Who will win the World Cup?
Although many consider football to be a global sport, a look at the history of the World Cup shows only a handful of nations have mastered it. FIFA – the game's world governing body – recognizes 208 national associations but just seven have celebrated having the best team on the planet.
South Africa 2010 will be the 19th football World Cup. Of the previous 18 tournaments, five have been won by Brazil, four by Italy and three by Germany. Argentina and Uruguay have claimed two each and France and England one apiece. So, four European and three South American countries have triumphed but the world champions have never come from North America, Asia or Africa.
It is hard to see that record changing this time, although Africa's contenders will be bolstered by the first ever World Cup on their home continent. Ghana and Ivory Coast are arguably the strongest of those countries.
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba will lead the Elephants' campaign. He hit 37 goals for his club this season and was the English Premier League’s leading scorer. His teammate Salomon Kalou has been in good form too. However, another Chelsea player, Michael Essien, could miss out through injury – a setback for the hope of the Black Stars.
We’re expecting a warm welcome from South Africa’s fans but only the most blinkered of them will consider the hosts to have any chance of lifting the trophy. Even 'dark horse' status is optimistic for Bafana Bafana, unlike France, Portugal, the United States, Australia and North Korea who each have credibility.
France and Portugal had poor qualifying campaigns – one of the reasons why they aren’t the top seeds in their respective groups. But both countries have talented squads and if they find form at the right time will be a match for anyone. Portugal, in particular, will hope their Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo gets inspired on the biggest stage of all.
Like Greece at the 2004 European Championship, the United States will feel they are more than the sum of their parts – and players like Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard show star qualities at times.
Australia’s teamwork and battling spirit will be their biggest weapons. Many felt they were unlucky to lose to eventual champions Italy four years ago – and the Aussies can never be ruled out at any sport.
North Korea will be the lowest ranked team at this World Cup but mainly because they play so little international football. No-one knows very much about them and, as they did back in 1966, the country could spring a few surprises.
Of the highest-ranked nations, I would discount Argentina, England and Germany. Maradona may have been a genius as an Argentine player but he’s some way short of that as a coach. He isn’t getting the best out of world player of the year Lionel Messi and his omission of Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Zanetti from his World Cup squad is puzzling.
England’s first team is good but they lack strength in depth and don’t have enough goalscorers while Germany have been dealt a huge blow with the injury to their captain Michael Ballack. Not only vastly experienced, Ballack has scored an astonishing 42 goals in his 98 international appearances.
Brazil, Spain, Italy and Netherlands are the outstanding favorites. However, neither Spain nor Netherlands have won the World Cup before, while a European team has never triumped away from European soil.
Some may have more chance than others on paper – but what will happen in reality is anyone's guess; so who do you think will be crowned world champions?
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spain and netherlands have the best teams and probably do well most likey to win it.
argentina have the best strikers messi, melito, arguro, tevez and higauin but the coach is the main problem. the good thing is argentina have a some what easy group and will only face stiff competion if they reach they semi finals.
germany will suprise every one but without michael ballack it will be hard for them to cope without him. england has great coach under don fabio cappello and will go far if they keep their heads on the pitch.
italy ,france and portugal i doubt if they will go past quarter finals since they dont have many good players esp france.leaving nasri and benzeema was the wrosed mistake they made, ribbery is injury prone and has a bad temper, henry sad to say is finished. anleka is ok so i doubt they will do well after all they need 2cheat 2 even qualify. lol
brazil wont win this cup because they only have one quality player kaka who had mixed season with real madird. they have great defenders but offensively they will depend on kaka which will lead to thier demise. dunga has made the worsed mistake leaving ronaldinho, pato and maybe diego out and bringing in man city rejects robinho and elano. brazil will now be one of the easy teams to beat, i doubt they will go past they semis with this team regardless of theier defence. one team countries dont win world cups and kaka is the only player brazil will be depening on.
i think brazil will win the world cup.They are very good in technic and they can play well together on the field .But i dont think it will be an african country to won this tornament
Hi! I think Brazil will be crowned world champion again because brazilians know how to play a good soccer.
Argentina .... as the world greatest player Diego Maradona is the team coach and his skills and techinques will be the best inspiration for the squad in this big event at South Africa..
Brasil will lift the trophy!!! believe me!!
TO CNN.COM SPORTS. i think this time 2010 FIFA world cup goes to GERMANY.
hopefully argentina preferable anyone but england its alreay gone stupid with little england flags on every car
hmm,
I think that Argentina have a great chance if the Manager stays in control, other contenders must be Spain but only if get injuries sorted, Brazil wont win and England will take beating. So to call it, hmm spain...
