Group D Analysis

Group D

Germany

The Germans come into this game without two pretty key players – both Michael Ballack and Rene Adler are out through injury and both will be missed. It does however hand opportunities, especially in midfield to some of their younger talented players such as Ozil, Marin and Kroos who could emerge to be gems at international level.

The German squad looks pretty solid as you would expect. At the back, they will be tough to break down, given good protection from the midfield. In goal, Adler would have been the starter, but Manuel Neuer is very good also – so many national teams would be desperate to have two quality options in goal.

The main issue in the German squad is in attack. None of their front men are in any form at all with Low deciding to leave Kuranyi at home due to a clash of personalities. Gomez is probably the better of a poor bunch, but he has had an injury disrupted season. While I do not overly like any of the German front men, they should receive good supply and support, and I can see one of them emerging with a handful of goals. Klose is a long way past his best, but if is provided with chances, he will take them.

I fully expect them to get through the group, but how much further I am not sure. Quarters is probably where I would place them, but as always, they could easily put a run together and get to the semis or even the final. They do not convince me enough pre-tournament that they will be able to put such a run together, so I will go with quarters.

Prediction - Quarters



Serbia

I love the look of the first choice Serbian team and on paper I would really back them to go far. Nikola Zigic will cause teams all kinds of problems with his height and if he can remain fit then he can emerge s a key player in the tournament. Throughout the team, particularly the spine, they look very strong – Vidic and Subotic is a very strong partnership at the back, while the midfield has great balance too. I am a big fan of Krasic also – he is being followed by a number of big teams and will be very keen to impress so watch out for him.

Two main question marks and potential weaknesses for me however. The goalkeeper Stojkovic is a liability. He can be brilliant or ridiculous, and I can see him making a major error at some point over the course of a few matches. He did not convince me at Wigan, and there is a legendary story after a trial at Everton. He joined training on a five-day trial, and was beaten twice by Tony Hibbert – the rest of the squad were laughing and hammering him and he walked out on the session and that was the last they saw of him.

The other issue is psychologically. They seem so fragile at times and give me little confidence in that respect. The kind of team that if things are not going well, they could fall apart spectacularly and always a side to be wary of when betting.

If everything goes well, they could surprise many and have a great tournament. If they face one or two issues, then they could be out in the groups. I would be very wary about betting on their games – volatile and unpredictable is how I would describe them. If they play to potential, they could reach the quarters, but I will reserve judgement now and go for Round of 16.

Prediction – Round of 16



Ghana

One of the weaker African nations in my view and Ghana are another team that I do not overly like the look of in this tournament. They struggled in qualification in two of the weaker groups in both rounds of qualifying and could easily have missed out to teams such as Gabon, Benin and Libya who all pushed them hard.

They keep faith with the likes of Stephen Appiah who is well past his sell by date, but he holds so much power and respect in the squad, that he keeps his place. They will rely heavily on the veterans like him and Mensah, but I have little faith in them really. Going forward they do not convince me neither. The likes of Gyan and Owusu-Obeyie will miss far more than they will score and I would be banking on them to convert too often.

That, along with the fact that they are missing Michael Essien, who I consider to be one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world, suggest to me that they will find it hard here to make an impact.

While they have decent power and pace throughout the team, I think they are lacking in quality, and will struggle against strong sides like Germany who will be able to match their strengths, and beat them in other areas. I do not see them getting out of the groups.

Prediction – Group stage Only



Australia

I have a bit of a sport soft for the Aussies, a bit like the US and I admit that it does feel a bit dirty. I think the thing I like most about them (and the US) is that they are generally an honest team, who lack the flair of the big boys, but give their all, work hard as a team and never go missing. You are unlikely to find them diving around which is another positive in the attractiveness stakes.

They have a solid group of experienced players who will not be overawed. The likes of Schwarzer, Moore, Neill, Cahill, Emerton and Kewell all have good experience at the highest level and that will stand them well here. Similar to the US, we can expect a fully committed performance. I do however feel that they lack a little bit of firepower and scoring goals will prove to be too difficult to really make an impact and progress too far.

That is not to say they will be out after the group stage. They have a chance to battle with Serbia for second place. I just edge the Serbs however to grab that as they have the greater quality over the Aussies. They will gain more fans and praise for their performances, but will likely just fall short.

Prediction – Group stage Only