World Cup TV Preview: 11 - 13 June

Friday 11th June

15:00 South Africa v Mexico, FIFA World Cup Group A, ITV1/HD
Hallo everyone and welcome back to the famous Some People Are On The Pitch TV Previews. Well, here it is - the World Cup. At bloody last! Kicking off proceedings are the hosts who need every ounce of support behind them from their adoring public. ITV are your hosts for this tournament opener as we prepare ourselves for that constant droning buzzing noise that will become synonymous with South Africa 2010. At first, you'll find the din irritating but give it time and soon you'll get used to Clive Tyldesley. Boom boom!

19:30 Uruguay v France, FIFA World Cup Group A, BBC1/HD
Auntie Beeb kicks off her coverage with the grandfather of the World Cup, Uruguay. The two times world champions just scraped into the Finals in a play-off and outside Montevideo, little is expected of them. However, in Diego Forlan they have one of La Liga's finest (assuming he is fit to play) and will be tough hombres. France, as we all would have read in the tabloids, are ball-handling, surrender eating cheese monkeys with a comical manager and a divided squad. That's as maybe but it's not going to stop them from winning the group.

Saturday 12th June

12:30 South Korea v Greece, FIFA World Cup Group B, ITV1/HD
An intriguing if not uber-glamorous encounter between two teams with their eyes on second spot. It's maybe a cliche but there are no easy games in this group and no obvious runner-up to Argentina. In our Sound of Football World Cup Preview Podcast we predicted that Greece would finish second and I fancy Bundesbag favorite 'Fanis Geikas to shock the world of football with a brace.

15:00 Argentina v Nigeria, FIFA World Cup Group B, BBC1/HD
The west Africans will have a lot of support for in South Africa and they may well need it. Argentina may have more question marks around them than the Riddler's wardrobe but few are expecting them to make a hash of the group stage. The big question for us outsiders is 'will he play Higuain or Milito'?

19:30 England v USA, FIFA World Cup Group C, ITV1/HD
If England lose this game I can see them salvaging the group with wins against Algeria and Slovenia. If USA lose I can see them dropping points against Slovenia before facing Algeria in a fight for their lives. In my book there's more pressure on the States. Not that that will stop me from drinking large amounts of alchohol while watching the game through a pillow.

Sunday 13th June

12:30 Algeria v Slovenia, FIFA World Cup Group C, BBC1/HD
These lunchtime slots seem to be reserved for the more defensive minded fixtures don't they? Algeria are bus-parkers while Slovenia have only a little more about them. A second half Milivoje Novakovic goal could be enough to settle this one.

15:00 Serbia v Ghana, FIFA World Cup Group D, ITV1/HD
Here we go then - our first chance to see Serbia's Milos Krasic in full flight. If all goes according to plan the CSKA Mocow player will be hot-footing it to Spain after a successful World Cup. Ghana are shorn of Essien and are relying on the young squad that got them to the Africa Cup Of Nations Final earlier in the year.

19:30 Germany v Australia, FIFA World Cup Group D, ITV1/HD
Much like the arrival of Krasic on the world stage, Bundesliga fans can't wait to see what Germany's Mesut Osil can do. We'll get a better indication of whether the Bremen midfielder has the stuff to reach the top after he pits his skill against a resilient, if creaky, Australia side.

denotes match to be covered by The Sound of Football Podcast.

32 For 2010: Algeria

The Algerian national team are suffering from something of an identity crisis these days. On the one hand you have the battling, resolute team that overcame bitter rivals Egypt in a fiery play-off to reach this year’s World Cup Finals, and on the other you have the weak, disorientated team that were thrashed 4-0 by Egypt in the Nations Cup semi finals this year, just days after losing 3-0 to Malawi in the previous round.

Yet Algeria are battlers at heart and they’ll be fighting tooth and nail to go as far as possible in their first World Cup for 24 years. One familiar face from that previous finals appearance in 1986 is head coach Rabah Saadane. The 61-year-old was in charge of the team back then during a disappointing campaign and was a deputy to Mahieddine Khalef in the 1982 World Cup.

SInce those heady days of the 1980’s, Algeria have struggled not only to retain their place among the world’s elite but also on their own continent. Since winning their only African Cup of Nations to date in 1990 (on home soil), Algeria have failed to make any great impact on the African championships and subsequently slid further and further down the world’s pecking order. Currently up to 31st in the FIFA World Rankings on the back of their World Cup qualification, they were as low as 103rd just two years ago.

Algeria’s recent rise to prominence has come about through an improved squad that has a strong Europe-based contingent. Several names will be familiar to British football fans in particular, including Portsmouth’s Nadir Belhadj and Hassan Yebda along with the Rangers defender Madjid Bougherra. Among those plying their trade on the continent, the Wolfsburg defender Karim Ziani and Rafik Saifi of Istres are two to watch out for.

