Grupo A

Starting my Cup breakdown with a look at Group A:

France
Mexico
Uruguay
South Africa


This isn't a very strong group, but it looks to be France's to lose, even though they only made the World Cup on la main de Dieu/Henry, and most of their big names (Henry, Galas, Anelka) are on the wrong side of 30.

Mexico also looks like a safe bet to make the knockout stage, with a lot of talented players and solid defenders, but they always have a knack for collapsing on the large stage. I don't know much about Uruguay, but they've won two World Cups (in 1930 and 1950), which should be worth something.

South Africa, the host nation are known locally as "Bafana Bafana", which sounds like someone singing the name game ("fana fana Bafana fa nana nana Bafana"). South Africa has the best World Cup song and they'll have lots of home country support, but don't have much hope of advancing.

My picks: Winner = France, Runner Up = Mexico
Cheering for : South Africa (Bafana, Bafana.. Bring it home to mama!)