switzerland to win with the same scoreline you can get 7/1 with Bodog (US Friendly). A nil-nil draw is offered at 15/2 with William Hill.

A big win is not seen as likely in this game, with even just 3-0 to Chile attracting best odds of 20/1. 3-0 to the Swiss is at 40/1 with Bodog and BetFred among others at the time of writing, and 4-0 to Chile is 66/1 – the bookies are not forseeing a lot of goals in this game.

Prediction

Whilst Spain are the big draw in this group, this game could be an interesting one, with the clash of styles between South America and Northern Europe on show and teams at a close enough level of expectation and ability to offer a competitive match. That said, I can’t help agreeing with the bookmakers here – this does not look like a goal fest. For this reason, the prediction is a 1-1 draw, offered at 11/5 (3.20) by SportsInteraction.

Spain vs Switzerland Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:55:00.000-07:00

Time: 16th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Durban, South Africa

The last of the opening matches for each team comes from Group H and takes place on day six of the month long tournament, the 16th of June. The match, which will kick off in Durban at 16:00 local time, will see the favourites finally make their appearance and start off their campaign to dominate the 2010 World Cup.

Their opponents, Switzerland, will also be looking to go through from this group, which contains strong competition from Chile as well as rank outsiders Honduras.

The two teams haven’t played each other since back in 1994, when Spain beat Switzerland 3-0 in a previous World Cup. Whilst this was 16 years ago and so isn’t particularly relevant in terms of today’s squads, it is worth noting that the odds for that same result this time around are 8/1 at best.

With Spain the outright favourites to win the tournament and their two star strikers David Villa and Fernando Torres both in the list of favourites to win the Golden Boot, with Villa topping it, Spain should be formidable opposition to the Swiss side, who themselves are 200/1 to win the tournament and on paper less likely to make it through the group stage than 66/1 Chile.

The best odds on Spain winning this game are just 2/5 from Tote Sport, with Switzerland’s best price 10/1 from bwin or Victor Chandler.

The draw is offered at 15/4 by bet365.

With the goal scoring quality of Villa and Torres as well as the rest of the team, Spain could potentially be looked to to win by a number of goals in this game. On the correct score market the favoured result is 2-0 to the Spanish, which most bookmakers are offering 5/1 for, with 1-0 at 7/1 and 3-0 at 8/1.

To bet on just the margin of a win for Spain, Spain to win by two or more goals is just 21/20 with bet365, but to win by exactly three offers 5/1 with William Hill. Switzerland to win by two or more goals is at 22/1, again with bet365.

Prediction

This game will almost certainly go in the favourites’ direction, and there should be at least a couple of goals from the Euro 2008 winners. Spain will want to start their campaign off well and be in good shape ahead of their match against Chile, which for them will be the trickiest in the group round.

Netherlands vs Denmark Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:53:00.001-07:00

Time: 14th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JSC, South Africa

Fifth favourites Holland meet with Denmark on day four of the World Cup in the opening match of Group E. The fixture will be played in Johannesburg at 13:30 local time.

As the first all European game in the tournament, this match will be watched with interest by supporters and neutrals alike, given that all of the preceding fixtures have much more diversity in the home regions of the teams playing. Both teams, being from northern Europe, will have the South African climate going against them throughout the tournament.

With comparatively unthreatening opposition elsewhere in their group from Japan and Cameroon, both of these teams will be aiming to progress and viewing this as an important fixture.

Holland, who are 12-1 to win the cup outright are understandably favoured against Denmark who are at around 150-1 to be crowned World Cup champions.

The odds for winning this match are, at best, 4/5 to the Netherlands, from Sky Bet and Boyle Sports. Best odds on Denmark are 4/1, offered by both Expekt and Paddy Power. The draw is offered at around 5/2 by most bookmakers.

Odds on the finishing scoreline are quite short for most of the most likely Holland win scenarios, with 5/1 on 1-0, 6/1 on 2-0 and 7/1 on 2-1 being the most common offerings. This goes up to 14/1 for 3-0 or 3-1.

A Denmark win with correct scoreline fetches better odds, as you might expect, with 9/1 on 1-0, 20/1 on 2-0 and 14/1 on 2-1.

Netherlands and Denmark have played before once recently, in May 2008 in a friendly. This match resulted in one all draw. The odds for the same result in this 2010 World Cup fixture are between 5 and 6/1.

In other bets, Holland are 4/5 on to keep a clean sheet whereas the same bet on Denmark will get you 23/10. Holland are 15/2 to win from behind, whereas for Denmark to do this it is 16/1 – both offered by William Hill. The odds of there being an own goal are 8/1, and the odds of this being the first goal are 16/1.

Prediction

This game could well be there for the taking for the Dutch team, with little to suggest Denmark will upset them. Holland will need to win this game to prove themselves worthy of their place among the very favourites.

With this in mind, and the high hopes for this year’s Dutch squad, the prediction for this match is 2-0 to the Netherlands. We have also listed more predictions for Group E.

Spain vs Honduras Preview

2010-06-13T09:53:00.000-07:00

Time: 21st June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JEP, South Africa

In the last game of the second set of group stage matches, favourites Spain take on outsiders Honduras in Johannesburg at the Ellis Park Stadium. It is a 20:30 local time kick off at Ellis Park, and Honduras will be looking to do some giant slaying while Spain will be looking to take away as many goals as possible, what with Villa and Torres both eyeing the Golden Boot this summer.

Spain are of course the favourites to win this match – they are the favourites to win everything at the time of writing. The odds on them winning this game are some of the shortest on any team in any match in the group stage. 1/6 is the best price which you can get from Sportsbook or William Hill.

For a Honduras win here, and a big surprise, we are seeing odds as long as 22/1. This is the offering for Victor Chandler, who are evidently even more sure than the others that Spain will take away three points here. They are offering the best price on the draw here too at 13/2.

There are no surprises in the first goal scorer market either. Torres and Villa are the joint favourites at 13/5. They are followed by Negredo and Mata at 18/5, but with so many potential goal scorers in the Spain squad you may feel spoilt for choice; Iniesta is at 17/2, Fabregas is 10/1 and Silva is 15/2.

Prediction

Spain should not only win this but win it by a big margin. They will be looking to show against Honduras exactly how good they are and anything less than a high scoring win would suggest they aren’t going to live up to the hype. I predict 4-0 to Spain, which is offered at 8/1 with Bodog (US Friendly).

Netherlands vs Japan Preview

2010-06-13T09:51:00.001-07:00

Time: 19th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Durban, South Africa

On the 19th of June in Durban at 13:30 local time Group E gets back into action with the match between group favourites the Netherlands and Japan.

With the Netherlands among the favourites to win the World Cup, and Japan, along with all of the other Asian teams, on the outside, there is not much money to be made backing a Dutch straight win here. Bodog are offering just 2/5 on this outcome, and BetFred a mere 1/3.

For Japan to cause an upset, which, if you saw them play against England in the friendlies, is always a possibility, you can get 9/1 from Victor Chandler, the best price for a Japanese win. A draw is offered at 7/2, again, from Victor Chandler.

Victor Chandler and William Hill both have bets available already for the first goal scorer in this game. Predictably, the field is led by Dutch players, with Robin van Persie and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar joint favourites at 18/5 and Arjen Robben, who may not even play in the group stage due to injury, third at 11/2, followed by Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt both at 13/2. The first Japanese players appear at the 11/1 mark, where you can take Morimoto or Okubo, at the same price as van Bronckhorst on the Dutch side.

If you want to predict the correct score, the bookmakers are favouring a 1-0 or 2-0 win to the Dutch, most offering the same odds for both scorelines. Bodog will give you 5/1 on these picks. With all the confidence in this year’s Dutch side, perhaps you fancy a bigger win margin? Well, prices for 4-0 vary anywhere from 16/1 to 22/1, but the best price is from Ladbrokes, who also offer the best price for 5-0 at 80/1.

Prediction

Holland should have no trouble here, and this could be a high scoring game for the Dutch. To stay on the conservative side I am going for a 3-0 win for Holland, but it is possible they could put even more past the Japanese defence with some of the goalscorers they can field. 3-0 will get you 8/1 with Bodog right now.

Japan vs Cameroon Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:51:00.000-07:00

Time: 14th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Mangaung / Bloemfontein, South Africa

On the 14th of June in Bloemfontein, Group E’s second match will be played out between Japan and Cameroon. The game kicks off at 16:00 local time.

With Cameroon at 100/1 to win the cup, similar to other group rivals Denmark, and Japan at 250/1, Cameroon are expected to win this fixture, with some bookmakers only offering evens, and the best price just 6/5 from Tote Sport, Sky Bet, 888sport and Paddy Power, among others.

Cameroon are the third favourite to be the top African team in the tournament after the Ivory Coast and Ghana, with most bookmakers offering 11/2 for this possibility. Cameroon have previously done well in international tournaments, though they were disappointed to go out in the quarter finals of the African Cup of Nations to eventual winners Egypt.

Japan’s odds to win this game are longer by far, with the best price being 13/5 with William Hill. Most bookies seem to be favouring a draw over a Japan win, but the best price on the draw is 23/10 with bet365.