Bougherra has been one of many injury concerns for Saadane, although the French-born centre back claims to be fit again after several months out of the game with a calf strain. Despite assuring the press that he’ll be ready for the World Cup when it arrives, he didn’t figure in Algeria’s 3-0 friendly defeat to the Republic of Ireland this week and will be sorely missed in the finals if he remains absent from the team.

All in all, the Desert Foxes will go into battle next month somewhat unsure of their capabilities against rather tricky opposition. Undoubtedly the game upon which their prospects will rise or fall will be their first against Slovenia in Polokwane, a match they know will give them their best chance of picking up three points. A good start there will give them the momentum they’ll need to stand up to Fabio Capello’s England side prior to their last game in Group C against the USA where a draw will be deemed a reasonable outcome.

Anything on a par with Algeria’s 1982 campaign where they beat West Germany 2-1 and Chile 3-2 will be deemed an amazing success, but in realistic terms it seems unlikely this time. Then again, if anyone knows how to make it happen again it’s Rabah Saadane and in this, his fifth spell in charge of the team, he’ll undoubtedly be as determined as ever.

32 For 2010: Greece

OK, so a 2-2 draw against North Korea is far from ideal preparation for a World Cup tournament but then Greece have made a virtue of taking people by surprise. You do, however, suspect that even the most passionate Greeks will be surprised if the 2004 European champions make it to the second round of the World Cup in South Africa.

Their style of play is well known and, while still very difficult to play against, is not impossible as their failure to emulate their magnificent European Championship success in Portugal demonstrates. In 2004, the uber-organised defence throttled their opponent's attack while hitting them ruthlessly on the counter. These days, the team's tactics are largely unchanged but critics have argued that they're too predictable and the current squad have not been able to emulate their predecessors.

Most of the 2004 squad have, unsurprisingly, moved on. Among them former Bolton player Stelios Giannakopoulos, legendary goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis plus the centre halves Traianos Dellas and Michalis Kapsis. However Angelos Charisteas (who scored the only goal in the Euro 2004 Final) continues. As does Giourkas Seitaridis, now a veteren with 68 caps.

Other players English fans will be aware of are Liverpool centre half Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Georgios Samaras, once of Manchester City and latterly of Celtic. The rest of the squad seem to be made up mostly of domestic-based players. Whether this will prove to be a strength or weakness remains to be seen.

Greece's top scorer in qualifying was Theofanis Gekas, a player well-known to those who read the Bundesbag as a player who mostly seems to perform well for bad Bundesliga teams. He was the league top scorer in 2007 for Bochum. Recently, he has been seen scratching his head at Berlin's Olympiastadion as he watched Hertha implode. He has just signed for the Frankfurt club where the Bundesbag predicts he'll score loads of goals.

Qualification itself was arduous. After finishing runners-up to Switzerland they had to overcome a tough but dour Ukraine side. Drawn into Group B for the tournament, they face tough challenges against Nigeria, South Korea and Argentina. I personally cannot wait to see what Diego Maradona makes of Greece's defensive tactics and sniff a potential upset. That said, the prospects of a place in the Second Round don't look too favourable.

One crumb of comfort for Greece coach Otto Rehhagel (who masterminded the team's 2004 triumph) is how Inter demonstrated that non-possession football can still win big matches in the Champions League Final last Saturday. Whether Rehhagel's players will have the ability to control the opposition the way Mourinho's men did against Bayern is unlikely. However, the Greeks are passionate about their football and to see them progress would be welcome if not too easy on the eye.

32 for 2010: Ghana

Despite a rich history in African football, including a long period of dominance in the Cup of Nations, this is only Ghana's second World Cup Finals having also qualified for Germany four years ago.

Ghana's qualification campaign almost foundered at the first hurdle when they scraped through their first group stage on goal difference. This proved a wake up call for the Black Stars and they breezed through the final stage of qualification - only conceding any goals after their finals place was secure. This strong, defensive quality helped them reach the final of this year's African Cup of Nations, though they hardly enlivened a tragic and over-shadowed tournament with three consecutive 1-0 wins before being beaten by holders Egypt.

Interesting parallels can be drawn between their opponents this World Cup and with last time: the experienced campaigners - Germany (it was Italy last time); a strong Eastern Europe team - Serbia (Czech Republic); and an emerging New World side - Australia (USA). Ghana finished second in their group last time but will be hard pushed to repeat that - and if they do they'll most likely face England in the second round. The match against Serbia, probably their most vital for progression, has added interest as it's where their coach Milovan Rajevac is from.

