Every week from now until the World Cup I’m going to analyze a group and give my predictions, moving from the least interesting groups to the most interesting, ending with what I consider the Group of Death. This week it’s Group G.
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Group G
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1
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 France |
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2
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 Switzerland |
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3
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 South Korea |
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4
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 Togo |
My Prediction
Group Winner:France
Runner-Up:Switzerland
This is a tough group to call, but I think France will come out on top. The French had a miserable World Cup in ’02, a rather lackluster Euro ’04, and almost didn’t qualify for this World Cup. The team had to be rescued by a number of big names coming out of retirement and they did manage to win the group. That experience should see them win the group and maybe even get them as far as the quarterfinals, but that’s more up to a good draw than this team’s ability.
Switzerland finished second in qualifying behind France. They beat out Israel and Ireland in the group stage and World Cup ’02 third-placed Turkey in the play off, so it’s safe to say the Swiss can play. I don’t think they’ll be playing the other teams off the park but they could be overlooked, and that makes them dangerous. I’m guessing they’ll go 1-2-0 or 1-1-1 and finish second.
South Korea is suffering from high expectations as the US after a fourth-place finish in ’02. Unfortunately for them, there’s no way the Koreans can match that achievement. First, they’re not playing at home this time around. Second, and more importantly, that means they won’t be getting the gratuitous home cookin’ this time around. Dodgy decisions got the Koreans past both Italy and, even more criminally, Spain. Add to that the fact that they just aren’t that good and I think the Koreans will cave. I could easily see them at 0-2-1.
What to do about Togo? Their run-up to the World Cup has been sloppy and rather thrown together, which isn’t too much of a surprise consider the shambolic nature of football administration in Africa. The biggest name on the squad is Ars*nal’s Emmanuel Sheyi Adebayor, so the question remains which Togo will show up: the one that beat Senegal to qualify, or the team that went winless in this year’s African Cup of Nations? My vote’s for the latter and for Togo to be generally awestruck by the occasion in Germany.
Summary
This is a tough group to call because all of these teams have equal ability to play great or to play lousy. The Swiss, for instance, could go a long way if they’re firing on all cylinders; or they could just sputter, like they’ve done in the last series of tournaments. Both South Korea and Togo have had rocky run-ups to the World Cup that have included last minute coaching changes, and I think France found its equilibrium in the latter stages of qualifying. So I think it’s France and the Swiss in an unpredictable—and uninspiring?—Group G.
Previous weeks: Group D, Group F
Next week, Group H: Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador
Current Mood – Persistent, Allergy-Induced Headache | 
Currently Listening To – Hank Williams III – “Straight to Hell”
3 Comments
First off, I love this weekly review more than you could imagine. I’m not sure what I like more, your continued use of Ars*enal, or this week’s word, “shambolic.” I like how in a past post you mentioned a key game to watch, but this group seems so even that every game will be important, more so than the others.
If you start seeing site stats from Tampa/St. Pete, it’s my sister, who is dying for some stateside WC analysis.
I’m glad you’re enjoying it and I hope your sister likes it as well.
You pretty much summed up my opinion of this group. No one game is a make-or-break game, mostly because I find the group too damn unpredictable. There’s always one group that completely falls flat and my bet is it will be this one. Group H (Spain:Ukraine:Tunisia:Saudi Arabia) is very similar to Group G but has a lot more potential for fireworks.
I picked up the Ars*nal bit on a Tottenham message board years ago, where the rule was never to mention the enemy by name.
Good review dude..