Well, not sure how to start this thread, was thinking of doing a team by team review but frankly i thought better of it.

40 more days until the greatest show on Earth begins. The World Cup for the first time comes to the colorful continent of Africa, with South Africa building a setting worthy of the greatest players in the world to show what they can do.

Spain, the current European champions go into the competition as favorites, with Villa and Torres likely to cause trouble for many teams, Brazil can never be written off either.

Current holders Italy aren't fancied much, an ageing team that lacks many of the household names normally associated with the Azzurri.

As always, England are in with a shout, providing key players can stay fit over the next month or so.

The tournaments dark horses have to be Ivory Coast, led by former England manager Sven, with the likes of Drogba, Kalou, Kone, Zakora and the Toure brothers will be difficult oppostion for anyone and have a reasonable chance of getting out of the group of death, having been drawn against Brazil and Portugal.

Personally, i can't wait. Here is a list of the fixtures for the first round:

Here is a guide to the grounds (shamelessly pinched from the Daily Mail)



Soccer City - Johannesburg

Located in the south west of the city, the stadium's capacity is being raised from 80,000 for the tournament.
Built in 1987, it hosted the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations final in which South Africa beat Tunisia.



Elliss Park - Johannesburg

First built in 1928 as a rugby union stadium, and then demolished and rebuilt in 1982, it hosted the Rugby World Cup final in 1995, which South Africa won. Home to Orlando Pirates.



Green Point Stadium - Cape Town

The newly-built Green Point Stadium, close to the ocean and mountains of CapeTown, is scheduled for completion in December.
Replaces the 18,000 capacity stadium which was demolished in 2007



Moses Mabhida Stadium - Durban

Newly built on the site of the old Kings Park soccer ground just a few hundred yards from the Indian Ocean. The arch carries a cable car and viewing deck.



Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium - Port Elizabeth

Completed in time for this summer's Lions rugby union tour, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose ground.
It was built especially for the tournament.



Mbombela Stadium - Nelspruit

Another venue built for the World Cup, this stadium, about seven km north of Nelspruit, is situated close to the world-famous KrugerNational Park.



Loftus Versfeld Stadium - Pretoria

One of the oldest stadiums in South Africa, construction began in 1923.
Home to the Super 14 champions the Blue Bulls and a Springboks Test venue



Royal Bafokeng Stadium - Rustenburg

Built for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace was redeveloped for next summer.
Bowl-shaped with very open seating.



Peter Mokaba Stadium - Polokwane

A largely concrete structure whose design is inspired by the Baobab tree, is scheduled for completion in 2010.

Good competition, stupid place to host it.

This is going to be a good thread.

So what's everyone's predictions for the winner?

Not sure yet as I've not really studied the groups and fixures list but I've just stumbled across a now traditional Excel spreadsheet to help:

http://www.excely.com/download/worldcup2010.zip

Can't wait. My last exam is on the 11th and finishes around 5, so will be straight to the pub and then most of my summer will probably be spent in the pub watching the WC. I'm at Silverstone when the England/Algeria game is on and it's going to be put up on the big screens for thousands of drunks to watch, gonna be a great atmosphere!

Think Spain will be too much and win it. England out in the quarter (on pens).

I can't really look past Spain, they have quality throughout and like i mentioned, the 2 striker are arguably the 2 best in the world when on form.

I'd obviously love to see England win it but as soon as Rooney breaks his foot, we are screwed. If and when we go out, i'll be rooting for the Ivory Coast.

Have to admit, the closer it gets, the more i am leaning towards South Africa being fit to host the competition and being a good choice. I do still think safety is a slight concern, hopefully this won't be the case though.

Some (most) of the stadiums look beautiful, particularly the enclosed bowl stadia, the atmosphere in these grounds is going to be something we very rarely witness.

If they can sell the tickets.

They will almost certainly give them away (or sell them on the uber-cheap) if they can't sell them. The big games will all be sell outs in the group stages and everything in the knockout stages will be sold out too i would expect (hope).

It was being discussed on Radio 5 Live a couple of weeks ago that the Europeans were not making the trip and buying the tickets.

Tickets weren't selling because they only were being sold by internet when a lot of South Africans do not have access to the internet. They put them on sale at the stadium box offices last week and now are close to selling out for the group stages apparently

I've got Spain and Brazil to meet in the 2nd round and the winner to beat England or Ivory Coast in the final. On paper, Spain will have too much for everyone though but they traditionally don't do well in big tournaments, except for the last Euro Chamionships of course.