Essentially, Ghana need goals if they are to have any hope of surviving this tough group. Their midfield has been seriously depleted with lengthy injuries to (among others) Michael Essien and Stephen Appiah - seeing them miss most of the season for their clubs. Essein has not played for Chelsea since he was injured playing in the Cup of Nations in January while Appiah has played only two end-of-season games for Bologna since signing for them in November. Both are in the squad, but just what sort of impact these players can have is anyone's guess. Sulley Muntari, while a regular for Inter this season, has only managed to play 90 minutes three times out of 27 appearances, scoring just once.

This leaves the goal-scoring duties falling on the shoulders of Stade Rennes' Asamoah Gyan and NAC Breda's Matthew Amoah, neither of whom have particularly shone domestically. Ravejac has given repeated call up offers to Inter's precocious striker Mario Balotelli who has Ghanain parents. Balotelli, who earlier this season was described by his boss Jose Mourinho as "brainless", has refused each advance in favour of waiting to see if he can make it into the Italian senior squad (he already plays for the under-21s).

We won't see the best of Ghana at this World Cup, but that doesn't mean they'll go down without a fight.

World Cup Gravy Train: Walkers Flavour Cup

Welcome to World Cup Gravy Train, a new feature in which we’ll be examining those commercial products and services that use the planet’s biggest football competition to generate some extra income – officially or otherwise.

And we start by looking at Walkers, the crisp manufacturers who are veterans at leaning on football to promote its products. When you choose Gary Lineker as the face of your advertising campaigns for 15 years, your connection with the beautiful game is bound to be considerable and therefore it's hardly surprising that they've turned to football with the World Cup only a month away.

The Walkers Flavour Cup is the natural successor to their Do Us a Flavour promotion of 2008 and 2009 where people were asked to vote for their favourite from a range of new (and only briefly available) flavours.

This new promotion uses the same premise by offering 15 crisp flavours with an international theme, some of which are more credible than others. At the plausible end of the scale you’ll find Argentinean Flame Grilled Steak and Japanese Teriyaki Chicken, while the other end offers up American Cheeseburger and Australian BBQ Kangaroo. All this from the people that brought you Cajun Squirrel flavour... go figure.

In the name of research and truthful journalism, I’ve sampled some of Walkers’ new offerings for myself and the results are at best varied. Argentinean Flame Grilled Steak was tasty enough in a Beef and Onion kind of way while Brazilian Salsa tasted a bit like Prawn Cocktail with a hint of chilli powder. As for French Garlic Baguette, I was hard pushed to detect any garlic flavour in it.

In all honesty though, it must be devilishly difficult to create new and peculiar crisp flavours. If you don’t get it right, you lay yourself open to all kinds of criticism as was shown during the Do Us a Flavour campaign. Writing in The Guardian last year, Charlie Brooker likened the Chilli and Chocolate flavour to “excreted battery acid” and equated the experience of eating their Fish and Chips flavoured crisps to “kissing someone who's just eaten a plateful of scampi.”

This new range of flavours, however, has some intriguing offerings such as Dutch Edam Cheese and Italian Spaghetti Bolognese while the inclusion of Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding, Welsh Rarebit, Irish Stew and Scottish Haggis indicates a need to cater for the home market as well as perhaps a desperation to pad out the choice on offer.

And while we’re on the subject, you have to say Walker’s have missed a trick with all this international flavouring. Where was the Thai Curry flavour? Where was the New Zealand Lamb flavour? Where was the North Korean... er... Dog... er... flavour? Ahem... yes, well, you get the picture.

All in all, the Walkers Flavour Cup is a bit of fun which has been cleverly designed to work off the back of the real World Cup without actually mentioning its name. By using some pretty packaging and even a TV advertising campaign featuring Brer Lineker and Stuart Hall (who has been scandalously overlooked by ad executives up to now), they’ve created a range of crisps that you’ll be highly tempted to snap up.



Quite what your thoughts are on the crisps themselves remains to be seen, but on that point we’d like you to tell us by leaving a comment on any of the flavours you’ve tried.

Did you become a bit partial to the South African Sweet Chutney? Did you rush with great haste to the toilet after trying the German Bratwurst Sausage? Leave us a comment and tell us your views. These things matter, you know...

32 For 2010: North Korea

Football just ain’t fair sometimes. When you’ve waited 44 years to qualify for only your second World Cup like North Korea have, the last thing you’d want is to be drawn in the same group as Brazil, Portugal and the Ivory Coast.

That, however, is as good a reason why the East Asians are 1,000-1 to win the 2010 World Cup. Football observers with a glass-half-full temperament are quick to point out that these odds might be a little unfair given North Korea’s heroics during the 1966 World Cup. Back then, not even Chile or Italy could topple them in the first round and were 3-0 up in their quarter final before Eusebio almost single-handedly sent them packing.

