It’s almost that time again. The time that sends football fans, men and women, crazy. The time that only comes around every four years, making it all the more special. That’s right folks, it’s the 2010 World Cup in South Africa this summer, and I couldn’t be more excited!

To celebrate the start of the worlds greatest competition, I thought I would bring you some history of the competition, the groups and what to expect from each one. But first let us look at the hosts themselves.

The South African team, also known as Bafana Bafana, are the hosts of the 19th World Cup Finals. This will be the third tournament they have featured in, previously having played in the 1998 and 2002 Finals in France and South Korea respectively. Neither time did they go beyond the group stage. However, like we have seen so many times before, they will be hoping that the added power of being hosts will push them beyond the groups, like South Korea famously managed in that 2002 tournament. South Africa have built five new stadiums and rejuvenated another five to FIFA standards. Games during the Finals will be played across the country in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, Nelspruit and Polokwane. The Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg is the most impressive venue, newly built and with a capacity of 94,700 it will be an outstanding legacy left behind following the end of the World Cup. Some of the Bafana Bafana star players include Benni McCarthy, Steven Pienaar and Aaron Mokoena who all currently feature in the Premier League, and they’ll be hoping their experience can make the difference this time. And as with every World Cup there’s the official mascot, a cartoon which can sometimes be a little odd (the best example comes from Spain ‘82, Naranjito a football kit wearing orange). This time we’ve got Zakumi, a leopard with green hair and a cheeky smile.

What about the history of this great event? There have been 18 tournaments to date, which have been won by seven Nations. Brazil have the record for the most wins, with five World Cup titles under their belt. They’re also the only team to have played in every Finals. Italy have won four, Germany three, and Uruguay and Argentina have won two each. England and France are the other winners with one each. The first ever finals were held in 1930 in Uruguay, a tournament the hosts went on to win. The original trophy was named after the creator of the World Cup, Jules Rimet, and was kept permanently by Brazil in 1970 after winning it three times. However it was stolen in 1983 and never recovered. Brazilian legend Pele is the only player to have won three World Cup medals, and Ronaldo of Brazil is the top scorer ever with 15 goals in total.

So who’s playing who? Let’s take a look at the groups:

Group A sees the hosts South Africa facing late qualifiers Mexico, former World Cup winners France and the winners of the first ever World Cup, Uruguay. South Africa, despite being hosts, will face a tough time in the group. Uruguay will be seen as the under dogs, but a resurgence in their young talent could surprise many.  France will be expecting to win the group, despite a rocky qualification which was only sealed after the play off win over Ireland and the infamous Henry double handball. As for Mexico, they shouldn’t be underestimated and will be favourites for the second spot, but the power of being hosts and possibly under rated, the Bafana Bafana could cause the two Latin American teams an unpleasant surprise.

Group B is immediately an interesting group. Argentina, led by the eccentric and controversial Diego Maradona, will be thought of as favourites to top the group, but after a qualification campaign that was shaky to say the least and meant they only qualified at the last moment we could have a surprise on our hands. Euro 2004 winners Greece have never been the since that great triumph and it’s difficult to see them having any impact on the tournament. Similarily, Nigeria, or the Super Eagles as they’re known, are always underachievers for the talent they possess. Not as strong as previous tournaments, but maybe ex-Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins can switch it on at the right time. Finally there’s South Korea. They have the ability to be the shock team in the group, and are capable, as their 2002 run showed, of seeing off the big sides. Argentina must be considered favourites to get through but second spot really is up for grabs.

Group C should see a relatively easy passage for Fabio Capello’s England. Despite scandal rocking the private lives of members of the squad over the last 6 months they still seem like a side capable of scoring goals, even if the performance isn’t of a high standard. Put this with the fact that the other teams in the group are going into the World Cup with poor results in their warm up games, and it must be expected that England will do enough to go through. The USA are probably the next strongest team and had a good qualifying campaign, and have several players with Premiership experience. Theyll be the other favourites to escape the group phase, but no one can write off Algeria who surprisingly knocked out an Egypt side that has won the African Cup of Nations twice in a row, and Slovenia. In every World Cup there’s a side that surprises everyone, in the past it’s been South Korea and Senegal, and who’s to say this year it won’t be the Eastern Europeans.