In reality England will blow it again and Rooney will hobble off in the first game against USA.

Spain to win
Brazil, Germany and maybe Holland in the semis
England out in the quarters
Ivory Coast to get out of that group
Portugal and France to fail miserably
David Villa to be top scorer
Kim Jong Il to declare war on Pele

Hahaha.

Hope your right about Ivory Coast

Argentina the dark horses for me, they really do have some outstanding players. Shame about their manager

Imagine, though, if Maradona gets his short chubby hands on the World Cup trophy again?

I agree, Argentina could be decent but it will depend on the way Maradona sets the team up. He's not building the team around Messi and that's a mistake.

Good thread idea. Proper excited about this and unlikely as it may be I would love England to win - nothing wrong with a bit of national pride!

On paper, Spain are definitely the best team, but despite their Euro 2008 victory, they still have the tag of being World Cup perennial underachievers. Torres and Villa are a sublime front pairing, though Torres is still not particularly prolific for country.

Should be a great tournament whoever wins though.

I fucking love the world cup.

As always i'll be sticking forty quid in a bookies account and making Ghana v The Western People's Federation of Retired Hedgedoctors seem like an England Germany final

I have no opinion on who will win, really, probably Brazil - Dunga has them playing a bit different to Brazil of the past and i reckon they'll do well.

There are worse tags to carry

I wonder if Maradona will instruct his team to cheat? Of course he will

They are in a group with Greece, Nigeria and Korea....you'd expect Argentina to get through but they have already been in the same group as Nigeria (in 2002 along with England and Sweden) and didn't qualify. I'd love it, LOVE IT, if we meet them in the latter stages

Good point.

Edited now.

Argentina's problem is that whilst they have an outstanding set of attacking options (Tevez, Messi, Aguero, Milito) they have a very questionable defence. I think we've also seen that keeping Messi quiet is doable, the top managers in the world will be onto that like a flash.

One thing, they will probably be the most entertaining team in the competition.

I think Argentina will be shite. May even struggle to qualify from group stages, despit having an easy group. Maradona used something like 40 players in the group stages, brought in 35+yr olds and doesn't have a clue. As Gala said, he doesn't use Messi correctly even though he plays a similar formation to Barca, but does not allow Messi to play a free role like Barca do.

You should let the Spaniards know. They'll be getting their hopes up otherwise.

I haven't bet any money on the outcome of a football match since I lost a shilling to my aunt when I bet her that Holland would beat West Germany in the 1974 final

My favourite finals were in 1986 and 1990 - great stuff despite the outcomes (for England). Worst finals as a spectator had to be 1994 in the USA and 2006.

Losing out on qualification to Poland in 1973

Keegan and Brooking combining to beat Italy 2-0 at Wembley in 77 but victory wasn't enought to qualify.

Argentina in 1978 was amazing, the thousands of pieces of paper that the crowd threw onto the pitch before Argie games was incredible. Wee Archie's goal against Holland, amazing.

1982 and Italy's Paulo Rossi scoring a hattrick to dump Brazil out after trailing 2-0. Marco Tardelli's screaming face after scoring against Germany in the final.

England losing to (then) huge underdogs Portugal in 1986, Lineker's hattrick against Poland, the hand of god.

1990 - Platt's last minute extra-time winner against Belgium to take us into the quarters where me beat Cameroon 3-2. The Germans in the semis-penalty heartache but I shagged my sister-in-law's best mate that night which of course went no where near to making up for it but at least I had some sort of a smile on my face when everyone else was looking for anything German to destroy

Owen's goal against Argentina in 98. More penalty heartache.

Beckham scoring to beat the Argies in 2002. Pure magic.

Penalty heartache again in 2006.

Fek, I could go on all night about the magic of the World Cup.

You must be kidding - they have Coloccini after all. And you seem to have forgotten Gutierrez from that list of attacking options.

Is Colo even going to be in the squad? They must have some great CBs if he's not.

Isn't Gutierrez their left back?

WHAT I ENDED UP WITH

2nd ROUND
Uruguay 2-1 Nigeria
England 1-2 Germany
Ghana 2-0 USA
Argentina 4-1 France
Denmark 2-1 Paraguay
Ivory Coast 3-0 Honduras
Italy 2-1 Netherlands
Spain 2-0 Brazil

QUARTER FINALS
Denmark 1-3 Ivory Coast
Uruguay 0-2 Germany
Argentina 2-1 Ghana
Italy 0-2 Spain

SEMI FINALS
Germany 1-0 Ivory Coast
Argentina 0-2 Spain

FINAL
Germany 0-2 Spain

Knowing Maradona's team selection during qualification, he'll probably stick him in goal

You think Germany will come second in their group but get to the final?

