Germany
Previous World Cups—all except 1930 and 1950; best result–winners in 1954, 1974 and 1990 (1954 and 1974 were won by West Germany when the country was split up)
2010 Qualifying Record–eight wins, two draws; placed first in their group to automatically qualify for the finals.
Germany, a team I never think highly of, who nevertheless always seems to surpass my expectations. I suppose I don’t like them because of their style of play and their lack of top-notch star players, but they are the consummate team if there was one. They play a simple, direct style that has for the most part worked out for them. They eased through qualifying dispatching a good Russian side twice. The Germans will be looking for that elusive championship after being runners up at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2008, while placing third at the 2006 World Cup. Their group includes Serbia, Australia and Ghana. It’s a strong group, but I fully expect the Germans to make it through while smashing one of those teams in the process (probably Australia–the Germans always have a game where they win 4-0 or more).
Best Players–Mesut Ozil (WERDER BREMEN), Miroslav Klose (BAYERN MUNICH), Philipp Lahm (BAYERN MUNICH)
I’m not even sure how much time Ozil will get, but he was really good with Germany’s youth team and with Michael Ballack not in the team, there should be some opportunity for him to strut his stuff in the midfield. Klose has that goal-scoring instinct, so he should be among the scoring leaders. Lahm is part of a good defensive line and he also helps on offense from the wingback spot.
Serbia
Previous World Cups–1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998, 2006; best result–fourth place in 1930 and 1962 (kingdom of yugoslavia from 1930-38, SFR Yugoslavia 1950-1990, FR Yugoslavia 1994-2002, Serbia and Montenegro 2006, Serbia 2010+)
2010 Qualifying Record–seven wins, one draw, two losses; placed first in their group to automatically qualify for the finals.
Serbia are a team that intrigues me. They have a lot of good young talent and I think they should be an upper-echelon team, but they have yet to produce strong international results in recent times. However, the qualifying round may have been their coming out party as they thoroughly dominated a group including France, Austria and Romania. Their World Cup group includes Germany, Australia and Ghana. Whoever wins the Ghana-Serbia match will qualify in second I think, so that is the match to watch.
Best Players–Nemanja Vidic (MANCHESTER UNITED), Dejan Stankovic (INTER MILAN), Nikola Zigic (Valencia)
Vidic leads the back line and is an imposing presence in the centre of defense. He is also quite dangerous on corner and free kicks. Stankovic is the wily veteran of the team and should be a calming influence in the midfield. Zigic is a gangly striker who has a pretty good scoring record for Serbia.
This man just scored 2 goals for the Oranje
The Netherlands
Previous World Cups–1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006; best result–finalists in 1974 and 1978.
2010 Qualifying Record–eight wins, no draws or losses; paced first in their group to automatically qualify for the finals.
Well the Dutch clearly had an easy time qualifying as they won all of their matches. They always have very talented squads, but they can never get over that final hump. They have another strong team this time around that will be looking be looking to make the finals. Their group includes Denmark, Japan and Cameroon. I don’t foresee any problems moving on from this group, so they should be able to continue their search for that elusive world cup championship.
Best Players–Robin Van Persie (ARSENAL), Wesley Sneijder (INTER MILAN), Arjen Robben (BAYERN MUNICH)
Van Persie, Sneijder and Robben lead a dangerous offense, although Van Persie is recovering from an injury. Sneijder and Robben will be facing off against each other in the Champion’s league final in which they have played vital roles. If Van Persie isn’t fully fit look out for Dirk Kuyt, Klaas Jan Huntelaar or Rafael Van Der Vaart.
Denmark
Previous World Cups–1986, 1998, 2002; best result–quaterfinals in 1998.
2010 Qualifying Record–six wins, three draws and one loss; placed first in their group to automatically advance to the World Cup.
Denmark was able to finish atop a very strong group that included Portugal, Sweden and Hungary. Each time they have qualified for the World Cup they have advanced out of the group stage, so their only problem has been that they are only making the World Cup for the fourth time. Their group includes the Netherlands, Japan and Cameroon. It’s a tough call in this group after the Netherlands as Cameroon is a strong team, but Denmark has already shown they can play with the best by overcoming Portugal and Sweden. I’ve already said that Cameroon should be able to make it based on their star quality, and I’m sticking to it, but it should be close between the two teams.
Best Players–Nicklas Bendtner (ARSENAL), Daniel Agger (LIVERPOOL), Jon Dahl Tomasson (FEYENOORD)
Denmark has a mixture of both youth and experience in their lineup. Bendtner is part of a new generation of Danish players along with Agger. Both players have good potential, but they can be very inconsistent. Tomasson is one of the veterans of the team and has scored over 50 goals for the Danes. He will be counted on to show some leadership when the Danes inevitably face some adversity.
Alright, that concludes round two of the European qualifiers. There are five teams left to do and then the whole preview will be done. Look out for that soon and I will be doing a World Cup bracket, so hopefully I’ll be able to post it here if anyone wants a comparison to theirs. Adios.
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