Japan are second favourites after Australia to be the top Asia/Oceania team, at 7/2, which is above South Korea who have performed well in the past.

On the correct score market, a 1-0 win will get you (best odds) 6/1 for Cameroon and 8/1 for Japan, both from Victor Chandler. Cameroon 2-0 is 17/2 from William Hill, and 2-1 is 8/1 from bet365. Japan 2-0 is 16/1 or 2/1 is 12/1, both from PaddyPower.

Cameroon are at 3/4 to be the first team to score in Bloemfontein on the 14th of June, with Japan at 7/5. Best odds on a no goal draw are 7/1.

The teams have played once before in 2007, when Japan won the friendly match 2-0. That same result on match day in South Africa is, as previously mentioned, worth 16/1.

Prediction

As the favourites both overall and in this fixture, Cameroon look like they should emerge as the winners here. With the African climate working in their favour and hopefully plenty of support, Cameroon should have what it takes to take away the full three points from their first game. They will be in competition with Denmark to qualify alongside group favourites Holland, so will be keen to win this, which should be their easiest fixture.

Cameroon vs Denmark Preview

2010-06-13T09:50:00.000-07:00

Time: 19th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa

The fourth match in Group E is to kick off on June the 19th at 20:30 local time in Pretoria, and sees Cameroon meet Denmark.

Whilst very different in culture and football style, the teams here are seen as pretty evenly matched. Denmark seem to be very slightly favoured by the bookmakers, though you can get 6/4 on either team to win from most bookmakers, Expekt put Cameroon slightly further out and offer the best price on them at 7/4. This isn’t a bad bet considering that the teams are close in ability and expectation, and yet Cameroon have the African advantage. For US players, Sportsbook.com offers the best odds and most betting alternatives.

A draw here will get you 23/10, the best price on offer, from Ladbrokes – most bookmakers offer 2/1. Again, this is quite a good price considering there isn’t much to suggest either team has this game in the bag. In the correct score market, a 1-1 draw is the favourite outcome, with Bodog (US Friendly) offering 11/2, whereas a 0-0 draw will get you 7/1.

1-0 to Denmark is the second favourite scoreline in most books, and it will fetch you 13/2, again Bodog offer the best price here. 1-0 to Cameroon is actually at 6/1 with Bodog who are one of a couple of bookmakers who seem to rate Cameroon over Denmark, but Victor Chandler will give you 13/2 on this.

William Hill already offer first goal scorer odds for the group stage games, and for this match the joint favourites are Samuel Eto’o, Rajko Lekic, Nicklas Bendtner and Jon Dahl Tomasson – all offered at 5/1 with William Hill.

Prediction

Here is a game that could easily go either way, and one of the few matches in this round that is difficult to call. On the one hand the Danes have some good, solid players and a good if not amazing level of skill. On the other, Cameroon have a bit of a tradition of being dark horses that can upset groups, and they do have the advantage of a little more support and a better acclimatisation in South Africa. I think there will be goals, but in this case I am going with the bookies – a 1-1 draw. This will fetch you 11/2 on the correct score market or 2/1 just for the draw.

Italy vs New Zealand Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

Time: 20th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Nelspruit, South Africa

Match number four in Group F sees Italy, one of the favourites, take on absolute outsiders New Zealand at the Nelspruit stadium. This match takes place on the 20th of June with a 4pm kick off in local time.

Italy, the current champions, will be looking to take as many goals away from this game as possible, with it being on paper the easiest fixture in their group, which also includes Paraguay and Slovakia. New Zealand have, however, shown that they are not as easy to beat as many thought when they beat Serbia in a friendly last week.

Italy are of course the favourites to win this by a huge degree. The odds on Italy winning the game are as short as 1/9 with William Hill and 1.13 (-769) with SportsInteraction (US Friendly) This looks pretty close to a certainty, but a surprise win by New Zealand will get you odds as long as 20/1 with Victor Chandler. Even the draw is worth 6/1 at Bodog and Bet365.

This is a game where Italy are expected to pick up goals. 2-0 is the favourite scoreline in the correct score market, at 5/1 with Bodog, but 3-0 is the second favourite at 6/1 and even 4-0 is only at 7/1. Italy will be looking to get as much out of this as possible, so you can back 5-0 for the same price as a 0-0 draw here, at 14/1 with Bodog. The first New Zealand win in the field is at 40/1 with Bet365 for 1-0. There’s not much faith in the All Whites from the bookies here! They are also the least expected team to win the World Cup.

Di Natale and Gilardino are the favourites to put the first goal in the back of the net, both offered at around 18/5.

Prediction

This could be one of the highest scoring games of the group round if Italy are on form – I am expecting to see a total thrashing. The prediction therefore is 5-0 to Italy – at 14/1 with Bodog this is not a bad bet at all.

New Zealand vs Slovakia Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:47:00.001-07:00

Time: 15th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Rustenburg, South Africa

On the 15th of June, day five of this year’s World Cup Finals tournament, Rustenberg plays host to the second match in Group F, where absolute outsiders New Zealand take on low ranking European side Slovakia. Kicking off at 13:30 local time, they will be playing in the hottest part of the day.

Within a group that also contains Italy and Paraguay, progressing past the first round will be a huge achievement for either one of these teams if they manage to get the results to be any more than just teams who were “happy to take part”.

New Zealand, who have only been in the World Cup once before in 1982, and who then exited during the group stage, have the lowest odds of anybody in the competition to lift the trophy, with expekt.com offering as much as 3000/1 on this eventuality and most others around the 2000/1 mark.

Slovakia, whilst having slightly higher expectations than this, are the lowest rated European team in terms of odds to win, alongside Slovenia. The best odds for them to win are 300/1 from bwin. Yes, ten times better than New Zealand, so while neither team is looked at as serious contenders, in this game Slovakia should have the upper hand.

This is indeed shown in the odds for the winner of this game, with the best odds on Slovakia 8/15 from Sky Bet. The best odds available at the time of writing for a New Zealand win are 8/1 from Victor Chandler.

The draw is offered at around 3/1 from most bookmakers, so a Slovakia win is definitely the bookies’ most expected outcome.

The chances of New Zealand keeping a clean sheet in light of this are 5/1 from William Hill, but for Slovakia to do the same are just 8/13.

Correct scoreline betting will offer Slovakia winning 1-0 or 2-0 both for around 5/1, with the odds of New Zealand making it 2-0 for themselves 40/1 with Tote Sport or William Hill. A 0-0 draw is seen as being as unlikely as Slovakia winning 3-0, with 10/1 available on both of these outcomes.

Prediction

New Zealand really have very little chance of doing anything in the World Cup, but Slovakia may well be hoping to be in with a chance to contend for second place in the group, in which case they will definitely need to take away three points from this match and do so with as many goals as possible.

For this reason, the prediction is a 3-0 win for Slovakia.

Slovakia vs Paraguay Preview

2010-06-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

Time: 20th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Mangaung/Bloemfontein, South Africa

Group F kicks off its second round of group stage play with a match between Slovakia and Paraguay. The match will take place at Manguang and kicks off on June 20th at 13:30 local time.

Paraguay are the favourites to win this game with most bookmakers offering evens on this outcome. That’s not to say there are long odds on Slovakia, the best price for them to win is 11/4 with Bodog (US Friendly) or Expekt. The draw is offered at pretty short odds too at 12/5. This suggests that while Paraguay should, on paper, be the better team, there is still some room for Slovakia to upset them.

A 1-1 draw or Paraguay winning 1-0 both attract similar odds. Bet365 and Sportsbook (US Friendly) are offering the same price, 11/2, on both eventualities. Slovakia 1-0 and a 0-0 draw both fetch 8/1, again, the best prices and again, from Bet365. At William Hill, a 2-0 win to Paraguay is also 8/1, as is 2-1 to Paraguay back at Bet365. This is not a game that is easy to call, when results that cause Paraguay to win, lose and draw all attract the same odds!

Oscar Cardozo is the favourite to score the first goal. Odds for him from Victor Chandler are 17/4. He is followed by Roque Santa Cruz and Lucas Barrios, both at 11/2. The Slovakians join the field at around the 15/2 mark, with their favourites being Stanislav Sestak and Erik Jendrisek – again, the prices are the best prices currently available and are offered by Victor Chandler.

Prediction

I think Paraguay are a somewhat underrated team in this group who may even upset Italy, so I can certainly see them beating Slovakia in Manguang. I predict 2-0 to Paraguay, which will get you 8/1 with William Hill or Sportsbook.

Italy vs Paraguay Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Time: 14th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Cape Town, South Africa

Italy, the current World Cup holders, take on Paraguay on the 14th of June in the second match to be held in Cape Town, and the first match of Group F.

With rank outsiders New Zealand and low ranking European team Slovakia the other opposition in the group, this should be the toughest fixture for the Italians who will be looking to equal Brazil’s record of five World Cup wins.

Italy have been criticised for fielding quite an old squad, which did not do them a lot of favours in the Confederations Cup or the qualifiers for World Cup 2010, where they were unable to beat the Republic of Ireland, who ultimately failed to qualify after controversially going out to France in the play offs, over the two legs.