Who would everyone have in England's squad then?

At the moment we seem to have a lack of quality centre-backs, though our first-choice pair of Terry and Ferdinand are world-class.

In midfield, there doesn't look like many certainties - at the moment I'd say Gerrard, Lampard and Barry are the only ones. I'd like to see Joe Cole play as he was England's best player for the last couple of years prior to his injury problems this season. However, the squad lacks balance without a left-footed left-winger - none of which really stand out to me at the moment, though Johnson looks like a hot prospect. Milner has been excellent this season and should go as a centre-mid, and I think Walcott should be in the squad purely for his impact. I'm not sure how many midfielders we'll be left with in total if all of these players go though, so there's some tough decisions to make.

As for up front, Heskey isn't a great player but he seems to accomodate Rooney, so I think he's worth picking. Crouch should also be on the plane, as he's another useful 'big man' and for his goal scoring record. If there's only one more spot, it looks like competition between Bent and Defoe for it. Bent has been superb throughout this season, whereas Defoe has disappointed somewhat since his excellent start. At the moment though, I'd still say Defoe should be there as he's a proven England goalscorer, but my opinion could easily change.

Aye, you know how lucky they always are when it comes to the world cup.

Can't see Ivory Coast winning a group with Brazil and Portugal in it also. Definite contenders for second.

I'd say Serbia are probably the dark horses. They're a strong team and won France's qualification group.

I had Ivory Coast, Brazil and Portugal all on 5 points (All drawing with each other and beating North Korea) but all seperated by how many each team beat North Korea by

He plays him CM with Mascherano and Veron/Gago and then a front 3 of Messi and any of Tevez, Aguero, Di Maria, Higuain, etc... Not a bad shout really to play him in the middle as he works very hard and his final ball is quite poor so in a sense he is wasted on the wing.

Goalkeepers: Green, James, Hart
Defenders: Ferdinarnd, Terry, Upson, Cole, Baines, Lescott, Johnson, Richards
Midfield: Lampard, Barry, Gerrard, Carrick, Cole, Milner, Wright-Phillips
Forwards: Rooney, Defoe, Crouch, Bent, Heskey

If Beckham had been fit then Heskey or Bent wouldn't be going for me but as it is the midfielders are so veratile that I'd probably take an extra forward. In reality, though, as Bent hasn't really been in Capello's plans I'd imagine that either Downing, Johnson, Lennon or Walcott will go in his place.

Selection is so much harder nearer the time

CB selection is strange because I personally think that is our strongest position, but Rio hasn't played much this year and Terry has been poor. The next best 2 CB's for me are Woodgate and King, but obviously Woody hasn't played in about 2 years and King can only play 1 game a week and can't train - so that is a risk. You then look at the likes of Upson who has had a poor season in a struggling team. Wes Brown hasn't played much either, but can play RB and CB. Lescott is injured and not been great for City anyway. You then have to look at the inexperienced players like Dawson who has had a great season, Jagielka who has been great since coming back and Cahill who has been strong for some time.

Apart from Milner and Rooney, you can't think of many players who have been outstanding this season. Bent has scored a lot, but doesn't seem like Fabio likes him. Defoe has been poor in the second half of the season and never does it against big clubs anyway. Joe Cole hasn't found pre-injury form yet. Walcott appears to be becoming an impact player, not a starter. SWP can't get a game for City ahead of Adam Johnson now, so is Johnson worth a shout? Lennon has been out for a long time. Carrick has been awful for a while, but Parker has been class for West Ham - is he in with a chance? Both first choice FB's have been out for ages and there isn't great back-up options.

Seems like Green is no.1, so who else goes? James and Hart probably, but the likes of Robinson, Kirkland, Foster, Carson, etc can't be too far away.

Cappello has some big calls to make...

heart led me on this one!