BRAZIL – I NOMINATE THE BEST 7 MOST PROFESSIONAL TEAM IN THE WHOLE WORLD – BRAZIL.
BRAZIL – BRAZIL- BRAZIL .........................
As an Italian, I must confess that unfortunately the Italy squad will be going as tourists to South Africa. The players lack the hunger and spirit to win. Amazing that Diego Milito and Cambiasso were not included for Argentina...
Hi Ale
I write from Nairobi, Kenya and many thanks for your brilliant piece. However I beg to differ, on one or two things that you state.
One, your implying that both Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire will go further than say The Indomitable Lions of Cameroun.
Two, that England are rank outsiders.
The Indomitable Lions SHALL be the last of the African Nations to leave SA 2010.
Principally because the draw was very favorable to them and they should have no problem advancing out of their group alongside Holland.
Should they be tops, they will most likely face Paraguay, while if they are second to the Dutch, they would certainly face Italy.
be to fazed about taking on the Azurri again.
Having been African Nations Cup runners up in February,while fielding a team devoid of their five big name players (Essien,Muntari,Agogo,Pantsil and Mensah),on their day Ghana should be able to make round two alongside Germany;but again they may not as neither Serbia nor Australia will be push overs.
Cote D'Ivoire though having top quality players of the likes of Kolo and Yaya Toure,Dindane,Kalou and the irrepressible Drogba will still have to be at their best of bests to advance ahead of Portugal, but again its not impossible.
As for England, four years of Capello coupled with a squad thats also been unchanged over the same period, mark my following words, it will take a lot to deny England a place at soccer city on July 11.
Thank and kind regards.
Charles Ouko
when we know the final 23 of all the teams we will guess more accurately,at the moment,the final four looks like ,England,Brazil,Chile,Spain or Holland.
I think a South American team will win it !
I think the fittest teams for this world cup are Spain and Brazil, but I guess Brazil is slightly better and they also have their history of success playing for them...I would definitely bet for Brazil this time. Anyways...I hope Spain wins!!!!! Vamos roja!!!!!!!!!
Italy will be crowned Champs once more
its gonna be SPAIN this time.. what a team they have.. !!
Brazil will win the world cup in Africa, you can see that Brazil has won all the competions that he faced with Dunga as a coach! Chek it out the statistics!!!
If Spain manages to recover from injuries on time they will take the world cup home. They have the top players in every position at keeper, defense, midfield and forward. True, the US shocked them at the confederations cup but upsets happen. Hopefully they can keep strong mentally because the talent and team is there! VIVA ESPANA!!!!
Spain;)
Brazil will win the cup.
With or without Ballack, Deutschland!!!!!!
I'm going with Denmark
Argentina will win, they are playing bad now, just to trick the world. Make my words.
Brazil of course, the country that have the bests players.
The Woza 2010 will be full of surprises, as we hall witnessed during qualifications, some strong teams had to rely on literally a helping "hand" to get there!
My team will be Cameroon, if only they could find that perfect blend i think they are the dark knights for me. Strong squad and whats more interesting is that they are considered underdogs even for more depressing teams like ivory cost which don't show up when every body expects them to...
This world cup for the first in its history will remain in Africa.
Spain, England or Argentina will win it!!!
Hey, what a question. Switzerland is gonna win!
Brazil'll win the 2010 World Cup.
Umm. However wrote this article did a horrible job because all he or her talks about is the usuall Brazil, Argentina, Italy and germany well what about Spain? The worlds #1. They are going to be the words most watched team and the most probabale team to win.
Lets see...in South Africa in the wintertime...who plays well in the winter??? Germany? No Ballack, No dice!. France? Hand ball got you there, I think you have used all of your luck! Denmark? Not strong enough!
Holland? Possibly!!! If you are going to Vegas, I think it is finally Englands time. They will deal with adverse conditions the best and is about time that their luck changes...so England in a close match with Spain!!!
Hope it will be Italy, but I see the Brazilians coming out as probable winners.
Whoever wins the FIFA confederations Cup does NOT win the World Cup. Brazil won the last one. It is England, just because of Capello.
Well, I'd like for the USA to win... but that won't happen. I fear that the loss of Balalck is too much for a young German side to overcome. Since both Italy and Brazil make me mildly ill, and I'm not a huge fan of Spain, I'm pulling for the Dutch to win it all. Oh, and it would be nice to see the Aussies make a fine showing, as well.
I think either Spain or Holland wins this world cup, but i'll give the dutch squad the best chance
SERBIA!!!!
We will make miracle happen!
I see many forces in this World Cup such as Brazil (of course), Holland, Spain, Portugal and Argentina (unfortunately).
Although Dunga has left behind the best players nowadays such as Paulo Henrique Ganso and Neymar, I believe he's doing a good job, just see at the last tournements, he won them all.