In spite of this, they are still one of the favoured teams entering the competition with best odds of 14/1, the same as for Germany.

Betting on Italy vs Paraguay

Paraguay are between 40/1 and 80/1 depending on where you look, with the best odds being from bwin and bet365. This makes them the third favourite of the South American teams after second favourites Brazil and fourth favourites Argentina.

The odds for this game favour Italy, with many providers such as Victor Chandler, bodog.com and Paddy Power offering 5/6 on a win for the azzuri. Odds for Paraguay are currently best from Expekt who also offer some really special World Cup bets for almost all games.

Boyle Sports and bet365 offer 12/5 on the draw.

In other bets, if you think both teams will score, regardless of the end result, William Hill will give you 5/4 on this outcome. For neither team to score, i.e. the goalless draw scenario, the odds are 6-1, so they are expecting some action out of this meeting.

In the correct scoreline market, for either a 1-0 win for Italy or a 1-1 draw, the best odds are 6/1. A Paraguay 1-0 is at 9/1. Italy winning 2-0 comes in at 7/1, interestingly, the same as a goalless draw, with most bookies offering the same for 2-1 with just William Hill offering 8/1 on this.

Italy are 4/5 on to keep a clean sheet, with Paraguay around 2/1 to do this.

This is one game where there is some potential for upset, with Italy failing to inspire since they won the last World Cup and Paraguay looking good in qualification with players like Roque Santa Cruz performing very well.

Having said that, with the relatively easy opposition in the rest of the group, Paraguay would probably be satisfied with a draw out of this fixture, where as Italy will want to prove their capabilities and go all out for a win.

The prediction is 2-1 to Italy, with odds at 8/1. Find more World Cup predictions for all games.

Germany vs Australia Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

Time: 13th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Durban, South Africa

The first match in highly competitive Group D takes place in Durban on day three of the tournament, at 20:30 local time. One of though toughest groups in the stage, with Germany and Australia alongside Ghana and Serbia, this should be an interesting one to watch – Only the Group of Death, Group G, with Brazil, the Ivory Coat and Portugal looks trickier to get through than this one.

Germany, who hosted the last World Cup and came third, as well as coming second in Euro 2008, look like a strong proposition in this match, but Australia, who made it through 2006’s “group of death”, will be tough competition after an impressive qualifying performance.

Germany are the firm favourites to win the fixture, with odds on at about 4/7 from most World Cup bookmakers. An Australia win is offered at 5/1 from most bookies, with bet365 offering 6/1. Odds for the draw are currently 11/4.

In the correct score market, it is around 5/1 for both 1-0 and 2-0 to the Germans, with 9/1 for 3-0. For Australia you can get 9/1 for 1-0 and as much as 33/1 for 2-0.

Other Germany wins are offered at, for example, 7/1 for 2-1 and 9/1 for 3-1.

A 1-1 or 0-0 draw both fetch around 13/2.

This shows that, compared with other games, bookmakers are placing themselves with a fair degree of confidence on a Germany win, even a fairly high scoring one.

Germany are at 3/4 to keep a clean sheet, showing again, a lot of confidence from the bookmakers in this German team, with Australia at 4/1.

William Hill offer 8-1 on there being an own goal in this match.

For Germany to come from behind to win is offered at 7/1, also by William Hill Sportsbook, whereas Australia coming from behind is priced at present at 18/1.

Prediction

Germany will be keen, as one of the favourites, to prove their credentials in the group stage, despite tough opposition. Whilst Australia have a good chance of getting through the group, it is hard to see anybody but Germany winning this game.

With players like Klose, winner of the Golden Boot at the last tournament, there is a good chance Germany will put more than one goal past the opposition, and it will be hard for Australia to find their way past the tough German defence.

The prediction is therefore a win for Germany at 2-0, offered in the current market at about 5/1.

Serbia vs Ghana Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

Time: 13th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa

The second match in Group D, one of the toughest groups in this year’s World Cup Finals tournament, will take place in Pretoria on the 13th of June at 16:00 local time.

In a group that also features seeded team Germany and top Asia/Oceania side Australia, these teams, who both had strong qualifying campaigns, will need to excel to make it through to the knockout rounds.

This game should be interesting for the neutral, with the teams varying so much in style and background but with similar expectations on them going into the tournament.

As the first World Cup ever to take place on African soil, the climate and support in South Africa may be advantageous to Ghana. Among the African teams in the competition they are not quite as well fancied as the Ivory Coast, however they are the second favourite African side with the bookmakers, at 4/1 to be the top finishing African team (Ivory Coast are evens) and 66/1 to win the competition outright.

Serbia are also 66/1 for winning the cup, so the teams are, on paper, very evenly matched.

The odds for the match itself reflect this, with Ghana at around 2/1 and Serbia varying on either side from 7/5 to 5/4 – this is one that everybody is very reluctant to call.

The odds for the draw are around 11/5.

The scoreline odds have Serbia at 5/1 to win 1-0, with the same scoreline for Ghana at 13/2. Higher scoring wins show Serbia as favourites, with 2-0 being 20/1 for Serbia and 40/1 for Ghana.

Bets on the team to score first are very close indeed but again with a leaning towards Serbia – bodog.com offer 20/21 on Serbia to net the first goal and 5/4 on Ghana.

Even the winning margin bets are close – Serbia to win by two or more goals is 4/1 with bet365, whereas for Ghana to do the same is 6/1.

Prediction

With both teams looking to make it out of this difficult group, they will theoretically both be playing for a win, so despite how evenly matched they are, it is difficult to see either being satisfied with a draw. Serbia seem to have the slight edge with the bookmakers, even considering Ghana’s perceived African advantage, however I am inclined to go with Michael Essien and his team for the win. The prediction for this game is therefore 2-1 to Ghana. We have also listed more predictions for Group D in World Cup.

Ghana vs Australia Preview

2010-06-13T09:39:00.001-07:00

Time: 19th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Rustenburg, South Africa

The fourth match in tricky Group D takes place in Rustenburg on the 19th of June, with a 16:00 kick off (local time). This is where and when Ghana and Australia will meet at the World Cup.

Ghana have had some injury problems, with star player Michael Essien ruled out with an injury, and Australia have failed to impress in their warm ups, losing 3-1 to the USA.

Ghana, who have the advantage of the climate and local support in Africa, are the favourites to win this game, with odds at around 6/5. Australia are 12/5 to win with BetFred, and the draw is 23/10 – none of these outcomes offer long odds, the trickiness of the group being reflected in the bookies’ prices. Sportsbook.com (US Friendly) does also have some good odds on this outcome.

Prince Tagoe and Asamoah Gyan are the joint favourites to put the first goal in, William Hill, who are already offering first goal scorer bets for this round of matches, are offering 4/1 on both players. Sully Muntari, who is still in doubt with injury, is 8/1.

The correct score market for this game favours a 1-0 win to Ghana, which Bodog offer 11/2 for. A 1-1 draw is at 5/1 with both Bodog and Bet365. Australia 1-0 is the next shortest odds, at 13/2. This shows that while Ghana are the favourites the bookmakers are not calling this one too strongly.

Prediction

This should be an interesting game. While Ghana should have a very slight edge here, they are missing key players, and Australia will be very keen to get through this tough group which also contains Serbia and Germany. I think there is a strong change this will end in a score draw, so the prediction here is 2-2, which will get you odds of 18/1 with Bet365.

Germany vs Serbia Preview

2010-06-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

Time: 18th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, South Africa

The second set of Group D matches kicks off in Nelson Mandela Bay on June the 18th, where Germany and Serbia will meet. This game starts at 13:30 local time.

In a tough group, seeded team Germany are still the favourites, despite their injury problems. Serbia have failed to impress in a dismal set of friendlies, losing to outsiders New Zealand and unqualified Poland.

Germany are therefore favoured to win this match. The best odds on a straight win for the Germans are 5/6 from Bodog. The draw is worth 11/4 at BetFred, and a Serbia win will fetch 7/2 with Victor Chandler – these are all the best available prices at the time of writing.

In the correct score market, the favourite scoreline is a 1-0 Germany win, which is 5/1 with Bodog (US Friendly) and William Hill. 2-0 and 2-1 to Germany both fetch 7/1 odds. A big Germany win like 4-0 is 40/1, so it doesn’t look like the bookmakers think Germany will be putting too many goals into the Serbian net – is this the expectation of safe, dependable play from the Germans?

The best odds for Serbia to win 1-0 are 11/1 from Bet365. They also offer 16/1 on a Serbian 2-1 win.

If you fancy a 0-0 draw in this game, go to Sportsbook.com (US Friendly) who will give you 9/1 on this outcome.

William Hill are already offering odds on the first to score in this match. Gomez and Klose are the joint favourites here, both with 4/1 odds of netting the first goal. Klose won the golden boot at the last World Cup – will he score again here?

Prediction

With Serbia’s recent bad form, the Germans should be able to win here, but like the bookmakers I can’t see them putting away too many goals with the Serbian defence as it is. For this reason, the prediction is 1-0 to Germany, which is 5/1 from Bodog.