The 2010 competition could be one of limited joy for Kim Jong-hun and his team, yet you feel they deserve to acheive something of tokenistic value in South Africa next month. Their qualification campaign has been a lengthy one, starting as it did with a two-leg tie against Mongolia in October 2007, and saw them playing their neighbours south of the border four times over two rounds. The fact that they got through from first round to last with more than enough points in the bank and only one defeat to South Korea shows what a battling outfit they are these days.

Their success in qualifying has been based squarely on their staunchly defensive tactics. Several teams including Jordan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran and South Korea all failed to score against the North Koreans, but one can’t help but feel the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabiano and Didier Drogba will have altogether better luck when the Communist state arrives for its first match in Johannesburg on June 15th.

Of the players in their squad, few play outside the country’s borders although one that does, Jong Tae-se of Kawasaki Frontale, has carved out a reputation as one of the best strikers in the J-League – ‘the Asian Wayne Rooney’, as he’s already been labelled. Another striker, Hong Yong-jo, is proving similarly successful with FK Rostov in Russia, and between them they’ll need to be at their most prolific if they’re to get North Korea to the knockout stages of the 2010 World Cup. If they’re not, the role of goalkeeper Ri Myong-guk and sweeper Ri Jun-il will take on even more significance.

One matter may prove decisive above player selection, however, and that’s the man selecting the players. Coach Kim Jong-hun has done a great job in getting South Korea’s oft-forgotten rivals back into the world football spotlight again, but many are wondering if he’ll soon be shown the door in favour of a foreigner with more experience. Such an act would surely be futile as anyone looking to reprogram DPRK’s fiercely defensive unit at this late stage would have a tough job on their hands. There again, Bora Milutinovic is currently out of contract so anything’s possible.

It’s almost clichéd to suggest North Korea will be looking to reach the second round this summer, but to be brutally honest a draw against Portugal or Ivory Coast in Group G will go down as something realistically worthwhile of note. As for Jong-hun’s preposterous claim that they’re aiming to reach the last eight, we’ll politely draw a veil over that.

The irony of all this is that most of North Korea’s 23 million population probably won’t see its team’s travails next month. SBS, the South Korean TV broadcaster, was planning to allow North Korea access to its pictures throughout the competition but the torpedoing of a South Korean warship by North Korea in March (leading to the death of 46 sailors) has prompted SBS to pull the plug.

A pity, that, for this will be a rare chance to see the chollima on the biggest stage in world football and no-one can say for certain when the next one will come along. The search for another Pak Doo Ik continues.

32 For 2010: Slovenia

This is the third major international tournament Slovenia have qualified for - each time by manner of a play-off. They overcame Ukraine to win a place at Euro 2000 and beat Romania to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.

The key to Slovenia's qualification campaign was their excellent home form (they conceded just one goal in six games) and an away victory against the eventual group winners Slovakia, denying the Czech Republic, Poland and Northern Ireland a place in South Africa. They had a tough draw in the play-off against Russia - who had a very strong group stage. Despite falling two goals down in the first leg, a late strike from Sparta Praha's Nejc Pečnik gave them an away goal - an all important away goal as they went on to win 1-0 in the return fixture in Maribor, Bochum's Zlatko Dedič getting the goal.

Slovenia's main threat up front is FC Köln's 6'4" striker Milivoje Novakovič. However he's found goals hard to come by recently following a much publicised falling out with his club manager Zvonimir Soldo - scoring just six this season. Their only UK based player is team captain Robert Koren, a mainstay of the West Brom midfield for the past three seasons. It's likely that the squad will be entirely made up of non-domestic players.

Slovenia have been drawn with England, USA and Algeria - of these sides the only team they've played before is England - right at the start of this season. Belgian-based striker Zlatan Ljubijankič picking up a late goal in their 2-1 friendly defeat at Wembley. They may feel they have an advantage in playing England last in the group - hoping that England will have already done enough to qualify for the next stage by that time. Their key match is their opener against Algeria where anything less than a win will give them a huge mountain to climb; realistically though, the most they can hope to achieve is an improvement on their 2002 showing where they lost all three games.

32 For 2010: Australia

The Socceroos have moved. Not literally of course but on an administrative level. Previously, Football Federation Australia were members of the Oceania confederation which only has half a qualification spot for the World Cup Finals. This manifests itself as a play-off against a low-ranked team in another confederation (Asia this time, but in the past it has been South America). This route to the tournament has proved problematic for Australia (most notably under Terry Venables for France 98) and was one of the reasons why they lobbied to be included into the Asian Confederation which has more competitive nations and more qualification spots.