I do believe the Brazilian skretch still need a leadership in the field while palying, and hopefully Lucio (Inter Milan) will take it over!
Go Brazil!
Doesnt matter who wins, what matters is that FIFA cleans up itself undertaking a cristal clear tournment. Unfortunately, once again the groups were manipulated favoring the most economically viable teams....not a good start.
I agree with Katie Roth, definitely Switzerland!
Brazil is more likely to win the world cup.Though we can not anticipate anything for sure, in the view of statistics and statues of teams at the moment brazil is the winner of 2010 world cup.
In my dreams I wish a miracle with Mexico, but I know it'll be between Spain and Argentina
Spain and England have prepared very well for this cup.
However, Brazilians have figured out the winning formula and they can use it any time, anywhere.
My Heart Beats for Brazil.....
SPAIN will win! Xavi, Iniesta, Villa , Torres, Casillas, Pujol, the best team !
FRANCE,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,WHO ELSE?
I would put my money on Brazil! In any case, I hope France doesn't make it past the first round – Ireland should be in their place after Henri's double handball in the penalty area! Disgraceful! And hey, no more pausing/stopping before penalties now...
Brazil of course against Spain. It will be the best.And Greece in small' final !!!!!!
i wish the brazil wins, but i'm not sure who will win, Dunga didn't convene 'em i won't say the names naah.
I guess I'll be the one to say it, The USA will win! Lets be honest, It's really only a matter of time before the Usa is a Football powerhouse on the global scale. Here in America, the number of children under 18 who play Football, Or soccer, is larger then those who play american football, baseball, basketball, and every other sport Combined. So, its only a matter of time before we spit out a LeBron James who decided to grace the Football field.
According to a famous clairvoyant in Brazil called Jucelino da Luz, Germany is going to win the Cup against Brazil.
ITALIA
Argentina because the have the best strikers or Spain because of the best team.
Brazil will probably win even though i don't want them to win. The runners-up I'd like to win are either Argentina or Italy!! Too bad Ballack is out, Germany is a top team as well.
Well since I'm from the USA....... I couldn't care less! Nothing against Soccer and nothing against those that love the sport,,,,, we just really don't care! Don't take it personal!
argentina will become for the 3th time champions , never underestimated the heart of a champion and that is maradona
in paper Spain and England are favorites but deep down i think this is the time for Argentina..,
Having worked on rehabilitating most European footballers from injury and for injury prevention I put my money on England.
Everybody tries to put logic behind their opinion. Last time around, how many of you thought that Italy would win? How many of you thought Italy would be World Champions when they were losing 1-0 to Australia with 10 minutes to go at the 1/4 final stage?
If you want to use logic, here it is:
A) Climate. There is a reason why a European team never won outside Europe. This puts Brazil and Argentina as favourites and puts Spain, Portugal and France as European favourites.
B) Organization/concentration. this always puts Germany at the top but Dunga's Brazil is also very "European" in style.
C) Passion/ Belief/ Courage: 3 teams: Diego's Argentina, Ronaldo's Portugal and Puyol's Spain. They will die on the pitch for their team.
In a delusional hopeful way , I'll have to say, Mexico!
Netherlands are gonna do it, they are good not AMAZing but all the other are in terrible shape and holland is still solid untouched and all the players are on the same level giving holland the best chance 🙂 iam gonna be there to watch them win!
OF COURSE...BRAZIL WILL BE THE WINNER OF WORLD CUP..FOR A SIMPLE REASON...OUR TEAM ´´C´´ IS BEST THAN ANYONE...ALTHOUGH OUR COACH DUNGA HAVE MADE MISTAKES WHEN ASKED FOR THE PLAYERS, I BELIEVE OUR ´´TROLLS SOCCER TEAM´´ IS BETTER THAN HALF OF ANOTHER TEAM...THE MORE SOCCER ´´EXPERTS´´ BLOW UP OUR TEAM MORE THEY WILL BE CONVINCED AT FINALS ABOUT OUR TALENT..IT´S LIKE BASKETBALL FOR AMERICANS, OR BASEBALL FOR CUBANS...THE OTHER TEAMS JUST WAITING FOR THE EXPECTED AND HONORED ´´DEFEAT´´.
BRAZIL!!! Always Brazil!!
FRANCE will make it no problem.
I mean back to France the first week
Spain, they are the best this time.
Hollland DUDE We have the best midfield 😀
I believe that this world cup will go to NIGERIA!!!
It is about time that the cup goes to an African country- this is the year for the Super Eagles!!!!!!!
