Come June 2010, I am off to South Africa. I have my itinerary ready and so are my tickets (Kenyan Airways, since South African Airways is absolutely full). If you haven't gotten your plans in place, this is the right time to do so. For come 11th June, the world sees the start of one of the greatest battles in the world today, the FIFA World Cup. An insane supporter of South Africa, I have to be there to catch my first match - 11th June, Johannesburg, South Africa vs Mexico.
Amidst a lot of star-studded fan fair and some really pretty (Charlize Theron) and well-known personalities (David Beckham), the FIFA 2010 World Cup Draw was finally revealed to the world. While some were ecstatic with the pot of luck that came their way, there were some who really lost out in this gamble. Let us have a look at the draw before we move on to analyzing it.
| Group A |
| South Africa |
Mexico |
| Uruguay |
France |
| Group B |
| Argentina |
Nigeria |
| Korean Republic (South Korea) |
Greece |
| Group C |
| England |
USA |
| Algeria |
Slovenia |
| Group D |
| Germany |
Australia |
| Serbia |
Ghana |
| Group E |
| Netherlands |
Denmark |
| Japan |
Cameroon |
| Group F |
| Italy |
Paraguay |
| New Zealand |
Slovakia |
| Group G |
| Brazil |
Korea DPR (North Korea) |
| Ivory Coast |
Portugal |
| Group H |
| Spain |
Switzerland |
| Honduras |
Chile |
As one can see from the draw, some of the teams have been really handed out a bad deal. For example, after landing up in Group G, better known in the soccer (football) circles as 'the group of death', North Korea's hopes of moving ahead in the World Cup stages have been dealt with a fatal blow. On the other hand, the pre-tournament favorites (already winners for 5 times) Brazil, can see an uphill battle ahead of them. Their main goal currently will only be to reach the knockout stage, that's it. From there on, after handling the titans early on, it should be a fairly easy job.
English fans world round and the England team are a happy lot today, for they couldn't have been dealt with a better hand by fate. It seems the luck has handed them a free pass entry to the knockout stage, their opponents in the group being United States, Algeria and Slovenia. Yet, many believe that England may well fall prey to over-confidence as both Slovenia and the United States are capable of big upsets (like United States in the Confederations Cup last year). The 'Desert Foxes' of Algeria also cannot be counted out as they are wily, cunning and technically strong. Slovenia may be the underdogs but in soccer, it is the day that counts.
Here are some reactions that have come in on the draw.
- Fabio Capello dropped his usually rock solid facial contours and heaved a sigh of relief when it was announced that England has escaped the clutches of the hyped 'Group of Death'. He later claimed that this World Cup will be the toughest challenge as a manager.
- Roberto Martinez of the Wigan bandwagon has expressed his views on Spain, suggesting that they may crack under the pressure of fan expectations.
- France seems to be reeling under the shock after learning that Thierry Henry could be banned for the starting World Cup matches. To top the bad news, France is also burning after the news that it was not seeded for the draw.
- Ivory Coast is considered to be Africa's strongest nation, followed by countries like Ghana, South Africa, Nigeria and Cameroon. Hosting the World Cup will put a big weight of expectations from the home side. Nigeria and Cameroon seem to have a good chance of progressing in this World Cup, given their group opponents.
Anyway, I'm off to plan my exciting trip to the African lands, with the safaris and the local flavors, intermittently mingling with my tight FIFA World Cup match schedule. I suggest you do the same, plan that is, and plan soon... you do want to get there in time, don't you?
