Here is a very brief presentation of teams that will compete at World Cup 2010, a tournament expected to be the most electrifying of its kind.
Algeria - with poor defense and dodgy goalkeepers, Algeria is expected to make an early exit. Players to watch :
Bougherra, Halliche, Ghezzal, Djebbour.Argentina : if Maradona knows how to use his talented team, there is a chance Argentina could win it all. Players to watch :
Messi, Tevez, Veron, Di Maria.Australia : part of a tough group and with nothing compared to 2006, Australia will probably don't improve their previous World Cup performance. Players to watch :
Neill, Cahill, Emerton, Schwarzer.Brazil : with a very physical squad for Brazil, it will be interesting to see whether Brazil can win their sixth World Cup without attacking virtuosos like Ronaldinho and Pato. Players to watch :
Kaka, G. Silva, Fabiano, J. Cesar.Cameroon : their performance will depend a lot on the form of Samuel Eto'o. Players to watch :
Eto'o, R. Song, Matip, Idrissou.Chile : with an exiting young side and great results in the qualifying campaign, Chile has the ambition to produce some damage this year. Players to watch :
H. Suazo, Gonzalez, Millar, Sanchez.Denmark : with Martin Olsen leading the team for more than a decade and with blend of young and old players, Denmark hope to qualify from their group behind Holland : Players to watch :
Bendtner, Poulsen, Agger, Ericksen.England : hit by some injuries and without a world class goalkeeper, England needs to put in a great pitch performance to win it all ( and to avoid penalty shootouts ). Players to watch :
Rooney, Lampard, James, Terry.France : after a very controversial qualification and with a derided coach, most of the people don't expect too much from France this year. Players to watch :
Ribery, Gourcuff, Henry, Lloris.Germany : not a very talented team this year but Germany has always found resources to compete well due to their discipline and team work. Players to watch :
Schweinsteiger, Muller, Neuer, Ozil.Ghana : with a powerful style, Ghana will try to overcome the big loss of Michael Essien and cause some trouble, Players to watch :
Asamoah, Addy, Gyan, K. Boateng.Greece : with a very strong defense but lacking at scoring goals, Greece will try to catch the second spot in their group after Argentina. Players to watch :
Gekas, Karagounis, Samaras, Torosidis.Honduras : even though it's hard to believe they can make it to the second round, Honduras has enough talent not to disgrace themselves. Players to watch :
D. Suazo, Palacios, Pavon, Figueroa.Italy : has lost some quality and flair from 2006 but Italy remains one of the strongest competitors in the World Cup field. Players to watch :
De Rossi, Buffon, Chiellini, Di Natale.Ivory Coast : the main hope of Africa, Ivory Coast is trying to set new heights for the continent but that will depend a lot on Drogba's health condition. Players to watch :
Drogba, K. Toure, Gervinho, Barry.Japan : with some interesting midfielders, Japan will try to make a good impression at this tournament although it's not expected to see them advance. Players to watch :
Endo, Tanaka, Morimoto, Honda.Mexico : among the most prepared squad at the tournament and with a talented young generation, the Mexicans are confident they can enjoy a productive World Cup. Players to watch :
J. Hernandez, G. Dos Santos, Guardado, Vela.Netherlands : blessed with some fabulously talented attackers but with an unproven defense, Netherlands has a good chance to reach final four if they keep the possession out of their own half. Players to watch :
Robben, Snejider, Elia, Mathijsen.New Zealand : as one of the weakest teams in the tournament, New Zealand is not expected to surprise anyone but it is the best occasion for their players to get better contracts. Players to watch :
Smeltz, Nelsen, Clapham, Reid.Nigeria : after appointing Lars Lagerback, Nigeria might have gotten the necessary stability to improve their team play. Players to watch :
Martins, Eneyama, Uche, Kanu.North Korea : the draw was not kind to them, but their defensive style and very good fitness may help them avoid being the whipping boys. Players to watch :
Young-Jo, Young-Hak, Tae-Se, Jong.Paraguay : after a strong qualifying campaign, Paraguay has what it takes to make it to the last 16 or even to quarter finals. Players to watch :
Valdez, Villar, Barios, Cardozo.Portugal : a very inconsistent team who needs Cristiano Ronaldo at his best if they want to have chances to qualify from the, so called, Group of Death. Players to watch :
C. Ronaldo, Pepe, Liedson, Deco.Serbia : having a top class defense but struggling sometimes in the middle of the field, Serbia is considered to be the dark horse of the tournament and qualifying to the quarter finals is not out of the question. Players to watch :
Vidic, Stankovic, M. Jovanovic, Ivanovic.Slovakia : despite debuting at World Cup, Slovakia has enough experimented players and value to put in a decent performance this year. Players to watch :
Sestak, Hamsik, Skrtel, Mucha.Slovenia : the tiniest nation at World Cup is expected not to reach the second round, even though they eliminated Russia in the play-offs. Players to watch :
Handanovic, Novakovic, Dedic, Koren.South Africa : comprised of many local players but with a very experimented coach, Bafana Bafana will fight to avoid being the first home nation not to reach the second round. Players to watch :
Mphela, Pienaar, Tshabalala, Letsholonyane.South Korea : this will be their 7th World Cup in a row, but it's unlikely that they will be able to reach the performance from 2002. Players to watch :
Ji-Sung, Chu-Young, Chung-Jong, Dong-Guk.Spain : having probably the most talented side and lost only one of their last 47 games, Spain is, along with Brazil, the main favorite to win the trophy. The prospect of playing against a strong team in the second round and some injuries could end their dream. Players to watch :
Xavi, Villa, Torres, Fabregas.Switzerland : despite their successful preliminary campaign and with one of the world's most renowned managers, Switzerland is not expected to shock anybody. Players to watch :
Frei, Shaqiri, Nkufo, Barnetta.United States of America : the favorable draw received and the quality of their players should be enough to qualify from their group at least. Players to watch :
Donovan, Dempsey, Bradley, Howard.Uruguay : with a red hot combo of Suarez and Forlan in the attack Uruguay has the right to hope for some sunny days at this world cup. Players to watch :
Suarez, Forlan, Lugano, Abreu.I wish good luck to all the teams and the best experience ever for all the supporters all over the world!
