World Cup: Win, Lose or DRAW!!
The balls have barely been pulled out of the glass bowls… but we’re already delivering some immediate reaction from today’s star-studded draw in Cape Town for the 2010 World Cup. Sepp Blatter and football fans alike should be very pleased: there are going to be some mouth-watering encounters at next summer’s tournament – England v USA, Brazil v Ivory Coast and Germany v Ghana to name a few. But there are also some clear winners and losers from this evening’s draw.
Winners:
Fantasy football. Kaka v Ronaldo. Beckham v Donovan. Ballack v Essien. Eto’o v Sneijder. There are so many reasons for Sepp Blatter and football’s money-men to crack open a fresh bottle of Cristal.
The Defending Champions. Have the defending World Cup champions ever been handed an easier draw? We can’t recall, but either way Marcelo Lippi will fancy his chances of winning back-to-back titles with Italy warming up against New Zealand and Paraguay before testing themselves further down the line.
France. Their opening round opponents will be South Africa, Uruguay and Mexico. Not much of a problem there. You’ve gotta believe that Robbie Keane, Shay Given and the rest of the Irish lads were drooling when they got wind of France’s group. The knockout stages await.
Losers:
Africa. Not only is the host nation South Africa screwed – having to face Mexico and France – but the continent’s great hope for the tournament, the Ivory Coast, have been dumped in the Group of Death with Brazil and Portugal.
Group A. Many feel France shouldn’t have even been in the draw in the first place. South Africa, Mexico and Uruguay might be feeling a little cheated. But who knows? – if the rumors are anything to go by, the Hand of Gaul inquiry might yet lead to the banning of France’s most inspiration player from next summer’s competition.
North Korea. Forty-four years after upsetting Italy in their last World Cup appearance, North Korea are stuck in the toughest of the eight groups and bound to be the whipping boys for the big guns – Brazil, Portugal, Ivory Coast.
World Cup 2014 Group Draw:
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
Group B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
Group D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
Group E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
Group F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
Group H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.
Countdown to Soccer City starts now
2 Responses to “World Cup: Win, Lose or DRAW!!”
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I think your analysis is spot on, Italy got a very easy group, which they will need because that squad is old! I also find it refreshing that Brazil got a challenging group, the last few World Cups they have always seemed to been granted a cake walk e group.
As for France…they dodged a bullet..actually 7 of them. They have a very favorable draw but with Dumbenech anything is possible! More on that group – http://thebeantownfrog.blogspot.com/2009/12/france-draw-hostand-dodge-bullet.html
Where are the Fan Camps in South Africa? It would be a great idea to combine the soccer with a week safari. Is there anything being offered in the Kruger area?