World Cup Group F

Ah yes group Brazil, or as I like to call it, the group of we just want to finish in second place, that's all. It should be known that this Group is actually group F, but the fact that everyone suspects that well Brazil will just win it and therefore should be known as the dogfight for 2nd place. And that dogfight will be taking up by those pesky kamikaze Japanese, the criminal minded Aussies and the loveable checkered Croats for that beautiful second place behind Brazil. With that in mind in should be noted that Brazil could actually lose, I will state that I don't expect them to win the world cup, my reasons are strange and have nothing to do with the talent of the team. Firstly, Brazil does not normally win back to back championships, it's every 8 years for them, secondly they are on European soil, normally a place they don't do well, wait till South Africa and I will proclaim them the champs.

Australia aka I really really hate them right now
Here we go with a criminal look of Australia,
Guus Hiddink is the coach for the moment for the Aussies, basically he ability of getting teams to the world cup and passed the group stage is remarkable, Dutch in 98, Korea in 2002, maybe it's the Aussies turn in 2006. The friendly that the Aussies played against the Dutch today it's been shown to me that they play a tough brand of soccer, followed by the expectations that they must injure atleast 3 players in each game... okay so maybe I"m being harsh, but this is part of my mental stimulation to get over the fact that my healthy team is definetly no longer healthy. Mark Schwarzer has been looking like a man possesed in net, and well he may be able to keep the ball out of the net for the most part until you face Brazil. Tim Cahill the Everton midfielder, has been playing superbly as of late and is the natural leader of the Socceroos. Expect to see Harry Kewell as the goal scorer for the Aussies, who will have to grind out wins with there physical play against the quick opposition that they will face in there group.

Brazil aka too much talent
What can I possibly say about Brazil that hasn't already been said in the news, oh well I could go on a story about a Brazil girl that I saw one day and ... okay I digress from that story, it's not a very good one, but I thought I would try and see if I could get it too work. Anyways the Brazilian squad is stacked like it always is, stacked like alot of Brazilian woman that you see on the beaches of Rio, stacked like... oh sigh I'll shut up not before I put my food in my mouth. Okay so on the soccer facts about the team. Firstly they have an allstar goalie in Dida, the man can get hit by a flare and still be relatively okay, so everyone must bring flares to Germany and throw them at him, in an attempt to phase him, I'm leaving Italy with that task. Secondly defense might be their weakest point, but man do they still have some offense back there, with a back four of Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Juan and Lucio, anyone one of those four could jump up into the attack. Thirdly, the midfield, ummm okay so Emerson is hurt and might not play, that's fine plenty of one namers to replace him, you'll have Ronaldihno, Kaka and Ze Roberto. In the front line you can have the most disgusting striker list ever, Adriano, Ronaldo and Robinho. So there you have it one disgusting list of players, I digress now and remind everyone that they won't win the world cup this year.

Croatia aka Checkmate
Okay so another bad joke about there jerseys, but really I can't get over them, they are just so entertaining to look at and well in the end Croatia is an entertaining team. Croatia a relatively young country, part of that wonderful split up of those eastern nations, has had a relatively good time at the world cup, with a 3rd place finish in 98 and qualifying for 2002, though they did bow out in the first round. Croatia finished ahead of Sweden in the group stage for this qualification and look to be a well rounded team. With striker Ivan Klasnic and Dado Prso providing the offense expect to see the Croats to be able to give every team a good run for there money at the world cup. Dario Simic will be called to provide the leadership for a relatively young Croats team that is still growing into becoming a European powerhouse. They may not be able to replicate the problems they caused for opponents in 98, but slowly but surely the Croats are coming.

Japan aka Asia makes it easy to qualify
Ah yes those small tiny skinny people of Japan. There ability to run for 90 minutes and not get tired is amazing, while the skill level is still improving maybe the fact that they won't have the pressure of the home fans will give them to ability to qualify for the next round, or wait, maybe not, isn't home fans supposed to help. Mind you Japan works in the opposite, first you pick a fight on Pearl Harbour, then you kamikaze, then you refuse to surrender, then one big bomb is dropped and you are forced to surrounder, now you are really good friends with the US. Oh how 50 years have changed, even the Russians haven't warmed up to the States like Japan has. But enough about the culture, how about the team. The team is in it's prime with most of them in the 26 to 29 range for age. Perfect time to have a coming out party, right, wait reminder Japan works in the opposite, they will need a young youth, or a bunch of 36 year olds to qualify. Basically what I'm getting at here is that I don't suspect Japan to do that much this world cup, they had there chance and Korea stole the spotlight from them. Expect alot of goals from Japan when they play Brazil, meaning lots of goals for Brazil and a few for Japan as they don't play a defensive style at all... which by the way is a nice thing, but some defense would be better.

Predictions
1. Brazil
2. Australia (I'm going with the socceroos as a voodoo spell so that they don't do well)
3. Croatia
4. Japan