Game 20: France vs Mexico

First, let me start with this: Thank you Mexico for having the best fans in the world! Now, before I have my United States citizenship revoked, let me explain. This world cup has been dominated by one sound, the dreaded vuvuzela, and lacking a historic football theme, singing! But the Mexican fans changed this, instead of the vuvuzela, we heard chanting, instead of a bee-hive we heard cheering, drums, we saw passion and I loved it. So thank you Mexico fans, now please attend every match as the minority!

Anyway...

Today, Mexico took on France, and re-wrote history as they routed les Bleus 2-0 to come within a whisker of reaching the knockout stages.

With the defeat of France, Mexico snapped some interesting losing streaks. For one, the country has never beaten France; two, until today Mexico had never defeated a country that has won the World Cup. Sure, those facts may only interest the statistic snobs, but it does show growth for Mexican football, demonstrating how they can take on the world's elite teams.

When Javier Hernandez came on as a substitute to score Mexico's first goal in the 64th minute, by beating the off-sides trap to stage a one-on-one with Hugo Lloris, he became the second person in his family to score against France, after his Grandfather had done it previously. The second goal from Blanco, scored in the 79th minute on a penalty, is also important because in doing so he became the third oldest player to have ever scored in the World Cup finals, at the ripe young age of  thirty-seven.

And finally, the most important record setter, Mexico's win over France has essentially kicked hosts South Africa out of the tournament, when previously a host nation has never failed to make it out of the group stage. The reason I said Mexico did this, instead of Uruguay, is because South Africa does still have an extreme outside shot of qualifying, provided they beat France. However, now France has to really lay the 'smack-down' on the hosts to have any chance of qualifying, and when France get cornered, they often deliver, in some form or another (*ahem*, playoff against Ireland).

Mexico now go into their final game against Uruguay only needing a draw to qualify for the second round. With Argentina knocking on the door, and a tie meaning Mexico draws the South Americans, I expect the Mexicans to come out firing on all cylinders in an effort to win, and therefore draw one of the weaker teams from Group B (see: South Korea or Greece).

All in all, Mexico played spectacular football today. The link up play was spectacular, the attackers ran at the defenders, the defenders held off the attackers, you name it and Mexico did it; well, they could have finished their shooting more, but that is the story of this World Cup and a tale for another time.

I actually am terrified of Mexico's future team, with the likes of Dos Santos, Chicharito, and co., Mexico have a solid platform to build for the future. So whether win or lose in the next stage, I expect good things to come from my southern neighbor.

Did I mention Mexican fans are the best?

Game 2: Uruguay vs France

If you are a French fan, you will be frustrated by this game. If you are a Uruguay fan, you will be ecstatic.

This entry will be slightly different from the first, as the game was very unimpressive for most of it.

Uruguay played pretty solid for most of the game. The defenders were spot on, really shutting down the French attack. In the beginning there were a few moments of shakiness, but it picked up towards the end, especially as they were able to 'weather the storm' in the last five minutes of the game, when France was desperately trying to get the winning goal. The midfield I think was their weakest link, they didn't play badly, they just didn't stand out. The two holding midfielders were spot on, but the lone offensive mid seemed to be having a horrid time feeding the ball to the strike partnership of Suarez and Forlan. However, the outside wingers did do a good job, especially when it came to shutting down Franck Ribery, who seemed to never really show up after the first twenty minutes, he was just completely shut down.

Forlan had a few chances on goal, but sadly he was usually off target. Most fans should excuse him for this though, as he worked very hard for most of the game. My one criticism, and this is probably a coaching decision, was having him take all the free kicks. The ones right outside the box I can understand, as Forlan is a terrific goal-scorer, but he would even take the kicks that were near the half line. Overall, Uruguay were very deserving of this result. My biggest criticism is with Lodeira, who made a horrible challenge on Sagna. I completely agree with the officials assessment by producing the red card.

For France, where to begin. I didn't expect France to go to far in this tournament, but I at least expected them to be better than what they were today.

From the moment the lineup was revealed I was questioning Raymond Domenech's decisions. I just don't feel the single striker set-up favors France, but I wasn't going to question that too much. My real problem was not starting Malouda. Apparently, Malouda had gotten into a spat with the coach, and that was the reason for his inclusion on the bench. For a club season, I would agree with the coach, but not for the World Cup! Not for some small spat on the training ground.

Moving on...

The Les Bleau midfield did not show up at all today. Govou and Toulalan were largely ineffective, and Ribery seemed to disappear after his yellow card early in the second half. By the sixtieth minute I was practically pleading at my television set for the coach to bring on Henry and Malouda, which he did, but in a completely wrong way.

