Now Group G is truly something – the definite power group out of all groups this year. With veterans like Brazil and Portugal, along with up-and-coming Ivory Coast, the odds are looking terribly bad for North Korea.
Is there an underdog hope for North Korea? Not in my books. And the competition between the other three times is going to be fierce. My bet is Brazil and Portugal going through, but at this point, anything can happen.
Group G
Brazil
Current World Ranking: 2
It’s weird talking about the world cup without first mentioning Brazil, five-times winners of this prestigous cup.
They are the only team that have gotten to these group stages every single cup to date. And they didn’t tarnish their record this time round.
Beating arch-rivals Argentina 3-1 on home turf, they’ve stormed into these group stages.
The Brazillians have always been given good odds when it comes to winning the world cup, but this year, it seems like it may be their time again.
Under management of former world-cup winning team captain, Dunga, it’s a fair statement to say that Brazil will once again be among the top five competitors in this cup.
The team, as expected, consists of extremely high-grade players. It includes Real Madrid‘s star midfielder, Kaka, as well as a flurry of other amazing players – such as Seville’s striker Luis Fabiano, Juventus‘ prized midfielder Felipe Melo and Barcelona’s full-back Daniel Alves.
Definitely the team to watch out for.
North Korea
Current World Ranking: 84
North Korea are a bit of a mystery team right now.
With no real major stars to display their playing style, a good deal of predictions over North Korea’s skill are likely to be inaccurate.
It will come to surprise everyone if they manage to perform well in such a difficult group. And at a ranking of 84, it’s a near guarantee that they will not progress any further in these rounds.
As I said earlier, it’s very difficult to evaluate North Korea’s team, but from what I can see, I would have to say that Suwon Bluewings midfielder Ahn-Young Hak is likely to be a key player.
Ivory Coast
Current World Ranking: 16
In my opinion, Ivory Coast are the strongest team out of all the african teams. And it’s not just my own views on the topic – ask around, and I’m pretty sure you’ll get the same response.
For once, Africa actually has a good chance of winning this cup, and it’s been getting a whole lot of football fans very excited indeed.
This year, the team is looking particularly powerful as well. Their star player is definitely Didier Drogba of Chelsea, but they also have major talent in players like Manchester City defender Kolo Toure, and Sevilla midfielder Didier Zokora.
Portugal
Current World Ranking: 5
It’s been a bit of struggle getting to this point for Portugal.
Even with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carvalho on the Portugese side, they were stuck in fourth place of group 1, before making a last-minute push, getting them into these knockout stages.
Like Argentina and France, Portugal are a powerful side with a much-critisized manager, who goes by the name of Carlos Queiroz.
The Portugese side is fierce – as well as Ronaldo on their team, they have Ricardo Carvalho and Deco, both of Chelsea fame, and also, Atletico Madrid’s Simao.