The great unknowns of the tournament are unlikely to spring a shock as they did 44 years ago
Mention North Korea and the World Cup in the same breath and the response from most fans is of a similar refrain, soliciting a mention of Pak Doo-ik, Eusebio and the fascinating events that occurred at Ayresome Park during the 1966 World Cup
A repeat of the Uruguayans’ stuttering form in qualifying will do them no favours in South Africa
Oscar Tabarez’s side need to find a consistency that escaped them in the qualifiers if they are to come out of a tough Group A and enjoy their best World Cup since reaching the semi-finals in 1970.
The qualifiers were stop-start, as they have been
An opening game against England gives the USA an opportunity of a lifetime
Will World Cup fever sweep the USA this summer? Hardly. Americans – remember there are over 308 million of them – are not ready for that level of fandom. But with each World Cup the interest grows and the expectations become more knowledgeable.
For the huge army of American
The Swiss are confident despite injuries and other setbacks
Switzerland may be famous for clocks and meticulous punctuality but, at least in the case of the 2010 World Cup, time has not been kind to them.
Several of their top players have suffered recent injuries or loss of form, the tournament may have come too late for a couple of the older
The one-time dark horses are now indisputable favourites
Here we go again, then. We’ve reached that familiar point, the one that pops up every two years. At the start of every major tournament, the Spanish allow themselves, almost unwillingly, to believe that this year can at last be their year. And, at the end of every major tournament, they’re forced to
The Koreans must again try to bridge the huge gap in quality between the qualifiers and the finals
It’s World Cup appearance number eight for South Korea – and the seventh in a row – as the 2002 semi-finalists aim once again to prove themselves capable of mixing it with the best while underlining their status as Asia’s leading football nation.
There
The hosts are counting on a fervent support to stop them creating unwanted history
Over the last few years, South Africa’s national side have been getting as much airtime on television comedy shows as they have for playing matches in front of the cameras.
Bafana Bafana’s slow plummet down the FIFA rankings and mediocre returns on the pitch have seen them suffer
Slovenians hope off-the-field problems don’t upset their World Cup hopes for second time
An ongoing row between the Slovenian FA and the national squad is in danger of crushing the nation’s quietly optimistic feeling about the team’s chances in South Africa.
There has been a very public war over bonuses for qualifying for the tournament and, even though the argument has
The Slovakians are targeting the runners-up spot in Group F behind defending champions Italy
Slovakia’s participation in their first World Cup could easily have been seen as a slice of luck, with better opponents tripping up on their expected easy path to South Africa. Instead, Slovakians see qualification as a sign of the skill and determination of their country’s squad.
Those
Is it too much for Serbian fans to hope that their team can enjoy their first World Cup finals without the usual internal wrangling?
When it comes to the country’s football team, rational opinion is somewhat rare in Serbia. For every wild optimist who believes that a place in the semi-finals at their first World Cup is theirs for the taking,
