World Cup 2010 – The Greatest Show on Earth VIII

We come to the final group in our tour of the South African World Cup this summer and in Group H we have the favourites and current European Champions Spain, alongside Honduras, Chile and Switzerland. On the face of it this is a straightforward little group, with Spain the standouts and the other 3 battling for 2nd spot in the group and that battle actually makes it a very interesting and complex group.

Group H

Honduras  -  Los Catrachos,  FIFA ranked  36,  Price to win group  40.0

Chile  -  La Roja,  FIFA ranked  13,  Price to win group  6.0

Spain  -  La Furia Roja,  FIFA ranked  1,  Price to win group  1.3

Switzerland  -  Schweizer Nati,  FIFA ranked  20,  Price to win group  14.0

Honduras

Honduras are the dark horses of this group, little is known about them but they are coming to the fore at just the right time. This is their 2nd World Cup, the first being in Spain in 1982, when they finished bottom of their group but did only lose one match. They showed their credentials by beating USA in America by 3-1 in January this year.

They do have a very experienced International team but it has to be said they are not of the highest quality. The vast majority play their football in the Honduran league but there are a number that are dotted around Europe, including Figueroa and Thomas at Wigan and Palacios at Spurs. This is probably the best team they have ever had and they may shock a few teams in their group.

They play Chile first, then Spain and finally Switzerland. As always the first game is the important one, they would need to beat Chile to have hopes of going through and it is really a question of whether this competition has come just a little too early for them. Chile and Switzerland are not top drawer but they are decent sides who will be difficult to beat.

Honduras do have 3 more friendlies before the real action starts. They are due to play Belarus, Azerbaijan and Romania and after that we should know more about them and be able to better gauge their hopes for this competition.

Chile

A very tough team, experienced, battle hardened and will give anyone an almighty game. They have been to 7 World Cups previous to this one and although they have not covered themselves in glory, they did finish 3rd in 1962 when it was held in Chile, they will fancy their chances of doing a lot better this time round.

Chile finished 2nd only to Brazil in the qualification for South Africa, they were well ahead of Argentina and they beat Paraguay home and away, which is no mean feat. They are also in a fantastic run of form that has seen them lose only once in their last 12 games and that was away to Brazil. They are a very busy side, who have 7 more friendlies before the World Cup starts, so they are certainly going to be ready for it.

Bielsa, who was the former Argentina coach, is now in charge at Chile and Bravo is the captain. Virtually all their squad is based in South America with just a few exceptions. There is one English based player Jara at West Brom but I do believe he is injured and unlikely to make the World Cup.

They have no superstars but do have a great work ethic and as a team they have earned some rave reviews over this last 12 months. They will definitely make Spain work hard for any result in the last group game but by then this group may already have been sorted. They play Honduras, Switzerland and Spain in that order and I think they should get the points they require in those first 2 games.

Spain

Favourites for the group, favourites for the competition and who can stop them? The Red Fury are on the top of their game as they enter their 13th World Cup. Forever known as the chokers, they finally threw off that particular tag in 2008 when they won the European Championship, with a style of play that other teams just cannot stop. They will pass you to death. Pass and move, pass and move their possession game is an art in itself and it is worth the entrance fee just to see them in action.

Having said that, their record in the World Cup is abysmal and they are hoping to put that right this year. Their best effort was in 1950 when they came 4th. So many times they have gone to big tournaments with high expectations and come home early with their tail between their legs. They could never handle pressure. So what happened to change them?

Well in 2007 they started to put together a run of games where they just kept winning and winning. It built up momentum and confidence. This run lasted for 2 years and they went undefeated for 35 International games, equalling the record held by Brazil. It also included picking up the European Championship.

They had built an incredible team that have been together for 3 years now. Masses of experience at the very highest levels. An utter belief in their own ability and destiny. Under the tutorship of del Bosque they are so formidable, that often teams are beaten by them before they even go on the field. Most of their squad is Spanish based but we do have Reina, Riera, Torres and Fabregas over here.

In the qualification for 2010 they played 10 and won 10. They have won 14 of their last 15 games. It is difficult to see past them but as we know, when we get to the knockouts anything can happen and probably will. In the group they start with Switzerland, then Honduras and finally Switzerland and I think this will suit them, as they don’t have to face the tricky Chileans till last.

Switzerland

Switzerland had the huge embarrassment of losing at Home to Luxembourg in the 2010 qualifiers but they recoverd their composure to finish top of their group and in doing so qualified for their 9th World Cup finals. They are a team who seem to go through phases of being good and then being pretty bad and you can never quite tell what you are going to get with them.

Unfortunately they are in a tough group and they will need to be at their best throughout to make any impact here.The coach is the very experienced German Ottmar Hitzfeld and led on the field by Alexander Frei the Basel forward who is also the top scorer in International football for Switzerland and they will need a few of his goals here.

Their best performances at the World Cup came a long time ago, when they were quarter finalists in 1934, 1938 and 1954, so it is about high time they made their mark. Their squad plays in many different European leagues, though not always in the higher echelons. The English based players are Behrami (West Ham), Senderos (Everton) and Djourou (Arsenal). They can play a solid game but too often they tend to crumble when the pressure comes on and in this tournamnet the pressure will certainly be on and it then becomes a question of how they will cope with it.

They have the unenviable task of taking on Spain in their very first game, followed by Chile and finally Honduras, so the draw has certainly conspired against them and it is going to be difficult for them.

Group H

Let’s start by saying that Spain will win the group and it is only a question of who will finish 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Of the other 3 Chile are certainly the strongest, most experienced and have the momentum on their side. The other big advantage that Chile have is the fact that they play Spain last, so they know that they have to go out and win their first 2 games because that is the best possibility of points for them.

For me Switzerland are just not strong enough to compete at the highest level and Honduras, whilst they are up and coming have not yet arrived and it may just be a little too early for them yet. The battle then will be for 3rd and 4th between Switzerland and Honduras and I am just going for Switzerland because of their greater experience.

Final Placings

1   Spain

2   Chile

3   Switzerland

4   Honduras

That then completes our look at the 8 groups. Next time I will be looking beyond the group stages to see how the competition might progress.