With the domestic league still in its infancy, many Australians play overseas in Europe. A number of them are household names. Despite not being the number one sport in the country, there are a large number of experienced international footballers with a growing supporter base who have become galvanised by the team's exploits in 2006 which took them to the Second Round only to be controversially knocked out by the wily Italians.

Top players ahead of the trip to South Africa are Fulham goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer, Tim Cahill of Everton and of course Harry Kewell, now at Galatasaray. However, some doubts remain as to the fitness of the former Leeds United player which would be a significant blow for the team's aspirations. Backing up the headliners are a rump of professionals from European leagues such as David Carney (FC Twente), Mark Bresciano (Palermo), Brett Emerson and Vince Grella from Blackburn Rovers and Luke Wilkshire of Dynamo Moscow. Jason Culina, played for PSV Eindhoven until he made a big money move to A-League side Gold Coast United last season. If he features in South Africa, he may be one of the few home based players to feature. Mark Viduka has effectively retired.

Conscious that the top players in the squad are getting on a bit, a squad of predominantly younger A-League players were selected for the Asian Cup qualifying campaign in the hope that this will yield some senior Socceroos for qualification to Brazil in 2014.

The coach Pim Verbeek was assistant to Guus Hiddink in 2006. The Dutchman is not the most popular figure and has been criticised for using negative tactics (a criticism he refutes). He will be stepping down after the World Cup.

Before that, the Aussies must overcome a tough group if they are to fulfill their dream of meeting England in the Second Round. Australia have been drawn with Germany, Ghana and Serbia. To be frank, progression is going to be a tall order. However, that famous (or infamous, depending on your point of view) competitive streak and sporting appetite may see them through.

32 For 2010: Paraguay

Participants in the first tournament they may be but up until recent years, Paraguay's contribution to World Cup history has been fairly inauspicious. Between 1930 and 1998, the land-locked country located in the shadow of Argentina and Brazil as their neighbours, only qualified for the final stages three times.

Since 1998 however, Paraguay have become a regular fixture in the World Cup draw. Thus far they have never progressed beyond the second round and last time, in Germany, could not manage even that. Paraguay finished third behind Sweden and England and had an uninspiring tournament in an uninspiring group (the game against England was a snore-fest).

This year there may be more grounds for optimism on the back of an exciting qualification campaign. The White and Red registered impressive victories against Brazil and Argentina plus a 5-1 thumping of Ecuador. They finished third in the CONMEBOL qualification table, only one point behind the group winners, Brazil.

In terms of the players, English football fans will know all about Roque Santa Cruz' exploits on Manchester City's bench and treatment table. The former Blackburn and Bayern Munich striker has scored 20 goals for his country. National team coach, Gerardo Martino, also has to choose from Benfica striker Oscar Cardozo and Borussia Dortmund's Nelson Valdez.

In an interesting twist, Valdez may be joined by his strike partner at Dortmund, Lucas Barrios. Now, anyone who has been following Barrios' exploits this season on the Bundesbag will know that he is an Argentine. However, Barrios' mother is Paraguayan and he has just had his citizenship confirmed. Without further ado Barrios was selected by coach Martino (himself, an Argentine) for the latest national team training camp and looks set to be named in the squad.

This will not be an uncontroversial selection as non-Paraguayan Paraguayans are not usually made welcome in the national team. However, If Barrios can replicate his Bundesliga form (19 goals in his first season) in the World Cup, then he may be crucial to their hopes of progressing to the Second Round.

If that is to be achieved, Paraguay must overcome the world champions Italy, dark horses Slovakia and happy-to-be-there New Zealand in Group F. Not impossible but not easy. Their best chance may come in the first game against the notoriously slow starting Italians on 14th June. A good result there would set up their campaign nicely.

32 for 2010: Honduras

Wigan fans will know well the talents of the players of this small Central American nation - with first team regulars Maynor Figueroa and Hendry Thomas and former player Wilson Palacios all coming from there.

This is Honduras' second World Cup Finals, having qualified for the 1982 finals. Despite finishing bottom of their group in that tournament, they had a good campaign: holding the eventual group winners Northern Ireland and the Spanish hosts to draws, and only being narrowly defeated by Yugoslavia.

This time around their task will be made harder if they have to do without their most potent striker David Suazo through injury. Currently playing for Genoa on loan from Inter his career has stuttered since he shared the Serie A Foreign Player of the Year award with Kaka in 2006.

Most recently Honduras made it to the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup - being defeated by the hosts and eventual runners-up, USA. Their performance in tournament was made more impressive when it's remembered that they didn't have their key Europe-based players available (despite being held in July).

Their coach, Reinaldo Rueda, has been in charge since 2006 - he was previously head coach of his native Colombia.

