2010 World Cup Preview: Group F

Welcome everyone to another installment of our 2010 World Cup previews here on FA Daily, with Group F on tap for today. We’re only about a week away from the start of the action in South Africa, so in this edition, we take a look at the group that is led by Italy, with Paraguay, New Zealand, and Slovakia all trying to chase down the Italians for the top spot. Let’s begin!

GROUP SCHEDULE

June 14, 2010

Italy vs. Paraguay – 2:30 PM ET, ESPN

June 15, 2010

New Zealand vs. Slovakia – 7:30 AM ET, ESPN

June 20, 2010

Slovakia vs. Paraguay – 7:30 AM ET, ESPN
Italy vs. New Zealand – 10 AM ET, ESPN

June 24, 2010

Slovakia vs. Italy – 10 AM ET, ESPN
Paraguay vs. New Zealand – 10 AM ET, ESPN2

*Times indicate actual game start times. 30 minute preview show before most games, so the actual coverage will begin a half hour earlier.

THE TEAMS

Italy

Here are your defending World Cup champions, and while they have gotten older, they’re still a team that has to be considered one of the favorites to win it all this summer. It also helps that this isn’t exactly the Group of Death, as none of these other squads are ranked inside the Top 30 in the FIFA rankings. But we all know that rankings don’t matter when the cup gets here, and any of these teams are capable of beating Italy when they aren’t at their best. Just ask Mexico, who knocked off the Italians in a friendly earlier today. Marcello Lippi‘s team features a nice display of talent that has led them to their 4th spot ranking, and one that is absolutely loaded with cup experience. While I think momentum plays a huge factor in a tournament like this one, you can never underestimate a team that has been here before…..and won the whole thing. It would be a monumental collapse if the Italians didn’t win this group, as they will likely rack up three victories, and hit the knockout stage with a whole lot of confidence and momentum.

Paraguay

It seems that Paraguay is probably the early favorite to finish behind Italy in this group, as the biggest match for them will be against Slovakia on June 20. If they are able to pick up three points there, they should all but lock in that second position, and move into the knockout stage where anything can happen. But, I don’t think we can sleep on this team against Italy either. If there’s a team in this group with the potential to knock off the champs, it’s Paraguay. This team likes to attack and attack, so if they are able to score a goal or two early, they could definitely put up enough scoring to beat the Italians. I think it’s a given that this team will score in every game, but if there are games where they can’t put it in the net consistently, is their defense good enough to hold other teams down? That’s the question, and that’s what will answer whether or not this team advances to the next round.

New Zealand

It’s hard to see New Zealand doing a whole lot in this tournament, as even though this isn’t the toughest draw they could have faced, I don’t really like the way they match up with the other three. This team doesn’t have the depth to be a contender, and overall, they simply aren’t as good as the other teams. There’s no chance that they hang with Italy on June 20, and they can only hope to try and steal some points away from Slovakia or Paraguay in the other two contests, but that’s probably reaching a little. I wish I could convince you that this team had a chance at competing for the next round, but I don’t believe they do. Again, other draws would have been worse than this one, but even so, this one is no easy road in the least bit. Having the defending champions, a Paraguay team that has the skill to defeat Italy, and a Slovakia team that many believe could be a sleeper in this tournament. This is only the second time New Zealand has participated at the World Cup, with their only other appearance coming in 1982. Unfortunately for them, this trip isn’t likely to last too long, as they will probably find themselves finishing at the bottom of this group.

Slovakia

Slovakia has probably got their most attention from their victory over the US in a friendly back in November, but we can’t look at them as just a team that beat the US in a meaningless match. They could very well play the spoiler role in this group, as their goal is similar to that of Paraguay: get a win over the other, and try to pick up a point against Italy. The Paraguay vs. Slovakia match will surely decide who gets the second spot in this group, as while a win over New Zealand isn’t a guarantee, they will be the better squad heading into the game. This team may relish the underdog role in this group, or they could go into this thing thinking that they can beat Italy. Like Paraguay, this team can score some goals when they’re at their best in their attack, so it’s hard to underestimate a team with that kind of goal-scoring capability. If Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel can lead the defensive side of things, and cause havoc for attackers, then this team has a great combination that could lead them to the knockout stage.

PREDICTIONS

*Winner in bold

Italy vs. Paraguay
New Zealand vs. Slovakia
Slovakia vs. Paraguay – DRAW
Italy vs. New Zealand
Slovakia vs. Italy
Paraguay vs. New Zealand

1. Italy (9 points)
2. Paraguay (4 points, advances on goal differential)
3. Slovakia (4 points)
4. New Zealand (0 points)

Well that’s all for the Group F Preview here on FA Daily! The Paraguay vs. Slovakia game was the toughest to decide, as I think they are both capable of playing an underdog role in the grand scheme of things, but only one team can advance. I’ll take Paraguay on goal differential.

What are your predictions for the group? Be sure to vote on our poll to the right, and let us know who you think will win Group F!

Previous Group Previews – Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E