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 H.

Group H
1	Spain
2	Ukraine
3	Tunisia
4	Saudi Arabia

My Prediction
Group Winner:Ukraine
Runner-Up:Spain

I won’t try to hide my bias: I love Spain. Style still counts for a lot in Spain. Outside of South America, you won’t find a country with a larger penchant for individual flair. Unfortunately, this often isn’t the best for the team. Spain is a fractured nation where each region has a strong sense of individuality and pride, and that’s how the team often plays. Historically, Spain plays best with their backs against the wall but that can often mean too little, too late in the group stage—which was exactly the scenario in 1998 when they left it late and didn’t get out of their group. The best Spanish side I’ve ever seen was the one that went to Japan/Korea in 2002 and was robbed, absolutely robbed against the South Koreans in the quarterfinals by having not one but two legitimate goals called off. It probably should have been a Spain vs. Brazil final, but it wasn’t to be. Having said all that, it’s 2006 and this Spain team looks more like the 1998 squad than the 2002 one. Their quality alone should get them out of the group, but I don’t think they’ll win it and, sadly, I won’t be surprised if they’re the only seeded team to go out in the first round. It doesn’t help that they face the Ukraine in their opener.

Eastern European teams are always underrated and the Ukraine is no exception. They won their qualifying group that featured 2002 third-place team Turkey, an always good Danish side, and the Euro 2004 champs Greece, yet they’re still off the radar? It’s a well-documented fact that Ukrainians are made up of rocks and broken glass, and they also have one of the world’s greatest strikers in Andriy Shevchenko. They’re well suited to paste Tunisia and Saudi Arabia and probably beat Spain, too. Semifinalists? Not unthinkable. It’s their first World Cup but they can make an impact.

Tunisia has a shot of making it out of this group. They lead African nations in scoring (25 goals in 10 games) so they definitely have punching power. The real question is whether they can hang with the European teams. A disciplined Spain can probably handle them and I don’t see them troubling the Ukraine too much. But if Spain is lethargic, like they often are, I could see Tunisia giving them a lot of problems. Tunisia faces Saudi Arabia first and should be a very interesting match. A convincing win could give them a lift against Spain in their second match.

I’m not impressed by any of the Asian teams this time around and that includes Saudi Arabia. They qualified with ease scoring 10 and only letting in 1 goal but, like the US and Mexico, they suffer from not having enough quality competition in their region. Remember, they got pounded 8-0 against Germany in 2002. I don’t think they’ll get worked over that badly but I don’t think they’re finishing anything other than fourth in this group.

Summary
Yeah, this group is far from a sure bet. I think the Ukraine is the safest bet to get out on top and there’s always the chance Spain can pull it together. Tunisia is the X factor, and Saudi Arabia could be better than I’m giving them credit for—they turned in a great performance in 1994 against expectations. If Spain loses their first match against the Ukraine and Tunisia beats the Saudis, all bets are off.

Previous weeks: Group A,Group D, Group F, Group G
Next week, Group B: England, Paraguay, Trinidad, Saudia Arabia