Group A
South Africa,  Mexico, Uruguay, France

South Africa: Hosts, they have been in a steep downward spiral since 1998, the quality of players has fallen. Once they had flamboyant Doctor Khumalo controlling the midfield, now they employ 3 defensive midfielders, once they had Neil Tovey and Lucas Radebe in defence, now they have Aaron Mokoena and Matthew Booth. They have recalled striker Benni McCarthy who is vital, what may make the difference is the domestic PSL finishes in February, leaving Brazilian coach Carlos Alberto Parreira 3 months to prepare his team physically, something Brazilian coaches are experts in.

Mexico: 4th consecutive appearance for El Tri, and having been usurped as the top team in the region, they'll hope that evergreen Cuauhtémoc Blanco and Giovani Dos-Santos can drive the team on. They were only knocked out in 2006 by Maxi Rodriguezes stunning strike in the Round of 16.

Uruguay: Former giants have become used to finishing 5th in CONMEBOL and play off for a spot. Whilst they are a small population, they do have some useful players like Diego Forlan, Diego Lugano, Walter Gargano and Luis Suarez. Under Oscar Tabarez, this team will try be pragmatic and take their chances.

France: Runners up in 2006, since then, Raymond Domenech has been a car crash. Disaster in Euro 2008, needing a 'hand' in the play off against Ireland, things aren't looking good. Domenech refuses to call up players like Sebastien Frey and Phil Mexes, whilst not being able to get the best out of Franck Ribery, Yohan Gourcuff, Karim Benzema. The use of 2 holding players all the time is also a big irritant. The key man will be the Bayern Munich winger.


Group B
Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.

Argentina: A disastrous qualification where they just scraped through. Whilst under Diego Maradona, they have selected 74 players in qualification, this is not a big weakness, Cesar Menotti who guided Argentina in 1978 selected just as many, although all over a 4 year period, Maradona never had that time span. What is certain, Maradona needs to get 23 players, he must find a scheme that gets the most out of Leo Messi and a scheme that ensures the defence stops leaking goals.

South Korea: Their 7th consecutive appearance, in 2002 they finished 4th. They alter from a 4-4-2 and 4-3-3, regardless, Manchester United's Park Ji Sung will be the key man.

Nigeria: They missed out on 2006, and only just made it this time. They have 'star' names like Obafemi Martins, Mikel Jon Obi and still Nwanku Kanu, but there is no team cohesion or exact tactical plan. Unfortunately, due to this, one of the weakest African teams, and the Super Eagles will not fly high.

Greece: Euro 2004 champions, Otto Rehagel continues to work miracles with the limited resources at his disposal. They will be defensively tight and dangerous on the set pieces. The key man will be Giorgoss Karagounis.


Group C
England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.

England: No wins since 1966, it is the turn of Fabio Capello to try win the trophy. They missed out on Euro 2008, and the bulk of the squad is unchanged since 2004, and they were very unfit and out of ideas in 2006. they qualified in very convincing fashion scoring the most goals in Europe. They have lost high profile friendlies to major powers, and more worryingly, after the starting 11, the options are extremely thin, with a bad situation in goal. They also don't have a secondary formation which is a concern too. The key man is Wayne Rooney.

U.S.A.: 6th consecutive appearance for The Yanks, a successful 2002 where they reached the quarter-final, 2006 was a let down as they never made it out of the group. They were runners up in the 2009 Confederations Cup, but they lost 3-1 and 3-0 to Italy and Brazil in the group stages, they did take Spain apart on the counter attack and had they not sat deep in the final, they may have won. Landon Donovan is the star man, if he is given space, he can cause big damage.

Algeria: Victims of the infamous game in 1982 Germany-Austria game that saw them eliminated, whilst they don't have players of the quality of Lakhdar Belloumi and Rabih Madjer as in the past, much will depend on Karim Ziani of Wolfsburg to inspire his side.

Slovenia: A second appearance in the tiny nation, they eliminated Russia in the play off, striker Valter Birsa will be the key man with goal keeper Samir Handanovic of Udinese.

Group D
Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia

Germany: 3rd in 2006, along with Holland and Italy, the only European country to have made a World Cup Final outside of Europe, so history backs them. Undefeated in qualification, this team is smooth. Joachim Low has integrated 4 players from the U-21's into his team (Neur, Beck, Boateng, Ozil), and he's formulated 3 alternative formations for different teams. This is the last act of Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose at this level, and they will be the key men. Mesut Ozil is the dark horse to emerge.

Australia: Their 3rd World Cup, they have a very experienced defence and goalkeeper, the midfield is physical, they do lack a striker. In a 4-2-3-1 formation, they could take teams to the wire. Star man will be Tim Cahill.

Ghana: The 2nd appearance from a true African giant. Most of the squad is the same as 2006 Black Stars where they missed out on the quarter finals simply as Ronaldo was a superior finisher than Asamoh Gyan. They have an imposing midfield with Michael Essien, captain Stephen Appiah and youngster Kwadwo Asamoah. Where they are weak is they have no striker who scores regularly, and there is lack of discipline with players like Essien and Muntari choosing when they play.

