SPORT ,c The Michigan Daily - Monday, June 12, 2006 - 15 Z WORLD Cup 2006: GROUP-BY-GROUP PREVIEWS AND PREDICTIONS Group A: Group C: Group E: Group G: Group A should be fun. Host country Germany is Aside from Rocky's victory over Ivan Drago the lone powerhouse and ought to walk through the in Rocky IV, few athletic events can claim opening round without too much trouble. But the bat- responsibility for ending wars, but the Ivory tle for second place will be intriguing as Costa Rica, Coast's qualification for the World Cup has had Poland and Ecuador fight for respect. Ecuador was ter- a similar effect on the country's civil war. And rific in qualifying, Costa Rica has a solid goal-scorer in the team is serious about contending. After fail- Paulo Wanchope and Poland has much to prove after ing to make it out of the group stage in 2002, the failing to reach the UEFA Euro finals in 2004. Expect ever-talented Argentineans should have a chip Germany, behind its passionate home crowd, to come on their shoulders. The Netherlands (and their out on top and score a lot of goals. And look for Ecua- orange jerseys) is often dubbed the best team dor to play consistently enough to edge out Poland for never to win the World Cup. Even Serbia-Mon- the second position. tenegro, who finished ahead of Spain in World - David VandeVusse Cup qualifying, believes they can advance. The picks: Ecuador and Germany - Ian Robinson The picks: Argentina and the Netherlands Group B: Group B has already demonstrated the importance of strong defense. Only one goal has been scored in the entire group - an own-goal prompted by a David Beckham free kick against Paraguay in the first two minutes of the match. Trinidad and Tobago played a similar game against Sweden, the tiny nation holding the Scandinavian powerhouse to a0-0 draw in its first appearance at the World Cup. England is the favorite to win the group, but to beat Sweden, it will have to move the ball better than it did against Paraguay. lf England beats Trinidad and Tobago, it'll be comfort- ably at the front of the group, but the Caribbean nation has proven that it's not just in Germany for a vacation. - Jeremy Davidson The picks: England and Sweden It's not considered the "Group of Death" for nothing. The Czech Republic, United States and Italy are ranked Nos. 2, 5 and 13, respectively, in the world. The Czechs and Italians have the two best teams on paper but this will be the first time the Czech Republic plays on the world's largest stage. Look out for an American upset this after- noon because the United States is battle tested and has something to prove due to the lack of respect given to them. Despite its internal problems, Italy will be the other team to move on. Ghana will just receive the "thanks-for-coming" ribbon. - H Jose Bosch The picks: Italy and the United States Group F: Defending World Cup champion, Brazil, is in Group F. Does that leave Australia, Japan and Croatia to battle for the second and last spot left? Not necessarily, but most likely. Evenly matched Australia and Japan will attempt to rattle the flashy Brazilians. Expect virus- stricken Croatia to fight to keep up. If recov- ered, the well-balanced Croatia field could pose as Brazil's toughest competition. Following a 32-year absence, the hungry Socceroos will look to make a splash in the field. It's a safe bet that Brazil will win the group and the Aussies will advance, too. - Katie Field With the sting of their embarrassing first- round exit in Korea/Japan 2002 still fresh in their minds, France looks to be ateam on a mis- sion, which should make the 1998 FIFA World Cup champion a dark horse to win it all again. With the French all but certain to advance, the remaining spot into the elimination round will go so Switzerland, Korean Republic or Togo. Switzerland seems to have the best shot. Korean Republic struggled recently to qualify, and Togo lacks World Cup experience. - Imran Syed The picks: France and Switzerland Group H: If Group E is the "Group of Death," then Group H is the "Group of Apathy." Nobody is too excited about this group outside of the four countries involved. Spain is the lone team here that's experienced in World Cup play, and should be a lock to advance. The battle for the second spot should be tight, but will probably go to the team that messes up less, rather than a teamthat truly plays well. Saudi Arabia embarrassed itself last World Cup with an 8-0 loss at the hands of Germany, Tunisia's offense is usually non-existent and Ukraine , has never played in a World Cup before. In the end, the offensive star power Ukraine has in strikerAindriy Shevchenko shouldbe enough to push it into the round of 16 to go with powerhouse Spain. - ScottBeh Group D: Even though it's almost a given that Portugal and Mexico will be the pair to advance out of Group D, the soccer should still be interesting. Despite a possible bloodbath in their opener against Angola - the last match between the two was suspended 20 minutes early after four Angolans were sent off - the Por- tuguese should advance with relative ease. Mexico appeared to be in trouble when goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez left the team when his father died, but now he's back. Iran has an outside chance of some upsets, but injuries should keep them from threatening any- one. Angola should be the bottom feeders of Group D. - James V Dowd 9h~&ev& 10A4-ti-'cd, cre- ji vG oIa.i va.~O41j1* Co&-v oti ct~e m u *e, vc[ 1 oom.&- -Low l What can consolidation m ean for you? 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