World Cup 2010 Preview: Group F

This is Italy's group to lose and for Paraguay, Slovakia, and possibly New Zealand, in the fight for second.

Team Previews:

Italy

Let's start with the defending champions who are facing criticism and concern about the older players on the team. World Cup veterans Fabio Cannavaro, Mauro Camoranesi, Ginaluca Zambrotta, Gianluigi Buffon, and Andrea Pirlo are all over 30, and coach Marcello Lippi is getting criticised for not injecting more youth into the squad.

No matter what team Lippi puts on the pitch, it will be a team that can beat New Zealand, Paraguay, and Slovakia. The knockout round is the area of concern, but with age comes experience.

Players To Watch:

Fabio Cannavaro: The captain had a lackluster club season and will look to have a much better performance for the Azzurri. Any captain has to lead his team and Cannavaro is fully capable of that.

Gianluigi Buffon: Buffon is still one of the top keepers in the world. Buffon should not face much of a challenge in the group stage, but after that, he needs to play well in case the Azzurri defense slips up.

Daniele De Rossi: The Italian fans have given the midfielder the nickname of Captain Futuro (Captain of the Future), and to prove that nickname is true, De Rossi will be asked to keep order in the midfield.

Schedule: June 14 vs. Paraguay, June 20 vs. New Zealand, June 24 vs. Slovakia

New Zealand

The All Whites are a benefactor of Australia's move to the Asian confederation. With the removal of the dominant force in Oceania, they were able to qualify for South Africa.

Although Ricki Herbert's squad is regarded as one of the worst in the tournament, forward Shane Smeltz might have something to say about that if he gets the ball in the back of the net.

Players To Watch:

Shane Smeltz: Smeltz is highly regarded in some football circles, and he is rumored to be making a switch to Europe from Australian-side Gold Coast United.

Ryan Nelsen: The Blackburn Rovers defender and All Whites captain is questionable for the group games because of the birth of his first child. If I were Nelsen, I would playing in the World Cup, especially because his team needs their captain against strong opponents.

Simon Elliott: Any unattached player going into a World Cup is looking to play strong to get attention from clubs. That is the case with this All Whites midfielder, and look for Elliott to be a key in midfield.

Schedule: June 15 vs. Slovakia, June 20 vs. Italy, June 24 vs. Paraguay

Paraguay

In January, Paraguay received the worst news of any nation entering the World Cup when star forward Salvador Cabanas was shot in the head in a Mexico City bar. Cabanas was a star in CONMEBOL qualifying and was poised to star in South Africa. Now, forward Oscar Cardozo is ready to step up alongside Roque Santa Cruz, who had a forgettable year at Manchester City.

Players To Watch:

Roque Santa Cruz: Santa Cruz's move from Blackburn to Manchester City was supposed to be good for him, but instead City got new owners, bought more expensive players, and buried Santa Cruz in the pecking order due to injury. Santa Cruz needs to show the City owners, as well as the owners of other clubs, why he needs to be on the pitch every match with a solid performance up front for his country.

Oscar Cardozo: The Benfica forward had a tremendous Europa League run to the quarterfinals with the Portugese team and will look to bring that form into South Africa with him.

Lucas Barrios: The Borussia Dortmund midfielder scored 18 goals this season in the Bundesliga, and in two games after being cleared to play internationally, he has scored two goals.

Schedule: June 14 vs. Italy, June 20 vs. Slovakia, June 24 vs. New Zealand

Slovakia

Slovakia is making their first trip to the World Cup after the separation of Czechoslovakia. They have a talented team that could give Italy a scare. Vladimir Weiss' team should be fun to watch with young stars like Miroslav Stoch and the coach's son Vladimir Weiss.

Players To Watch:

Miroslav Stoch: The Chelsea youngster scored 10 goals this season on loan at FC Twente in the Eredivisie. Stoch is poised to break out on the world stage, and with a trip to the knockout stage, he could do that with his team.

Vladimir Weiss: The coach's son was also on loan this season at Bolton from Manchester City. Weiss is looking to do the same as Stoch, break out and become one of Slovakia's stars of the future.

Martin Skrtel: The 6'3" defender gives Weiss' team a presence in defense that has played in one of the big leagues in Europe (Liverpool, EPL). However, Skrtel can only lead by example to his fellow defenders, so it really is on the other three in the back line to succeed as well.

Schedule: June 15 vs. New Zealand, June 20 vs. Paraguay, June 24 vs. Italy

Group Prediction:

This is Italy's group to lose and Slovakia and Paraguay should fight it out for second place. New Zealand will enjoy the trip to South Africa and should hope to take a point. The June 20th match between Slovakia and Paraguay could decide second place and could also be a scoring display.

Prediction: Italy (1st), Slovakia (2nd)