The next group I shall preview will be England’s group, Group B, in group order:
England
Although Englands chances of winning the overall tournament depend on the fitness of Wayne Rooney, getting out of this group shouldn’t require the Man United striker. Playing Sweden last also helps as we should have qualified for the knockout stages before this game. Defensively, England are strong, with Paul Robinson in goal, and John Terry and Rio Ferdinand at the back, they have arguably one of the best defences in the tournament, the midfield is also strong, with Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard playing, however, upfront is where England may struggle (mainly due to Svens selection policy). With Owen struggling from his injury vs spurs in the season, and Rooney out, Crouch is likely to start, and the only backup available will be the tournaments youngest player, Theo Walcott. My Prediction: Group Winners.
Paraguay
Paraguays main threat is Bayern Munich’s Roque Santa Cruz, with extrovert goalkeeper Chilavert having retired from football. Having qualified in 4th place in the CONMEBOL qualification zone, they will be looking to try and take a european scalp home with them. My Prediction: 3rd Place.
Trinidad & Tobago
World Cup debutants T&T will just be hoping not to embarrass themselves, with a large contingent of UK based players, many fans will recognise the names, especially the captain, perma-smiling Dwight Yorke. As the smallest team ever to compete in the World Cup, they have little or no expectations, so an upset against one of the European teams in the group could happen, although I think it’s unlikely. My Prediction: 4th Place.
Sweden
Sweden will be hoping not to be beaten by another world cup debutante after losing to Senegal 4 years earlier. They have an impressive strike duo (at club level anyway), with Ibrahimovic and Larsson, however in recent friendlies the squad have not been impressive, with the BBC reporting them looking toothless upfront in a recent match against Finland. My Prediction: Group Runners Up.
It’s hard not to look beyond England and Sweden in Group B as they’ve both simply got too many class players to not beat Paraguay and T&T and then maybe draw against each other.
Paraguay are sweating now on Roque Santa Cruz being fit enough to make any contribution so their likelihood of causing a shock has fallen even further.