2010 World Cup: Group A Analysis

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France

With South Africa (and their automatic bid) as the No. 1 seed for Group A, it was expected to be the easiest group to advance out of. However, the drawing has revealed the exact opposite.

Group A seems to be one of the most competitive groups in the World Cup, regardless of the lack of a prominent world power as the No. 1 seed. The fact that the other three teams in the group all rank in the Top 20 of the FIFA World Rankings provides the setting for a hard fight to the second round.

South Africa

Bafana Bafana have a long road ahead of them if they want to advance to the group stage. The South Africans lack superior star power or the cohesiveness to really make an impact in such a difficult group. However, the RSA have three distinct advantages going for them.

Home field advantage has proven to be a valuable force in the recent World Cups. France won the 1998 Cup at home in France, and a 40th-ranked South Korea came in fourth in the 2002 campaign. With that being said, the extremely loud South African crowd could be the key to a mediocre team advancing on to the knockout stage.

The second advantage South Africa carries into the World Cup is their coach. Alberto Parreira is the perfect man to coach an amateur world team to a more-than-expected result. He already has one World Cup win under his belt, winning with Brazil in 1994.

His tactics may fit South Africa very well, using the lack of talent to hold the ball in the middle third and play the long ball to the likes of Stephen Pienaar and other strikers. This stalling may be the way to keep the scoring down and allow South Africa to capitalize on a mistake from another team.

The third thing going for the South Africans is their momentum. They haven't lost a match since last October and have only lost two of their last 10 matches. Since they performed so admirably in the Confederations Cup last summer, Bafana Bafana have played well and proven that they can compete (although not necessarily win) against higher-level competition.

There is an entire nation behind this team, and if they get a couple of breaks, we might see an improbable advancement from the South African team.

Mexico

One of the most explosive teams in the finals, Mexico also enter as one of the most inexplicable.

At points, El Tri seem to be able to make a run deep into the finals. A well-balanced team, they show an exceptional ability to score in bunches—they scored five goals on a weakened but sturdy US team in the continental final last summer.

However, that same offense has often turned anemic, turning into near disaster for the Mexican side (recently their match with Iceland resulted in a 0-0 draw). The lack of consistency is the real problem for them.

The defense seems to be holding up quite well. Anchored by veteran keeper Guillermo Ochoa and Barcelona defender Rafael Marquez, the Mexicans haven’t allowed more than two goals in a match since April of 2009. The offense seems to be what is causing real distress.

A main reason is the enigmatic Carlos Vela. Vela is a true force to be reckoned with on his day. However, those seem to be few and far between. His introduction to the game against the USA in Azteca stadium proved to be the turning point—he provided a needed pressure on a defense that just needed a little strain to crumble.

However, his recent play has been nothing to be proud of. Vela transferred to Arsenal in the middle of the 2008/09 campaign and has barely anything to show for it. In almost 50 games with the Gunners, Vela has only 6 goals, even with the prolonged absence of Robin Van Persie in the most recent year.

Another possible savior for the Mexican side could be Giovani Dos Santos. The talented young attacker has shown brilliance in World Cup Qualifying but is yet to find a foothold in either England or Spain for his club teams.

It could be a problem if Dos Santos’ lack of time in a competitive role turns into lack of fitness before the Cup finals. The young man could provide a pivotal performance for El Tri, which could be what pushes them out of the group stage and into the round of sixteen.

Uruguay

One of the most overlooked teams in the World Cup, Uruguay have a real chance to advance out of the group stage.

Sporting an amazingly talented front line, the CONMEBOL contenders look to score their way into the later rounds. Diego Forlan provides an attacking prowess that most teams only dream of.

At any point in time, Diego Forlan can explode into a goal-scoring frenzy. In his 2008/09 season with Athletico Madrid, Diego led the Spanish Primera Division in goals, scoring 32 goals in 32 games in the league.

Although Forlan leads a massive attacking force alongside Sebastian Abreu and Luis Suarez, Uruguay have struggled against top-tier opponents. In the past couple of years, Uruguay haven't really competed against the dynasties of CONMEBOL like Brazil and Argentina, as well as failing to capitalize on smaller, less competitive teams.

The defensive side of the ball seems to be the weak link on this team. Rarely does Uruguay play through a game without letting up a goal, the extreme being a 4-0 loss to Brazil in July 2009.

This could be a worrisome fact for Los Charruas, because although they may be able to advance out of a group full of decent opponents and those not playing up to potential, they won’t be able to advance into the later rounds having to face difficult adversaries immediately out of the group stages.

The only hope is for Uruguay’s prolific front line to attack enough to keep the other teams on their heels so they can’t score. However, this strategy may be a bit difficult against teams like France and Mexico, which have solid back lines proven to work.

France

Group A seems to stand for "Group Ambiguous" in this installment of the World Cup, and France are no exception. On paper. the defending runners-up and near champions seemed to be in a good position to make a run at another title in this World Cup.

But the long qualifying process affected the French team. Paired with injuries, qualifying almost got the best of them, only getting by with the help of one of the most controversial handballs in recent history.

Thierry Henry’s infamous blunder sent France into the finals on a wave of altercation. Let alone the verbal warfront sent by Ireland, many people had already been questioning the ability of the French side to play with the best. Although retaining many players from the 2006 campaign (save for Zidane, Makelele, Vieira, and Thuram—arguably the four most important players on that team), France’s chances were almost lost in qualifying.

After a loss to Austria and a 2-2 draw with Romania, France barely escaped a match against FIFA’s 125th-ranked Faroe Islands with a win. Their poor form in qualifying led to concern about their eventual form in the finals. 

However, if any team has the ability to turn their path around, it’s Les Blues. As evidenced in the 1998 and 2006 World Cups, France can peak at the right time, coming together right at the beginning of the group stage and blazing a way to the finals.

Supported by a firm and experienced defensive line, France hopes to return to the late stages of the World Cup and possibly give the aging members of its team one last shot at another title.

Must See Game: France-Uruguay

The two best teams on paper, Les Blues vs. Los Charruas could be the game that decides who wins the group and who could slip into an early exit.

The game is on the first day of the Cup and could tip the hand towards the outcome of the group. If Uruguay’s amazing scorers can get the best of a young keeper in Hugo Lloris, they may be able to pull out a victory. But the experience of France’s attack may prove fatal to a young and unproven Uruguayan defense.

Expected Group Outcome

Winner: France

Runner-Up: Uruguay