Group World Cup 2010

Fifa World Cup trophy (Bongarts/Getty Images)

The big story from this evening's 2010 World Cup draw in Cape Town came from Group G where Brazil, Ivory Coast, and Portugal were positioned together along with North Korea in the 'Group of Death'.

Hosts South Africa had a tough draw in Group A along with Mexico, Uruguay and France.

Holders Italy will have to make their way past Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia as they attempt to retain the trophy they won in Germany in 2006.

The opening game of the tournament will see South Africa play Mexico in Johannesburg on 11 June.

South African actress Charlize Theron, England international David Beckham, Ethiopian athletics legend Haile Gebrselassie, South African cricket pioneer Makhaya Ntini, Springbok rugby player John Smit, and Bafana defender Matthew Booth helped conduct the draw at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in front of a crowd of luminaries including Franz Beckenbauer, Eusebio, and Desmond Tutu.

Geographical criteria meant that no two teams from the same confederation could be drawn in the same group, with the exception of European teams where a maximum of two were permitted.

All eight groups in full:

Group A	Group B
South Africa	Argentina
Mexico	Nigeria
Uruguay	South Korea
France	Greece

Group C	Group D
England	Germany
United States	Australia
Algeria	Serbia
Slovenia	Ghana

Group E	Group F
Netherlands	Italy
Denmark	Paraguay
Japan	New Zealand
Cameroon	Slovakia

Group G	Group H
Brazil	Spain
North Korea	Switzerland
Ivory Coast	Honduras
Portugal	Chile

Now that the groups are drawn, the path to the semi-final is known, for the winners of Group A face the runners up of Group B, and the winners of Group G face the runners up on Group H, and so on, with A-D and E-H forming two sides of a bracket.

There is a distinct possibility that favourites Brazil could meet second favourites Spain in the second round. With Portugal and Ivory Coast also in Group G, it is guaranteed that at least two big guns will be eliminated before the quarter final out of these four teams.

A Tired Ntini

Makhaya Ntini

Talking about sports people reaching their expiry date, cricketer Makhaya Ntini’s seems to have had it after his performance against the English.

The Centurion Test match against England was the cricketer’s 100^th Test but did not motivate for a good performance from Ntini.

And if he could not do so on such an illustrious stage as his centenary match, what price the 32-year-old markedly rectifying things just a few days further on at Kingsmead after five days of punishing Highveld sunshine?

Ironically, of course, Ntini was asked to send down the critical final over of the drawn thriller on Sunday.

I thought it was a fairly clever move, the possibility of a fairytale finish to the game for Ntini, on so symbolic an occasion, only cranking up the pressure on England’s last batsman Graham Onions.

It is history now that Ntini could not penetrate the No 11’s defence. Not that he was at fault in any major way — that’s cricket.

But Ntini, in broadest terms, has run low on gas, a bit like Shaun Pollock finally did after so many overs for South Africa. You cannot wish away the ravages of time, and there was even painful evidence of decline, in Ntini’s case, in lead-up fare in the SuperSport Series.

But not being carted is not enough. Strike bowlers have to … well, strike. And Ntini has not had a “five-for” since a dead-rubber Test against the very same opponents at the Oval in August 2008. Before that, it was Pakistan in January 2007.

On flattish decks, and never having been the type of bowler with a big box of varietal tricks, his 135km/h fare is beginning to look all too impotent; mere plug-an-end fare.

Two intelligent former England seamers, writing in their respective British organs on Monday, share this suspicion.

Mike Selvey wrote in the Guardian: “Ntini was out-bowled by the debutant. It will be hard to drop De Wet. The (final) ball to Onions … could be the last of Ntini’s illustrious career.

“Ntini’s pace was down. The single shooter in the final over, from one of the cracks in the pitch, was slow enough for Onions to jab down on.”

And Derek Pringle in the Daily Telegraph: “De Wet applied pressure (in his lethal burst on Sunday) by bowling fast down the corridor of uncertainty.

“South Africa were under-strength here and will have both Steyn and Jacques Kallis back bowling properly at Durban: Ntini is possibly the one to make way.”

Ntini has courageously defied odds against him before. Maybe he can do so again, and certainly all kudos to him if so.

Fernando Torres: Spain star player at World Cup 2010

Permalink | ShaThe world’s best striker? Debatable, but what is beyond doubt is that Torres is a man at the peak of his considerable powers.

What makes him such a formidable opponent is his lack of a glaring weakness. Strong in the air, adept with either foot, blessed with explosive pace and shrewd positional sense, the Spain striker has developed into possibly the Premier League’s most complete players, as well as one of its most likeable – no mean feat, considering the terror he strikes into the hearts of defenders on a weekly basis.

His consistency is another of his great assets – since arriving at Liverpool, he has never gone more than three league games without a goal.

Torres is in only his third season at Liverpool, but is already considered a potential Anfield great, leading a front line that would otherwise look fairly thin. His partnership with Stephen Gerrard is one of the most successful in Europe, and while he won’t be able to play off Gerrard next summer, he won’t exactly be short of service with Iniesta and Xavi behind him and David Villa alongside.

Curiously, his international scoring record isn’t that great – less than a goal every three games – but he tends to save his best performances for the big stage. Just ask Germany, who he took apart in the Euro 2008 final.