Drawn with Spain again, it's hard to see them progressing beyond the group stage against an improving Swiss side and Chile who impressed in qualifying, but they should at least make one of the more overlooked groups a little more interesting.

32 For 2010: Uruguay

"Other countries have their history, it is said, while Uruguay has its football."
Tim Vickery

It is almost impossible not to become misty eyed with romanticism when it comes to Uruguay. After winning gold in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics, Uruguay were rewarded by becoming hosts of the first ever World Cup in 1930. The de facto world champions claimed the official crown beneath the tower of the magnificent Estadio Centenario by beating Argentina 4-2.

Fast forward to October 2009 in the same stadium and the Uruguayans are struggling to fall over the line in a qualifying campaign that saw them finish fifth in the qualification group and have to face Costa Rica over two legs. Having won 1-0 in San Jose, the scene was set for a nervous second leg in Montevideo. And so it proved to be. Eventually, Sebastián Abreu scored for the home side causing pandemonium in the crowd. Minutes later however, Costa Rica equalised and the tension was restored to the Centenario.

But an upset was never really likely thanks to Uruguay's away goal and the first team to win the World Cup became the last team to qualify for the 2010 tournament in South Africa. That they took such a convoluted path is a reflection of the relative decline of Uruguayan football since those heady days before and after the war where they set the standard for the game and in shattering Brazilian hopes in 1950 (where they caused one of the great upsets in world football by beating the host to the Cup in the final match) they helped redefine the Brazilian game.

Uruguay failed to qualify for the World Cup in Germany 2006. They didn't make it past Round 1 in 2002 and were absent in France '98 and USA '94. As the continent's traditional lesser lights such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile improve, the Uruguayans will only find the road to future World Cups an even harder one to travel, particularly when you take into account the country's modest population.

Nevertheless, Uruguay are travelling to South Africa and were drawn in Group A with hosts South Africa, plus Mexico and France. The presence of the hosts as seeds hands a significant advantage to the rest of the group. Mexico will be familiar opponents as they regularly participate in the Copa America with Mexican clubs playing in the Copa Libatadores. France will almost certainly be favorites but remain something of an enigma under their eccentric coach Raymond Domenech.

The head coach of the Uruguayan national team is Oscar Tabarez (or El Maestro, as he is known). He previously coached the team in Italia '90. As for the players, Diego Forlan requires little introduction. The Atletico Madrid player won the Pichichi Trophy at his former club Villareal and is one of the hottest talents in La Liga. He is also Uruguay's 8th most capped player and the joint sixth all-time top scorer with twenty three goals, eight less that the great Hector Scarone.

However, this does not make Forlan the top scorer in the current squad. That honour goes to the aforementioned Sebastián Abreu of Botafogo in Brazil. He is only three goals behind Scarone's record and may conceivably break that record by the end of Uruguay's involvement in South Africa 2010. Having said that, Tobarez has preferred Ajax forward Luis Suarez in recent games. The 23 year old has scored 27 goals this season and will form a potent threat alongside Forlan this summer.

That, coupled with a favourable draw makes Uruguay a genuine barrier to Mexico and France in Group A and could themselves slip into the Second Round. For the future there are potentially exciting times. The proposal that Uruguay bid to co-host the 2030 Centenary World Cup with Argentina is already gathering momentum. The prospect of the World Cup Final taking place once again at the Estadio Centenario is too exciting for a world football fan. The prospect would re-energise the nation and hopefully provide much needed focus and vigour for one of the greatest, yet smallest footballing nations.

32 for 2010: USA

We're now a quarter of the way through our 32 for 2010 series looking at the teams that have qualified for the World Cup in South Africa this summer. To mark the occasion, we've set our resident Football Americana writer and brains behind TwoFootedTackle Chris Nee the job of giving you his own personal profile of the USA team...

England supporters will be keeping an eager eye on the USA as World Cup 2010 approaches. Bob Bradley's side were something of an unknown outfit before last summer's FIFA Confederations Cup, where impressive performances against Spain and Brazil repaired the damage of a poor start and brought the Americans crashing back into the English footballing psyche. And wouldn't you just know it, England and the US were drawn together in Group C along with Algeria and Slovenia.

As soon as the draw was complete the social media garden fence between friendly neighbours became a banter battleground. The most famous match in this most dormant of rivalries took place in Brazil in June 1950 and Haiti-born US international Joe Gaetjens scored the only goal to help the underdogs to a shock victory which was wheeled out with alarming regularity on the 2010 draw's conclusion.

