Phil Lythell
Sport News 24/7France to handle Group A with ease
By Phil Lythell, on 8th December 2009, 12:19 UTC
The 2010 FIFA World Cup will kick off on June 11th at Soccer City in Johannesburg when South Africa take on Mexico in Group A.
The opening match will certainly have a lot of African flavour to it and the sound of the 'vuvuzuelas' - air horns that collectively sound like a swarm of particularly irate bees - will begin to leave their indelible mark on the tournament.
It remains to be seeen how well the hosts prosper especially as they are ranked just 86th in the world but playing on home soil can certainly raise performances - just look at South Korea's run to the semi-final in 2002.
Mexico had a troubled qualifying campaign which began poorly under the auspices of Sven Goran Eriksson and finished rather better under Javier Aguirre. The CONCACAF team are always a handy team whan it comes to major tournaments but it will be major surprise if they made it past the quarter finals.
Uruguay add to the latin feel to the group and they take on France in the early evening of the same day. The South American's had to qualify via a playoff against Costa Rica but the two-time winners will be no pushovers.
The favourites to win the group are undoubtedly France. They may have had a torrid and controversial time in reaching South Africa in the first place but with two appearances in the final in the last three tournaments they have the know-how to negotiate tricky situations. It will also be the last chance for players such as Thierry Henry, Nicolas Anelka and William Gallas to make a mark at such a lofty level so they will not lack for motivation.
Prediction: France to qualify top with Mexico second.
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