England vs USA Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:37:00.000-07:00

Time: 12th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JEP, South Africa

The much awaited clash between England and the USA is the opening match of Group C, which will be played on the second day of the group stages, June the 12th, at 20:30 local time. The match will take place at South Africa’s Rustenberg stadium, and there are expected to be large numbers of fans from both sides as well as local supporters in attendance.

With England the seeded team in Group C, having happily qualified with relative ease after missing out on Euro 2008, they re, with UK bookmakers at least, the third favourites to win the tournament outright. Read more about our Group C predictions.

They are also the favourites to come out of this match with three points, at 4/9 for the win. The draw is offered at 13/5, and a USA win is 11/2.

These two teams have some previous form to go on, having played in 2005 and 2008. On both occasions England won, with the ’05 result being 2-1 and the ’08 result 2-0.

The USA are however, undergoing a bit of a renaissance in football terms, with the sport growing in popularity and the national team becoming more of a viable proposition as serious contenders in international tournaments such as this, so the win may not be as easy for England as some might expect going on the USA’s history of having a relative lack of interest in the sport they call soccer.

In terms of players, it is hard not to favour Wayne Rooney, England’s top scorer in qualifying averaging almost a goal a game, and third favourite at present to win the Golden Boot, to be the man to put the first goal away in this game. The USA do have some reliable scorers too, however, with Everton’s Landon Donovan along with Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore all having scored five or six in the qualifying rounds.

The bookies’ favourite scoreline for this game is a 1-0 win to England at 9/2, with 2-0 offered at 11/2. Conversely, if the USA win 2-0 this nets 28-1. Find the best odds and promotions at Expekt or Bodog for this game, also PaddyPower offer some exciting special bets on this match.

With this being an England match, a number of other markets are available from UK bookmakers already, for example you can bet that there will be an own goal in the game at 8/1, or that the first goal will be an own goal at 16/1. There are also bets available on the timings of any goals and the total number scored in the match.

Prediction

England are entering the tournament with a lot to prove to fans and the media after a tough spell, and really need to win this to show they are serious contenders and deserving of being among the front runners to win the cup. They should win this game, but the USA won’t make it too easy for them, and it won’t be by an enormous margin.

My prediction is that England will win 2-0, as they did in their last meeting with the USA. Odds for this result are 11/2.

USA vs Slovenia Preview

2010-06-13T09:36:00.001-07:00

Time: 18th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JEP, South Africa

Group C come back out for their second round of group stage play on the 18th of June, when the USA take on Slovenia. This match will be help at the Johannesburg JEP stadium, and kicks off at 16:00 local time.

Bob Bradley’s USA team are the favourites to take three points away from this fixture. The odds on a USA victory are, best price, 5/4. You can get that price from Betfred, or from Bodog who support USA based gamblers. The best price if you want to back Slovenia is 12/5 which you can get from Victor Chandler or Sportsbook.com (US Friendly).

The draw is offered at 9/4 by Bodog and Bet365.

The favourite scoreline in the correct score market is, surprisingly, given there is a favourite to win the match, 1-1. This can be backed at 11/2 with SportsInteraction (US Friendly) who offer the best price. They also offer the best price on a USA 1-0 win, at 6/1, and on a Slovenia 1-0 win at 15/2.

For a goalless draw, the price is 17/2 with William Hill. This seems quite a good price to me for that outcome.

For long shots, you can get 200/1 on the USA winning 5-0 and the same for 5/2, or 300/1 for Slovenia winning 5-0.

In the first goal scorer market, Herculez Gomez is the favourite at 5/1, followed by Edson Buddle and Milivoje Novakovic at 11/2.

Prediction

The USA should be strong enough to win this game, and they have some players who are more than capable of putting in the goals. For this reason I am predicting that the USA will win this game 3-0, which will fetch odds of 20/1 with most of our favourite bookmakers.

Algeria vs Slovenia Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

Time: 13th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Polokwane, South Africa

The second match in Group C sees Algeria take on Slovenia in Polokwane. This will be on day three of the World Cup, June the 13th, at 13:30 local time.

With Slovenia and Algeria both very much outsiders both in the tournament itself and in the group, which also features England and the USA, this is a difficult match to call. Despite promising qualifying campaigns and Algeria doing well in this year’s African Cup of Nations, it is still expected that it will be the other two teams who will progress. It will be interesting to see, in this game, whether there is anything in these two teams that could upset England and America before they go on to play them later in the group stage.

Algeria, in spite of finishing fourth in the African Cup of Nations in January, are not one of the more fancied African teams going into the first World Cup ever to be held in Africa. In the top African team market for the tournament, they are behind even hosts South Africa. With a lot of attention on the African competitors, most of the money is going on the Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Bet365 offers great odds on all World Cup group matches. Sign up here to claim your bonus!

Slovenia are alongside Slovakia as the biggest European outsiders in the cup, with both teams at 200-1 to emerge as World Cup champions. Algeria’s overall win odds are even longer, at between 350-1 and a massive 600-1, depending on the bookmaker.

With Slovenia at 6/5 and Algeria at 9/4 to win the game, with the draw also at 9/4, the bookmakers are showing uncertainty in calling this match.

The scoreline market also just slightly favours Slovenia, but not by a significant amount. A Slovenia 1-0 win is at 5-1 with an Algeria 1-0 at 11/2 – there is very little in it and betting wise it is one of the closest matches in the first round of the group stage.

In other bets, there is 9/1 on offer from William Hill for there to be an own goal in this match, 11/10 on a Slovenia clean sheet and 15/8 on a clean sheet for Algeria.

Prediction

With a game this close and teams who are both largely unknown quantities within the 2010 World Cup field, it is very difficult to say anything other than this could go either way. This game, if won at all, will probably have a low scoreline. For this reason, the prediction, tentative as it is, is 1-0 to Slovenia, which is at 5-1. Find the best odds at Expekt or William Hill Sportsbook for betting on this game.

England vs Algeria Preview

2010-06-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Time: 18th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Cape Town, South Africa

On the 18th of June England are back for their second Group C match, taking on African outsiders Algeria. The match will take place in Cape Town and will start at 20:30 local time.

England, as one of the favourites to win the World Cup, are by far the favourites to win this match over Algeria who are one of the competition’s outsiders. Betfred are offering 1/4 on an England win, so there isn’t a lot of money to be made just by predicting this eventuality.

If you think Algeria could upset England here, the odds are obviously a lot longer on an Algerian win, at 11/1 with Expekt. The draw is also quite long at 5/1.

To get any real return with an England win, you are going to need to look at a more precise prediction, so we have looked at the correct score and first goal scorer markets as well.

1-0, 2-0 and 3-0 to England are the most popular bets on the correct score market. For 1-0 and 2-0 you can get 5/1 from Betfred, going out to 7/1 for 3-0. If you think Algeria might slip a goal in but England will still take the points, you can get 10/1 for 2-1 and the same for 3-1, both best prices from William Hill.

For a bigger win for England, Bet365 will give you 10/1 for 4-0 and 20/1 for 5-0.

Wayne Rooney is just 3/1 to score the first goal with William Hill, with Jermain Defoe the second favourite at 10/3. Lennon and Lampard are both at 5/1, with Crouch at 6/1. Whilst Crouch does fire in the goals for England, the fact that he is often used as a substitution means it is less likely he will get the first goal in a game where England will be hoping to win by a reasonable margin.

In other bets, you can take 16/1 for Rooney to get a hat trick with William Hill, which goes out to 25/1 for Crouch to do the same. To score two or more goals, Rooney’s price is only 3/1.

Prediction

This game really should go England’s way, and the bookmakers are putting a lot of expectation on Rooney with the short odds on him being the first goal scorer and scoring multiple goals. For this reason, the prediction in 3-0 to England.

Argentina vs Nigeria Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:33:00.000-07:00

Time: 12th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JEP, South Africa

Argentina play Nigeria in the first match of competitive Group B on the 12th of June at 4pm local time in Johannesburg. This is going to be a keenly watched match, with spectators keen to see Argentinian star Messi’s initial World Cup match form, and to see one of the African teams who could potentially do well in this first African World Cup take on such strong and well fancied opposition. It could well be one of the gems of the group stage.

Argentina are the fourth favourites to win the competition outright, so they would widely be expected to win this, even though Nigeria could be seen to have the climate and support advantage. However, despite a lot of interest in African teams in this competition, Nigeria are not as keenly fancied as the Ivory Coast or Ghana.

Bookmakers’ expectations seem in line with this, with Argentine the strong favourites to win the game at 8/13, with a draw 12/5 and Nigeria 4/1. This could be good value if you fancy Nigeria to cause an upset, but there isn’t much to be made backing the favourites for the win alone.

With Messi second favourite after David Villa to take home the Golden Boot, and other strong goal scorers Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero on board it could be worth considering Argentina scoring a number of goals in their group stage fixtures, and betting on a scoreline for this match. As an example, Argentina winning 3-0 is 10/1, 4-0 or 4-1 gets you 25/1, and 5-0 or 5-1 are both offered at 66-1.

