Another set of friendlies announced

South Korea have been very busy looking for sparring partners. The 2002 World Cup hosts have set up a bunch of friendlies for next month. On 9 January they play Zambia in Johannesburg, South Africa, whilst also taking on some club sides from the country. They'll be without European based player until 18 January when they meet Finland in Malaga, Spain, while meeting Latvia on the 21st. Fellow Asians Japan have set up three matches with opposition from the same continent - Yemen, China and Hong Kong.

While for Korea it looks like it doesn't matter who's the opposition, as long as they can play, then New Zealand, like England, are looking opposition similar to their opponents in the World Cup finals. The All Whites will play Mexico on 3 March in Los Angeles as a preparation for their group F opponents Paraguay. Mexico itself also have a match with Netherlands on 26 May. The Netherlands will face another North American opposition on 3 March in USA. The US also have a match with Honduras in January.

Current European Champions Spain have so far announced three fixtures. The team, currently nr.1 on FIFA ranking, will play France in March, but won't take on any team until the final weeks before the World Cup tournament, with two home and on away fixture set up. The opposition has not been announced yet.

France have already have announced their opposition for the final weeks and they are Costa Rica and Tunisia, on 25 and 30 May respectively. France's group A opponents Uruguay so far have announced a match with Switzerland on 3 March.

From group B, Argentina will meet Germany in March. The Germans also have some weird fixtures in May with hosting Malta and visiting Hungary. Same goes for their group D companions Australia. Kuwait in January and Indonesia in March aren't exactly teams you'd expect to play before a World Cup finals tournament. In the same group, Serbia have a friendly with Algeria on 3 March.

Group A overview

South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France

Fixtures:

11/06/2010, Johannesburg - JSC, South Africa vs Mexico
11/06/2010, Cape Town, Uruguay vs France

16/06/2010, Tshwane/Pretoria, South Africa vs Uruguay
16/06/2010, Polokwane, France vs Mexico

22/06/2010, Rustenburg, Mexico vs Uruguay
22/06/2010, Mangaung/Bloemfontein, France vs South Africa

At first glance it looks like a straight forward France dominated group, with the rest fighting out for the 2nd place. A statement South Africa star Steven Pienaar agrees with: "For us to go to the second round, that is the expectation of the people. I think we can get out of the group. Mexico and Uruguay play quite similar to us, only France will be a bit of a challenge for us."

I would not be so certain with things. Anything can happen with Raymond Domenech in charge of France. The fixtures list also doesn't favour the 1998 winners. They have to take on FIFA rankings nr. 19 in Uruguay and nr. 15 in Mexico, before South Africa, who are the worst ranked team in the whole competition with 86.

I don't expect any of the teams to reach 6 points here. South Africa's ranking doesn't really reflect their quality and with thousands of fans behind them, they won't be pushovers. I personally have seen all the teams, except Mexico, in action recently and I can see all the games being very tight and the group as a whole very competitive.

Winner of the group will meet group B's second team and the runner-up will meet the group B winner (Argentina). Imagine France - Argentina already in the first knock-out stage. Awesome stuff.

Uruguay and Paraguay in the shadow of Brazil and Argentina

From South America Brazil and Argentina are always looked at as the main challengers in major competitions. And rightly so in recent years, as other nations haven't managed to impress in the World stage, but is that about to change now?

Paraguay finished South American qualification with impressive results. At home they they managed to beat both, Brazil and Argentina. The finishing position was 3rd, on level with points with Chile, but with worse goal difference, but only a point behind Brazil.

While no stand out players are in the team, the side does have an x-factor, which could see them lift into the spotlights in South Africa.

A good sign of this generations potential, was Olympic Games in Athens 2004. Paraguay went all the way into the finals, only losing to Argentina in the end.

These players are matured now and possibly now ready for another success at a tournament. It would be about time, as the nation even hasn't won the Copa America for quite a while (1979 being the last one).

The last three World Cup's were seen as a chance for the "Golden Generation" to shine. And it did quite well, two times getting past the group stage and putting on a respectable show in Germany 2006. But I have a feeling the current crop of players might do better.

A lot of it will depend on Roque Santa Cruz. The Manchester City striker, who has a record of 20 goals in 64 matches for his country. He's prone to injuries, but on his day he's a world class striker. Since making his debut as a 17 year old in 1999, he seen as the "Golden Boy" and the truth is, the team does have that extra bit, when his playing. Key word being "when". If Paraguay want to take their qualifying form to the final, Santa Cruz has to be fit enough to play.

It's a bit different story for Uruguay. While the nation has a good record in Copa America, a total of 14 wins, and numerous final and semi-final places, Uruguay is looked more as a sleeping giant.

After winning two World Cups, the very first one in 1930 and in 1950, qualification has been hard to come. They didn't make it to Germany 2006. As a matter of fact, only managing to make it to the finals on 2 occasions from the past 5.

The team has always had remarkable players, but something has been lacking. Possibly the "one star effect" has been to blame. In the 90's and in the beginning of 2000's the team mostly relied on Alvaro Recoba. A immense player on his day, but he had the misfortune of not having good enough teammates. At least in the sense, not near enough his quality.

The current team is in better position. More competition for places and willingness to fight for their places, thus wanting to be better players.

But in the end, I predict it will still come down to if the stars deliver of not. Diego Forlán has shown brilliant form in past two season in Spain, while his strike partner Luis Suárez is also getting praised and noticed by his performances for Ajax. If those two can get the goals for their team next summer, holiday must wait as the team might go quite far.