He took Anelka off for Henry... Wait, what? Surely Govou or Toulalan would have been the better choice, afterall, the aim of bringing on another striker in the final minutes is to score goals. A very bad choice, that was only worsened when Domenech brought on Malouda for Gourcuff. Now, Gourcuff was not playing amazing soccer, but he was still holding his side of the pitch. So Malouda comes on, and takes over the left wing, moving Ribery into the middle, a position that Ribery is not suited to. By this point, I knew the game would end nil-nil (zero to zero for you American readers).

Poor showing for France, but excellent job by Uruguay. My predictions for Group A will now be widely off.

Group F: Italy

Italy are the current defending champions of the World Cup, having beaten France on penalty kicks in 2006, and although many of the same players are returning, this is not the same team as four years ago.

Marcello Lippi [coach] has been adamant about holding onto to his winning players, a result that has created an aging squad. Gianluigi Buffon [pictured] may still be one of the top goalkeepers in the world, but other players such as Zambrotta and Cannavaro have lost much of their form from the past.  If Lippi takes the chance to play a lot of the younger up and coming players, then the Azzurri could go all the way, pulling off a fantastic repeat. Otherwise I could easily see the team crashing out early if they are not careful, and do not maintain their fitness levels.

The Italian team is known for playing their soccer in the same manner that their league does, slow and calculating. Playing possession until an opportunity presents itself is what the Italians do best as it has been known to frustrate others. Marching through their qualification group, a run which saw the Republic of Ireland as their toughest competition, the Azzurri are lucky to have been drawn into a rather easy World Cup group. Italy vs Paraguay will be the match to watch as both teams will be competing for the top spot going into the second round.

Key Players: Buffon has already been mentioned as one of the best goalkeepers in the world, but the Italians have another ace up their sleeve in Daniel de Rossi. The Roma defender is the epitome of a work horse and will keep fighting until the final whistle. Although I do mean fighting literally, as he has a tendency to get booked regularly. If he can stay out of the Referees pocket then the Roma man will easily hold the middle against most teams.

My Prediction: Quarter-finals.

Group D: Serbia

Serbia find themselves in a tricky situation. Playing for the first time as their own nation, the White Eagles are looking to come out of the starting blocks in a tournament that has placed them in a tricky group.  Currently ranked fifteenth in the world, they received that rank by winning their qualification campaign, placing one point higher than France.

But upon closer look, one has to wonder whether that rank is accurate, or if it reflects the strange formula of the FIFA ranking system. France played very poorly in qualification, against all teams, not just against Serbia. The other opposition included Austria, Lithuania, a poor showing Romania, and Faroe Islands, none of these teams being a real threat.

This isn't to say, however, that Serbia isn't without a few surprises. With Nemanja Vidic (pictured) of Manchester United, and American national team turned Serbian Neven Subotic of Borussia Dortmund, the Serbians have an imposing defense. Add on the fact that their line running is incredibly fast, and they are really good at dead balls, it would seem that Serbia has the perfect all around team. The problem is that Germany will have no problem going toe-to-toe with them, and Ghana will have a lot of fan momentum from playing on African soil. Don't misunderstand, their qualification was a success story for such a small nation, I just fear it will end quickly.

My Prediction: Group D 4th Place.

Group A: France

France reached the World Cup amid great controversy. Failing to display the skills fans have come to expect out of the nation, France had to struggle through qualification. Placing second behind Serbia they had to do a playoff against Ireland to determine who would reach South Africa. In the 2nd leg of the playoff, Ireland had evened out the goal aggregate and the teams were heading into extra time, only for a handball from striker Thiery Henry to reach the onrushing William Gallas to score the goal and send the French through. Irish fans will never forget this, but the rest of the world is left asking, does France deserve to be at the Cup?

The star quality is there in all positions, but the bad qualification run leaves some doubts. Luckily for France, they are easily still the best team in their group. In theory most betting people will expect them to win all their matches, and this is likely. As such the real test for France will be once they get to the knockout stage, where they will most likely be facing S. Korea, who they should once again beat, but then come up against a very strong England squad, which on paper will run circles around the French. Les Bleues will have to be at their best in order to make a strong showing, and not have a repeat of qualification.

Key Players:

Anelka has been on fire lately for both club and country, to the point where I feel he now outshines Henry. He should be starting the games, and expect him to be the leading scorer for the French side.

Ribery and Malouda on the the wings will provide some good speed that will trouble some other nations, particularly because these two are also very strong players with the technical skill to dribble around double marking.

The defense all around is actually really good for France, and they will give up few goals, but they will have to score some points if they don’t want to finish in goalless draws. The key for France is to show up, forget about qualifying, forget about disappointing club seasons, and forget about the South African home crowd. If they can do these things then the classical French will shine in this years tournament.

