2010 World cup: D group analysis
Despite losing 3-4 first team players, Germany is looking very strong with young and in-form squad. Germany is favourite along with Brazil, Holland, Spain, Argentina and England. Ghana may struggle after losing Michael Essien and Serbia and Australia may fight for second spot. Serbia has one of best defences in tournament and Australians famous for their fighting spirit just like their cricket team.
Qualification of Group D teams:
1. Germany: Quaified easily without losing a single game and topped group that also contains Russia.
2. Serbia: Topped European quaifying group that also have France.
3. Ghana: Qualified comfortably after initial hiccups in initial round.
4. Australia: Smashed all opponents and qualified from Asia without any difficulty.
Analysis of Group D teams:
1. Germany: After losing many players including Michael Ballack to injuries, this German team is still gunning for world cup. Like Brazil, Germany always plays well at world cup. If this young squad shows traditional German tenacity, they will surprise even top teams. They may be young but they are in exceptional form for their clubs in last 4-6 months.
Germany boasts of one of best mid-fields in tournament.
2. Serbia: They have Vidic and Ivanovic – world class players in those defending positions. Dejan Stankovic (played for Yugoslavia as a 19-year old in 1998 world cup) is crucial in midfield. But, its shock defeat against New Zealand is a warning signal. They are not at their best in warm-up games.
3. Ghana: Injury to Michael Essien destroyed hopes of this African nation. Without him, they may find it difficult to play as a team as their game built around Essien.
4. Australia: They are experienced side but may find it difficult to beat teams like Germany and Serbia. But, they will fight hard.
Predictions on group D teams:
1. Germany: If there are no surprises, Germany will face Argentina in quarter-final. But, they may even face England in second round due to surprise results.
2. Serbia:
3. Ghana: Absence of Essien means tough for Ghana to reach second round.
4. Australia:
Final analysis of Group D:
Germany and Serbia are favourites to progress to second round but Ghana and Australia are not easy opponents. One or termanywo surprise results will change whole equations. I am not ruling out Germany-England clash in second round. Except Germany, no other team is in good form in warm-up games.
Schedule of Group D games:
Date | IST | Venue and City | Soccer Game |
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June 13 | 7:30 PM | Loftus Versfled stadium, Pretoria | Serbia Vs Ghana |
June 14 | 12 AM | Durban stadium, Durban | Germany Vs Australia |
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June 18 | 5 PM | Nelson Mandela stadium, Port Elizabeth | Germany Vs Serbia |
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June 19 | 7:30 PM | Royal Bafokeng stadium, Rustenburg | Ghana Vs Australia |
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June 24 | 12 AM | Soccer stadium, Johannesburg | Germany Vs Ghana |
June 24 | 12 AM | Mbombela stadium, Nelspruit | Serbia Vs Australia |
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Group D sqauds and analysis:
| Germany | Serbia | Ghana | Australia |
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World Cup Appearances: | 16 times | 10 times | Once | 2 times |
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Best Performance: | won world cup in 1954, 74 & 1990 | Semi-finals in 1930 & 1962 | Second round | Second round |
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FIFA ranking: | 6 | 15 | 32 | 20 |
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My Rating: | 8/10 | 7/10 | 6/10 | 6/10 |
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| Coach Name: | Joachim Low | Radomir Antic | Milovan Rajevac | Pim Verbeek |
Coach rating: | 8/10 | 8/10 | 7/10 | 8/10 |
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Captain: | Philipp Lahm | Dejan Stankovic | Stephen Appiah | Lucas Neil |
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Squad: |
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Goalkeepers: |
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1. | Manuel Neuer | Vladimir Stojkovic | Richard Kingson | Mark Schwarzer |
2. | Tim Wiese | Bojan Isailovic | Stephen Aholu | Adam Federici |
3. | Joerg Butt | Andjelko Djuricic | Daniel Agyei |
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Defenders: |
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1. | Philipp Lahm | Nemanja Vidic | Lee Addy | Craig Moore |
2. | Arne Friedrich | Branislav Ivanovic | John Pantsil | Lucas Neill |
3. | Jerome Boateng | Aleksandar Lukovic | Jonathan Mensah | Luke Wilkshire |
4. | Per Mertesacker | Aleksandar Kolarov | Rahim Ayew | David Carney |
5. | Dennis Aogo | Antonio Rukavina | Samuel Inkoom | Michael Beauchamp |
6. | Holger Badstuber | Neven Subotic | Hans Adu Sarpei | Scott Chipperfield |
7. | Marcell Jansen | Ivan Obradovic | John Mensah | Mark Milligan |
8. | Serdar Tasci |
| Isaac Vorsah |
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10. |
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Midfielders: |
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1. | Schweinsteiger | Dejan Stankovic | Stephen Appiah | Tim Cahill |
2. | Toni Kroos | Milos Krasic | Sulley Muntari | Vince Grella |
3. | Mesut Oezil | Milan Jovanovic | Kwadwo Asamoah | Jason Culina |
4. | Sami Khedira | Nenad Milijas | Derek Boateng | Mile Jedinak |
5. | Marko Marin | Zoran Tosic | Anthony Annan | Mark Bresciano |
6. | Piotr Trochowski | Gojko Kacar | Dede Ayew | Brett Emerton |
7. |
| Radosav Petrovic | Quincy Abeyie | Richard Garcia |
8. |
| Zdravko Kuzmanovic | Kevin-Prince Boateng | Brett Holman |
9. |
| Milos Ninkovic |
| Carl Valeri |
10. |
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| Dario Vidosic |
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Forwards: |
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1. | Cacau | Marko Pantelic | Asamoah Gyan | Harry Kewell |
2. | Thomas Mueller | Nikola Zigic | Matthew Amoah | Josh Kennedy |
3. | Mario Gomez | Danko Lazovic | Dominic Adiyiah | Nikita Rukavytsya |
4. | Lukas Podolski | Dragan Mrdja | Prince Tagoe |
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5. | Stefan Kiessling |
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6. | Miroslav Klose |
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Share your views on Group D teams and predict their progress in 2010 football world cup.
