Group B
It's a group of two halves: two possible winners of the tournament, with two teams that should really be doing better than they are. Given that only two can go through, it should be a simple equation.
NETHERLANDS
High: 2100 (2010/07/06)
Low: 1978 (2008/09/06)
Biggest rise: 35 (Brazil 2-1 Neutral, World Cup, 2010/07/02)
Biggest fall: 29 (Spain 0-1 Neutral, World Cup, 2010/07/11 & Sweden 2-3 Away, EC Qualifier, 2011/10/11)
Four years ago, they demolished Italy and France, two of the favourites, and everybody went bananas, thinking they just had to win. But then it all went wrong somehow as Russia caused a huge upset to knock them out. Two years ago, they did much better, coming out of an easy group to beat Slovakia, Brazil and Uruguay, before forgetting how to play football against Spain. So what to expect this time? As usual, they're hard to predict: they were supreme in qualifying, scoring more than any other team and going almost perfect (a last-match defeat to Sweden shouldn't be examined too closely). But their friendly warm-ups have been rather inconsistent: adding to unconvincing performances against lesser teams, their Group B opponents Germany gave them a thrashing. Can they win the whole thing this time? Maybe, but it's just so hard to predict what you get from the Dutch.
DENMARK
High: 1819 (2009/06/06)
Low: 1694 (2010/10/08)
Biggest rise: 29 (Portugal 3-2 Away, WC Qualifier, 2008/09/10)
Biggest fall: 53 (Japan 1-3 Neutral, World Cup, 2010/06/24)
It's been an interesting four years for the Danes. They clinched World Cup qualification looking pretty damn good, and in a group with Cameroon and Japan, what could go wrong? Well, a 3-1 defeat to the Japanese, coupled with an expected defeat to the rampaging Dutch, made their victory against Cameroon rather moot, and left Denmark in their lowest ranking for some time. They've picked it up, however, and in a group with Portugal and resurgent neighbours Norway, they did enough to top their group. But talk about rotten luck: all that effort, and they're stuck with Germany, the Netherlands, and, worst of all, their qualifying rivals Portugal. Pity the poor Danes.
GERMANY
High: 2057 (2011/11/15)
Low: 1915 (2010/06/18)
Biggest rise: 59 (Argentina 4-0 Neutral, World Cup, 2010/07/03)
Biggest fall: 45 (Serbia 0-1 Neutral, World Cup, 2010/06/18)
The Germans performed beyond expectations at Euro 2008, finally falling at the end to mighty Spain. Again, going into the World Cup, they flattered to deceive, and even lost to Serbia (like losing to Croatia in 2008), but they stunned us all with the sheer brilliance of their attacking, as they steamrollered England and Argentina before losing out (again) to Spain. One wonders how the Germans would've fared if Spain wasn't experiencing a golden age, but runners-up and 3rd place is a record most nations would clamour for. This time, nobody's underestimating them after a perfet qualifying campaign, and I think they may just have enough to go all the way this time.
PORTUGAL
High: 1888 (2011/10/07)
Low: 1789 (2009/03/28)
Biggest rise: 27 (Spain 4-0 Home, Friendly, 2010/11/17)
Biggest fall: 29 (Denmark 2-3 Home, WC Qualifier, 2008/09/10)
Always the bridesmaid... Portugal are now what Spain used to be: exciting, dynamic, and never quite managing to do it when it matters. They reached the final of this tournament when they hosted it in 2004, but overconfidence (and solid Greek defending) was their undoing. In Germany, they were undone by France in the semi-finals; in Switzerland, it was the Germans in the quarter-finals. In South Africa, nobody could really blame them for losing to Spain. Every time in the last four tournaments, they've been beaten by a finalist in the knockouts. Against the big boys, they just can't handle it. This time, they have TWO of the big boys in the first round. Here we go again...
Prediction: GERMANY & NETHERLANDS QUALIFY
Come back and see me tomorrow, where we'll see a real mixed bag of a group.
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