My Prediction: Quarter Finals

Group A: Uruguay

The sky blues are back at the world cup! That is great news for Uruguayan citizens who feel the team should win, but I feel they will be disappointed. In qualification Uruguay was all over the place. One week they would have a brilliant showing pummeling Bolivia 5-0, but then the next week losing 0-1 to Paraguay. The problem is what team will show up for the Cup finals. I see Uruguay as a little Brazil. They have some very skilled players, but often times the players don’t work together, they simply try to do too much on their own. Their offense is sure to score goals, but how many they will let in becomes a factor, because their defense is not good enough to take on the worlds best.

The most important match of Group A will be between Uruguay and Mexico, which could easily turn into a goal-fest. Whichever team becomes victorious will decide 2nd place in the group, and determine who moves on into the knockout stages. If the teams draw, then South Africa could have an outside shot of taking 2nd.

Key Players:

Diego Forlan is naturally the main player that everyone talks about, but I will go one further: Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez. I group these two together because when they partner on the pitch they average a goal almost every-other game. This is crucial because Uruguay is looking to run a 4-4-2 position. Personally, I feel if they went 4-3-1-2 they would do better, by having the veteran Sebastian Abreu playing right behind the two strikers. If you don’t have a steady defense, then you need to score plenty of points, and those three working together could be a real terror.

My Prediction: Group A 3rd Place.

Group A: South Africa

This world cup will be known as “a first for everything”. The reason is apparent when one looks at the first group and notices the teams South Africa is paired with. Historically, the host nation has never failed to make it out of the group stage, but this world cup will be different. Although SA does field some talented players, especially up and coming ones, they will not have the strength to overcome the likes of France, Mexico, and Uruguay. However, do not discount the option of a surprise following in the steps of South Korea and Japan at the 2002 World Cup games. Ultimately it will come down to their desire and the 12th man home crowd to invigorate the team that were drawn into a rather unlucky group.

They have shown they can play with the big teams through the Confederations Cup, but ultimately they still lost the games. Additionally they upset many fans by not qualifying for the Nations Cup, something many South Africans thought they could do easily.

South Africa may have some emerging talent in a few players, but lack of big league experience could prove to be their undoing. Expect a close race for the 2nd place spot behind France, in which SA will narrowly miss out.

Key Players:

Steven Pienaar who plays his club games at Everton has impressed many over the past year. He is speedy with a good touch, and has the ability to play in the middle as an attacking midfielder, or to play outside and provide the crosses and assists. Often criticized for not translating good club playing to the international level, the hopes of Bafana Bafana will rest on his shoulders.

Benedict McCarthy is the all time leading scorer for South Africa, and if he is still fit enough there is the possibility of notching a few more. A little past his prime for this World Cup it will be pertinent to outpace speedy defenders, and be the strong man up front to put pressure on the opposition in an effort to create opportunities for the rest of his team.

(Update: McCarthy was not selected for the Squad)

If these two players work well together then South Africa could stand a chance. Pienaar is of a smaller build compared to most players so he will be reliant upon McCarthy’s strength. And don’t be surprised by a few quick goals that catch the defense flat-footed if Pienaar can present a nice throughball for McCarthy to run onto.

My Prediction: Group A 4th Place.

Group A: Mexico

Although they had a week showing in the international friendly against England, the Aztecs are looking to be one of the more technically skilled teams at the World Cup. However, they must use that technical skill to win their games, which is something that could be difficult for such a young squad.

Historically the overbearing packmasters of CONCACAF, they have slowly started to lose their elite grasp from the United States upstarts, however, I wouldn’t read too deeply into this. Mexico is notorious for playing many games using a vast number of different players. As opposed to some countries that will routinely run their starting eleven for most games, Mexico tends to give younger players a chance to prove themselves. This is what leads to lot of average performances during international friendlies. Being drawn into a tough group, it will be up to the top Mexican performers to play as a team. If this is achieved then expect them to be unstoppable in the early stages of the Cup, with a lot of European job offers being issued to the younger players. Defense could be an issue due to an aging Rafael Marquez having to anchor the backline.

Key Players:

Javier Hernandez also known as “Cicharito” is a striker with a good eye for goal. Having already lead the Mexican league in goals he was instantly sent to England to play with an eager Manchester United squad for the 2010/2011 season. He may not start, but would be excellent coming off the bench in the last 15-20 minutes of time.

Andres Guardado is one of my fantasy picks because I think Mexico will be very reliant upon him on the outside. With a great vision of the field and astounding speed he will run tirelessly up and down the flank troubling the opposition. However, he does have a tendency to switch between outstanding and unimpressive. Mexico fans will desperately be hoping he brings his best to South Africa.

My Prediction: Group A 2nd Place.