There's some truly heavyweight clashes coming up in the last round of group matches. The best of the action will be Holland vs Argentina and Italy vs Czech Republic. Ivory Coast vs Serbia will be a big one because so much pride is at stake. France Togo will be an absorbing encounter, not because of the quality of the match but because of the implications of the result for a beleaguered French team. And Spain will be looking to smash some goal-scoring records against the Saudis. Torres will be looking to at least eqaul Klose at the top of the golden boot ladder.
The Italy-Czech game promises to be the pick of the bunch because so much is at stake. Firstly, all four teams in the group can still qualify, and three teams (all except USA) can finish first. This is really important because the second placed team will play Brazil in the 2nd round. Italy are in the drivers seat being a point ahead of Ghana and Czech Republic. If they win, they avoid Brazil, simple. Well not quite, because the Czechs will be looking for redemption after being ambushed by Ghana. Ghana, meanwhile, will be looking to carry their momentum into their match and smother the United States without giving them any chance to get into the game, rather like they did to the Czechs. USA will be without red carded midfielder Maestrano and key defender Eddie Pope.
Pavel Nedved has already come out and said that it will impossible for his team to compete against Italy. His pessimism is surprising, because despite being without their top three strikers (Koller and Baros are injured, Lokvenc suspended), the Czech midfield is formidable. Against an Italian team that will sit back more than the Ghanaians, they will have plenty of space to work the ball and dominate territory. The Italians are strong in defence and powerful upfront, but suspect in between, because of their willingness to fall back and absorb pressure as opposed to exerting pressure of their own. Nonetheless, both teams will be motivated to go for the win as neither wants to play Brazil this early in the tournament. The Ghanaians will not particularly care whether they play Brazil or not, but they will definitely want to win purely out of pride. They were bitterly disappointed after their loss to Italy and now that qualification is so close they will not relax. The USA have no choice but to attack all out because any result other than a win will not suffice. So basically, everyone in Group C is out to win....
Argentina vs Holland is, on paper, the match of the round. But since they've both qualified and their opponents next round, Portugal and Mexico, are of an equal calibre, this game has lost some of its sheen. Neither team will be particularly fussed about the result, though neither will want to concede too many goals. So I'm predicting a tight contest, most likely to end in a draw. Both teams will be keen to introduce some of the prodigious young talent on their benches. Messi, Tevez and Aimar will be desperate for game time, as will Ryan Babel and Rafael van der Vaart if fit for Holland. These young rising stars will feature heavily in the highlights of this match.
Ivory Coast and Serbia will be desperate for 3 points to take something away from this tournament. To be fair, both teams will feel harshly done by. If places in Group A, D, G or H, both teams would probably be featuring in the second round. Serbia are yet to score so I feel they will open up a bit whilst Ivory Coast, despite being without Drogba, will be looking to give more for their fans to cheer about. I hope that the Ivorians can win in a high scoring encounter, they are the most deserving team in the tournament.
France I will write about in another post, soon. But I just want to give another mention to Spain. They look like they will most likely have a rematch with Korea in the 2nd round- I have more or less written France off. The difference this world cup, apart from no home advantage for Korea, is that Spain will storm into the second round on the back of three thumping wins. Yes, they will slaughter the Saudis, even by their standards, they will be slaughtered. It will be interesting to see who starts for Spain, because I'm predicting that Fabregas and Reyes will get much more game time and both will be hoping to secure long term positions in the packed Spanish line-up.
Mexico Portugal will be a dull affair because Portugal will rest all five players on yellow cards. Mexico need at least a draw to progress, preferably a win to finish first, so they will be near full strength and will probably win comfortably. It will be interesting to see if they can get their act together and play somewhere near their potential. The move to not select iconic forward Cuahtemoc Blanco was met with much opposition back home, and given their struggle against lowly ranked Angola, it seems that having Blanco on the bench might have provided coach Lavolpe with more options......
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