In the semi-finals I see:
England
Brazil
Spain
Netherlands
Argentina is good, but Maradona is like cancer to them with his big ego from a player long washed up. All the talent in the world is nothing without proper management.
The team that will win it will WANT to win it more than the others; will have at least as much skill and teamwork as the best of the teams; and, they will be the luckiest as you can't win without a bit of luck (unless you are the Germans). So, which team meets all criteria? Strange though it sounds, I say England.
THE USA SHOULD TAKE IT ALL THIS YEAR IF THEY KEEP THEIR COMPOSURE. THEY HANDELED SPAIN QUITE EASILY AND DID SO TO BRAZIL FOR THE FIRST HALF IN THE GOLD CUP FINALS. PARAGUAY LOOKS GOOD AS WELL. BRAZIL IS LACKING IN THE MIDFIELD SO I DO NOT EXPECT MUCH FROM THEM.
This time around an African Nation will win the cup. I am counting on Nigeria to win.
No one will win the world cup.
It is intrigueing that we have both a world cup year and winter olympic together on the same world stage. Back to the pitch, I would rank Brazil in the top four, never underestimate Portugal, a young side with plenty of vigour and remember Italy,s fans can be the extra player that can generate momentum for their lads. austaluego.....
France of course !
Why ?
We're not favorit ... and we play better when we're not favorit in the final tournament (French paradox)
NEW ZEALAND!!
"Brazil, Spain, Italy and Netherlands are the outstanding favorites"
Eh, there isn't a bookies in the world who thinks this. How can you spurt this stuff out?! You're throwing facts around that seem to have come out of nowhere?!
Pretty much every betting shop, sports pundit or man in the street has the top four as Brazil, Spain, England and Argentina.
To claim Italy and Netherlands are 'outstanding favourites' is a ridiculous piece of ill informed journalism.
I think Brazil will win the Cup. They play by heart.
U.S.A. all the way!
GREECE will make the surprise this time around like with the EuroCup in 2004!!
guys i think its pretty obvious New Zealand has the competition sown up. I mean come on we have two players that dont even clubs. Half our players are unpaid. watch out brazil, NZ is gonna destroy u
I know little about soccer, but, lately, whenever Brazil forgot about big star players (Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Romario,...), the team got GREAT results.
Earlier, Pelé was able to win the World Cup, but other big star players like Zico don't.
It's a team work!!!! Not only one man play. And this time, Brazil seams to have a team again...Even the Emperor was left out...
My advice to opponent teams: Soccer is a little surprise box!
Probably italy. Not because they are better but because they make the difference where it matters wen it comes to cheating eg. diving and play acting. I would like to see Germany win it though.
Despite the mistaken call of Dunga, in some locations, Kaka has no reserve height and Goose out there, I'm sure Brazil will once again CHAMPION OF THE WORLD
The world will win. Whoever takes the trophy,
A joyus moment to forget all the world troubles, discriminations, finance snafu´s, wars, and we will enjoy a party of the finest futbol.
WE ALL ARE GOING TO WIN. And our country will be the best.
MEXICO
I am fully sure Argentina will lift the world cup 2010 Trophy in South Africa.
NORTH Korea has credibility? REaaaaaallY? I'd say South Korea has credibility with a 4th place in 2006.. and winning their SA WC qualifying group.. but I'd chalk that up to a typo... get it together!
Brazil! The coach has picked great athletes but most important, he picked players that have some maturity and are passionate about the game. Brazil does have a lot of "stars" but the coach looked for, and choose, a group that have one goal in mind... Winning the World Cup for their country. "novel" idea isn't it? So often players are worried about their TV time, contract, movies, endorsements, that they forget about the team. I mean, remember Brazil in the last W.C.?
Great players, good experience and an incredible thirsty to win... I pity the team that goes against such force!!
Go BRAZIL!!!
MEXICO will be the big surprise in SA 2010. MARK MY WORDS... they have a secret weapon this year. I became close to one of their triners and it is amazing what is cooking in their kitchen. I would put all my life savings on their emerging victorious from this world cup.
Spain or Brazil (hopefully Brazil) I do not see any one else
Germany will deliver. These guys are young and hungry even w/o (or despite) Ballack missing it....
Seriously... Who do u guys think that will win this world cp? Just have a loook back and check the most consistent team and the answer is easy... Brazil of course! They won all the competitions they took part and its a fact... Mark my words Brazil will win this world cup.
I hope it's ganna be Italy.But to be honest,Brazil english and Argentina are all potential.
ITS ARGENTINA BY COACH MARADONA WHATEVER YOU SAY OR THINK. THEY HAVE VERY EXPERIENCED AND HIGH TACTICAL PLAYERS IN THE WORLD THEY CAN CHANGE THE LOSING GAME TO VICTORY.