Group A preview

Group A appears to be the most intriguing and open group of them all. France are the favourites to win it, an understandable view given their stature in the world game and the only team in the group to be World Champions since dried egg powder stopped being a staple in British kitchen cupboards. And it seems at first glance that with the talent they’re blessed with they should walk the group; the bovine-faced Franck Ribery, two top-class left-backs in Patrice Evra and Gael Clichy, and perhaps the finest young keeper in the world in Hugo Lloris, previously featured on this blog in this article by Ben Jarni. Yet they face three tricky opponents in Mexico, Uruguay and South Africa. The former have an exciting mix of old stagers and young talent, Uruguay are strong in the final third of the pitch, while South Africa, despite having left out Benni McCarthy, have home advantage in front of their vuvuzuela-wielding faithful. And weren’t France supposed to progress with ease in 2002?

France
The 1998 World Champions have seen their powers dwindle over the last decade, with the exception of the knockout stages of the 2006 World Cup, where a team invigorated by the return of Zidane and Thuram from retirement ended up a penalty shootout away from glory. Barring that, they've slipped out of the elite of world football and there looks to be little evidence of another run to the final this time around. Les Bleus stumbled through qualifying, losing in Austria and drawing twice against Romania to finish second in their group behind Serbia, before squeezing through in the playoffs with that handball.

Their chances are further diminished by the form this season of some of their key players, with Thierry Henry's appearances being restricted at Barcelona and Yoann Gourcuff's form having dipped in conjunction with his club side Bordeaux. Furthermore, France's results in their warm-up games have been poor. None of their three opponents in these fixtures will be at the finals, so a come-from-behind win against Costa Rica, a draw against Tunisia and a 1-0 defeat to China hardly bodes well.

So what causes for optimism are there for France? The impressive form of Florent Malouda is one reason to be cheerful, yet his best performances for Chelsea this season came on the left of a three man attack, a system that Raymond Domenech has only implemented since the forced absence of Diarra. Another to have performed well this season has been Mathieu Valbuena, who was instrumental in helping Olympique Marseilles win Ligue 1. Despite his winning goal against Costa Rica, he'll have to force Nicolas Anelka out of position on the right.

France will arrive at the finals with a formation untried in competitive games and with a team struggling for form, and with impressive players in an increasingly competitive domestic league such as Michael Ciani and Yohan Courbaye left behind. Don't expect miracles, but do expect them to escape the group.

Mexico
Mexico's qualifying campaign didn't start well under Sven, but the return of former coach Javier Aguirre and the emergence of young stars such as Andres Guardado, Javi Hernandez and Carlos Vela has left the piñata smashers quietly confident ahead of their fourteenth trip to the finals. This confidence has been augmented by winning the CONCACAF Gold Cup last summer, beating the USA 5-0 in the final. And it's not just the kids who give Mexico hope of making it to the last eight; Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Guillermo Franco add strength and experience up top, while the PSV defensive pairing of Francisco Rodriguez and Carlos Salcido, and of course oft-injured Barca centre back Rafael Marquez add quality at the back.

Coach Javier Aguirre has taken Mexico to the quarter-finals before, in 2002, and as Atletico Madrid boss guided them into the Champions League in 2008. Aguirre took over after the sacking of Eriksson in the wake of a 3-1 defeat to Honduras, and proved to be the catalyst for a steady upturn in form that saw them qualify with comparative ease. Recent form has been good too, with wins over Italy and dark horses Chile. Mexico were unlucky to lose 3-1 against England (they managed 23 shots and 66% of possession) but defensive frailties showed in a 2-1 defeat to the Netherlands, with diagonal balls from the flanks bamboozling a second choice centre back pairing.

Mexico's formation is also somewhat of a novelty, with Salcido and Aguilar playing as wing-backs (a position rather forgotten in English football in recent years), with Marquez stepping up into midfield. This could well be Mexico's finest chance in the tournament, but struggles against pace and height at the back and a lack of a world-class finisher may halt them against the big boys.

Uruguay
Uruguay might have won two of the first four World Cups, but success since then has been limited, understandably for a country of just four million inhabitants. They haven't made the last sixteen since 1990, and blew a chance to make it to that stage in 2002 when Diego Forlan missed a simple late header in a scintillating 3-3 draw against Senegal. Forlan is one of the few survivors of that Uruguayan vintage to take part this time, and he will partner Ajax hotshot Luis Suarez in a formidable forward line. Suarez comes into the tournament in breathtaking form, having scored 49 goals in 48 games for Ajax, 35 of them in a 34 game Eredivisie season. If one of them comes to harm, coach Oscar Tabarez can draw on the oft-travelled and oft-sent off striker Sebastian Abreu, nicknamed El Loco.

Uruguay aren't too shabby at the back either, with goalie Fernando Muslera having helped to keep Lazio in Serie A. However, there seems to be no place for Juventus defender Martin Caceres in Uruguay's starting eleven, with injury and his inability to fit into Tabarez's 3-5-2 formation keeping him out of the side.

La Celeste somewhat stumbled through qualification, finishing fifth in the South American group before defeating Costa Rica over two legs. Yet Tabarez's conversion to 3-5-2 has seen them enter the 'dark horses' category with impressive friendly wins, 3-1 away in Switzerland and a 4-1 win over Israel in Montevideo. While a 3-5-2 formation brings with it certain downfalls such as difficulty defending against a team with quick full-backs, these weaknesses shouldn't be exposed in the group stage. The unknown variable in the Uruguayan equation is young playmaker Nicolas Lodeiro of Ajax. His vision, passing and finishing ability excite and if Tabarez picks him then he could well be the catalyst for a goal rush that puts Uruguay into the knockout stages.

South Africa
When I picked South Africa out of the bag in the work sweepstake, I can't say I was too impressed. A team with little star quality was further diminished when striker Benni McCarthy was left out of the final squad due to fitness concerns and adding to the gloom, the only notch on their build-up bedpost prior to recent weeks was in claiming the scalp of Madagascar.

While it's difficult to see the Bafana Bafana as anything other than the weakest team in Group A, there are grounds to suggest they won't be humiliated at this summer's tournament. In coach Carlos Alberto Parreira, they have a World Cup winner, and his return as boss has corresponded with an upturn in form in their build-up games, most recently beating Denmark 1-0.

In defence they boast the tough Aaron Mokoena and alongside him Matthew Booth could provide a towering presence. Tough as the local diamonds at the back, but lower down the Mohs scale is Fulham midfielder Kagiso Dikgacoi, whose most notable contribution this season was slapping Scott Parker. Further forward on the right in Parreira's 4-2-3-1 is the creative and physical Steven Pienaar, who in the absence of McCarthy will be South Africa's star player.

So can the Saffers be the surprise package in Group A? Only 7 players playing abroad in a 23 man squad suggests not, but they will have home advantage and conspiracy theorists may suggest FIFA could give them a leg-up like that received by South Korea in 2002. While no host country has ever failed to qualify from the group stage, there's certainly a first time for everything.

Prediction:
France to win the group, followed by Uruguay. Mexico and South Africa to miss out on the last 16.

Tom Garrard