Once the squads are closer to being finalised, the first goalscorer should also be an interesting bet to investigate for this fixture.

Argentina are at 11/10 to keep a clean sheet, for Nigeria to keep a clean sheet the best current odds are 18/5 from William Hill.

These two teams have never met before.

Prediction

Argentina look too strong going into this cup not to win this game, though if anyone in the group could upset them Nigeria would be the ones to watch.

With the calibre of their team and the goal scoring potential of the likes of Messi, Aguero and Tevez, this could easily be the first high scoring game of the tournament.

For this reason, a bet on Argentina to win 3-0 at 10/1 is pretty good value, though even the 4-0 bet doesn’t seem too far into the realms of impossibility at 25/1.

Argentina vs South Korea Preview

2010-06-13T09:32:00.001-07:00

Time: 17th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JEP, South Africa

Group B are back in action for their second round of group stage games on the 17th of June. Argentina meet South Korea at the Johannesburg JSC stadium, kicking off at 13:30 local time.

Argentina are, as you would probably expect, the favourites by far to win this game. South Korea are a good enough team, but with the strength of the Argentina squad this looks like a fixture they will really struggle to get any points from. Betfred will offer you the best odds on an Argentina win, but even then it is only 4/11.

If you like to champion the underdog or think South Korea might pull some dark horse stuff out of the bag like they did in 2002, then you can get some pretty long odds on them winning this game. Bodog (US Friendly) or Victor Chandler will both give you 9/1 on this eventuality.

The draw here fetches 15/4 with Victor Chandler who offer the best price.

As there isn’t a lot of money to be made backing Argentina, if you think they will win you may want to take a look at the correct score or first goal scorer markets.

2-0 to Argentina has the shortest odds of any score prediction, with Bodog and Victor Chandler among others offering 5/1 on this. 1-0 to Argentina is 6/1 with Bet365.

If you fancy Korea to score you can get Argentina 2-1 for 11/1 and 3-1 for 12/1, in both cases these are the best prices at the time of writing and are offered by Bet365.

For first goal scorer, the name that comes up as the favourite will come as no surprise – Lionel Messi is 11/4 with William Hill. You can also back Milito, Tevez, Aguero or Higuain at 3/1. For South Korea, you can take Manchester United’s Ji-Sung Park at 14/1, though the favourite South Korean player is Dong-Gook Lee who is 8/1.

Prediction

It is hard to see Argentina failing to win this match, and with the number of strong potential goalscorers on their side they should win by a reasonable margin. For this reason the prediction for this match is 3-0 to Argentina, which will fetch you 7/1 with most of our favourite bookmakers.

South Korea vs Greece Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:32:00.000-07:00

Time: 12th June, 13.30 local time.

Venue: Nelson Mandela Bay/Port Elizabeth, South Africa

On the 12th of June at 13.30 local time, South Korea and Greece will take part in their Group B clash at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

With Group B one of the toughest groups to call due to the diversity of the teams, all with their own merits, this match will be keenly observed. South Korea and Greece both have a history of being tournament dark horses, after South Korea’s impressive performance in the 2002 World Cup and Greece coming from seemingly nowhere to win Euro 2004.

This will be the second meeting between these two teams, as South Korea won with the only goal back in the 2006 meeting. Even so, it seems more uncertain than the Group B opener between Argentina and Nigeria. The odds for this game suggest a much higher degree of uncertainty than the other group game.

Greece qualified via the playoffs, beating the Ukraine to secure their place in South Africa, whereas South Korea, who are quickly becoming an established World Cup fixture, eased through their qualification campaign, though admittedly the Asian qualification route was somewhat less demanding than European opposition Greece faced,

The Greek team is just slightly favoured in the odds, with an outright win at 5/4. The draw is offered at 11/5, and South Korea at 23/10.

Odds on the scorelines also reflect this slight sway towards a Greece win from the bookies, with a Greek 1-0 offered at 5/1 with 7/1 the odds for South Korea to win by the same margin. A no score draw is 11/2 with one all at 9/2. To find competitive odds on this game, we would recommend Expekt or Bodog Sportsbook (US Friendly).

With both teams known for their success being more as a result of good coherence and organisation rather than an abundance of stars it is still worth noting that South Korea will be heavily reliant on Manchester United regular Park-Ji Sung, who could be a good choice for first goalscorer, and Greece on Celtic’s Samaras.

Prediction

This game really is difficult to call, with the styles of these teams very different but expectations for them comparable.

This game could easily end up in a draw, but it seems unlikely that it will be goalless given the quality of some of the goal scorers in the mix. For these reason, the prediction is a 1-1 draw, which is at 9/2 with the bookmakers.

Having said that, despite the bookies’ favouring of Greece, I can’t help but feel like if one team is going to tip this game out of a stalemate draw scenario, it could well be South Korea. Need more Group B predictions?

Nigeria vs Greece Preview

2010-06-13T09:30:00.000-07:00

Time: 17th June, 16.00 local time.

Venue: Mangaung/Bloemfontein, South Africa

The fourth match of Group B takes place on the 17th of June and sees Nigeria take on Greece in Manguang. This fixture kicks off at 4pm local time.

The odds on these teams are pretty close for winning this match, with some bookmakers like Betfred offering the exact same price for a Nigeria win as for a Greece win. Betfred or Sportsbook.com (USA Friendly) will give you 6/4 for either one of these teams to win, or 11/5 for the draw. The best price for Nigeria is the 6/4, but you can get slightly longer odds on Greece from Victor Chandler who offer 11/5 for a Greek victory.

The reason Nigeria are slightly favoured is probably the fact they are likely to have more support and better acclimatisation with the cup being hosted in Africa, however they have had injury issues and have lost a significant player in John Obi Mikel. Greece have a history of being dark horses, coming from seemingly nowhere to win Euro 2004. This is a difficult match to call.

The fact it isn’t easy to pick a winner means conservative bets on the winning scoreline, such as 1-0 to either team or a 1-1 draw, are the shortest odds. For Nigeria, the slight favourites, to win 1-0 you can get 11/2 with most of our favourite bookmakers, including Sportsbook.com, but a Greece 1-0 win is slightly further out at 6/1.

For a 1-1 draw you can get 11/2 and for 0-0 6/1, both from Bet365. The odds get longer if you start considering a high yield of goals coming out of this game, again, not because these aren’t teams with goal scoring potential but because when a game is tough to call the bets tend to stay conservative. If you back Nigeria to win 3-1, for example, you can get 22/1. 4-0 is 80/1.

Prediction

Not an easy game by any means to predict, though Nigeria for me have just a slight edge over their rivals. 2-1 to Nigeria is my prediction, which will fetch you 9/1 with Bodog (US Friendly) or Expekt.

South Africa vs Mexico Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:29:00.000-07:00

Time: 11th June, 16:00 local time.

Venue: Johannesburg – JSC, South Africa

As always, the host nation will play in the opening match of the 2010 World Cup. This first game in the month long festival of football will be one of two Group A matches played on the 11th of June after the opening ceremony, which will feature a concert with stars like Shakira and the Black Eyed Peas as well as appearances from past and present football legends. Once all that is out the way, the football begins.

The match between South Africa and Mexico will be played at 4pm local time in Johannesburg.

Even though Mexico have a much richer World Cup history than South Africa, and are a good, if not outstanding team, the fact that South Africa are the host nation may factor in a lot of people’s predictions for this match.

The teams have only met twice before – once in 2000 and once in 2005. Mexico won the first 4-2, but in the second meeting five years ago South Africa won 2-1.

Odds for the result of this game are fairly close, with prices for the outright winner around 2/1 for South Africa and 13/10 for Mexico, with the draw at 11/5.

There is money to be made predicting the correct score of this game. As some examples, a 1-0 win for South Africa will get you 7/1, with 11/2 for the same scoreline with Mexico as the victors. The boring 0-0 draw nobody wants to see in the opening game? That is priced at 11/2.

If you want to look at serious money, South Africa winning 4-0 will get you 100/1, or, slightly less outrageous, Mexico winning 3-0 is 25/1.

Prediction

While Mexico are stronger on paper, South Africa are working hard to prepare for the cup and have the home advantage. I could easily see South Africa scoring the first goal, propelled by the home support and being involved in the most important game of their careers.

Mexico would be unlikely not to fight back from this, and as potentially the best team in the group will have the strength to come back with at least one goal.

Prediction is therefore South Africa at half time, match ending in a 1-1 draw. This half-time/full-time result (South Africa/Draw) is currently offered at 12-1. The 1-1 draw is at 11/2.

Uruguay vs France Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Time: 11th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Cape Town, South Africa

The second match in this year’s World Cup Finals tournament in South Africa will be held in Cape Town at 20:30 local time, and will see France, who reached the final in Germany in 2006, take on Uruguay.

Despite France’s previous good performances, winning the World Cup in ’98 and coming second in 2006, they have also had their less glorious moments, such as their famously terrible run in 2002, where the holders of the cup went out in the group stages without scoring a single goal – the first time in football history this had happened.

