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- Not much doubt here, France is a class above the rest
and should top the group
- The second spot is up for grab between Uruguay and
Denmark.
- Despite the presence of some top class players such as
Recoba, Uruguay tend to lack team discipline in the past world cups. I put my money on
Denmark to edge Uruguay out.
Predictions: France (A1); Denmark (A2) |
- Spain usually gets pass the first stage easily based on
past world cups, and they should qualify without much problem.
- Second spot again difficult to predict. Any one of the
three teams can beat Spain.
- I will go with South Africa because they might want to
perform above exception to increase their chances of being selected as the host for world
cup 2010.
Predictions: Spain (B1); South Africa (B2) |
- I can't see Brazil losing the top spot in this mediocre
group. I don't think any Turks, Chinese or Costa Ricans even dare to declare that their
country can beat Brazil.
- Turkey should get the second spot but I would go for
China because of their 'Miracle Manager' Bora Milutinovic, who had steered 4 other
countries to their first world cup appearance as well as qualified for the 2nd round.
Predictions: Brazil (C1); China (C2) |
- Portugal and South Korea to capture the first and
second spot respectively.
- Despite South Korea's poor world cup performances in
the past, home ground advantage had done wonders to many mediocre host such as the US in
1994.
Predictions: Portugal (D1); South Korea (D2) |
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- Germany has somewhat rebounded since its home defeat to
England in a world cup qualifying match and should grab top spot.
- Rep. of Ireland looks solid but Cameroon's Indomitable
Lions, competing in their fifth world cup, a record for the African continent got my vote
for class and experience.
Predictions: Germany (E1); Cameroon (E2) |
- The group of death is the hardest to predict. Any team
can qualify and luck may just be the deciding factor. Argentina may be the bookies early
favourite but...
- England to top the group because Argentina and Nigeria
who will play each other first may be too taxing to come up with another gallant effort in
the next match.
- Argentina is my other pick. I sense that England (and
Beckham, if he is fit) will go all out to avenge their elimination in the hands of the
Argentines in 1998.
Predictions: England (F1); Argentina (F2) |
- I think this is the easiest group to predict compared
to the rest.
- Italy tops with Croatia second, or it could be the
other way round.
Predictions: Italy (G1); Croatia (G2) |
- Japan has been pretty impressive lately, ranked the
second Asian team in the current FIFA World
Ranking after Iran, who failed to qualify, by two points. With home ground advantage,
they should have no problem topping the group and rank the best team in Asia.
- Japan will also be conscious of the fact that if they
qualify in 2nd spot, they will more than likely meet Brazil in the next round.
- Second spot could go to any one of the three remaining
teams but I fancy the experienced Russia because of their desperation to prove that they
are as good as, if not better than the former Soviet Union.
Predictions: Japan (H1); Russia (H2) |
All predictions are
courtesy of Borneodo, a football legend in his own mind.
SECOND PHASE PREDICTIONS
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