Charles Klein
The 'G' in this group most definitely stands for gangsta. And for at least thee of the teams in it, there are plenty of O.G.'s to go around. Perhaps the most star-studded group of them all, Group G boasts international superstars galore including two of the last three FIFA World Players of the Year. Kaka of Brazil and Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal respectively. Another star in the Group G constellation is Chelsea star-man Didier Drogba of Ivory Coast.
This group is this year's group of death. And in a group as deep and difficult as this, anything can and probaly will happen. Brazil, the number one team in the world according to the FIFA rankings, is the easy pick to win this group. Any team that has that amount of attacking talent and defensive strength on its roster is a favorite to win it all. Brazil is no exception
The 2010 edition of the Selecao is perhaps the most balanced of any we have seen recently. Without big stars like Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, this new edition led by manager Dunga is comprised of a strong mix of youth and experience with plenty of winning experience. Team captain Lucio is a rock in the defense and provides the veteran leadership to make sure that a team with such potential has the chance to realize it. Luis Fabiano has emerged as the almost perfect replacement for Ronaldo. While not quite as talented or well known, Fabiano has proven time and again that there are few in the world who finish as well as he does inside the final third. Put him in front of masterful midfield maestro Kaka and next to the slippery Robinho and one has one of the best attacking tridents in world football. Brazil ought to win this group and it will take a major choke job by the Selecao to not advance to the second round.
Portugal enter this tournament in surprisingly poor form following an underwhelming qualifying campaign, including a defeat in Lisbon against Denmark. Yet they find themselves ranked third in the world according to FIFA. And I am sure a lot of that ranking has to do with one particular player: Cristiano Ronaldo. The young Portuguese winger/forward has dazzle football fans the world over with his brilliant free kicks, stepovers and long range shooting. To be Ronaldo is to be the first, second and third best player in the world. And while his diving and random acts of immaturity only give more momentum to critics who rush to Lionel Messi in spite of Ronaldo's superior talent, he is undoubtedly Portugal's man for all seasons.
But who, outside of Cristiano Ronaldo, will provide any scoring or spark for the Seleccao Das Quinas? Certainly Luis Nani will be a big miss for Portugal as his pace and shooting ability provide the width for players like Liedson and Ronaldo. The capable Simao Sabrosa and inexperienced, but talented Danny will attempt to deputise in the absence of Nani. Doubts remain about whether or not Deco has one more good World Cup performance in him and whether Portugal is strong enough defensively to handle teams with superior attack forces. But I like them to advance from this group right behind Brazil.
And then there is the Ivory Coast, everyone's favorite amongst the African nations to advance furthest in this tournament. Perhaps those hopes suffered a major blow when the groups were announced by FIFA and the nation discovered that their path to the second round would be incredibly difficult. Considering that in addition to the fact that Didier Drogba injured his right elbow in a warm-up friendly versus Japan, the Ivory Coast will need a little African magic to advance beyond the group stage.
After watching their match versus Portugal this morning, there are some encouraging signs for the Elephants. The physical strength they displayed will be an important facet of their game against Brazil on June 20 and their attack showed some promise. Gervinho was excellent on the left side of the Ivorian attack, showing much more intent than his strike partners Salomon Kalou and Aruna Dindane. The Toure brothers were rocks down the center and they will need to continue that versus Brazil. Ultimately I do not see the Elephants advancing to the next round, simply because I do not think that Drogba will get enough minutes to make the impact they need him to make in order to succeed. The tall Ivorian will certainly be given a rough treatment by the physical center halves of Brazil (Lucio and Juan) and just how much manager Sven Goran-Eriksson decides to risk Drogba's long term health will be a major talking point in the weeks to come.
No one really knew much about North Korea until about twenty minutes ago. And my word class was certainly in session. The International Men of Mystery, referred to as the Chollima domestically, defended brilliantly against one of the strongest attacking sides in the world for 55 minutes until Maicon finally fired the first Brazilian goal past Ri Myong-Guk. Not only did they defend well, but they also expressed a bit of assured attacking whenever they were able to wrest possession away from Brazil. Wing back Ji Yun-Nam excellently dispatched his opportunity in the 89th minute beating Julio Cesar, sounding the alarm in the Brazilian camp. North Korea proved that on their day they are no pushover and will be a difficult team to break down for both Portugal and the Ivory Coast.
Predicted XI's
Brazil
GK: Julio Cesar
DEF: Douglas Maicon, Lucio (C), Juan, Michel Bastos
MF: Gilberto Silva, Kaka, Felipe Melo
ST: Elano, Luis Fabiano, Robinho
Portugal
GK: Eduardo
DEF: Paulo Ferreira, Bruno Alves, Ricardo Carvalho, Fabio Coentrao
MF: Danny, Deco, Raul Meireles, Simao
ST: Cristiano Ronaldo (C), Liedson
Ivory Coast
GK: Boubacar Barry
DEF: Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure (C), Didier Zokora, Guy Demel
MF: Gervinho, Yaya Toure, Ismael Tiote
ST: Salomon Kalou, Didier Drogba, Aruna Dindane
North Korea
GK: Ri Myong-Guk
DEF: Ji Yun-Nam, Ri Kwang-Chon, Ri Jun-Il, Pak Chol-Jin, Cha Jong-Hyok
MF: Mun In-Guk, An Yong-Hak, Pak Nam-Chol
ST: Jong Tae-Se, Hon Yong-Jo
Players To Watch: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Simao (Portugal), Deco (Portugal), Luis Fabiano (Brazil), Kaka (Brazil), Robinho (Brazil), Maicon (Brazil), Michel Bastos (Brazil), Julio Cesar (Brazil), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Salomon Kalou (Ivory Coast), Gervinho (Ivory Coast), Kolo and Yaya Toure (Ivory Coast).
Predicted Group Standings
1. Brazil
2. Portugal
3. Ivory Coast
4. People's Republic of Korea
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