It was a memorable moment for the Americans, but it wasn't their only World Cup high point. The 1994 host team has played in every tournament since 1990, reaching the quarter final in Japan and South Korea in 2002 thanks to the defeat of arch-rivals Mexico in the second round in their first ever World Cup finals meeting. Germany proved too difficult a foe in the last eight, and 2006 was a disappointment which resonated throughout US soccer.

But forget DaMarcus Beasley's toilet break, Alexi Lalas' magnificent beard and John Harkes' John Terry impression. Forget Leonardo's elbow in 1994 and the slugfest against Italy in 2006. Things are a little different now, and spirits are high.

In qualifying, Bradley's boys topped the CONCACAF hexagonal tournament ahead of Mexico in second and Honduras in third. They lost just twice in qualifying, both in genuinely difficult away matches in Costa Rica and Mexico. Two draws - away to El Salvador on matchday two and at home to Costs Rica in the final game - punctuated six wins including two crucial victories on the road in the last three games. In August, defeat in Mexico put the USA in a tough position. But a run of three wins against El Salvador (home), Trinidad & Tobago (away) and Honduras (away) secured Bradley's job and his team's berth at the top of the Hex.

In the same week as the USA confirmed its qualification for the World Cup, tragedy struck the US soccer community. Sochaux striker Charlie Davies was badly injured in a fatal car accident in the DC suburbs. Davies miraculously escaped the wreckage with a ruptured bladder, breaks to his left tibia and femur, a fractured elbow and several facial fractures. His recovery has been amazing, and he returned to Sochaux in February well on the road to fitness, despite a scar from ear to ear from surgery which is best left undescribed.

It was just one of a litany of injuries which has beset the US squad since qualification was secured. Defender Oguchi Onyewu of AC Milan and Fulham's Clint Dempsey are both in a race against time to make the plane to South Africa, while Jay Demerit's freak eye injury put him out for much longer than expected. Fortunately, the situation seems to be shaping up nicely for Bradley and, with Davies on track for a return, the fixture against England on day two of the World Cup could make for an emotional 90 minutes.

The returning trio will bolster a team of deceptive strength, and one which has found its style in the last 12 months. Bradley's side is solid and obstinate, fast enough and clever enough to counter-attack with ruthless efficiency. Goalkeeper Tim Howard is a reliable stopper and recent on-loan Everton colleague Landon Donovan's lightning pace and superb technique is vital to the USA's attacking play. Michael Bradley, the coach's son, and Ricardo Clark are two tough, tenacious central midfielders plying their trade in the Bundesliga. Both press the ball well and the partnership could be key to a good campaign in South Africa.

With the central midfielders protecting a defence which won't have played together properly for a year, much of the creative work will fall to Donovan and Dempsey. Ahead of them, Davies will be partnered by Jozy Altidore, who finally seems to be finding his feet in Europe. Altidore's got bags of technical ability and the Premier League is quickly teaching him how to use his considerable strength, not that he was struggling with that last summer.

Whether or not 2010 turns out to be a vintage US performance in years to come, make no mistake: the Americans are here to stay.

32 For 2010: Serbia

You can't keep a good footballing nation down and while the state of Yugoslavia has been consigned to the world of dusty old Len Deighton novels, the nations that formed that Eastern Bloc political contrivance continue to produce good (if not great) footballing teams.

In the years that followed the brutal war in the Balkans which resulted in the break up of Yugoslavia, it was Croatia who kept the footballing flame alive internationally. They seemed to have carried on where the old Yugoslav team that was banished from the 1992 European Championships (a competition that they could definitely have won) left off. However, in recent years, other nations have emerged from the ashes to form competitive squads. Montenegro are no pushovers, Bosnia-Herzegovina's day will surely come in 2012 and of course, Serbia who competed as Yugoslavia until 2003 before changing to Serbia and Montenegro. Under this title they played in the 2006 World Cup. Probably their only meaningful contribution to that competition was on the receiving end of one of the greatest goals in World Cup history, a 24-pass move which resulted in Esteban Cambiasso's strike.

Only weeks beforehand the people of Montenegro voted to declare themselves an independent nation. Consequently, the final elements of the old Yugoslavian football entity were separated and Serbia continued alone.

The "new" team's first challenge was to qualify for Euro 2008. In other qualifying groups the 24 points they accumulated might have been enough to book themselves passage to Austria and Switzerland. Unfortunately for them, it was not enough to finish ahead of Poland and Portugal despite only losing twice in the qualifying campaign.

The Serbs were not to be denied a place in South Africa however. In 2008, the national federation sacked head coach Miroslav Dukic and appointed the legendary Raddy Antic. The former Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid coach enjoyed a glittering club career in Spain and was at the ideal stage of his life to take over his country's national team. Antic inherited a disunited squad and quickly set about restoring some harmony. Serbia won seven of their 10 qualifying games. They only lost twice and the second defeat was the final game of the campaign after they had secured qualification. Antic's men took full advantage of a weak French team to top Group 7 and spare themselves the hassle of the play-offs.