2nd round
Uruguay 2-1 Greece
England 3-0 Serbia
Germany 2-1 USA
Argentina 1-0 Mexico
Netherlands 4-1 New Zealand
Brazil 2-0 Chile
Italy 1-0 Denmark
Spain 2-0 Portugal

Quarter finals
Netherlands 2-1 Brazil
Uruguay 1-3 England
Argentina 0-3 Germany
Italy 1-3 Spain

Semi finals
England 2-1 Netherlands
Germany 1-2 Spain

Final
England 0-1 Spain

Not sure about the full 23 but my England team would be this:

---------------Hart--------------

Johnson-Terry-Ferdinand-Cole

--------------Barry--------------

------Gerrard-----Lampard-----

-Walcott----------------Johnson-

--------------Rooney------------

Cole and Milner on the wings for me.

Just seen that Xavi may be out of the WC as he got injured last night for Barca. Inesta is still a doubt too, as is Cesc with his broken leg, so they may only have Alonso as their cretive CM...

I'd deffo pick David James in goal.

Definitely share the excitement and anticipation of others and have managed to get a week off work in the middle of it too which should make it even more enjoyable

Very tough to call who will win it, dont think there is anyone that stands out as the team to beat, just a number of very good teams all capable of winning.

Agree with a lot of what has already been said - Spain are obviously one of the big favourites and you cant rule out the likes of Brazil. Definitely think Argentina could do a lot better than some think even with Maradonna in charge. My dark horse is possibly Holland, very decent players on paper if all fit and surely have to perform at a major championship at some point.

Dont think England will win it but in tournament football there is always a chance. Of course a lot of that depends on who is fit and stays fit etc.

If we dont win it would just like to see us progress a bit further than usual. I think Fabio has that little bit more in him as a manager to achieve that. Not a lot to ask surely

In terms of the England team id go:

James

Richards - Terry - Ferdinand - Cole

Barry

Gerrard - Lampard

Lennon - Milner

Rooney

In terms of the squad for the other 12 id go:

GKs: Green, Hart

DF: Johnson, King, Lescott

MF: Cole, Young, Walcott

FW: Heskey, Bent, Crouch, Defoe

Probably missed someone obvious out of that as I got bored half way through

I think Milner is a class act, but this season has shown he's definitely best in centre-mid. I'd much rather Joe Cole on the left-wing, but Milner would be a good 'understudy' for Lampard/Gerrard. Not sure if I'd have him starting as things stand.

Milner has been class in the centre but hes never gonna get a game there and is still more than decent on the wing. His workrate is also a bonus out there considering right back is a major issue.

I like Joe Cole but hes not played enough football recently for me.

Gerrard's been crap this season and he was again useless (along with the rest of the Liverpool team) yesterday. If he is automatic choice in midfield, then there must be a serious lack of midfield talent. Go with the players in form unless he pulls his finger out.

What's all this about England getting to the semis or even the final?
I somehow doubt that they'll even get out of the group stage.
The spine of the team - Rooney, Gerrard, Ferdinand, Terry - is broken.
We haven't got a decent goalkeeper, right back, leftwinger and while there's a good choice of players on the right, none of them are anywhere near world class.
None of the teams in England's group are weak and any of them could be capable of taking points off Capello's men.
If they do manage to squeeze out of the group they're sure to get knocked out in the next game.

If it's all about form, then we'd be going with the likes of Dawson, Jagielka, Baines, P.Neville, Huddlestone, Zamora, Bent, Agbonlahor, etc. Instead of the likes of A.Cole, Rio, Terry, Gerrard, J.Cole, etc despitew being all world class proven players.

Capello's not going to make any radical changes to the squad at this late stage - he'll stick with the players that got through the qualifying stages.
After the WC will be the time for a clean sweep.

Im a big fan of picking form players BIK but for me there are 3 or 4 players that irrespective of club form you would pick anyway.

Gerrard hasnt been great mainly as he is playing in a crap team which has underachieved all season. I hate the guy but he is undoubtedly still one of the best midfielders in the world, England certainly cant afford to be dropping the likes of him if we want to get anywhere in the tournament.

If there were players of similar ability to come in instead then yeah maybe but there quite clearly isnt - theres Michael Carrick

I think even in a slightly different formation to 4-4-2, Lampard and Gerrard won't work if they're both in the centre. As BiK points out, Gerrard has been crap (even though he's had injury problems). At the moment, unless there's somewhere else we can fit him, I'd much rather have Gerrard starting from the bench and Lampard and Milner in centre-mid. Both players have been superb for their club this season and deserve their place there.

I know you're a fan of Lampard BBT, but I hope people who accused him of being 'overrated piece of shite Fat Frank Lumplard' have changed their mind after this season. Nearly 32 and scoring 26 goals from midfield is a fantastic return, whichever club you play for.