Group D will be a lot closer than maybe people expect. Like Group B, Germany will be favourites to top the group and despite missing Michael Ballack they shouldn’t struggle too much. Ghana have turned in some good performances in recent tournaments and are one of the stronger African sides, while Australia are always underdogs and in the last two tournaments have looked stronger and stronger each time. They have plenty of players with Premiership experience and now World Cup experience as well, and the form of goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer will be crucial. Last but not least Serbia will need to improve their form if they want to escape the group.

Group E could be the closest group of the lot. Netherlands are of course the strongest in terms of talent, but so often they’ve had the quality in the squad only to fall apart mid-tournament through inter-squad fighting. They’ll need to have got rid of it this time to go far in this years tournament. For Denmark, Japan and Cameroon they’re all teams in with a shout of passing the group stage. They all have talented players, but many will believe that the skills of Eto’o and co. will give Cameroon the edge. Hopefully this time they won’t be wearing their tank top shirts they wore for 2006.

Group F sees current holders Italy looking to retain the trophy, and in this group they’ll be confident of reaching the latter stages. Old heads like Pirlo and Buffon will be key in driving the team on. Paraguay had a fabulous qualification campaign that caused Argentina in particular real problems in reaching the Finals, but their form has dipped in recent times including a recent defeat to the Republic of Ireland. Roque Santa Cruz will need to be on form if they want to progress. Slovakia will see themselves as having an outside chance of qualification, and will be hoping to benefit from any mistakes by Paraguay. Meanwhile New Zealand appear in their first Finals since 1982, and for only the second time ever. They will be everybody’s underdogs and I’m sure it will gain them extra support, especially if they can pull off a shock result against Italy.

Group G sees the Samba stars of Brazil in action in a group they should really top. While some of their stars haven’t had the best of seasons for their clubs, coming together for Brazil always seems to bring something different out of them. Robinho in particular is an example of this, and Kaka will be expected to shine. Both Portugal and Ivory Coast will be looking at second spot as a very realistic possibility. It will be interesting to see the game between these two, and how their star players, Cristiano Ronaldo and Drogba respectively, perform on the big stage. Finally minnows North Korea appear in their second ever Finals, the first being in 1966 when England won their only World Cup. Amid rumours that Kim Jong-Il, the countries President, will only let the matches be shown after they’ve been played and only if they have won, it can’t be expected that the Koreans will feature much in this year’s tournament.

Finally Group H will see World Cup favourites Spain in action and in a group they should be topping. Euro 2008 winners, and with a host of talent from front to back such as Torres, Xavi, Puyol and Casillas, the Spanish are many bookies favourites to win the tournament this year and it is probably the best chance they’ve had for many years. Chile feature for the first time in quite a few years, having never been as strong since losing the talents of Zamorano and Salas up front. This time they should be looking at reaching the latter stages, but will have to be wary of the threat posed by Switzerland. So often they reach the finals and so often they fail at the group stage, but maybe this year with the talents of Volanthen they can go a step further. Finally tiny Central American side Honduras appear in their second finals, the first at the same time as New Zealand in 1982. The World Cup has done wonders for a country that has suffered from floods and storms in recent times as well as political unrest, and as under dogs many will offer them sympathy support. They face a real test to get anywhere in this tournament but could a shock be on the cards?

Who does The Gent think will win? Well, I’d be looking at Spain as Euro 2008 winners to be very strong again, as their squad has barely changed since then. Brazil will always be a World Cup threat and maybe Netherlands or Argentina can surprise everyone with some dazzling displays, they both certainly have the talent to do it. Finally, England have a realistic chance of success. Capello has brought a different ethos to the squad and more discipline, and for the first time in a while England are capable of getting results even if their performances don’t warrant it. Fitness will be key to any teams success and hopefully we’ll see plenty of stunning goals and skills throughout the tournament. But what do you guys and gals think we can expect from this year’s World Cup? Comment below, let’s get some pre-World Cup banter going!

This article was written by The Gent. Feedback is always welcome, comment below. Follow him on Twitter: @The__Gent

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