2010 FIFA World Cup Group A Preview: Will Host South Africa Advance?

SOUTH AFRICA – received an automatic berth as host nation.

MEXICO – finished 2nd in CONCACAF Qualifying, one point shy of the United States.

URUGUAY – Finished 5th in CONMEBOL Qualifying and earned their spot in the World Cup Finals by defeating Costa Rica (who finished 4th in CONCACAF) in an intercontinental playoff.

FRANCE – qualified due to a now infamous handball by Thierry Henry in France’s playoff match against the Republic of Ireland.

CURRENT FIFA RANKINGS

No. 83: South Africa

No. 17: Mexico

No. 16: Uruguay

No. 9: France

BEST WORLD CUP FINISH

Uruguay – Champions in 1930 & 1950

France - Champions in 1998

Mexico - Quarter-Finals in 1986

South Africa - Qualified for the World Cup in 1998 & 2002 but failed to advance beyond the group stage.

BEST PLAYERS

France: Franck Ribery

Uruguay: Diego Lugano

Mexico: Rafael Marquez

South Africa: Steven Pienaar

THE MATCHES (ALL TIMES PST)

South Africa vs. Mexico (June 11, 10:00 am)

Uruguay vs. France (June 11, 2:30 pm)

South Africa vs. Uruguay (June 16, 2:30 pm)

France vs. Mexico (June 17, 2:30 pm)

Mexico vs. Uruguay (June 22, 10:00 am)

France vs. South Africa (June 22, 10:00 am)

MY PREDICTION

France will finish first in Group A. Although their form has been shaky recently under the leadership of Coach Raymond Domenech, they have more much talent than the other teams can deal with.

Patrice Evra was a constant staple in Manchester United’s injury-riddled defense this past season and Franck Ribery led Bayern Munich to the Champions League Finals, although he missed the championship match due to suspension.

Theirry Henry is still a world-class striker despite a less-than-stellar club season at Barcelona, where he had only four league goals in 21 appearances. Nicolas Anelka had a much better season at Chelsea, scoring 15 goals in all competitions, and helping his other Blues win the Premier League as well as the FA Cup.

I’m going to go out on a limb, or play it safe depending on how you look at it, and say that South Africa will take Group A’s second spot. No host nation has ever failed to progress to the knockout stages and one third of all World Cups have been won by the host nation, so don’t underestimate the power of a home-field advantage.

France will most likely qualify for the Round of 16 with their first two matches. If this proves to be the case, look for them to rest some of their key players, thereby cutting South Africa a break in their final group match.