World Cup Countdown (Part Two)

Group B is one where it is hard to see past two European Qualifiers but of the surprises, perhaps Paraguay are best placed to take advantage of any slip-ups.

England once more enters a tournament with high expectations from the media and supporters. For more than five years, we have been told that this is the Golden Generation of English Football, the best set of players we have had in decades, perhaps since 1970, and that they are in the footballing peak. Even the manager has lost his normally cautious persona, informing us that England will win the World Cup. Not can, will. And this is with Peter Crouch in the squad. And without Wayne Rooney for the Group stages at least. Short of The Queen or Tony Blair corking it, there is nothing more that I can add to his injury situation that you do not already know such is the volume of column inches devoted to England’s best loved toe.

And what of the rest of the squad? Aside from Theo Walcott, there were no real surprises in the 23 chosen by Sven Goran Eriksson. It was more a case of whether the normally cautious Swede would have the guts to pick the players on form rather than the tried and trusted usual suspects. Even though Aaron Lennon and Stewart Downing were included, the starting XI pretty much picks itself, aside from Rooney’s injury. To such an extent that the XI who kick-off against Hungary and Jamaica are going to the be the ones who start the tournament:

Robinson; Neville, Terry, Ferdinand, Ashley Cole; Beckham, Gerrard, Lampard, Joe Cole; Owen, Crouch

The formation is a straight 4-4-2 but if Rooney were fit, Crouch would drop out for a 4-4-1-1. In his absence though, it appears to me that Eriksson has missed a trick. The midfield is unbalanced, bereft of a purely defensive player showing that the lessons of two years ago have not been learned when England sacrificed Gerrard’s attacking abilities for his defensive qualities and defended too deep against France and Portugal, succumbing to defeat in both games. Personally, I would sacrifice Crouch and push Gerrard forward. In the league and particularly the FA Cup Final, he showed what potency he has in attack and how he can galvanise the team into action, redemptive and proactive.

Sweden is perhaps the best-known team to the Premiership. They are also England’s Bête Noir. Having failed to beat the Swedes since 1968, there seems to be little prospect of that being repeated this time round either. Four years ago, England were far superior in the opening forty five minutes but failed to capitalise on that dominance, being pegged back to 1-1 by the final whistle and grateful to hold on. At Euro 2004, the abiding Swedish memory has to be Zlatan Ibrahimovich’s glorious back-heeled goal against Italy. Ibrahimovich has however, had a mixed season for Juventus, apparently ready to be sacrificed by the Turin outfit for his inconsistency. Defensively, the Swedes are always solid, but at the last World Cup they were undone by their attacking frailty being dumped out by Senegal in the Second Round. But that is history and yet again they are England’s biggest threat in the Group Stages. In qualification, they had one of the more impressive records but were beaten home and away by Croatia, indicating that they may be not quite so much of a force as they were previously. Their biggest injury concern is over Freddie Ljungberg who is advised to sit out the Group Stages due to a foot injury which is good news for England as the Arsenal player was showing signs of coming back into form, for his club at least. There is little doubt that he is a threat, a useful threat with 12 goals in 56 internationals. England will be wary of Henrik Larsson after his performance as a substitute in the Champions League Final, earning him the Man Of The Match award. Whether he can influence enough play at this World Cup will be interesting to see. He is in the twilight of his career and will be a huge player for the Swede’s to replace.

Paraguay are the Group’s awkward opponents, proven by their Silver Medal at the last Olympics. Despite qualifying for the Second Round at the last two World Cups, there is no reason to believe that they will progress that far in Germany unless England or Sweden implode spectacularly. It is likely that Roque Santa Cruz will miss the England game, depriving them of one goalscoring threat whilst his partner Nelson Haedo Valdez could earn himself a big move from Werder Bremen if he plays well. Despite this, they have a reputation for shipping goals alarmingly; note their recent meetings with England and Peru whilst Brazil and Ecuador enjoyed shooting practice against them in qualification. However, Argentina failed to beat them, losing and drawing their matches in the campaign so they should not be taken too lightly yet provide England and Sweden with a comfortable win provided those two nations apply themselves appropriately.

Trinidad and Tobago are the whipping boys. Sorry there is no other category to put them into. To be brutal about their chances, if they concede less than ten goals, it should be considered a result. Realistically, they are looking at shipping between nine and fifteen goals. One cannot overlook the fact that their squad whilst managed by a respected coach is limited to players in the Championship or below. Yet they provide the “romance” of the tournament, exceeding expectations by qualifying but fearful of humiliation. Their big game is England but despite being well organised, they should succumb to a five goal defeat. If they do not, England will be brutalised by the media. And supporters, akin to their reception after failing to beat the Irish at Italia 90.

Predicted Results:

England	3	-	0	Paraguay
Trinidad	0	-	4	Sweden
Paraguay	1	-	2	Sweden
Trinidad	0	-	5	England
England	1	-	1	Sweden
Paraguay	3	-	0	Trinidad

Predicted Table:

	Pl.	W	D	L	F	A	GD		Pts.
England	3	2	1	0	9	1	+ 8		7
Sweden	3	2	1	0	7	2	+ 5		7
Paraguay	3	1	0	2	4	5	- 1		3
Trinidad	3	0	0	3	0	12	- 9		0

Arsenal Players in the Group


Ashley Cole (England)
Sol Campbell England)
Theo Walcott (England)
Freddie Ljungberg (Sweden)

Players that Arsenal should sign

Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden)
Nelson Haedo Valdez (Paraguay)

Today's Tunes are from the evergreen and hugely talented, Mr. Terry Edwards. A founding member of The Higsons and Butterfield 8 (with Mark Bedford from Madness), and a list of guest appearances on recordings that reads like a Who's Who of the Indie music scene for the last twenty years, these are two of his own compositions:

Boots Off

Detroit