Group H gives the most interesting geopolitical historical storyline of this World Cup: Spain, the favorites, must contend with two former colonies in their group: Honduras and Chile. What will zombie Simon Bolivar have to say about this?
"CEREBROOOOOOOS."
Nevermind. On to the group...
Nevermind. On to the group...
Spain
Nickname: La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)
Abbreviation: ESP
Last World Cup: 2006: Per usual, the Spanish qualified and did amazing in their group (which sucked: Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia), and then they lost to France in the round of 16.
How did they get here?: Qualifying was very easy. They took all 30 possible points.
Manager: Vicente Del Bosque took over for Luis Aragones after the Euro 08 championship campaign. He did well with the Golden Generation of Galacticos at Real Madrid, winning two Champions Leagues and two Liga Primeras. He lucks out by being in a situation where he can sort of just roll the ball out to an amazing team.
Player to watch: Xavi of Barcelona and Xabi Alonso of Real Madrid in central midfield. These two mark each other during El Clasico twice a year, but in national team service their teamwork is key to Spanish victory, as shown in their run to Euro 08. Both players are key to setting up scorers David Villa and Fernando Torres up front as well as helping the defense hold.
Player not to watch: Marcos Senna, Villareal. The Brazilian mercenary (Brazilian mercenaries play soccer instead of fighting for money wherever they can). The holding midfielder will be missed greatly. He was key to the Euro 08 run, making sure the ball stayed out of their opponents' attacking third. Nobody really plays that role on this team.
Prediction: This team looks primed to get beyond the quarterfinals, which a Spanish team has never done. As long as defensive issues are taken care over, book them for the semifinals.
Switzerland
Nickname: Schweizer Nati (Swiss nationals. What a crap name. It should be The Neutrals.)
Abbreviation: SCH
Last World Cup: 2006: The Swiss won their group and then fell in the Round of 16 to Ukraine on penalties, meaning they never actually conceded any goals.
How did they get here?: Group 2 was a bit of a challenge, and included a loss to Luxembourg. But they won the group by 1 point to avoid the playoff
Manager: Ottmar Hitzfield, a German striker who once scored 6 goals in a game for Stuttgart. As a manager, he has been ridiculous, winning one Champions League each at Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich to go along with 7 Bundesligas at the two clubs. Expect some uncharacteristic attacking tactics from the neutrals.
Player to watch: #10, Blaise Nkufo, who plays up front with old standby Alexander Frei and does his club thang with the Seattle Sounders of MLS. He is Congolese, and he was recently transferred from FC Twente, who he helped to their first Eredivisie last year. He managed 114 goals in 223 appearances with the Dutch side and will be looked to for playmaking up front for this team.
Player not to watch: John Djorou, an Ivorian who plays for Arsenal. The big defender was not included in the final Swiss side. He will be for their next World Cup as he will start getting more time at Arsenal after William Gallas is tranferred out this summer.
Prediction: The Swiss need to keep up their defenses if they want to have a chance. They will probably have trouble with the attacks from Honduras and Chile, and this group is a crapshoot after Spain.
Honduras
Nickname: La Bicolor (Their jerseys? TWO COLORS.)
Abbreviation: HON
Last World Cup: 1982: La Bicolor tied Spain and Northern Ireland in their first two games. But a loss to Yugoslavia ended their run in Spain.
How did they get here?: Goal differential got the Hondurans the 3rd CONCACAF automatic spot, leaving Costa Rica to get rocked by the Uruguayans in the playoff with CONMEBOL's fourth place team.
Manager: Reinaldo Rueda, who has been at the helm since 2006, and considering this is their second time in the World Cup, he is considered a success.
Player to watch: Wilson Palacios, who plays midfield for Tottenham Hotspur. Palacios' family is a footballing one, with his brothers Jerry and Johnny playing professionally in China and Honduras, respectively. All three brothers are also on the team. Tragedy did strike their family when their younger brother, Edwin was kidnapped and then killed.
Player not to watch: Julio Cesar de Leon, of Parma, who is on loan to Torino. The attacking midfielder is the key to creating for this team, but he will be out due to a sprained right thigh.
Prediction: de Leon will surely be missed, and his absence will leave them without a birth in the knockout stage.
Chile
Nickname: La Roja (Spanish for...the Roja...kidding, the Red.)
Abbreviation: CHI
Last World Cup: 1998: In France, La Roja made it out of their group with 3 ties due to a great deal of help from the Italians, who beat the other two teams, Austria and Cameroon, who also ties each other. In the round of 16, Chile was easily defeated by Brazil, who were fueled by braces from Ronaldo and Cesar Sampaio.
How did they get here?: A Surprising second-place finish in CONMEBOL, ahead of Paraguay and Argentina.
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa, an Argentine who lead his home country's disastrous showing in 2002, where they fell to England in the group stage and managed to not even get to the knockout stage, the first time the Argentines didn't get past the first round of a World Cup final since 1962.
Player to watch: Alexis Sanchez, aka El Nino Maravillo (The Wonder Boy), is 21 and plays for Udinese in Serie A as a winger/forward, and has proven himself to be very dangerous with the ball at his feet. Could this be his coming out party for the world? We shall see.
Player not to watch: Marcelo Salas, a striker who retired and put in meaningful time in Europe with Lazio and less so with Juventus. The striker's experience will be missed, but...
