Prediction vs. Conviction, Part Two.

Welcome to Prediction vs. Conviction, in which I explain what teams I realistically want to advance from group play versus what teams I actually think will advance from competition.





Group C - England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia

Want:  England and USA.

Algeria, I've already taken you to task.  You're going down.

Slovenia, you're make believe.  Good luck lying your way into the second round.

England, as much as you annoy me, you're good.  Beyond simple talent, with the form you've shown under coach Fabio Capello in qualifying, I think you deserve to make it out.  Do I think you'll win the whole thing?  God no; you're England.  You'll crap out in the as soon as you hit the Round of 16.  And I will be there to taste your tears.

The USMNT is the greatest team in the whole world.  You can't even fathom how serious I am about this.  Listen up:  This is our year.  Trophy-city.  Suck it.

Will:  England and USA.

I'm being completely honest here.  Blatant fan-dom aside, this group is gonna shake down exactly how I say it will.

Make Believe Country will be gritty, imaginary competition, but I think England is too good and the US is more experienced.  Algeria is dead in the water.

Group D - Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana.

Want:  Australia and Ghana.

Germany will all get food poisoning and die.

Serbia will be disqualified for having too many names that end in "IC."

Australia, as much as I want you to advance, I'm having a hard time mustering serious justification for why.  You qualified rather breezily in you inaugural run through the Asian Football Conference, but then again, it IS the Asian Football Conference.  Cahill is a great leader, and that one dude who plays in Italy (Brescia, I think) is good for some goals.  Mark Schwarzer is a great keeper, even if his last name is a little racist in German.

Here come the Black Stars.  Ghana has a hardcore central midfield and a much stronger defense than many of its fellow African teams.  With Essien, Appiah and Muntari in the middle, you can't count them out of any game.  Their forwards aren't exactly prolific, but the at least have cool names: Asamoah Gyan and Junior Agogo.  They know what it takes to advance, having done it in 2006.  Expect them to remember how.

Will:  Germany and Serbia.

Everyone sleeps on Serbia, but they're stacked.  Stankovic, Subotic, Pantelic and Vidic are all great players.  Germany is stupid and I hate them, but they're still going to advance.  They could put a sheet of paper with the word GERMANY written on it out on the field, and I still bet that sheet of paper would cheat its way to the next round.