What to Watch For Part 1/3 - Road to the World Cup
Article By Drew Frey
This little ‘Guide’ is to provide you, the passionate football fan, with a wealth of options to get you through the next 10 weeks until the various leagues start up again. Whether you’re partial to Serie A, La Liga, AXPO Super League or the EPL, this post will help get you through these tough non-league action times.
WORLD CUP QUALIFYING:
First and foremost there is the rather exciting World Cup Qualifying that no one should miss. Nearly every month you have the opportunity to watch two teams battle it out for pride and country. It’s always fun to watch your favorite player on the pitch with his country’s kit on running a little faster and putting forth more effort than when he’s playing at the club level.
When:
June and September are your best months to watch. All of the great football countries will be battling it out on the pitch. If you’re busy in July, don’t worry about it, unless you are an Egypt or Rwanda fan; they’re the only two countries in the world qualifying that month.
Notable Matchups:
USA vs MEXICO - August 8
BRAZIL vs ARGENTINA - September 5
SLOVAKIA vs CZECH REPUBLIC - September 5
ENGLAND vs CROATIA - September 5
Predictions:
After all of the qualifying, who will be making to the grand stage in South Africa next summer? Obviously 2006 World Champs Italy will be there. They are still an extremely powerful team that will overpower any group they find themselves in. Don’t forget about Holland, Spain (Euro 2008 champs,) Germany, France and England. They all look solid thus far as well.
Moving to South America you would have to say Brazil and Argentina are shoe-ins. Beyond that, it’s less straightforward to predict who will make it but Paraguay seems to be in good form as of late.
In the North America region it would be hard to imagine the USA not making it BUT after their staggering performance to Costa Rica last week, nothing is a sure thing. To that degree, I’d go so far as to say that this could be the year Mexico fails to qualify. Costa Rica looks impressive and will be a contender.
Asia isn’t exactly strong as a region but South Korea, Japan and Australia all stick out. Mark Schwarzer, the Fulham and Australian keeper, continues to impress and with a brick wall like him in the net the Aussies could match their amazing performance in the 2006 World Cup.
The African squads always seem to play well. Look out for Ghana, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Let’s just hope Didier Drogba keeps his cool and restrains himself on the pitch this time.
