I’m sure that you’re all on the edges of your seats, waiting for the BSB World Cup Preview for its insight and analysis.\u00a0 Well, here’s what you’re going to get.\u00a0 You’re going to get some of the best soccer analysis you’ve ever heard that doesn’t include any player’s name, a single mention of team playing styles, let alone a look at any individual matchups.\u00a0 What you’re going to get is someone who doesn’t really know much about the game, but does know a lot about sports and “tournament” formats and what-not.\u00a0 So, armed with the FIFA team rankings and the tournament format, here is the official BSB World Cup Preview.\u00a0 Ps…I know nothing about soccer, but I do LOVE this event.<\/p>\n
Let’s go group by group:<\/p>\n
Group A<\/strong> This is, by far, the weakest group, so it’s\u00a0a great opportunity for any of these teams to get through to the elimination round, even the host nation, South Africa, who is the second-worst team in the field.\u00a0\u00a0The host nations always seem to perform well in the World Cup, so we can’t count out the homeboys, but in all honestly, they are a pretty big longshot to survive the round-robin, even in this lightweight group.\u00a0 France caught a huge break, as the worst #1 seed, to be placed here, and should get through–probably winning the group.\u00a0 Though the other spot is seemingly between two teams, their head-to-head matchup might not necessarily decide who moves on.\u00a0 Though South Africa is probably not a contender to get out of the group, they can certainly rise up and beat (or draw) either Mexico or Uruguay, which would put a shot in their survival hopes.\u00a0 And, on the other hand, France is the favorite to win the group, they are by no means dominant and could lose to either of those teams, which would really help their causes.\u00a0 BSB is gonig out on a limb right off the bat here, as we are not picking France to win this group.\u00a0\u00a0We are going to pick Uruguay <\/strong>to be a surprise winner here in Group A.\u00a0 We are going to, reluctantly go with France <\/strong>to come out in the A2 position because the opening game for the host nation might be the one their are most up for and that is against Mexico, so if South Africa can beat or draw with the Mexicans, then the French (who will beat South Africa) should only need a draw with the Mexicans to move on.<\/p>\n Group B I think this is a really tough group, and I like both survivors from this group to beat the Group A qualifiers in the first round of the elimination round, so we expect two of these four to reach the quarterfinals.\u00a0 The question is now:\u00a0 which two?\u00a0 Argentina is tricky because it could really go either way–they could be REALLY good, potentially even win the whole thing, or REALLY bad, and not get out of this group.\u00a0 Greece has been really good in the past decade or so and comes in with another good squad, and Nigeria is one of the better African teams, which should be getting a nice push from playing in their home continent.\u00a0 South Korea is a decent squad, but has very long odds to even make it interesting in Group B.\u00a0 BSB is going to pick Argentina <\/strong>to put it together and win the group, led by the best player in the world, Lionel Messi (I guess I broke my promise).\u00a0 The other pick may be the hardest of the entire first round.\u00a0 We’ve gone back and forth on this decision, but in the end, we are going with our hearts and the home fans and taking Nigeria<\/strong> to finish second and get to the elimination round (sorry, Alexi).<\/p>\n Group C The US got a nice, cushy #1 seed (England) in their group, so that’s good.\u00a0 They also avoided any traditional powers in the European\/South American slot.\u00a0 And, they didn’t get one of the most experienced and successful African nations, like\u00a0Cote d’Ivoire\u00a0or Nigeria.\u00a0 However, that does not mean that this is going to be easy.\u00a0 Slovenia and Algeria are both solid teams that probably are more than just the ole “happy to be there” mentality.\u00a0 The first game is going to be huge for the Americans.\u00a0 As I laid out in my USA-England post of a couple days ago, as important as it is to get through this group, it may be that much more important to win <\/em>it because of how the next round sets up.\u00a0 BSB is going to take the United States<\/strong> to survive the group, including a draw against England.\u00a0 But, we believe they will also have a disappointing draw aganist either Slovenia or Algeria, while the Brits will beat them both, giving England <\/strong>the Group C title.<\/p>\n Group D This wide-open group became even more so with a rash of German injuries, including one to their star midfielder, Michael Ballack.\u00a0 Now, this group might be the most hotly contested group of all.\u00a0 They have a hobbling superpower (Germany), a rising European (Serbia), an interesting up-and-comer knocking on the door of\u00a0the world’s elite (Australia), and one of the most experienced, successful African nations (Ghana).\u00a0 For the record, back in 2006, I said that Ghana would at least <\/em>make the semifinals of the 2010 World Cup.\u00a0 They haven’t exactly been great in the past four years, but they can still make some noise and, with a little luck, might even make me a sage.\u00a0 In a tough, tough choice, BSB is still taking Germany <\/strong>to win this group, and in defense of my prediction and the greatest continent, we will take Ghana <\/strong>to come out of this group.\u00a0 The elimination picks of Serbia and Australia weren’t easy, but my head won’t let me go against the Germans, and my heart won’t let me go against the Ghanaians.