France were not even one of the seeded teams in this World Cup, and were lucky that the opposition in their group from the “seeded” pot was drawn to be South Africa, who only attained that status as hosts and are not strongly fancied at all. Whilst this does make it a more interesting group, and improve Frances chances of making it through, it does not say much about expectations for the former champions.

After a disappointing qualifying campaign where they only narrowly made the finals after controversially beating Ireland, France will be looking to prove this isn’t going to be another poor World Cup for them.

Uruguay, whilst not strong favourites, had a good qualifying run by comparison (though again, having to qualify via the play offs) and will be keen to pick up three points off of this unpredictable opposition.

The odds for France to win the match are 21/20, with Uruguay 9/4, so there isn’t a lot of money to be made on France in this match. A draw is at 21/10. These odds for Uruguay, considering everything that is counting against the French, look like a good price. Find very good odds at Bet365 or Sportsbook (US Friendly)

France and Uruguay have only played once before, although it was reasonably recently in November 2008. That match ended in a goalless draw, a result which, whilst a bit boring for spectators, could be satisfactory for both teams.

South Africa vs Uruguay Match Preview and Predictions

2010-06-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Time: 16th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa

The second set of group stage matches kicks off as the first did, with the hosts South Africa back in action. This time they take on Uruguay, in a match that will be held in Pretoria at 20:30 local time.

Despite South Africa having the home advantage, they are the outsiders in the group and so the odds favour a win for Uruguay here. The best odds on a Uruguay win are 6/4 from Victor Chandler, whereas for a South Africa win you can get 9/4 from Betfred

The draw is offered at 2/1 by Bodog among others.

In the correct scoreline market you can see a slight conflict here, with the shortest odds being for a 1-1 draw. This is offered at 11/2 with Coral. The bookies also seem to like the look of a 1-0 win to either team – for Uruguay to win with this result you can get 6/1 with Victor Chandler, whereas for South Africa the best price is 7/1 at Paddy Power and Sportsbook (US Friendly).

For less conservative bets you can get as much as 80/1 for Uruguay to win 4-0 if you go to bwin or Sporting Bet, and even just 2-0 would get you 10/1 at bet365. If you fancy a high scoreline, and think this will be a competitive sort of a game, Uruguay winning 3-2 will get you 60/1.

In the first goal scorer market, you can get odds from Victor Chandler or William Hill already, with Victor Chandler offering the best prices in most cases for this game. If you choose either Cavani or McCarthy to score first you get 11/2 from Victor Chandler.

Prediction

Uruguay will be looking to win this, with South Africa being the (on paper at least), easiest opponents in the group. South Africa have shown in their friendlies that they are capable of scoring goals, but against this sort of opposition they are going to struggle. For this reason, the prediction is 2-0 to Uruguay, which has best odds of 10/1 at bet365.

France vs Mexico Match Preview

2010-06-13T09:21:00.000-07:00

Time: 17th June, 20.30 local time.

Venue: Polokwane, South Africa

In the fourth Group A game of the tournament on June the 17th, former champions and 2006 finalists France take on Mexico in Polokwane. The match kicks off at 20:30 local time.

With France the favourites to win this group they are also, as you might expect, the favourites to win this game. Most bookmakers are offering evens at best for this outcome, including 888sport and bwin.

Mexico are still a pretty good team though, and this is a game where there is a chance for an upset. France did not do well in qualifying, whereas Mexico have shown some great moments, including in their friendly against England where many felt they deserved more than they got. A win for Mexico is a reasonably good bet for these reasons, and you are looking at 3/1 if you place your bet with either Bodog or Sportsbook (US Friendly). The draw is 95/40 from Bodog.

The draw there may also be a good bet, because if you look at the correct score market, a 1-1 draw is joint favourites with a 1-0 win for France, both at 11/2 their best prices, from bet365 and Paddy Power. For Mexico to win 1-0 you are looking at 8/1 with Bodog or BetUS – this is a pretty good price.

For first goal scorer, you can take either of the favourites, Gignac or Anelka, at 19/4 from Victor Chandler, or Henry is at 11/2 along with Briand. Hernandez is 7/1.

Prediction

I think it is entirely possible for a below par France to slip up here, and so the prediction, whilst possibly a little controversial, is a 1-0 win to Mexico. This would scoop you 8/1 with Bodog if it comes in.

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Stage Predictions – Group C

2010-06-13T09:20:00.000-07:00

This is a group where it seems all of the teams have something to prove. England need to prove that their problems have been resolved and they can pull together to form as good a team as their players’ club performances suggest they should be. The USA need to prove they are better than people expect. Slovenia and Algeria will be looking to establish themselves as more than also-rans in their respective regions.

England

Through a mixture of bad luck, odd management approaches, and a failure to really cohere as a team the modern England national side has never really managed to deliver. The lowest point for them in recent years was their failure to qualify for Euro 2008, which was deeply frustrating for players and fans alike.

With a squad bursting with world class talent and a domestic league widely touted as being the toughest in the world, England and manager Fabio Capello will be seeking to show doubters that they really can compete to the level they should easily be able to.

England really need to shine in this group stage (where at least the curse of the penalty shoot out can’t stop them), to establish the confidence they will need if they progress to the later stages.

USA

With soccer a growing interest in the USA and their domestic league continuing to try and raise its profile in a country where the sport has always taken a back seat to national concerns like American football, baseball and basketball, the American team will be looking to capture the imagination of the people back home by delivering a good performance.

Finishing bottom of Group E in the last World Cup they didn’t look especially convincing, though they did reach the quarter finals in 2002. With players like Landon Donovan looking to prove they are not, as some suggest, overrated and can compete with European stars in leagues like the English Premiership and German Bundesliga, the USA have a lot to play for and should be an interesting team to watch.

Algeria

Algeria have the longest odds of all of the African teams to emerge as winners, at 350-1.

The North African team did fairly well in the African Cup of Nations this year, coming in fourth after being comprehensively beaten by eventual winners Egypt by four goals to nil in the semi finals.

Whether they will show the same abilities in the 2010 World Cup remains to be seen, but Algeria could turn out to be the dark horse in this group.

Slovenia

Slovenia, whose squad comprises players from all over the European Leagues (though none from the English league), qualified by beating Russia on away goals in the play offs, having finished second in their group.

This will only be their second World Cup appearance, their last being in 2002 where they went out in the first round.

At 200-1 they are joint longest odds with Slovakia for a European team.

Prediction

This group should, on paper, be England’s for the taking. As the seeded team in the group with the least fancied African and European opponents, an on form England should dominate this group. The USA also have what should be a fairly easy route to qualification for the knockout rounds, however neither team should get complacent here, particularly where Algeria are concerned.

1. England
2. USA
3. Algeria
4. Slovenia

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Stage Predictions – Group D

2010-06-13T09:19:00.000-07:00

Alongside Brazil’s Group G, this, on paper, looks like an especially tough first round group. With football super power Germany, strong African side Ghana, and decent competition from Australia and Serbia, who both had an outstanding qualifying campaign.

Germany

Whilst the three times World Cup winners haven’t lifted the Jules Rimet trophy since 1990, they are a team that usually finish somewhere near the top in these major international tournaments. Germany came second in Euro 2008, and third in the last World Cup, where even though the team went out in the semi-finals to eventual winners Italy, Miroslav Klose still managed to win the Golden Boot for the hosts with 5 goals in the tournament.

Whilst they may not have the compelling style of other favourites like Spain and Brazil, Germany are stong, consistent, and notoriously good in the air. Even in this tricky group, they should be able to make it through.

Australia

The 2010 tournament is only the second recent World Cup outing for Australia, who other than in 2006 hadn’t made the finals tournament since their one earlier appearance in 1974 (where they went out in the first round). Regardless of this, the strength of their team and their impressive qualification campaign suggest there is a lot more to come from the Socceroos. Australia finished a very clear top of their qualifying group, five points ahead of fellow qualifiers Japan.

In the last World Cup, Australia made it through a tough group containing Brazil, Croatia and Japan, only to go out to eventual winners Italy in the round of 16.

Ghana

At 66-1 to win the tournament outright, Ghana is the second favourite African team after the Ivory Coast going into the first World Cup ever held on the continent.

Like Australia, this will follow 2006 as only their second recent World Cup appearance. They too were knocked out in the round of 16, in this case by Brazil.

Ghana finished second in this year’s African Cup of Nations, beaten in the final by Egypt, who actually failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.

With strong players like Appiah and Muntari, all looking to build on the result in the African Cup of Nations and the advantage of the tournament being held in a climate they are used to playing in, Ghana will be looking to fight their way through this difficult group into the knockout stages. Without injured star midfielder Essien it will be tough though…

Serbia

As a team that has played under many names, including SFR Yugoslavia, FR Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro and now Serbia, there is a long World Cup history here. The best position an incarnation of this team has reached is fourth back in 1962.

In 2006, the then Serbia and Montenegro team were drawn in the then dubbed “group of death”, with Argentina, the Netherlands and the Ivory Coast, in which they finished bottom.

Having qualified top of a group that also contained France, Serbia do look to be in very good form going into this cup. It remains to be seen if being in one of the toughest groups possible again will be too much for this side.

