World Cup Previews: Group F
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Group F
Are Italy hiding in the long grass? Talk of the big guns heading into this World Cup has bounced around on the usual suspects but Italy seem to have been omitted from the posse. If you’ve just happened to crawl out from under your rock you’ll be forgiven for thinking the Azzurri are not even at the party. It might be just what Marcello Lippi wants.
A reputation as slow starters in the tournament is well founded and this group might just be the route needed to shake off all those old cobwebs. With Fabio Cannavaro at the tail end of his career this will be the last chance for him to show that he still ranks as a first rate defender before heading off to Dubai to enjoy a no doubt, luxurious retirement. Pirlo will need to be at his creative best to supply enough ball to the unpredictable Alberto Gilardino, who looks set to start as a lone front man. With Buffon in goal and a rub of the green on their side, their experience might count in their favour as opposed to against it.
On the opposite end of the spectrum New Zealand head into the finals expecting little. They are said to be looking to their first game against Slovakia as their chance to become the darlings of this World Cup. Ryan Nelson of Blackburn Rovers and Rory Fallon of Plymouth Argyle are the big names the All Whites will bring to Group F while Andy Barron, a 29-year-old banker from Auckland will be the only amateur player at the World Cup. While they look likely to start with four at the back they might well revert to thickening things up if, as looks likely, their midfield are overran early on. For the romantics amongst us an early exit for New Zealand might not seem like the right outcome but it is something that looks almost certain.
Slovakia have reached the finals before when they were half of Czechoslovakia but it’s a first time for the nation to do so on their own. Their best player is their goalkeeper Jan Muncha, a fact that only highlights the amount of times the Slovak’s defence was breached in qualification. Beat Slovenia in the penultimate qualifier extremely fortuitously but on the up side it looks as if Martin Skrtel will be ready to line out despite months of injury. Miroslav Stoch, the Chelsea midfielder on loan to Twente Enscehede, scored when the club clinched the Dutch title. The Slovaks could give Paraguay a run for it for second spot.
Paraguay are probably the least showy of the South American contenders in South Africa but workman like performances in this group could be the key to seeing them through to the last 16. While a recent draw against South Africa and a loss against the Republic of Ireland aren’t the preferred results going into a finals their graft along with their two strikers in form, Benfica’s Oscar Cordoza and Borussia Dortmund’s Lucas Barrios, may just be the ticket to advancing from the group.
Prediction:
Italy
Paraguay
Slovakia
New Zealand
Are Italy hiding in the long grass? Talk of the big guns heading into this World Cup has bounced around on the usual suspects but Italy seem to have been omitted from the posse. If you’ve just happened to crawl out from under your rock you’ll be forgiven for thinking the Azzurri are not even at the party. It might be just what Marcello Lippi wants.
A reputation as slow starters in the tournament is well founded and this group might just be the route needed to shake off all those old cobwebs. With Fabio Cannavaro at the tail end of his career this will be the last chance for him to show that he still ranks as a first rate defender before heading off to Dubai to enjoy a no doubt, luxurious retirement. Pirlo will need to be at his creative best to supply enough ball to the unpredictable Alberto Gilardino, who looks set to start as a lone front man. With Buffon in goal and a rub of the green on their side, their experience might count in their favour as opposed to against it.
On the opposite end of the spectrum New Zealand head into the finals expecting little. They are said to be looking to their first game against Slovakia as their chance to become the darlings of this World Cup. Ryan Nelson of Blackburn Rovers and Rory Fallon of Plymouth Argyle are the big names the All Whites will bring to Group F while Andy Barron, a 29-year-old banker from Auckland will be the only amateur player at the World Cup. While they look likely to start with four at the back they might well revert to thickening things up if, as looks likely, their midfield are overran early on. For the romantics amongst us an early exit for New Zealand might not seem like the right outcome but it is something that looks almost certain.
Slovakia have reached the finals before when they were half of Czechoslovakia but it’s a first time for the nation to do so on their own. Their best player is their goalkeeper Jan Muncha, a fact that only highlights the amount of times the Slovak’s defence was breached in qualification. Beat Slovenia in the penultimate qualifier extremely fortuitously but on the up side it looks as if Martin Skrtel will be ready to line out despite months of injury. Miroslav Stoch, the Chelsea midfielder on loan to Twente Enscehede, scored when the club clinched the Dutch title. The Slovaks could give Paraguay a run for it for second spot.
Paraguay are probably the least showy of the South American contenders in South Africa but workman like performances in this group could be the key to seeing them through to the last 16. While a recent draw against South Africa and a loss against the Republic of Ireland aren’t the preferred results going into a finals their graft along with their two strikers in form, Benfica’s Oscar Cordoza and Borussia Dortmund’s Lucas Barrios, may just be the ticket to advancing from the group.
Prediction:
Italy
Paraguay
Slovakia
New Zealand
