World Cup - Qualifiers ranked: Spain to reign

Thu, 19 Nov 12:10:00 2009

Eurosport-Yahoo! ranks the 32 World Cup qualifiers, and puts Spain top of the pile ahead of tournament favourites Brazil.

Spain's players celebrate with Fabregas after he scored against Estonia during their World Cup 2010 qualifier at the Romano stadium in Merida - 0

THE FIRST XI

1-Spain

How Spain are not the bookies' favourites is a total mystery. The European Champions have a group of world-class individuals finally working as a team. Their new-found unity and the confidence boost of winning Euro 2008 inspired them to a flawless qualifying campaign, and they have quality in every position. The only question mark is their poor World Cup track record.

2-Brazil

Dealt easily enough with a weakened England side, but question marks remain about the defence, and a midfield where Arsenal cast-off Gilberto Silva still gets a game. The Kaka-inspired attack still strikes fear into every opponent, while the Selecao's peerless World Cup history - and the fact the tournament is outside Europe - mean they are clearly serious contenders.

3-Germany

They might not have the outstanding individuals of yesteryear, but the Germans still know how to win and they are habitually involved at the business end of major tournaments. However, the shocking death of Robert Enke has cast a huge shadow over the squad and their response to the tragedy will be crucial.

4-England

Fabio Capello's side raced to qualification showing a ruthless edge, especially in the two thumping wins against Croatia. Friendly defeats to Spain and Brazil show there is still room for improvement, but for the first time in a generation, England have the players and the manager to go all the way.

5-Italy

The defending champions were efficient rather than spectacular in qualifying, and had an absolute nightmare at the Confederations Cup. Marcello Lippi is under pressure amid a growing clamour to recall Antonio Cassano, but they always tend to pull things together ahead of the big occasions.

6-France

Staggeringly lucky to be there after needing the hand of two separate gods to see off the Republic of Ireland - Raymond Domenech would probably say it was written in the stars. At least Henry's crime showed a win-at-all-costs mentality which France have lacked in recent years. And there's Franck Ribery to return.

7-Portugal

When you have got possibly the best player in the world waiting to come back to your team, you always have a chance. Portugal have struggled terribly under Carlos Queiroz but won both legs of their play-off against Bosnia-Herzegovina without Cristiano Ronaldo, and have plenty of talent.

8-Netherlands

A brilliant qualifying campaign yielded eight wins out of eight for Bert van Marwijk's side. The coach's tactic of leaning on Dutch-based players for the backbone of his squad is paying off, but there is a worrying reliance on the fragile likes of Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben. We just do not fancy them.

9-Ivory Coast

Egypt might be the champions of Africa, but Ivory Coast look the best equipped to mount a serious challenge on their home continent. The devastating Didier Drogba has 41 goals from his 60 caps and is ably supported by the Toure brothers, Arouna Kone and Didier Zokora.

10-USA

Bob Bradley's men never get any respect. The fact their squad now hails mainly from the MLS will not change that, but it might mean their players are fresh in South Africa. They are the only team on this list to beat Spain in the last three years, and continued their regional superiority over Mexico in qualifying.

11-Argentina

Still a shambles - the decisive win against Uruguay does not change that. Diego Maradona still does not know his best team, has failed to get the best out of Lionel Messi and is wildly volatile. Good times could be around the corner, mind, as Maradona has been banned for two months.

THE REST

12-Ghana

13-Australia

14-Mexico

15-South Korea

16-Cameroon

17-Denmark

18-Nigeria

19-Chile

20-Serbia

21-Paraguay

22-Greece

23-Japan

24-Switzerland

25-Uruguay

26-Algeria

27-Slovenia

28-South Africa

29-Slovakia

30-Honduras

31-North Korea

32-New Zealand

Alex Chick / Eurosport

Comment 94 - 113 of 113

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  1. i cant see past italy, spain or brazil for this­ tournament , england shpould go far but dont have the­ killer instinct and germany well , not this time , they­ rely too much on polish born players and their­ overrated captain, ballack

    From Frankie, on Mon 23 Nov 11:31

  2. TERRORISM !!!!! the algerians supporters used knives­ and swords in the match between them and egypt they­ attacked the egyptian supporters and chased them in the­ streets of sudan ! annd they did that after winning­ they r barbarians !!!!!! ITS VERY RISKY THAT SUCH­ SUPPORTERS THOSE WHO USE KNIVES IN SUPORTING THEIR TEAM­ ATTEND THE WORLD CUP IN SOUTH AFRICA ! i hope they can­ be disqualified

    From douzy_dou, on Sun 22 Nov 13:16

  3. cant believe u guys rank nigeria 18th and another guy­ wrote 24th u think africans are s**t although i'm­ azzuri 4 life, i'll lyk to c my country nigeria do­ well

    From whizkyd, on Sun 22 Nov 1:43

  4. 114 Thick!

