Group C

C is for -amongst other things- Calvin, Cheese, and Croatia.

Group C
England, USA, Slovenia, Algeria

Group C has one borderline elite team and three good, hungry teams looking to make their mark. This might be a good one.

Slovenia- To be honest I don't know much about this squad. I saw parts of their two legs against Russia and was very impressed. They played well and the fact that they knocked off what was a heavily favored Russian squad with world class talent speaks for itself. As an Inter supporter I have caught glimpses of Rene Khrnin but not enough to know his game and I am not even sure he will figure prominently in the Slovenian squad. I know it is not much but the most I can say about this team is they are one of those classic lower end European/South American teams that will be beaten by the better teams if taken seriously but can ruin dreams if not.
PTW- It would be a lie to claim I know enough about any of these guys to say.

England- If the tournament were to start today the only teams ahead of England would be Spain and Brazil. Taking everything into consideration- skill, grit, experience, manager, depth, etc- England look like a legitimate title contender. They blazed through qualification and seem well poised to win this group. If there is one possible danger scenario it may the possibility of a problem in central defense. As of right now I imagine Terry, Ferdinand, and Lescott are the center-halfs and it is not irrational to think fitness concerns could plague the trio. But still that is a long shot. If England do not win group C it will likely be their own fault.

Algeria- Much like Slovenia I am kind of in the dark about the Algerians. I know they played those dramatic two games last month against Egypt to put themselves in at the death. The clips I saw showed gritty and determined players playing their hearts out. This may go against current conventional wisdom but I am not high on the prospects of African football at either club or country level. Africans players are phenomenal, but I will take a national team seriously when they reach a world cup semi-final. Being that South Africa are hosting this might be the year, we will see. Just a quick note: everyone talked about how Algeria defeated the defending two-time champion of Africa to win their berth. Fair enough. Egypt have not appeared in a World Cup since Italy 1990. Just saying.
PTW- See Slovenia.

USA- Living in America it is easy to get swept up in speculation. Some people are ready to declare the US a heavyweight, others are eternal doubters. Personally I see a talented pool of players who have enough experience at the highest levels to be a threat. There is also a certain bit of hunger I think. What makes me a little nervous about the USA is a tactical guilelessness on the part of Bob Bradley. I have rarely if ever seen make a mid-game correction that worked. The other thing is a tendency in past American squads to want to live on previous results. Last summer in the Confed Cup was a great achievement, but let's be honest: the US finished 2-3 and only beat one team better than them (Spain). If they want to go through they need to be focused 100 percent on England, Slovenia, and Algeria. They might know what you did last summer, but none of them care. This might be meaningless, it might not: The US are Terrible in Europe, but do pretty well elsewhere. World Cups 1990 (Italy), 1998 (France), and Germany (2006) saw the US earn a total of 1 (ONE!!!) point in 9 matches. Meanwhile they made it through a true group of death on home soil in 1994 and played respectably in the loss to eventual champion Brazil, and reached the quarter final in Asia 2002. So I think that is a good sign, maybe. They should go through in second place.
PTW- Landon Donovan. For all the divided opinions on Landon he is the one player with unique characteristics on this team. There are plenty of guys that can work and run and tackle, scoring may not be in surplus but they have finishers, but Donovan can change the dynamic of a game with his blend of skills.

Group C prediction:
1. England (7)
2. USA (5)
3. Slovenia (4)
4. Algeria (0)