All Eyes On Africa

Now that this Euro 2008 business has been sorted out, attention on the international football stage must now turn to the World Cup in 2010. The tournament is to be hosted by South Africa or whoever FIFA chooses to host it should they decide the African’s aren’t up to the job. Spain’s deserved victory in Vienna last week means that they can finally shake off their tag of perennial underachievers - England, however, will have to hold on to that mantle for a while yet possibly.

Two years is a long time in football and a lot could change between now and the weeks in which we make our predictions for the winners of the trophy. Will England qualify this time? Will Spain build on their success? Will Brazil or Argentina be able to offer a sustained threat? Will Croatia and Russia continue to establish themselves as footballing powers? And what the hell will the French bring to the party this time around?

Lets start off with a major issue that is already clouding the tournament before it has even began. South Africa 2010 will be the first World Cup to be held on African soil. But FIFA remain concerned about the African’s ability to host such a prestigious and well attended tournament and there are major worries about the infrastructure and stadiums. All the right words are being said and everybody is trying to put on a positive face on the situation. However, the bare facts are that Sepp Blatter, FIFA President, is genuinely worried. His statement last week that contingency plans have been made in the reality that South Africa are not up to hosting the tournament should be taken seriously. Blatter says that ‘only a disaster would prevent South Africa hosting the finals’ - I wonder how long before this scenario becomes more and more likely.

Back to matters on the pitch. Spain did ever so well to triumph in Austria. Their talented bunch of players finally delivered and gave their long suffering fans something to cheer. Will they kick on from here and remain a major threat? Well, when the Italian’s won the last World Cup, the same was said of them. And they went into steady decline resulting in a disappointing Euro 2008 and the re-appointment of World Cup winning coach Marcello Lippi. Spain remains a fantastic side - but with Aragones, the coach, now gone, there is a chance they may rest on their laurels.

Certain players are approaching the wrong end of thirty. Marcos Senna, Xavi Hernandez, Iker Casillas, Carlos Puyol - all key players and all getting on a tiny bit. Still, with the sheer awesome power of the front two Fernando Torres and David Villa, the pace and athleticism of David Silva and midfield class of Cesc Fabregas, it is likely they could still challenge for the biggie in two years time.

The same will most definitely apply to Holland. At times, their football in Euro 2008 was mesmeric. The skill or players like Robben, Van Persie, Sneijder and Van Der Vaart was a joy to behold and they appear to be only getting better. Don’t be surprised on them reaching the final in South Africa and possibly winning it. The Germans also look to have a strong team that will grow in class and ability. They have made good progress since hosting the World Cup and have a fantastic, thinking manager in Joachim Low. They may have seen the best of Michael Ballack but with Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Phillipe Lahm, they look to have a strong base on which to build on.

Then we reach the teams who you never know what they will produce. France, World Cup finalists in 2006 to finishing last in the group stage in 2008, remain an enigma. They clearly have not adapted to the loss of Zinedine Zidane and are also an ageing team. However, with players coming through the ranks such as Samir Nasri and Karim Benzema, they look to have a little still left in the tank. Would you ever write them off in a major tournament? The same applies to the Italians, who looked out of ideas at the Euro’s but were still a penalty or two from making the semi’s. Marcello Lippi back as coach can only be a good thing and given the right attitude of some of the players, they could prosper. However, I would not be backing them at this stage.

Brazil will always be a threat at the World Cup. Is it really possible for them to go two tournaments without winning it? Ronaldinho and Ronaldo are most likely past it however, and the team appears to be in a bit of a state. A poor start to the qualifiers and an apparent lack of faith from the fans in the team has raised problems. The Brazilians, though, have class running through their whole team. Kaka, Robinho, Anderson, Dani Alves. It is shockingly hard to imagine them not getting to at least the quarter finals. The same can be said of Argentina, who have retained the core of their team that was expected to win the World Cup in Germany and introduced new blood in Athletico Madrid’s goal machine Sergio Aguero and Real Madrid’s Fernando Gago. They too are in patchy form but you can assume they will clean up their act by 2010 and provide a decent challenge.

And with all this having been said, what now for England? Will they dare not qualify again? One thinks not, especially under the wise eyes of Fabio Capello. England fans will demand at least more fight this time after surrendering meekly when attempting to qualify for Austria and Switzerland. Capello has class to work with - Gerrard, Rooney, Ferdinand, the types of players you should be able to count on. He also has an interesting little pool of young talent with which to consider. The likes of Ashley Young, Joe Hart, David Bentley, Theo Walcott and Tom Huddlestone will all be desperate to impress over the next two years. England, once again, have the basis of a fantastic team but lack the winning mentality and belief. I can see them qualifying and doing well enough to maybe reach the semi’s but winning it may be out of their grasp for now.

And, of course, you can throw into the mix the like of Croatia, Russia, Mexico and Australia, who despite not having the star quality are always likely to perform and believe that they can cause an upset. And what of the home nations? Scotland look to be in fine shape in order to qualify after narrowly missing out for Euro 2008. Northern Ireland have a chance in their group, with every team looking a beatable on their day, the same can be said for the Republic of Ireland.

In the spirit of outlandish predictions that are bound to change in a years time (and then again several months later), here are a few to consider: Holland to win it, beating Brazil in the final. England to lose in the semi’s. Mexico to be the surprise team. Scotland to qualify and then get knocked out in the groups. As usual.

Here’s to two years time.