by Bennett Snyder

Chile -La Roja (The Red)
Honduras - La H (The H)
Spain - La Furia Roja ( The Red Fury)
Switzerland - Schweizer Nati

Chile: This was one of the surprise teams in qualifications. The South American qualifiers is one of the toughest in the world and Chile came in second beating out Argentina and only behind Brazil by a single point. While they don’t nearly have the talent Spain possesses, they do have the ability to beat both Switzerland and Honduras. An all around good team, that plays well with each other. They are expected to be the second team that comes out of this group but any of the other two could easily take their spot.
Impact Player: Matias Fernandez. Fernandez is not nearly the most talented player in this group, and although he might not be able to make Spain’s roster, that could be said for any number of players. Fernandez is very good at set pieces and can show brilliance at times. He will need to be a force against Honduras and Switzerland.

Honduras: Honduras is similar in terms of talent to the Swiss and the Chileans, but they don’t seem to play as cohesively as the other two. They did beat the U.S. in an international friendly 3-1, but also have lost to some poor teams. If Honduras can play together as a team, they might be able to sneak out of this group. I find it unlikely this will happen but I’m not ready to count out The H yet.
Impact Player: Wilson Palacios. Wilson plays in the premiership for Tottenham, so he will be used to the kind of competition that Honduras is going to face. While he is a very good defense midfielder, he is a pretty horrible offensive midfielder. Rarely ever scores, and will need to change that fact around if Honduras is going to advance.

Spain: The best team coming into this years World Cup. Went undefeated in qualifying, while not even having a draw, and won the prestigious 2008 Euro Cup. This team is matched in talent by no other country in the world, and only Brazil come close to their depth. Their whole roster is an all-star team with names like Xavi, Iniesta, Fernando Torres, David Villa, Casillas, Fabregas, Pique, David Silva, Puyol, Sergio Ramos, and Xabi Alonso. It’s crazy to think a top 20 player like Cesc Fabregas might be coming off the bench in some games. While they might not have a top 5 player in the world they certainly have four in the top 10. The craziest part though is how cohesive they are playing with each other. They don’t play like a bunch of superstars like the ’06 Brazil team, they act as a solid unit. Other countries can not compete with Spain offensively and defensively, perhaps only Brazil, and are favored to win the World Cup. If they are to lose, it is going to be by an incredible performance of one of the power countries.
Impact Player: Fernando Torres. While I could have easily picked Xavi, Iniesta or David Villa, I think Torres is going to be their best player. “El Nino” did not score a goal in qualifying, so look for him to be angry and end his drought early in group play. He is one of the most complete strikers in the world. Can score with either foot, great in the air, and can beat a group of defenders by himself. The front grouping of El Nino and David Villa, form the best pair of strikers in the world, and both will look to make a run at the Golden Boot along with holding up the World Cup trophy.

Switzerland: While some people are down on the Swiss, they seem to pretty a quality team. They will rarely beat the big time teams, although they did beat Portugal recently, they usually do take care of business against the inferior opponents. The first game played between Switzerland and Chile will go a long way in deciding who comes out of this group as it’s second place team. This will be a test of which style wins out, the European style of soccer like the Swiss play, or the Spanish style of soccer the other three teams play.
Impact Player: Alexander Frei. He is Switzerland’s all time leading goal scorer and will add on to his tally in this years World Cup. A great finisher, but lacks the skill and athleticism to play for an elite team. He will have trouble getting going against the superior competition like Spain, but should be fine against the other two.

Predictions: While Spain should and will win this group, the second team coming out will be more of a mystery. It could honestly be any other of the three but Chile seems the most likely of the bunch. They have played the best coming into this years World Cup, and will look to keep their momentum going against two teams that aren’t as good as them. The Swiss vs Chile game will most likely decide who comes out as the second team. However, it isn’t too great because their prize is playing Brazil most likely in the first round of the knockout stage.