    From wolfmann, on Sat 21 Nov 5:56

  5. Am I being thick or am I right in thinking the Ukraine­ qualified? Why are they not on the list?

    From jimbobmiles, on Sat 21 Nov 5:08

  6. World Cup Freak,of course you are a freak.­ XDDDD

    Please, read:

    Spain has 2 Euro Championships. 2­ not one.

    Spain has beat Germany, Italy, England,­ France, Argentina in the last 2 years. So they are the­ first for a reason.

    From Mike, on Sat 21 Nov 3:42

  7. TOP8

    BRAZIL
    SPAIN
    ITALY
    HOLLAND
    GERMANY
    ­ ARGENTINA ( GET RID OF MARADONA)
    ENGLAND
    FRANCE
    -
    ­ DENMARK
    SERBIA
    PORTUGAL
    PARAGUAY
    MEXICO
    ­ SWITZERLAND
    PARAGUAY
    CHILE
    -
    GREECE
    URUGUAY
    SOUTH­ KOREA
    USA
    CAMEROON
    SLOVAKIA
    AUSTRALIA
    NIGERIA
    -
    ­ SLOVENIA
    GHANA
    IVORY COAST
    JAPAN
    SOUTH AFRICA
    ­ ALGERIA
    HONDURAS
    NORTH KOREA
    NEW ZEALAND

    From MARK, on Sat 21 Nov 3:14

  8. ivory coast out in the first round, why do people think­ they are good, how many times have they played teams­ from europe ? they are no better then austria.even­ though many african players play in europe many of the­ teams still have a school boy approach to playing. the­ winners ? who knows but i dont think they will be any­ team that will be a dark horse, but a suprise team­ could be CHILE best african nation ALGERIA, but i­ would like to see them do wel,l personaly i would like­ the 4 teams in the semis to be, BRAZIL-­ MEXICO-ITALY-URUGUAY , but i know that will never­ happen,beating DENMARK-ALGERIA-GERMANY-PARAGUAY in th­ QFs

    From MARK, on Sat 21 Nov 2:46

  9. With the new World FIFA rankings out today England have­ dropped 2 places from 7th to 9th by way of Portugal and­ France playing additional games and climbing above­ them. Does this mean that on December the 4th when the­ World Cup draw takes place that we will not be­ allocated one of the top 8 seedings! Thus be seeded in­ the second group of teams meaning that we will be­ possibly be drawn alongside Spain, Brazil, Germany­ etc... The ramifications of Platini's vile bias­ towards France and Portugal being awarded seeding in­ the play-offs and the subsequent 'Hand of Frog'­ incident could well yet cause England heartache too­ when the draw is made... Surely England by merit­ deserve a top seeding otherwise the fiasco in Qatar­ playing Brazil was far more costly then we had­ anticipated. :O(

    From David, on Sat 21 Nov 2:29

  10. Germany will play for Robert Enke! this will give them­ even more strength as they always have. That´s why­ "The mannschaft" will become 2010 WC champ!!

    From Stefan, on Sat 21 Nov 2:05

  11. as long as engurland dont get out the group stages il­ be happy whoever wins!!

    From GREG, on Sat 21 Nov 0:35

  12. lets not be like kids who just rate teams because they­ like them. or supporters who just want certain things­ for the teams they support whilst not understaning even­ a bit about the fifa rules and statures for the game. A­ team made up of galatico's is not necessarily the­ best team. Spain and other tems proved that during the ­ of the Confederations Cup. Qualifiers are just that,­ nothing more. How you peform at the big stage is what­ matters. Therefore i actually think u over rated the­ top ten countries.

    Watching the world cup over the­ years, i have come to the conclusion that teams that­ are flawless win the world cup: meaning every world cup­ winner wins all the matches. if not they may just lose­ one. so all the teams that were in the play off's­ are out on my list no matter whether they are big­ brands.

    As winner of the Confederations Cup. I rank­ Brazil tops.
    the rest will be all those teams with a­ near perfect record both in in all regions. So spain­ will be among them. If african teams can overcome the­ sychological aspect of them being viewed as under­ achievers and no hopers. nothing can stop them winning­ the World Cup not because it is i Africa but on merit .

