Group G - 2010 World Cup - South Africa Car Rentals

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Group G - 2010 Football World cup - Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal

Three footballing giants from three different continents will confront each other in perhaps the World Cup’s most fascinating group. North Korea (Korea DPR) is the unfortunate minnow thrown in amongst Brazil, Portugal and the Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire).

Brazil

The Brazilians need little introduction. As five time winners of the World Cup, they are the most successful team in the competition’s history. Brazil is a constant contender in World Cup competition, and South Africa 2010 will be no exception. However, Group G will not be an easy route to the knockout stages.

Brazil qualified for South Africa on top of its group despite some below par performances. A loss to Paraguay and a loss and a draw against Bolivia had some sections of the Brazilian media questioning the team’s commitment. However, with the wealth of talented players available to Brazilian team coach Dunga, it is impossible to rule out Brazil as potential World Cup winners.

The squad is littered with superstar talent. Ronaldinho, Robinho, Luis Fabiano and Adriano (to name but a few) can all score with ease. Behind them, Kaká can link play and unlock defences while Elano can terrorise defenders and deliver pin-point set-pieces. Defenders such as Lúcio and Maicon make for a strong back line, while Gilberto Silva can sit in midfield and help protect the defence if necessary. Basically, playing Brazil can be quite a frightening prospect.

North Korea

North Korea is currently ranked 86th in the world. South Africa 2010 will be the nation’s first World Cup attempt since 1966. Do they have a chance to get to the knockout stages? Barring a football miracle, the answer is no.

North Korea finished second in its final World Cup qualifying group. The two matches against South Korea were both highly charged affairs, the first ending in a 1-1 draw while North Korea lost the second 1-0. South Korea finished four points clear in first place with North Korea finishing in second, ahead of Saudi Arabia on goal difference alone.

The North Korea squad is likely to feature only one player who plays club football in Europe. Hong Yong-Jo, the North Korea captain, plays for FC Rostov in Russia. Beyond him, the squad is largely an unknown prospect. North Korea may set out to defend in South Africa in the hope of somehow stealing a point.

Ivory Coast

The Ivory Coast is justifiably seen by some as currently the strongest footballing nation in Africa. “The Elephants” will be making only their second appearance in the World Cup finals, but they have the potential to upset the balance of Group G.
The Ivory Coast qualified for the World Cup with relative ease. Finishing 4 points clear of Burkina Faso in the final group stage, they scored 19 goals in 6 games and conceded only 4. The Group G games against Brazil and Portugal will be a huge test for the Ivorians, but they have enough talented players to mount a serious challenge.

Didier Drogba will be a key player for the Ivory Coast. Keeping the powerful striker match fit and injury-free will be vital. However, the Ivory Coast is far from being a one man team. With big-name players such as Salomon Kalou, Yaya Touré, Didier Zokora, Kolo Touré and Emmanuel Eboué, the Ivory Coast certainly has the potential to get through Group G.

Portugal

Portugal flirted with disaster in its World Cup qualifying campaign. Manager Carlos Queiroz couldn’t get the Portuguese out of first gear with 4 draws (3 goalless) and 1 loss in 7 Group One games. However, the Portuguese finished with 3 wins to scrape into second place. A kind play-off draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina saw Portugal win 2-0 on aggregate to sneak into the World Cup.

Despite only narrowly avoiding embarrassment, Portugal nonetheless has a lot of talented players to call upon. Cristiano Ronaldo will be relishing the prospect of testing his skills against Brazil. If he truly demonstrates what he is capable of, then Portugal will be in possession of one of the World Cup’s most potent players. Deco will also need to shine if Portugal is to succeed. The defence, which includes the likes of Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira and Pepe, will need to be focused in order to shut out both Brazil and the Ivory Coast.

Portugal will start the group against the Africans. A win here will be essential if the Portuguese want to head into their last group game against Brazil without needing a win to qualify.

Likely Outcome

North Korea will not progress beyond Group G. That leaves the other three teams to battle it out for the top two spots. Brazil is the favourite to progress but an early exit is still a possibility. However, if the Brazilians play at their best and win all three of their games it will leave Portugal and the Ivory Coast fighting for second place.

If that’s the case, then the very first match of Group G will decide who stays and who goes home. Portugal is perhaps a more technical team than the Ivory Coast, but the Ivorians have pace and power in abundance. Either way, the match on June 15th at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium should be quite a spectacle.

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