ITALY
Next to the Brazilians, the Italians might take home the second place honors for most rabid and demanding fans. The Azzuri will be sorely tested in the preliminary round, having to play a slightly aging but still formidable Czech squad and the young, speedy, up and coming Americans.
But in some ways, what is going on off the pitch could be more distracting than anything that takes place while the team is playing. An ever-widening match-fixing scandal has roiled the Italian's number one soccer league perhaps involving dozens of players around the world and at least two of its top club teams. The scandal almost cost coach Marcello Lippi his job — along with the usual complaints about some stars left off the final roster which had some players calling for Lippi's head — but through it all, the Azzurri endure.
The name of the game in Italy is defense and if there is a side capable of shutting down the Brazilians, it's the men in blue. However, in order to avoid Brazil until the finals, the Italians will have to win Group E outright as the second finisher in that Group will face Ronaldinho & Co. in the second round. The Italians will rely on defensive stalwart Gianluca Zambrotta and his mates to keep the high-powered offense of the Czechs and speedy Americans from upsetting their hopes while superstar Fracesco Totti sets up a potent group of strikers led by Luca Toni.
Italy will try its best to win Group E in order to avoid a second round match up with the Brazilians. Their match against the Czechs set for June 22 will probably decide their fate in that regard.
Deep, experienced, and relentless on defense. If the Azzurri can ignore the swirling controversy, they very well may win through to challenge for Cup gold.
FRANCE
The French are flying under the radar so far this tournament, which is just how they like it. Few observers are giving them a chance of advancing past the second round because they appear to be limping a bit coming into the Cup, having lost their stellar striker Djibril Cisse just prior to the competition to a broken leg.
Article comments
1 - Matthew T. Sussman
I remember back in '98 when the U.S. lost to Iran (silence) that their goal for world glory was 2010. I think they sorta were ahead of schedule last time. I hope they escape the first round.
As for the whole thing, I'm actually going with Germany. My dark horse is Trinidad (but not Tobago).
2 - RJ Elliott
My prediction:
The US will probably come in third in their strong group (behind the Czech Republic and Italy), and therefore not advance to the next round.
If they do advance, it will likely be as the second-place finisher in their group, which means they would next face Brazil...and almost certainly lose.
However, if they somehow manage to win their group, then they have a solid chance at making it at least to the Quarter-Finals, if not the Semi-Finals...
3 - RJ Elliott
The US lost to the Czech Republic 3-0...
They now pretty much have to beat both Italy AND Ghana to make it out of their group...
And that's pretty unlikely...
Of course, if they somehow manage to just tie Italy, they will still have a slim chance of advancing, as long as they can beat Ghana...