Soccer

2006 WORLD CUP
GROUP G

By Jim Allen
Outsports.com

SUMMARY

1998 World Cup winners France had a miserable time in Korea/Japan in 2002, so Les Bleus will certainly be looking for redemption in this fairly weak group.  They should go through, with the second slot a toss up between Switzerland and South Korea.  Look for the tough, disciplined Koreans to squeak through, but without the homefield advantage they enjoyed in 2002, not go much further.

FRANCE

Hot Player: Thierry Henry FIFA Ranking: 8 Manager (nationality): Raymond Domenech (France) Key Players: Thierry Henry, David Trezeguet (forwards); Patrick Vieira, Zinedine Zidane (midfielders); Jean-Alain Boumsong, William Gallas (defenders); Fabien Barthez (goalkeeper) Overview: Like a few other teams in Germany, France is looking to erase the memories of their horrible in Korea/Japan in 2002. The French, a mere two years after being both the World Cup and European champions, couldn't muster up a single goal in going out in spectacular fashion. The situation is such that Zinedine Zidane un-retired from international duty for one last go. The French have a good chance to go far, as they start in a weak group. Pundits were surprised at coach Raymond Domenech naming eccentric goalkeeper Fabien Barthez to the squad; it was thought that Gregory Coupet would be the first choice. Luckily, Les Bleus have a wealth of talent around Barthez. Thierry Henry was superb for Arsenal in 2005/06 and he'll be anxious to prove his worth on the biggest stage. His former Gunners teammate Patrick Viera forms a formidable midfield partnership with Claude Makelele, while the solid defense is anchored by William Gallas and Lilian Thuram, another un-retired international. Henry is not the only attacking option as Louis Saha, Djibril Cisse and David Trezeguet are proven goal scorers as well. France have a deep squad, so it seems the main question about whether they go deep in this tournament is whether their heads are in the right place.

SOUTH KOREA

Hot Player: Ky Hyeon Seol  FIFA Ranking: 29 Manager (nationality): Dick Advocaat (Netherlands) Key Players: Jung-Hwan Ahn, Dong-Gook Lee (forwards); Ji-Sung Park, Nam Il Kim (midfielders); Young-Pyo Lee, Young Chul Kim (defenders); Woon-Jae Lee (goalkeeper) Overview: After their magical run to the semifinals in 2002 before home crowds, reality will assert itself this time around. South Korea didn't exactly rip through their qualifying campaign, an embarrassing goalless draw to the Maldives being the lowlight. The team remains essentially the same as the one that handled Poland, Portugal, Italy and (controversially) Spain in Korea/Japan in 2002. Veteran 'keeper Woon-Jae Lee provides solid leadership at the back of a defense that has shown that it can be outplayed by players with a lot of pace. Ji-Sung Park had a breakout year for Manchester United and he will be heavily relied on to provide creativity from midfield. Striker Jung-Hwan Ahn is still the main target man, with Du-Ri Cha and Dong-Gook Lee possibly providing support in a three man front line. If South Korea decides to play a 4-3-3 formation, the midfield support surrounding Ji-Sung Park will be crucial. South Korea has made the World Cup six straight times, but with that fine record and their run in 2002 comes heightened expectations from their supporters. The Koreans burned through two coaches in the qualifying stages and they're relying on another Dutchman, Dick Advocaat, to duplicate the success of the 2002 manager, Dutchman Guus Hiddink. Like so many teams in Germany, fitness and discipline could be the determining factor in how far South Korea go.

SWITZERLAND

Hot Player: Phillipe Senderos FIFA Ranking: 35 Manager (nationality): Jakob Kuhn (Switzerland) Key Players: Alexander Frei, Marco Streller (forwards); Johann Vogel, Raphael Wicky (midfielders); Phillipe Senderos, Ludovic Magnin (defenders); Pascal Zuberbuhler (goalkeeper) Overview: The Swiss missed out on the last two World Cups in France and Korea/Japan so they might be classed under those teams that are "glad just to be in Germany". In contrast to the French, Switzerland has some fine players, but little depth, so they will rely on their core players to at least get out of the group stage. The key will be the midfield play of elder statesmen Johann Vogel and Raphael Wicky. They will have to provide a bit of protection for a defense that is talented but somewhat inexperienced while Hakan Yakin will be expected to provide the creativity. The goals are expected to come mainly from Alexander Frei, who showed fine form for French side Rennes. One of the blogs I read while doing research ripped Switzerland's coach Jakob Kuhn for his conservative tactics and unwillingness to go with younger players overall. Switzerland remind me of a team that is good enough to compete with the best on any given day, but ultimately just aren't talented enough overall to cause those top teams to lose much sleep over the course of a tournament.

TOGO

Hot Player: Ludovic Assemoassa FIFA Ranking: 61 Manager (nationality): Otto Pfister (Germany) Key Players: Emmanuel Adebayor, Kader Mohamed (forwards); Yao Aziawonou, Cherif Toure Maman (midfielders); Jean-Paul Abalo, Darim Nimombe (defenders); Ouro-Nimini Tchagnirou (goalkeeper) Overview: In researching Togo, a variation on this was the bottom line on every site I read: "Togo will be crushed and Emmanuel Adebayor will be the only player to shine". Ouch. Togo indeed are pretty dire on paper in comparison to other teams in their group. Not having made the World Cup before and an also-ran in African competitions for years, Togo rallied behind Adebayor and coach Stephen Keshi (who captained Nigeria in the United States in 1994) to secure their place in Germany. Truth be told, Togo should get creamed in their three matches, but having typed that, watch them mock me by making the quarterfinals or something with a string of upsets. That's highly unlikely, however, as the Togolese are simply overmatched at almost every position. Goalkeeper Kossi Agassa is nicknamed 'Magic Hands' but he figures to use those Magic Hands mainly to pick the ball out of the back of the net.