Serbia: Another strong qualification process, last time in 2006 they never conceded a goal, this time they denied France a spot. Defence is their forte, Nemanja Vidic and Aleksander Lukovic are imposing, Kolarov is a rampaging wingback and Lazovic will try find the net.

Group E
Holland, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark

Holland: The Dutch always qualify in style, but fall flat when it matters most. The possible loss of Robin Van Persie who may not be match fit is a big blow, but the talent is there. Wesley Sneijder, Ruud Van Niestelrooy, and Arjen Robben can make the difference at any time, and Eljero Elia looks like he may have a breakthrough tournament as well.

Japan: The 3rd World Cup, in a 4-4-2 formation, much emphasis will be on Shunsuke Nakamura and Yasuhito Endo in midfield.

Cameroon: After missing out in 2006, under Paul Le Guen, this team may be the strongest African competitor. Having opened doors for Sub-Saharan teams with The Indomitable Lions quarter final in 1990, this team may not have the same quality as François Omam-Biyik  or Roger Milla, they are a physical team. The key players will be Alexandre Song-Billong as the playmaker and Samuel Eto'o to make the difference in the 4-3-3 formation.

Denmark: After missing 2006, Denmark qualified well and forced Portugal into a play off. Solid and hard working, the hopes lie with Nicklas Bendtner to make the difference.

Group F
Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia

Italy: Current World Champions, they have had a rocky 4 years since. Donadoni was a bad a manager, although Spain needed penalties to beat them in 2008, the 2009 Confederations Cup was an outright disaster. However, Italy qualified, and with many of the class of 2006 around, experience will be critical. The potential key man would be Antonio Cassano, but he will not be selected, so the burden falls on Andrea Pirlo in a more advanced role than in 2006.

New Zealand: With Australia now in the Asia zone, New Zealand swept Oceania and beat Bahrian in the playoff. They were very bad in the 2009 Confederations Cup, so it doesn't bode well for 2010. Shane Smeltz will need to have his shooting boots on.

Paraguay: 4th consecutive appearance, and coached by Argentine Gerrado Martino, they are resolute and functional. For most of the CONMEBOL campaign, they led the race, and their fire power includes Roque Santa-Cruz, Oscar Cardozo, Salvador Cabanas, these are the men who must score, whilst Julio Caceres keeps it tight at the back.

Slovakia: 1st appearance at the World Cup, they finished top in a group that included the Czech Republic and Poland. The key men will be striker Robert Vitteck, defender Martin Skrtel, but importantly, captain and midfielder Marek Hamsik who is a player to watch for sure.

Group G
Brazil, North Korea, Cote d'Ivoire, Portugal

Brazil: The only team to have qualified for all tournaments, and again they are favourites. This time, not just on name alone, coach Dunga has created a physically and mentally strong team that plays for set pieces and is absolutely devastating on the break, what may be a problem is what is the plan B if teams sit deep, as they struggled to break such teams down. They saw the World Cup is easier to win than qualification secured in CONMEBOL, and having stormed to wins in the 2007 Copa America and 2009 Confederations Cup, Brazil look strong. Kaka and Maicon are the key players.

North Korea: In 1966, they reached the quarter finals, this is their second time in the World Cup from the secretive nation.

Côte d'Ivoire: Relatively new African power, this is their 2nd appearance in the World Cup. In 2006, they were in the Group of Death, with a lucky draw, they may progress. The have elite players like striker Didier Drogba and playmaker Toure Yaya who will carry the hopes, what will be their downfall is since Henri Michel left in 2006, the team isn't cohesive and relies on individuals rather than the collective.

Portugal: Having to qualify through the play off, Portugal have stuttered in qualification. Selection worries by Queiroz made it tough initially, especially how to get the best out of captain Cristiano Ronaldo and find a striker. He found the latter with naturalized Liedson, the former is still up in the air. He has also played Pepe in central midfield and he has been a rock there. Despite his form, Ronaldo will be crucial.

Group H
Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland

Spain: Current European Champions, they are heavy favourites. They have an almost complete squad, and on most games, an uncontainable playing style of short passes. They have imperious goalkeeper Iker Casillas, midfield wizards in Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, and goal machine David Villa, a tough opponent.

Honduras: A return since 1982, the small island country will have all hopes in the feet of Inter Milan striker David Suazo, who in 2006 was named Best Foreign Player in Italy with Kaka after 22 league goals.

Chile: 1st time since 1998, the small country of Chile returns, and will give many thrills. Coached by Marcelo Bielsa who uses a 3-3-1-3 formation, they are small in stature, the voracity in attacks is big. The stars are Alexis Sanchez who has frightening speed and tricks, and Humberto Suazo aka the 'Little Buddha' who will have to score the goals.

Switzerland: 9th appearance at the World Cup, the Swiss have German super coach Ottmar Hitzfeld to guide them. Key man will be striker Alexander Frei.