group C: thank you for playing

J’en sais beaucoup de par le monde
A qui ceci conviendrait bien :
De loin c’est quelque chose, et de près ce n’est rien.
Jean de la Fontaine, Le Chameau et les Bâtons flottants

From afar it is something big, and close it is nothing. that’s how i feel about this group.

England
check out the previous post: route to ’66

USA
the obvious – the team is the freshest of the major teams at the world cup. most of their players are in early season form. they have shown an ability to compete on the highest level by beating Spain and taking it to Brazil in the first half of the confederations cup final. they have a stable midfield and a pretty decent attack. their defence is experienced and stout. finally americans think this is the year their soccer team makes a deep run at the world cup. what? their opinion counts too!
the pitfalls – that was last year… in 2010 the USA has won one and lost three including a 2-4 drubbing at home. it’s a friendly, the first team wasn’t playing, both of which are good points. this was a Czech Republic squad that didn’t make it to the world cup out of a group that included fellow hopefuls Slovenia – also a good point.
the verdict – i don’t read too much in warm-up games. but, this USA squad has had a rollercoaster of a year with the confederations cup success, the Charlie Davies injury, and the string of bad results of late. one thing has to be said about world cup success, consistency is necessary. this USA squad is very talented but needs to get it together soon.

Slovenia
the obvious – they came out of a pretty deep qualification group. they don’t have any superstar and play like a real team. they surprised a lot of people, including me, when they came back to beat a very good Russia team.
the pitfalls – Slovenia hasn’t fared well in their only two international competitions, the last in 2002, which makes them a relatively inexperienced squad.
the verdict – many pundits are talking about this team as a potential surprise. i don’t buy it. their success lies in getting their first international competition victory.

Algeria
the obvious – this is a team that has been on a meteoric rise over the past two years resulting in a cockfight, and some increased  political tensions, with the previous emir of North Africa, Egypt. they win different types of games from a miraculous comeback against a heavy favorite to a grind-it-out battle against a fierce rival. they have an all-around tough squad.
the pitfalls – maybe it’s the lack of experience in a tournament but this Algeria team, after significant positive results in qualifying to the world cup, lost two games (0-3 and 0-4), tied one game, and won two games at the Africa cup of nations  in january, one win was the miraculous comeback linked above… lack of experience or tournament trend?
the verdict – this team has all the making of a team happy to have qualified. their less than impressive performance at the Africa cup of nations, except for the Ivory Coast game, lead me to believe this team, although a real potential threat, needs some more experience before having any impact at the world cup. unless Saadane can get them to play inspiring football again…

Tags: Africa Cup of Nations, Algeria, Brazil, Charlie Davies, Confederations cup, Egypt, England, Ivory Coast, Jean de la Fontaine, Le Chameau et les Bâtons flottants, Rabah Saâdane, Russia, Slovenia, Spain, USA