Top players in the squad include Manchester United defender Nemania Vidic and Inter's Dejan Stankovic. However, Serbia's player of the year is the CSKA Moskow midfielder Milos Krasić who has played in all ten qualifiers. Krasic is a tricky right winger with a penchant for neat footwork and giving fullbacks the slip. He score two goals in qualifying and created seven assists.

The top goal scorer in qualification was Standard Liege's striker Milan Jovanovic. Bundesliga fans will know Nevan Subotic, the talented centre half from Dortmund, and Marko Pantelic is one of the many reasons why Hertha Berlin are so awful since he left at the end of last season to go to Ajax.

Looking ahead to the World Cup finals, Serbia were drawn in Group D with Germany, Ghana and Australia. Conceivably every team in that group will believe that they can qualify for Stage 2 so it should be a pretty tight group. Should the Serbs finish behind Germany (the expected group winners) they can look forward to a Second Round clash with the winners of England and USA's group.

The future of Serbian football is a matter of concern. Domestically, there are claims of corruption and any lack of investment in youth development could spell trouble for their future prospects on the international stage. However, the Under-19s reached the semis of the 2009 European Championships losing to the winners and hosts, Ukraine ,which suggests that there's some grounds for optimism.

The region formerly known as Yugoslavia has a fine tradition of producing some magnificent footballers and football teams. Let's hope that tradition continues.

World Cup seeding punishes France

After weeks of speculation, the World Cup seeds have been determined and FIFA have used the shortest route with France as the biggest losers. Readers of SPAOTP will know that in the past FIFA have used a baffling array of criteria to decide which team gets those coveted places as the top dog in each group. However, on this occasion, the powers that be have chosen to use the most straightforward methodology possible and handed the seeding to the top seven teams in the official FIFA Rankings plus the hosts South Africa. The seeds for the World Cup 2010 are as follows

South Africa
Brazil
Spain
Netherlands
Italy
Germany
Argentina
England

The main bone of contention is surely the absence of France who many (including us) believed would be seeded ahead of the Dutch. Our reasoning for this is based on the French performance in prior World Cups plus their overall rankings, and perhaps a little bit of fairy dust.

However, Raymond Domenech's men must now take the bus to the second round with the rest of the slobs. We here at SPAOTP are pretty convinced that by not seeding them, FIFA are punishing France for Thierry Henry's handball during the World Cup Qualifying Play-Off against Ireland. Why? Well because if you look at the ranking for November you'll find that France are in the top seven teams. FIFA however have chosen to use October's rankings instead.

Of course, had they gone with November's ranking they would have had to have seeded Portugal in addition to France. Even Sepp Blatter might have baulked at the idea of seeding two teams that failed to win their qualification groups. However, we suspect that that is not the point and FIFA have censured the French for cheating and hopefully mollified the Irish in order to avoid another war in Europe. We do not expect France to kick up too much fuss.

The glorious irony is that FIFA, by choosing the most straightforward path, still managed to inject an armful of intrigue and machination. Symptomatic of any arbitrary system.

And remember, this is just for the seeds. Imagine the hilarity to come on Friday when the Draw is made. Gotta love the World Cup.

Sound Of Football Episode 17 - (Not) The World Cup Draw

Join us as we bring you a special edition of the Sound Of Football Podcast. This week we performed a real time mock-up of the World Cup Draw according to how we think FIFA will organise it.

Graham has put a lot of thought into how he thinks FIFA will seed the teams and we believe our preview draw will offer an exciting glimpse into what to expect on Friday when the real draw happens.

We came up with some fascinating results so why not find out who your country could be facing next summer in the World Cup. The 33rd team has not been included.

You can listen by clicking here. Or if you right click on that link, you can download the MP3. Alternatively, you can subscribe via the your reader of choice or via our iTunes feed.

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think. You can do so on the comments section below or on our Facebook Fanpage.

Sound Of Football Episode 16 - World Cup Wigans

With Terry experiencing technical issues, it is left to Graham and Chris to struggle through this week's Sound Of Football podcast. Mercifully the wonderful world of football has thrown up plenty of talking points including Spurs thrashing of Wigan 9-1, Liverpool's impending Champions League exit/dramatic recovery and of course, there's that World Cup Qualifier to talk about... plus France v Ireland. Didn't see that coming did you?

You can listen by clicking here. Or if you right click on that link, you can download the MP3. Alternatively, you can subscribe via the your reader of choice or via our iTunes feed.

Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think. You can do so on the comments section below or on our Facebook Fanpage.