by Bennet Snyder

Brazil - Seleção (The Selection)
Ivory Coast - The Elephants
North Korea – Chollima
Portugal - Selecção das Quinas (Team of Five Shields)

Brazil: Coming off a disappointing 2006 World Cup, Brazil is looking to change it’s style and take the crown this year. They are certainly one of the favorites to do so. Loaded with talent like the great Kaka, and other stars like Luis Fabiano, Dani Alves, Maicon, Julio Cesar, Lucio, and Robinho, this team is basically an all-star team. One noticeable name missing is Ronaldinho. The great playmaker was left off the roster because for one the coach does not like him or the style he plays. Dunga, the new coach, doesn’t want to play the beautiful game that Brazil usually does, with so much flair and grace. He wants them to play more of a defensive minded, counter attacking game, and let his overwhelming talent get the better of each team. We’ll see how this new change of style works out, but be sure Dunga will be the one to blame if they do not win this World Cup.
Impact Player: Kaka. The great Kaka was the FIFA player of the year back in 2007 and looks to be on form entering this World Cup. He is easily a top 5 player in the world, and might be the most complete player in the world. While Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi might be better offensively, he has more of a complete package. If Brazil is to win the World Cup, Kaka will be the conductor of this talented orchestra.

Ivory Coast: Les Elephants have probably the best team out of all the African Nations, but unluckily they are playing in “The Group of Death”. This is probably the best team any African national team has ever assembled, with Yaya Toure, Eboue, Kalou, and of course their main man Didier Drogba. With talent like this, and the home continent adavantage, they will have a good chance to sneak out of this group of death. Their downfall might be their defense however, because as good as their offense is, and is one of the best scoring offenses in the world, is equally as erratic as their defense. The match between them and Portugal could decide who makes it out as the second, unless of course Brazil fails and they both make it.
Impact Player: Didier Drogba. It’s hard to believe that Drogba is the 3rd best player in this group, because he is probably the 5th best player in the world. The 6’2 Drogba is an absolute bull on the field, with incredible speed and strength. He is clearly one of the best finishers in the world and will have to try and expose Brazil and Portugal’s defense in order for the Ivory Coast to advance.

North Korea: Usually people tend to feel bad for that 4th team in that “Group of Death”. However, this North Korea team is one of the worst teams in the whole competition and play a sloppy, boring style of game. This team you won’t feel bad for, you most likely will end up laughing at how badly they are beaten by all three teams. Look for each team to run up the score because if any of them draw with each other, goal differential is always a tie breaker. They will be fortunate to even get a draw in this group, and it will only because they go into a defensive shell the whole game.
Impact Player: Jong Tae-Se. He is known as the “Asian Wayne Rooney”. While he might be considered that in Asia, he is considered around the world a very, very poor man’s Wayne Rooney, as he is just an average player, and wouldn’t be able to start for any of the three other teams.

Portugal: Made it to the semifinals of the World Cup in 2006 thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo. They have the talent to win the whole tournament but are also inconsistent enough to not make it out of group play. Led by one of the top two players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, this team has enough talent around him, with players like Deco, Nani, and Carvalho, to go far in this tournament. The games against Brazil and Ivory coast are sure to be some of the best and most interesting games that group stage has to offer.
Impact Player: Cristiano Ronaldo. The most expensive transfer in world history, C. Ronaldo is worth every penny and already has Beckham-like world recognition. While some people might not like him because of the diving he is constantly accused of, there is no denying his talent. He is the most dangerous free kick taker in all the world, he is a threat in the air, he delivers crosses into the box like no other, and his amazing pace and footwork to beat defenders is only matched by Messi. If I could have one player in the world to start a team with, this would be the guy.

Predictions: The “Group of Death” is always the hardest to predict. The one thing that is for certain is that North Korea is coming in last. While I tend to think Brazil will end up winning this group, it might not happen this way at all. Portugal tends to play Brazil very well, and who knows what is going to happen with this new style Dunga has implemented. The Portugal vs Ivory Coast game is the most anticipated game in any group stage because of the implications it has. One of these teams that has a chance to win the World Cup will most likely will be eliminated after the game. It is a tough game to call too, home continent with a superstar vs the ultimate superstar. I think Ivory Coast’s defense will end up letting them down and Cristiano will just overwhelm them the whole game leading Portugal to victory and into the knockout round. What is interesting about this is that the team that comes in second in this group will in all likely hood have to play Spain in the first round knockout stage.