June 1, 2006

by Khaled El-Ahmad

At a first glance one is impressed by the teams in what is called the 2006 World Cup "Group of Death". World Cup favorites Argentina, "the Sleeping Giant" Holland, and dark horses such as Cote d'Iviore and Serbia & Montenegro create a group that is very hard to predict. It is not a surprise that Argentina always ends up in the most difficult group of the World Cup. For the last two Cups, they have had the "pleasure" of fighting for survival. This year, they are in a similar position as before. Argentina is considered the favorite to win the group and is one of the top contenders to win the World Cup.

Argentina comes of a great qualifier where they won the South American group by a large margin. They even put the reigning World Cup Champions, Brazil, on their heels in an impressive win during the qualification stage. Players such as Lionel Messi, Hernan Crespo, Riquelme and Sorin, make Argentina one of the favorites to win it all. But due to their "luck" of always ending up in the hardest group, the question is not if Argentina will win the World Cup but will they qualify for the next round?

With a new, "younger" Dutch team back at the world stage, Cote d'Iviore making their first ever World Cup appearance, and with Serbia & Montenegro representing their region, the outcome is very uncertain. Marco Van Basten took over the Holland job and quickly put his mark on the team. What we will see is not a team filled of individual talent that does not perform well together (Edgar Davids and Clarance Sedoorf left off the squad). Instead it is a young, hungry and very talented team that is out to prove their greatness. For many years now, Holland has been a sleeping giant, with players dominating the world leagues, but as a national team the success is far and between. Can they put it together now? One thing is for sure is that their fans will be seen in orange all over Germany cheering on their team.

Cote d'Iviore the best African team in this World Cup with players representing clubs such as Chelsea's, Arsenal, and PSG. The nation formerly known as the Ivory Coast qualified for their first ever World Cup. Look out for their superstars to upset and surprise the world of football. Their athletic ability and individual talent is world class, and I am excited to see what this dark horse can do.

Last but not least, we have Serbia & Montenegro, also a first time participant that shocked the European qualification rounds by winning their group (undefeated), leaving power houses such as Spain behind. Their style can be compared to teams such as Croatia, Czech Republic and other Eastern European countries with great technical ability and solid defensive structure. Therefore look for them to put up a strong fight for the top two spots.

Players to watch in Group C
Argentina -- Villareal's Riquelme (M) and Barcelona's Lionel Messi (F/M)
Holland -- Chelsea's Arrien Robben (F) and Manchester United's Ruud Van Nisterlroy (F)
Cote d'Iviore -- Chelsea's Didier Drogba (F) and Arsenal's Kolo Toure (D)
Serbia & Montenegro -- Atletico Madrid's Kezman (F) Inter Milan's Dejan Stankovic (M)

Match to watch in Group C
Like mentioned earlier, every game in this group will have the intensity and quality of a playoff game. I highly recommend for everyone to see each one of these teams (especially Cote d'Iviore). To go with tradition, and history the match to watch is Argentina vs. Holland on June 21st at 2 p.m. (CDT).

Who will advance?
My soccer hart wants to see one of my personal favorites to advance which is Argentina so they get my vote to win the "Group of Death." Otherwise it is an open between the other teams. This will be World Cup of surprises and therefore I announce Cote d'Iviore as the second team to advance. Although, watch out if Holland gets it together the "Orange Machine" might be holding the World Cup trophy at the beginning of July. Wow, this is too hard and it is called the Group of Death for a reason!!

Group C Schedule
Sat., June 10 -- ARG vs CIV -- Hamburg
Sun., June 11 -- SCG vs NED -- Leipzig
Fri., June 16 -- ARG vs SCG -- Gelsenkirchen
Fri., June 16 -- NED vs CIV -- Stuttgart
Wed., June 21 -- NED vs ARG -- Frankfurt
Wed., June 21 -- CIV vs SCG -- Munich

Personal World Cup Memories

Let me start this blog by saying, THIS IS THE WORLD BIGGEST SPORTING EVEN WITH OVER 1.5 BILLION WATCHING. Can you feel the excitement?? I know I and everyone at our Summer camps will notice it. Watch, enjoy, and than go out and do what the super stars do. This is the best way to learn and become better!! (GO Czech Replic and Sweden, countries I belong to. And of course, the U.S.)

Watching Cameroon -- the "African Lions" -- stun the world with their win over Argentina and penalty loss to England in the Quarterfinal Game of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Roger Milla a substitute hero that for the first time put an African nation on the soccer map. Flair, speed, strength, dance and joy was always present to the audience. The Lions showed the world that Africa is the new power continent. As years has gone by leagues around the world fill their squad with very talented African players and one awaits the moment when they win the World Cup. Will it be in South Africa 2010? The 1990 World Cup and Cameron's success did not just help one nation but an entire continent.