    From Tony B, on Sat 21 Nov 0:33

  13. come on france cannot be sixth after struggling to­ qualify

    go New Zealand absolutely stoked to even see­ our little country on the page

    maybe we can even score­ a goal this World Cup

    From msoulsby1978, on Fri 20 Nov 23:59

  14. Easiest way to rank the teams is to number them in­ order of who qualified first - you would have the­ Spanish, Dutch and yes the English squads near the top,­ and teams more likely to struggle like NZ and Algeria­ closer to the bottom.

    Oh and Australia are ranked­ above Cameroon Mexico and Nigeria because, but for a­ cheap penalty given to the Italians in the 2006 World­ Cup QF, it would have been them playing finals.

    Yeah I­ know the last paragraph is a stretch, but Aussies can­ take it to the big guys..

    From Gerry, on Fri 20 Nov 23:59

  15. Who ever wrote this article is mentally retarded.

    From milena, on Fri 20 Nov 23:16

  16. Spain
    Brazil
    Germany
    Argentina
    Portugal
    Hollund
    Italy
    F­ rance
    England
    Ivory Coast

    From JONHBOY, on Fri 20 Nov 21:40

  17. Brazil - fail blog by these writers really. Weak­ defence? Joking me (maicon, lucio, juan, julio cesar­ with reserves like daniel alves (which could be first­ squad in the left sometimes), thiago silva and luisao).­ And why's Gilberto Silva still plays on the first­ team? -Because he's tall, strong, good leadership­ and he has good skills which Wenger did not notice.

    From Victor, on Fri 20 Nov 21:38

  18. An absolute shambles of a list. England ranked 4th?­ Wise the hell up. The top 3 are right (although i­ believe Spain will collapse under rhe weight of­ expectation) but the next 7 are way off the mark.­ Holland, Italy, Argentina, Portugol and france are all­ better equipped to win the world cup than England.­ England should be ranked 10th on this list. Not only­ that, how on earth could you rank the USA higher than­ Argentina mister chick? Yes Argentina's manager is­ a clueless idiot but that doesn't take away from­ the fact they have a world class team. The USA­ don't have Messi, Tevez, Mascherano and Riquelme.

    From JONHBOY, on Fri 20 Nov 21:34

  19. the french are past it now and just living on past­ glory and the hand of God to win matches. the portugese­ are a one man team (remove ronaldo and they are very­ ordinary). Also, the world cup refs surely have to keep­ an eagle eye on the french players to prevent any form­ of cheating to win their matches. Ranking the french­ and portuguese at number 6 and 7 respectively above­ netherlands and ivory coast is a laugh and shows how­ faulty the ranking system is.

    From Babatunde, on Fri 20 Nov 20:27

  20. Whosoever on earth made this ranking is just kidding.­ Note that the World Cup is to be played on African soil­ and I bet you, it is the year of Africa. If you look at­ the World cup history, any games played out of Europe­ are always won by Latin America countries (especially­ Brazil). The guys who made this ranking have forgotten­ that the only serious team that may win is from Africa­ and Latin America. I bet you that, Cameroon is the only­ African team that can at all positions and places­ defend that cup in Africa.

    Note that, Cameroon is the­ only African team to have played the finals of any FIFA­ organised tournament (confederations cup of 2000).­ Cameroon is the team who has won the highest number of­ African Cup of nations left in the race as Egypt is­ out. Cameroon still has among her ranks the player with­ the highest goals scored in games played on African­ soil (Samuel Eto'o) and he masters how African soil­ is and is one of the players who still creates havoc to­ defences in Europe. And to prove that Cameroon is the­ team to win this World Cup, I want you all to realise­ that Cameroon is the only team that has successfully­ defeated all Latin American countries (Argentina in­ 1990 with almighty Diego Maradona, Brazil at both the­ Olympic games of 2000 and Confederations cup 2000 with­ the Ronaldinho's and Dida's, Ronaldo's,­ Kaka's, Colombia both at World cup 1990 and­ Confederations cup of 2000, Chile at Olympic games of­ 2000 with Ivan Zamorano) and has defeated Spain at the­ Olympic games where many of these team players today­ played. So which is that team who will challenge the­ Lions in his own forest and dent? Note that Africa is a­ forest and the Lion is the king of the forest.

    Go­ Cameroon and Yaounde awaits to receive that trophy come­ July 2010.

    From Samuel Balakun, on Fri 20 Nov 19:55
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