Prediction: After a powerful qualifying campaing, this group looks poised to surprise the world. I'm looking for them in the second round.
Nickname: La Furia Roja (The Red Fury)
Abbreviation: ESP
Last World Cup: 2006: Per usual, the Spanish qualified and did amazing in their group (which sucked: Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia), and then they lost to France in the round of 16.
How did they get here?: Qualifying was very easy. They took all 30 possible points.
Manager: Vicente Del Bosque took over for Luis Aragones after the Euro 08 championship campaign. He did well with the Golden Generation of Galacticos at Real Madrid, winning two Champions Leagues and two Liga Primeras. He lucks out by being in a situation where he can sort of just roll the ball out to an amazing team.
Player to watch: Xavi of Barcelona and Xabi Alonso of Real Madrid in central midfield. These two mark each other during El Clasico twice a year, but in national team service their teamwork is key to Spanish victory, as shown in their run to Euro 08. Both players are key to setting up scorers David Villa and Fernando Torres up front as well as helping the defense hold.
Player not to watch: Marcos Senna, Villareal. The Brazilian mercenary (Brazilian mercenaries play soccer instead of fighting for money wherever they can). The holding midfielder will be missed greatly. He was key to the Euro 08 run, making sure the ball stayed out of their opponents' attacking third. Nobody really plays that role on this team.
Prediction: This team looks primed to get beyond the quarterfinals, which a Spanish team has never done. As long as defensive issues are taken care over, book them for the semifinals.
Switzerland
Nickname: Schweizer Nati (Swiss nationals. What a crap name. It should be The Neutrals.)
Abbreviation: SCH
Last World Cup: 2006: The Swiss won their group and then fell in the Round of 16 to Ukraine on penalties, meaning they never actually conceded any goals.
How did they get here?: Group 2 was a bit of a challenge, and included a loss to Luxembourg. But they won the group by 1 point to avoid the playoff
Manager: Ottmar Hitzfield, a German striker who once scored 6 goals in a game for Stuttgart. As a manager, he has been ridiculous, winning one Champions League each at Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich to go along with 7 Bundesligas at the two clubs. Expect some uncharacteristic attacking tactics from the neutrals.
Player to watch: #10, Blaise Nkufo, who plays up front with old standby Alexander Frei and does his club thang with the Seattle Sounders of MLS. He is Congolese, and he was recently transferred from FC Twente, who he helped to their first Eredivisie last year. He managed 114 goals in 223 appearances with the Dutch side and will be looked to for playmaking up front for this team.
Player not to watch: John Djorou, an Ivorian who plays for Arsenal. The big defender was not included in the final Swiss side. He will be for their next World Cup as he will start getting more time at Arsenal after William Gallas is tranferred out this summer.
Prediction: The Swiss need to keep up their defenses if they want to have a chance. They will probably have trouble with the attacks from Honduras and Chile, and this group is a crapshoot after Spain.
Honduras
Nickname: La Bicolor (Their jerseys? TWO COLORS.)
Abbreviation: HON
Last World Cup: 1982: La Bicolor tied Spain and Northern Ireland in their first two games. But a loss to Yugoslavia ended their run in Spain.
How did they get here?: Goal differential got the Hondurans the 3rd CONCACAF automatic spot, leaving Costa Rica to get rocked by the Uruguayans in the playoff with CONMEBOL's fourth place team.
Manager: Reinaldo Rueda, who has been at the helm since 2006, and considering this is their second time in the World Cup, he is considered a success.
Player to watch: Wilson Palacios, who plays midfield for Tottenham Hotspur. Palacios' family is a footballing one, with his brothers Jerry and Johnny playing professionally in China and Honduras, respectively. All three brothers are also on the team. Tragedy did strike their family when their younger brother, Edwin was kidnapped and then killed.
Player not to watch: Julio Cesar de Leon, of Parma, who is on loan to Torino. The attacking midfielder is the key to creating for this team, but he will be out due to a sprained right thigh.
Prediction: de Leon will surely be missed, and his absence will leave them without a birth in the knockout stage.
Chile
Nickname: La Roja (Spanish for...the Roja...kidding, the Red.)
Abbreviation: CHI
Last World Cup: 1998: In France, La Roja made it out of their group with 3 ties due to a great deal of help from the Italians, who beat the other two teams, Austria and Cameroon, who also ties each other. In the round of 16, Chile was easily defeated by Brazil, who were fueled by braces from Ronaldo and Cesar Sampaio.
How did they get here?: A Surprising second-place finish in CONMEBOL, ahead of Paraguay and Argentina.
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa, an Argentine who lead his home country's disastrous showing in 2002, where they fell to England in the group stage and managed to not even get to the knockout stage, the first time the Argentines didn't get past the first round of a World Cup final since 1962.
Player to watch: Alexis Sanchez, aka El Nino Maravillo (The Wonder Boy), is 21 and plays for Udinese in Serie A as a winger/forward, and has proven himself to be very dangerous with the ball at his feet. Could this be his coming out party for the world? We shall see.
Player not to watch: Marcelo Salas, a striker who retired and put in meaningful time in Europe with Lazio and less so with Juventus. The striker's experience will be missed, but...
Prediction: After a powerful qualifying campaing, this group looks poised to surprise the world. I'm looking for them in the second round.
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