Grading the Groups after the Friendlies

We’ve taken a look at the teams that impressed and distressed during this week’s friendlies, now let’s take a gander at which World Cup groups are alive and kicking, and which ones are on life support.

Group A
All four teams went down to defeat on Wednesday furthering the case that this is a weak group. Germany was the day’s big loser, getting slapped around by Italy, while Poland, Ecuador and Costa Rica all suffered one goal defeats. The happiest person must be Jurgen Klinsmann who knows that even with his sorry team he should be able to survive this group.

Team on the Rise: None
Team on the Fall: Germany

Group A: Our Infallible Prediction

Group B
A mixed result for this group with both England and Trinidad and Tobago earning victories. England didn’t set the world on fire but did control the game against Uruguay. T&T was impressive in beating Iceland. The shocker of this group was Sweden which got thumped by Ireland. Paraguay did nothing against Wales to impress.

Team on Rise: Trinidad and Tobago
Team on the Fall: Sweden

Group B: Our Infallible Prediction

Group C
The Group of Death saw a couple of wins and a couple of losses. Argentina and Ivory Coast both showed they can score, but have raised some serious questions about their ability to defend. The Netherlands won a snoozer against Ecuador, while Serbia and Montenegro was impressive in its win at Tunisia.

Team on the Rise: Serbia and Montenegro
Team on the Fall: Argentina

Group C: Our Infallible Prediction

Group D
Three out of four teams notch wins. Portugal put the hurting on Saudi Arabia with Ronaldo looking like the player we always thought he should be. Mexico notches a good win against a better than average Ghana team, while Iran defeats Costa Rica 3-2 in a shootout. The group’s lone loser, Angola, had to deal with snow and South Korea, but didn’t get embarrassed.

Team on the Rise: Portugal
Team on the Fall: None

Group D: Our Infallible Prediction

Group E
The group had a pair of impressive winners and a pair of not so impressive losers. Yes, the Czech Republic did end up with a tie against Turkey but letting in a pair of late goals makes it a loss in our books. Ghana also went down, losing to Mexico and furthering speculation about its coach’s future. On the positive side, Italy looked ready to capture the World Cup and the United States more than held its own against Poland.

Team on the Rise: Italy
Team on the Fall: Czech Republic

Group E: Our Infallible Prediction

Group F
Two wins, a tie and a vacation. Croatia gets the most praise for its thrilling last minute win against Argentina. People everywhere are jumping on the Croatian bandwagon. Brazil didn’t look like Brazil in its 1-0 win at Russia, but even a Brazil that doesn’t look like Brazil is Brazil, and therefore really good. Japan let in some soft goals against Bosnia and showed it might be this group’s biggest enigma. Australia had a ripe old holiday by opting not to play and instead training together in Holland.

Team on the Rise: Croatia
Team on the Fall: None

Group F: Our Infallible Prediction

Group G
France is thankful for its neighbor Germany because if Klinsmann’s boys didn’t stink so badly yesterday everyone would be focused on Les Bleus’ weak performance against Slovakia. Meanwhile, Switzerland beat up on Scotland and South Korea used its snow field advantage to take out Angola. Togo got the night off and reportedly went out to dinner and movies with his loved one.

Team on the Rise: Switzerland
Team on the Fall: France

Group G: Our Infallible Prediction

Group H
Boy does this group look pretty pathetic. Spain had a nice game against Ivory Coast if you don’t mind your team playing no defense. Ukraine could only muster a draw against the always dreaded squad from Azerbaijan. Tunisia was shut down by Serbia and Montenegro, showing that it might have trouble competing with its European counterparts in this group. Saudi Arabia was thumped by Portugal; lending credence to the notion that they might just be the worst team in Germany not named Germany.

Team on the Rise: None
Team on the Fall: Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia and Saudi Arabia

Our Infallible Prediction: Coming this Monday!