<\/p>\n Group E<\/strong> At first blush, I looked at this group and thought about blowing it up.\u00a0 For some reason, I think the Dutch may be pretty vulnerable here.\u00a0 Cameroon, playing on their home continent, and Denmark, who always seem to rise to the World Cup occasion, are tempting picks.\u00a0 And, the Japanese are always feisty.\u00a0 However, in the end, we definitely don’t think Japan has enough to get through.\u00a0 In fact, BSB is predicting an 0-3 finish for the Japanese.\u00a0 And, then with further examination, it gets harder and harder to pick against the Dutch–though their match with the Danes should be one of the more heated rivalries that no one will be talking about.\u00a0 We, here at BSB, actually think that the Dutch will take out the Danes in this rivalry, and it might actually affect Denmark in their other matches, particularly the one with Cameroon.\u00a0 With the Netherlands<\/strong> winning this group, we are going with Cameroon <\/strong>to beat the Danes in the final game of the group to get into the second spot.<\/p>\n Group F<\/strong> In probably the easiest road for a top-seed, the defending champs get a bit of a break.\u00a0 However, they can’t take anything for granted, as Slovakia and Paraguay can both produce surprises.\u00a0 New Zealand actually might be that ole “happy to be there” team.\u00a0 Italy <\/strong>to win this group is probably the easiest pick of the entire first round, but this second spot is tough.\u00a0 BSB is going to go with Paraguay <\/strong>to take the second spot because teams playing in their own hemisphere always seem to do better than teams from the other hemisphere.<\/p>\n Group G<\/strong> And, here is it, folks, the proverbial “Group of Death,” and this one is a doozy.\u00a0 I’m convinced that the third best team in this group is better than any other group’s second-best team<\/em>.\u00a0 And, it couldn’t have made me more upset by it.\u00a0 Cote d’Ivoire absolutely has a team good enough to make a deep, deep run in this year’s World Cup.\u00a0 And, there would be nothing that makes this guy happier than watching an African nation make a run at the title on African soil.\u00a0 But, as of a couple days ago, we’re not even picking it to happen here at BSB.\u00a0 Didier Drogba is one of the top five players in the world–and he’s Ivoirian.\u00a0 And, he’s also hurt.\u00a0 That was a huge blow for\u00a0a team that has to beat out one of the top three teams in the world just to make the elimination round.\u00a0 With Drogba, we were picking the Ivoirians to WIN this group over even the mightly Brazil.\u00a0 But, without Drogba, Brazil <\/strong>will win this group, and Portugal<\/strong> will probably finish second, though I am incredibly excited for Portugal-Brazil and Portugal-Cote d’Ivoire.\u00a0 Oh, by the way, North Korea probably shouldn’t even show up…<\/p>\n Group H<\/strong> We are going to delve into the elimination round in an other post sometime soon, but let’s just say that the fortune that Spain got with a relatively easy group is completely washed away by the mis<\/em>fortune they got with their elimination draws.\u00a0 But, for now, let’s focus on getting through the group as the winner because, if not, they might be staring at the only team in the world ranked higher than them in the FIRST ROUND of the elimination round.\u00a0 Fortunately, for the world’s #2, they have a draw that shouldn’t give them a ton of trouble.\u00a0 There\u00a0an interesting South\u00a0American country,\u00a0Chile, an interesting Central American country, Honduras, and an interesting European country, Switzerland.\u00a0 This is the only group that has four teams from the two major soccer continents.\u00a0 In fact, no other group even has THREE teams from Europe or South America.\u00a0 Outside of Spain<\/strong>, who will win this group rather easily, it should be really interesting and exciting as to who is going to win the chance to get hammered by Brazil.\u00a0 We, at BSB, think that the second spot from this group will be decided on the very first day of this group, when Chile plays Honduras.\u00a0 We struggled and wanted to pick Honduras, but in the end, we feel like the Chileans have the best chance of going 1-0-1 in the round-robin between them, Honduras, and Switzerland.\u00a0 So, we are going with Chile<\/strong> to win the right to be cannon fodder for the Brazilians in the start of the elimination round.<\/p>\n Recap (Elimination Round Matchups)<\/strong> Elimination round predictions…soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m sure that you’re all on the edges of your seats, waiting for the BSB World Cup Preview for its insight and analysis.\u00a0 Well, here’s what you’re going to get.\u00a0 You’re going to get some of the best soccer analysis … Continue reading
\nFrance (9)
\nUruguay (16)
\nMexico (17)
\nSouth Africa (83)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Argentina (7)
\nGreece (13)
\nNigeria (21)
\nSouth Korea (43)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>England (8)
\nUnited States (14)
\nSlovenia (25)
\nAlgeria (30)<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Germany (6)
\nSerbia (15)
\nAustralia (20)
\nGhana (32)<\/p>\n
\nNethlerlands (4)
\nCameroon (19)
\nDenmark (36)
\nJapan (45)<\/p>\n
\nItaly (5)
\nParaguay (31)
\nSlovakia (34)
\nNew Zealand (78)<\/p>\n
\nBrazil (1)
\nPortugal (3)
\nCote d’Ivoire\u00a0(27)
\nNorth Korea (105)<\/p>\n
\nSpain (2)
\nChile (18)
\nSwitzerland (24)
\nHonduras (38)<\/p>\n
\nA1\u00a0Uruguay – B2 Nigeria
\nB1 Argentina – A2 France
\nC1 England – D2 Ghana
\nD1 Germany – C2 United States
\nE1 Netherlands – F2 Paraguay
\nF1 Italy – E2 Cameroon
\nG1 Brazil – H2 Chile
\nH1 Spain – G2 Portugal<\/p>\n