Prediction

A very difficult one to call, all of these teams are going to have to fight hard to make it through this group. Germany still seem like the strongest contenders, but the other three all have their merits. Serbia impressed in the qualifiers and has a really strong defence so the bet is on them to qualify. Read more about all the World Cup group predictions.

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

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Stage Predictions – Group F

2010-06-13T09:18:00.001-07:00

Group F is a pretty diverse group, with old hands and current cup holders Italy alongside newcomers and rank outsiders New Zealand, along with Eastern Europe’s Slovakia and South America’s Paraguay.

Italy

After beating France on penalties in Germany to lift the cup after the controversial final that saw outgoing French football legend sent off for headbutting Marco Materazzi for making some slurs about his family that have never been fully revealed, Italy are back to try and retain the trophy in South Africa.

Having has slightly less success in their penalty shootout at Euro 2008 where they were knocked out by winners Spain, Italy will be looking to once again prove themselves to be the best in the game, and with four World Cups to their name they will be hoping to equal Brazil’s record five.

Italy would have been unique in being the only one of the top seeded teams whose players all play in its domestic league, but with David Beckham (who plays in Italy himself) ruled out due to injury England now share this feature.

Italy have a reasonably experienced squad with the likes of Pirlo, Cannavaro and Gattuso all in their thirties.

The odds are currently 12-1 for the azzuri to keep hold of the cup, the same price as Holland and Germany.

New Zealand

Like South Africa, New Zealand is a sporting nation most closely associated with rugby, their football team’s nickname being the “All Whites”, as opposed to their famous “All Blacks” rugby team.

They are coming to the World Cup for the first time since their only previous outing in 1982, where they finished bottom of their group having lost all their matches and attaining a goal difference of -10, which is pretty bad considering that was over just three games.

New Zealand are the absolute outsiders with the World Cup bookmakers, most offering around 2000-1 but, if you shop around you can get 3000-1 on them for an outright win. The squad mostly comprises players from the New Zealand and Australian leagues, but some have traveled to play in the English Championship and the Scottish Premier League.

Paraguay

Paraguay have qualified for all of the last four World Cups, making it out of the group stage in both 1998 and 2002, though in both cases the round of 16 was where the journey ended. They also reached the quarter finals of the Copa America in both 2004 and 2007.

A young team, with all but Sunderland’s Paolo de Silva under 30, Paraguay qualified third in the South American region behind Brazil and Chile respectively. Interestingly, they were five points ahead of second favourites Argentina.

Paraguay are at around 80-1 at the time of writing. Similar odds are available for the USA, Mexico and Ghana.

Slovakia

Slovakia has only existed since 1994, prior to which Slovakia and the Czech Republic formed Czechoslovakia. These have been separate teams ever since, and this is the first time Slovakia has qualified for a World Cup.

They qualified first in their group, which also contained Northern Ireland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Poland.

The Slovenian team is spread out all over the European leagues, with one of their best know players being Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel.

Alongside Slovenia, they have the longest odds of any European team, at 100-1 to win.

Prediction

Italy should have no problems topping this group. With Slovakia and New Zealand both low ranking newcomers it looks like, barring any upsets, the Italians will go through along with Paraguay. Slovakia may have the potential to shake this up, but it is hard to see New Zealand coming anywhere but bottom here. Looking for more World Cup predictions?

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

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Stage Predictions – Group E

2010-06-13T09:18:00.000-07:00

Group E is one of the few groups to contain two reasonably strong European teams, with the seeded team being Holland, ranked third in the world by FIFA, and with 27th ranked Denmark also in the group. Cameroon and Japan make up the rest of Group E.

The Netherlands

Although a well ranked team according to FIFA’s seeding system, the Netherlands have underperformed in their last outings at major tournaments, going out in the second round of both Euro 2008 (to Russia) and the last World Cup (to Portugal, who also knocked them out of Euro 2004 in the semi finals).

They did, however have an excellent run in qualification for World Cup 2010, keeping a 100% record and cementing their place as the first UEFA team to qualify. They currently share odds of 12-1 with holders Italy and with Germany.

With a team full of impressive players like van Persie, van Nistlerooy, Robben and Sneijder, the Dutch should make for some interesting football in South Africa.

Cameroon

Although they failed to qualify in 2006, Cameroon were in all of the preceding four World Cups (with their highest finishing position being 7th back at Italia ’90). They have a good record in the African Cup of Nations, which takes place every two years, having won in 2000 and 2002 and come second in 2008. This year, they didn’t make it past the quarter finals where they were beaten by eventual winners Egypt.

At 100-1 to win outright they are somewhere in the middle of the pack as far as bookmakers are concerned, but their FIFA ranking of 14th actually places them higher than any other African team.

Denmark

Denmark failed to qualify for both Euro 2008 and the 2006 World Cup in Germany, so were relieved to secure their place in South Africa.

After a strong qualification campaign which saw them top a group that also contained Portugal and Sweden, the team will be looking for their best result yet. During their last appearance in 2002, they were knocked out by England in the round of 16.

The Danish national side are split roughly 50/50 between players in their domestic league and those in other European teams, including from the English Premiership Liverpool’s Agger and Arsenal’s Bendtner.

Odds for Denmark to win are 150-1, putting them outside Cameroon in terms of bookmakers’ expectations. A good bet is for 3/4 (1.75) on Holland at Bet365 in the first game against the Danish.

Japan

Japan, 250-1 outsiders and ranked 40th in the world by FIFA, are actually one of the most successful Asian teams. Japan have qualified for all of the last four World Cups, with a top placing of 9th in 2002 when they were joint hosts with South Korea.

All of their players currently play within their domestic league, so the Japanese team could be a good place to look out for new talent.

Prediction

It is hard to see anyone other than Holland winning this group, however with the climate on their side, particularly against Northern European teams, there could be a chance for Cameroon here.

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

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Stage Predictions – Group G

2010-06-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

It seems to be a toss-up between this and Group D for the toughest looking group in the World Cup. Here we have second favourites Brazil, African favourites the Ivory Coast, and Portugal. OK, so the other team is massive outsider North Korea, but with only two places in the next round and three teams that good, this group should make for some fantastic football.

Brazil

Having won a record five World Cups, Brazil’s national side is pretty much synonymous with the competition. No football fan can fail to respect this team, who provide some of the most electric gameplay that supporters could ever hope to see. The much touted Brazilian flair, present today in stars like Kaka, is to many people one of the best things about international football.

Brazil’s last win was in 2002, as they went out in the quarterfinals in Germany in 2006 to eventual second place France.

They qualified top of their South American group, and with the usual list of incredible players to call upon, almost all of them playing for top flight teams somewhere in the world, all eyes will be on this team.

If Brazil don’t manage to go all the way in South Africa, it is worth noting that as hosts, they are the only team already to have qualified for the 2014 World Cup. It is a safe bet that they will be going in as favourites on their own soil.

Ivory Coast

One of the rising stars of football, the Ivory Coast haven’t won an African Nations Cup since 1992 and this is only their second World Cup appearance (they didn’t make it through the “Group of Death” in 2006 – apparently they are no more lucky with group draws this time around), yet this is a team everybody is talking about.

At 25-1 they are the favourite African team with the bookmakers, and with this being the first World Cup on African soil, if there was a good time for a first time African winner it would be now.

A lot of the attention on this team is because of Chelsea star Didier Drogba. Drogba, whilst controversial, has become a reliable source of goals for Chelsea, and is at 22-1 to win the Golden Boot at the World Cup.

Other well known players like fellow Chelsea player Saloman Kalou, Manchester City’s Kolo Toure, Arsenal’s Emmanuel Ebboue and Sevilla’s Didier Zokora make this a squad full of players who have proven themselves in European top flight football.

With former England coach Sven Goran Eriksson recently appointed manager, this team is one that really could go all the way for Africa, in Africa, if they can just get out of this tricky group.

Portugal

With similar odds for an outright win to the Ivory Coast, it’s really hard to call which of these teams is most likely or most deserving of a place in the next round. Like the Ivory Coast, a lot of the attention on this team is centred around one man – Christiano Ronaldo.

Captain Ronaldo is ahead of Drogba in the top goalscorer market at 18-1. The Real Madrid striker has sparked a lot of controversy both in his club and international career, and, like Drogba he has been accused of taking dives on a regular basis.

Ronaldo is not the only major weapon in Portugal’s armoury though, the team is full of stars from home teams like Porto and Benfica as well as other top European teams like Chelsea, Manchester United, Valencia and both Madrid teams.

North Korea

This is the first time North Korea have qualified for the FIFA World Cup since 1966. They had an interesting qualification run including their coach, Kim Jong-Hun, claiming after a 1-0 defeat by South Korea that South Korea had poisoned their squad.

Ranked 105th in the world by FIFA and 1500-1 outsiders to win the tournament, it looks like their chances of getting out of this tournament’s hardest group are slim to none.

