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World Cup
Preview: Group F
7th June 2006
The FIFA 2006 World Cup kicks-off on June 9th in Germany,
so The
Forgotten Imp
is here to provide a concise guide to the tournament; we
continue by looking at Group F.
Group F will be a group that many neutrals are drawn to
because it contains Brazil. Completing the line-up are
Australia, Croatia and Japan.
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Brazil - Brazil are quite simply the
masters of football, even though the game was actually
invented in England!
The quad-annual saying is: which ever team defeats
Brazil, will win the World Cup.
This year's tournament is likely to go true to that form,
as Brazil are rated at World Cup odds of 5/2 to win the
2006 World Cup.
Brazil are the current holders of the World Cup, having
won the 2002 Asia tournament in South Korea and Japan.
Ominously, this team are much better than their 2002
counterparts, which looked ordinary at times.
The group draw has been kind to Brazil, so they are
quoted at 2/9 to qualify from Group E. Qualification
would appear a foregone conclusion even before a ball is
kicked.
Brazil's squad contains plenty of familiar names such as
Cafu, Ze Roberto, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho.
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Croatia - During the 1990's Croatia
emerged from a war-torn nation to become a promising
influence in the world of football. They were even
described as Europe's answer to Brazil.
Since then, Croatia has failed to make a significant
impact on the international scene. They are unlikely to
do so again this year, but their odds for second round
qualification are 11/2.
Their main tactic is to defend while looking to catch
teams on the break. This is a reasonable tactic to employ
against Brazil, but it is a tactic that could provoke
defeats against Japan and Australia. This was proven
during Croatia's qualify matches when Malta snatched an
unexpected draw.
Dada Prso is the player to watch out for as he is
Croatia's most likely source of goals.
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Japan - Japan have improved steadily
since qualifying for their first World Cup in 1998. They
reached the second round in 2002's tournament and it is
very credible that they could match that achievement in
2006. The bookmakers disagree and offer 16/1 on Japan
qualifying from Group E.
Japan are a good passing side and their match against
Australia should provide plenty of goals. Their main
weakness is a lack of a true goal scorer but Japan will
work hard to ensure that they qualify.
A player to watch out for Hidetoshi Nakata of Bolton
Wanderers, for Nakata is one of the most outstanding
talents ever to represent Japan. Alas, the team relies
too heavily on his talent but more players such as
Junichi Inamoto (West Brom) and Shunsuke Nakamura
(Glasgow Celtic) are beginning to break into the European
leagues.
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Wanderers, Celtic, Japan or West Brom.
Australia - After 32 years of waiting,
Australia have finally qualified for another World Cup
Finals; which is quite an achievement as countries from
Oceania are at a distinct disadvantage because of the
World Cup qualification rules.
Australia are managed by Gus Hiddink, who will be eager
to prove a point or two. Hiddink was overlooked by
England, during the English's recent search for a new
coach.
A number of Australia's players are already familiar to
English football supporters because many are English
based. Mark Schwarzer (Middlesbrough), Lucas Neill
(Blackburn Rovers), Tim Cahill (Everton) and Harry Kewell
(Liverpool) are just a handful of these names.
Australia could surprise many, although the bookmakers
only quote them at 10/1 to qualify. However, Group F
could provide considerable uncertainly and excitement as
the race for second place in wide open between all three
countries.
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Rovers, Everton and Liverpool.
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