Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Freddie Ljungberg Column: Assessing the World Cup Contenders

Every player wants to experience the special feeling of playing in the World Cup. It's an amazing feeling to represent your country, and the tournament has so much history.

On Dec. 4, the group stage draw for the 2010 World Cup (Noon, ET, ESPN2) will be made, and it will begin an incredible time for the players involved.

While I was with Arsenal, I remember a couple of times that we sat at dinner preparing for a game while the draw was going on. We had 14 or 15 players preparing for the World Cup so there was always banter back and forth.

It's very important whom you meet in the first round when you qualify, and what scenarios could unfold if you progress. If a nation catches a great draw, it can have a little bit of an easier road to the final. However, either way, you're going to get some stick from your club teammates!

Here is a quick look at the 32 qualifiers for the 2010 South Africa World Cup and my thoughts on their prospects:

2 comments:

Bartholomew said...

If it wasn't so common, I'd wonder how FIFA can get away with making up the rules as they go along. Seriously. They decided yesterday that October rankings were better than November? This makes the BCS look sane.

The Editor said...

See even more FIFA insanity in the post above...