Prediction

This is a remarkably tough group to call, apart from it looking inevitable that North Korea will be going home. Brazil can never be ruled out, but between the Ivory Coast and Portugal it is hard to decide. Based on the premise that the Ivory Coast will draw support and inspiration from the competition being held in Africa, along with the advantage of playing in a familiar climate, I predict:

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

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Stage Predictions – Group H

2010-06-13T09:16:00.000-07:00

The final group to play doesn’t look like it will be too much of a problem for favourites Spain, but the call for second place could be more difficult with both Chile and Switzerland having done well in qualifying. The fourth team in the group are outsiders Honduras.

Spain

The Euro 2008 champions are the favourites with the bookmakers to win both the cup itself, and the Golden Boot through striker David Villa. Prices on Spain are around the 4-1 mark with Villa at 9-1. A double on Spain and Villa offers 25-1 at the time of writing, which is the same price as double on Spain with Villa’s strike partner Fernando Torres.

It’s not just Torres and Villa making Spain such an appealing proposition going into the tournament. Players like Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta, Puyol and Casillas make this team a formidable blend of experience, consistency and flair, who are unlikely to find this group draw too problematic.

Chile

This is the first time Chile have qualified since their second round exit in 1998. They have had somewhat greater success in the Copa America, but haven’t made it past the quarter finals there since 1999.

FIFA rank the South America 17th in the world, and at 66-1 along with Ghana and Serbia the bookmakers also seem to see them as being in the middle of the pack.

In qualifying they finished second in South America, behind Brazil but ahead of Argentina, Paraguay and Uraguay respectively, which was a pretty impressive performance given the strength of the Angentine side.

Switzerland

Switzerland reached round two in the last World Cup, but failed to qualify on the two previous occasions. They were knocked out in Germany by the Ukraine on penalties after a goalless draw. Switzerland were, as a piece of mildly interesting trivia, the only team who didn’t concede a single goal in the 2006 competition.

They also featured in the last two European Cups, co-hosting the 2008 competition with Austria, though the failed to progress beyond their group on either occasion.

In qualifying, Switzerland came first in their group, which also contained fellow qualifying team Greece, as well as Israel and Latvia.

Current odds on a Swiss win are 150-1.

Honduras

2010 will be the second World Cup outing for Honduras, who also played in the 1982 competition, where they finished bottom of their group.

One of the biggest outsiders in the tournament, odds are currently around 1000-1 for them to win.

With players dotted all around the world at club level, at teams like Wigan, Torino and Aderlecht as well as in their domestic league and the American MLS.

Prediction

It is hard to see anyone but Spain winning this group. With everything the Spain team has going for it there should be nothing here that is going to stop them. Switzerland may be able to unsettle the most obvious order of this group, but the prediction is:

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

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Stage Predictions – Group B

2010-06-13T09:14:00.000-07:00

Group B has an interesting mix of teams. In Argentina, there is the experience style and flair, and a team that will be keenly watched particularly for the talents of one Lionel Messi. Then there are two teams who have had spectacular “dark horse” performances in international tournaments in the past – South Korea, who came from nowhere to finish fourth in 2002 and Greece, who won the Euro 2004 competition. Then there is Nigeria, who may find the conditions playing on African soil favourable.

This is a group where it looks like the teams have everything to play for.

Argentina

As the seeded team in this group, Argentina are looking strong. Fourth favourites to win the tournament outright, with odds of 9-1 making phenomenal striker Messi second favourite for the Golden Boot, it would be quite a surprise if Argentina don’t make it through this group.

Topping Group C, the much discussed “Group of Death”, in 2006, Argentina were knocked out on penalties by the hosts, Germany in the quarter finals.

They have won the World Cup twice, in 1978 when they hosted it and 1986, so it is a long time since they have gone all the way. It is still very hard to see them failing to dominate this group.

South Korea

This will be South Korea’s 8th World Cup outing, and football in the nation and indeed across Asia has come on a lot since they co-hosted the 2002 tournament in Japan. With captain Park-Ji Sung, now a regular on Manchester United’s first team, leading the way for more Asian players to establish themselves in the tough European leagues, this is a team that will be watched with interest.

South Korea had a disappointing 2006 World Cup after the impressive campaign of 2002, and didn’t make it out of their group, narrowly missing out on second place in Group G to eventual finalists France.

Nigeria

One of the less favoured of the African teams appearing in the 2010 tournament, Nigeria are among the outsiders to win the cup outright at 150-1. This is in some ways surprising as Nigeria had a good 2010 African Cup of Nations performance, finishing third, whereas the African team with the shortest odds, the Ivory Coast at 25-1 to win the World Cup, only got as far as the quarter finals.

Perhaps because teams like the Ivory Coast and Ghana have had more visibility in past World Cups and have well known players like Drogba and Essien these seem like more comfortable bets, but with African teams having the location advantage for the first time one or more of them is bound to surprise, and there’s no reason to rule out Nigeria.

Greece

With their Euro 2004 glory the only time Greece have really brought themselves to the world’s attention and most of their players playing in their own domestic league, this team is easy to overlook, but they do have a very strong goalscorer in Theofanis Gekas, who was the top goalscorer in the whole European division during World Cup qualifying. Gekas, who was also the German Bundesliga’s top scorer in the 2006-2007 season, is certainly a player to watch in this group.

Prediction

There is plenty of potential for upset in this group, with such a diverse set of teams all with some powerful strengths, but it is very hard to see Argentina failing to win this stage. My prediction is:

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

FIFA World Cup 2010 Group Stage Predictions – Group A

2010-06-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

The opening match of the World Cup on June 11th will, as is traditional, feature the host nation. This year, the first game will be the fixture between South Africa and Mexico, with the second match being the other two Group A sides, Uruguay and France.

Group A is one of the most wide-open groups in the competition, where really any of the teams could quite conceivably go through. This is largely because all of the other groups contain one of the top 7 seeded teams, whereas in Group A hosts South Africa took the place of a seeded team in the draw.

South Africa

With no significant World Cup history, and being a nation more associated with rugby than football, South Afica are something of an unknown quantity.

What works in their favour is of course, being the hosting nation. South Korea established themselves as a World Cup country after an incredible campaign in 2002, when they co-hosted the tournament with Japan. Whether the home advantage in terms of support, a familiar climate, and just maybe some extra leniency from referees (which almost certainly contributed to South Korea’s success) will work for South Africa too remains to be seen, but it is well known that having the home country’s team remain in contention past the group stages is seen to be good for the event as a whole…

Mexico

Mexico had a disappointing 2006 World Cup. Starting out as one of the top 8 seeds, they went out in the round of 16 to Argentina.

A country big on the sport, Mexico have never won the trophy but have a strong domestic league and can be expected to play well.

France

On paper the 1998 World Cup winners and 2006 World Cup finalists should be the easy favourites in this group, however with an unconvincing qualifying campaign it is just as possible that these masters of international inconsistency could bomb out in the group stages like they did in 2002. That year, the defending champions failed to score a single goal.

With big name players like Henry and Anelka in their ranks, France can’t be discounted, but their success in 2006 does not automatically make them a shoe-in for top of the group.

Uruguay

Past masters, Uruguay have won the World Cup twice. Admittedly, this was in 1930 and 1950, so referring to these victories now would probably be as valid as say, going on about England in 1966…

Uruguay didn’t qualify for the 2006 tournament, and didn’t make it through the group stage in 2002 (where once again they were in Group A alongside France, who also went out), so they will be keen to better these performances.

Prediction

Choosing from this group is tricky. Whilst South Africa should, on paper, be the worst team in this group I have a feeling they will get through based on the home advantage, and while France should be the best I can easily see them turning out to be a big disappointment this year.

Perhaps a somewhat odd prediction, I am going to go with this:

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

CLASS WORLD CUP 2010

Stadion 2010 FIFA World Cup Final

World Cup 2010

World Cup 2010 Final

World Cup 2010 Final

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PLAY MATCHES ARGENTINA 1-0 NIGERIA

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Gilberto Silva

Didier Drogba

South Africa 0 Uruguay 2 - Host keeper sent off as Diego Forlan nets penalty

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South Africa 0-1 Uruguay

Portugal vs. Ivory Coast 0-0

Brazil vs. North Korea 2-1

Shock for Spain : Spain vs. Switzerland 1-0

Cesc Fabregas World Cup 2010 Spain

Football Body Painting

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Body Painting World Cup 2010

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Body Painting World Cup Picture

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Body Painting Pictures On South African World Cup

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Ronaldo: Don't count us out

Group G to the fore, with licence to thrill

Netherlands 2-0 Denmark

Netherlands

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Denmark

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Germany 4-0 Australia

Germany

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Australia

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Serbia 0-1 Ghana

Serbia

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Ghana

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Algeria 0-1 Slovenia

Algeria

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Slovenia

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Italy 1 – 1 Paraguay

Japan 1-0 Cameroon

Japan

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Cameroon

Algeria vs. Slovenia 1-0

Netherlands vs. Denmark 2-0

Ivory Coast vs Portugal Match Preview

Brazil vs North Korea Match Preview

Brazil vs Ivory Coast Match Preview

Portugal vs North Korea Preview

Honduras vs Chile Match Preview

Chile vs Switzerland Preview

Spain vs Switzerland Match Preview

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