It give me great pleasure to kick off this blog on a day where many of the world cup finalists will be testing their best squads against others in a crucial round of pre-world cup friendlies. It is customary for world cup finalists to schedule a practice battle against opponents that are similar to the ones they are to face during the tournament. By my count, I believe there are 35 friendlies today, and it should be an action-packed schedule. Here are some of the interesting matchups that should garner much attention.
France Vs Spain
Even with the absence of El Nino and Cesc, it should be an exciting game consisting of, but not limited to:
1) Iniesta tumbling to the ground “under pressure”
2) Henry making defence-splitting passes to Gallas (not with his feet or head).
3) Puyol’s magnificent mane.
4) “The Power of Patrick Vieira” (if you don’t get it, play some fifa)
5) Sergio Ramos getting a yellow card.
In all seriousness, European Champions El Furia Roja are the likely winners. It will undoubtedly be a difficult contest, as France’s physical midfield never makes it easy for their opponents. I feel that the Spaniards will be under more pressure in the midfield than usual. Nonetheless, the creativity of individuals like Xavi and Iniesta should provide plenty of opportunities for David Villa, who does not often need many chances to hit the back of the net. They will also need Marcos Senna to battle Les Bleus’ Toulalan or Lass. France is undergoing a difficult stage in their preparation, where their starting strikers are not at their best. Henry has featured sparingly for Barcelona, while Benzema is losing the Nou Galacticos frontman position to an in-form Gonzalo Higuain. Anelka’s goalscoring streak has slowed since last season, but he is likely to feature. We may see the likes of old boy Djibril Cisse or even Louis Saha, who has been a revelation for the toffees since his arrival from United. If France are to win this game, much of their attacking inspiration will have to come from “Scarface” Franck Ribery, or Bordeaux playmaker Yoann Gourcuff.
Darren’s Prediction: 2-1 Spain.
Germany vs Argentina
Definitely another one to watch out for, as it would be a sin not to grab an opportunity to possibly witness Fat Diego do another face-first chest slide on to the pitch. People, these moments are the ones we futbol fans need to watch so that we can tell our kids. Whether Maradona can finally get away from the cocaine line and start players under the age of 35 will be the real test for the Argentinians. In an encouraging move, he has finally called up Walter Samuel, following a year long shun. I sympathize with Maradona in that he has a host of world-class strikers that are hard to put together on the same field. Milito and Higuain would be a nice two top, but then you have to put Tevez, Messi, and Aguero out of their natural positions, and vice versa. He definitely has a headache there. How he uses these individuals will be key to Argenina today, and over the summer. Germany, on the other hand, has the opposite problem. They need strikers. Podolski has forgotten that scoring is an important part of the game, Klose is terrible, leaving Mario Gomez as the only confident option. As usual, talisman Michael Ballack will have to drag his side forward, a job he is more than capable of doing, but whether that will be enough remains to be seen. Mascherano will foul, do dirty shoves, complain, whine, roll his eyes, pretty much using all his key skill sets to frustrate Ballack. Adding to their striking misfortune, coach Loew is causing some uncertainty among the German camp with contract issues. It should be a physical, and probably boring game.
If anything else, just watch the Messi-ah. I hope he’ll play well to save our souls from boredom.
Darren’s prediction 2-2
England vs Egypt
If I wasn’t a proud South Korean, I would support the Three Lions. As the EPL is that main league I watch, its only natural that I feel inclined to support English players, especially if they play for United. There are three aspects that will need to be addressed for Capello’s boys today: Wayne Rooney, the left back, and right wing positions. England seems to be quite solidified in their game plan at this point, Capello having done all his experimentation over the past year. The absence of Wayne Bridge and the injury of Ashley Cole will require Villa’s Warnock or Everton’s Baines, both of which are good candidates. I predict that Warnock will start. Wayne Rooney picked up a knee injury in last Sunday’s league cup final, but Capello says he will feature. Rooney has always been quick to recover from injuries, and England fans can expect to see him roam around the pitch today. As for the right wing, Aaron Lennon would have been the starter were he not injured. It looks like the two likeliest will either be perenniel wonderkid Theo Walcott or David Beckham. James Milner might feature, but there were serious talks of his move back to right back for this game, as Capello hasn’t been impressed by Micah Richards, or with the fitness of Wes Brown. In any case, it should be a fairly full squad for England, and if Rooney is healthy, all should be well. The African champions are sure to give them a strong challenge, especially if rising star Mohamed Zidan shows up to play. However, Capello is a man with a plan, and if he is able to use Rooney right, England should find no problems.
God Save the Queen. And my boy Wayne.
Darren’s Prediction: 2-0 England.
In the interests of time, I can only briefly preview these three games, but there are definitely many interesting match-ups to watch today. USA plays Netherlands which should be tough without the pace of Charlie Davies, or an out-of-shape Gooch, predictions should be conservative for the the Americans. Italy plays Cameroon, and Lippi has announced he will not call-up Super Mario – what an idiot. I hear that Nigeria has pounded Congo 5-2, but my Koreans just smashed the Ivory Coast this morning, so hope remains for the South Koreans just yet. Even the much maligned Lee Dong-Gook (former Middlesbrough striker) scored, and I’m going to be honest, he never scores.
Enjoy days like today my friends, its the one day where friendlies will actually be played with some conviction.
The Beautiful Game 