Spain
*Nickname: La Furia Española (The Spanish Fury)
*FIFA Ranking: 2nd
*Manager: Vicente Del Bosque
*One to look out for:
Juan Mata, energetic and athletic left winger of Valencia C.F. He has the stature and height of a winger (5ft 7) and the pace of one too. One of Valencia's star players, Mata has been linked with Real Madrid in recent months and truth be told he would not be a misfit in the Galacticos outfit.
Has a very nifty cultured left foot on him and his link up play with Silva and Villa provided Valencia many goals over the last 2 seasons. He isn't solely a provider of goals though, as he showed by scoring 27 goals in the last two seasons at the Catalan club. Usually a sub for the Spanish, such is their strength in depth.
*Team's pros:
- Masters of keeping possession of the ball in midfield, hard to disrupt their play therefore.
- Quality players in every department, hard to say who's going to play therefore.
- Manager Del Bosque is a sly fox of a manager known for his attacking philosophy.
*Team's cons:
- Casillas, the number 1 goalkeeper, hasn't had the best of seasons. He may make mistakes, certainly with this ball.
- It remains to be seen if they can handle the pressure of being the number 1 favorite for this World Cup.
- They have a tendency of overpassing instead of having a go at goal; this way of playing won't always work especially against smaller, defensive minded teams.
*Cloggy's verdict:
Easy group on paper, knowing this World Cup it won't be though. Spain have all the ingredients for a World Cup winning campaign. The midfield in particular has such a rich vein of talent and quality it's frightening. And to think a player of Cesc Fabregas's caliber will probably be warming the bench speaks volumes too.
The only crack in Spain's paper is the goalkeeper for me; Iker Casillas has been a reliable good custodian for many years in the Spanish team and yet he has had a stinker of a season at Real Madrid, flapping at crosses, corners and shots. Though Del Bosque has able replacements in Reina and Valdes from Barcelona, the former Real Madrid boss is a big fan of his former pupil
But this doesn't say a lot, as Spain will probably not be threatened a whole lot by their group H opponents. Try to get the ball off of them in the first place, because they are absolute masters of keeping it in their possession. Will end as group leaders in this group and probably will be there or thereabouts come the semi finals.
Chile
*Nickname: La Roja (The Red One)
*FIFA Ranking: 18th
*Manager: Marcelo Bielsa (Argentine)
*One to look out for:
Tough tackling versatile defender Arturo Jorge Vidal. The 23 year old is one of the many former u-20 Chili players (who were so successful in the 2007 South American Youth Championship where they finished third. Vidal scored six goals amazingly enough) in the squad. He plays his club football for Bayer Leverkusen as right back but he can also operate as left back, center back, central midfielder and right winger. He's also a tenacious player with a bit of a temper so he will have to restrain himself in South Africa. Quality player though and one of the key players for the Chileans in their usual 3-4-3 system where he operates as a right half in the midfield.
*Team's pros:
- Entertaining and good passing side that will provide excitement this tournament.
- Good down the wings with Beausejour on the left and Alexis Sanchez on the right.
- Have one of the most prolific strikers from the South American qualifying campaign in Humberto Suazo.
*Team's cons:
- Youthful side and inexperienced at this level.
- Playing with usually 3 defenders does leave them vulnerable for counter attacks if they are not in possession.
- Not the tallest team in the tournament; might get caught out on crosses therefore.
*Cloggy's verdict:
This is another side that I've got a soft spot for. Their unusual 3-4-3 system coupled with the rich amount of youthful talent in the team make them easy to watch and like. It paid off as well, as they came second in the South American qualifying rounds, just one point behind Brazil. I hope therefore that their attacking philosophy will pay off. It would be redemption for Coach Marcelo Bielsa as well after his traumatizing experience of being the national manager of Argentina at the World Cup of 2002, where the Argentineans were knocked out of the competition in the first round. The key game is against Switzerland, but I think they have more firepower than the Swiss upfront and more creativity in midfield so I predict that they'll go through behind Spain as second.
Switzerland
*Nickname: Die Schweizer Nati (the Swiss Nation)
*FIFA Ranking: 24th
*Manager: Ottmar Hitzfeld (German)
*One to look out for:
Reto Ziegler. Might ring a few bells to English fans as he had a spell at Tottenham Hotspur. Not the best time of his career (understandably) and is now with Italian outfit Sampdoria where he plays at either left back or as left winger. Able to deliver good crosses and corners from the left and has become an integral part of the Swiss team. Likes to get forward as much as possible for the Swiss and link up with first choice left winger Barnetta.
* Team's pros:
- Another side with a good mix of routine and youth in it.
- Really good goalkeeper in Diego Benaglio who earns them points.
- Midfield is really hard working and organized; tough to break through.
*Team's cons:
- Not enough goals in the side, especially with Frei now being injured.
- Central defense is really slow (not surprisingly with Senderos in there)
- Too little creativity in the side to break opponents open.
*Cloggy's verdict:
Like I said before, they have a good mix of routine (Grichting, Huggel, Frei, Nkufo, Magnin and Yakin) and youth (Gelson Fernandes, Shaqiri, Derdiyok, Barnetta) and many players play for clubs in big European competitions. And yet, I have them down to get knocked out in the first round. Why is that then? The thing is, they are just too slow at the back for me to stop the Spanish and Chilean forwards in my opinion. As well as that, they don't score enough goals themselves (scored 18 in 10 games against 'giants' such as Latvia, Luxembourg and Moldova as well as Greece and Israel). As if things weren't bad enough for them upfront, Talisman Alexander Frei is out for a unknown amount of time. Frei was their captain and main threat. Will they go through? A 'nein, non and no' from me.
Honduras
*Nickname: La Bicolor (The two colored ones; referring to their white and blue kit)
*FIFA Ranking: 38th
*Manager: Reinaldo Rueda (Colombian)
*One to look out for:
Center back Osman Chavez. Was linked with Tottenham Hotspur last season and is seen as one of the best footballers of the team. Chavez is a physically strong defender who will be in the starting lineup for them. He would do well in the Premier League because of his physicality and heading ability.
*Team's pros:
- A very physical tough side.
- Have a midfield maestro in Wilson Palacios.
- Underestimating them would be gravely wrong as Mexico experienced when they were beaten 3-1 in Honduras.
*Team's cons:
- Depend too much on the presence of Wilson Palacios in midfield.
- Lack of pace in the first team with a lot of them being over 30.
- Too little quality overall in comparison to the other 3 teams.
*Cloggy's verdict:
First World Cup since the '82 where they finished bottom with 2 draws. If they get 2 points in this group it's a job well done because I cannot see them nicking second spot. True, they do have a few good players such as English based trio Thomas, Figueroa and Palacios plus a few players who play in Italy (de Leon, Suazo, Alvarez) but I fear this won't be enough. Talismen Suazo and Palacios might not even be fit for the game against Chile and they depend a lot on these two. Rock bottom again.