The ‘2010 FIFA World Cup Group A’ makes for a remarkable grouping of teams. Read on to know more on the teams involved and the schedule for the matches.
South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and France lock horns with each other in what may turn out to be an interesting 2010 FIFA World Cup Group A clash. The fans of the host country, South Africa, will be hoping their team meets and maybe even crosses their expectations. By virtue of being the hosts, the South Africans are expected to traverse past the group stages, but in reality may be filtered out by the competition. The tournament kicks off with the hosts facing Mexico and then proceeding to face Uruguay and France, the 2006 runners-up. France, on their part will look to right the wrongs they committed in the 2006 World Cup. They nearly got their hands on the Cup, but their heightened pace was put to a halt by the mighty Italians in what was a glorious final. However, the French continue to remain the Group A favorites.
The Mexicans come in a close second and arguably have what it takes to ferry past the group stages with top honors. The 2010 World Cup will see Mexico participating for the fifth successive time in the competition. Sadly however, the team had to leave the ‘confines’ of the last four World Cup tournaments in the second round of the same. Mexico will cast rays of hope on the freshness of their team; a lot will depend on the the team’s star players Carlos Vela and Giovani dos Santos. The Mexicans in the second round of the 2006 tournament fizzled out to the aggression of the Argentineans. They will look to earn a name for themselves this year, especially since they are yet to reach the quarter-finals stage since the 1986 tournament.
The most looked forward to Group A clash in South Africa includes Mexico and Uruguay, arguably at least. Uruguay will have a hint of revenge on their cards since they lost to Mexico when the two teams met last in 2007. The Mexicans and Uruguayans will face each other at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg. The Uruguayans as a team are riding on a wave of pre-tournament confidence. The team’s strength lies in the young and energetic players they have at their disposal. The Uruguayans are steered on by veteran coach Oscar Tabarez, a capable man who successfully led the team to the second round of the 1990 World Cup. Oscar’s fresh and raring to go squad will definitely lie in wait for the Mexicans. Who will emerge the victor? Well, that remains to be seen. The ‘France Vs Mexico’ clash is another match that will have fans of both teams on the edge of their seats.
South Africa and Mexico are fortunate enough to participate in the opening match of the tournament. Fans all over the world will wait with bated breaths for what is promising to be an electrifying starter. The people of South Africa as fans will tilt towards the proceedings of the Group A matches, listing out the reasons for the same will be akin to stating the obvious.
Group A players to look out for include the likes of Aaron Mokoena (RSA), Aaron Mokoena (RSA), Thierry Henry (FRA), Nicolas Anelka (FRA), Thierry Henry (FRA), Nicolas Anelka (FRA), Diego Forlán and William Gallas (FRA).
“I’m not going to label this group either difficult or manageable – I’m only going to call it unique,” said Javier Aguirre, the coach of ‘Team Mexico. Opinions that will have most people nod in agreement.
