World Cup 2010 Previews: Group H

H is for……bling?

The draw for World Cup 2010 (South Africa!) is complete, and now we must wait for 6 months until the matches begin. But here at UF we are incredibly impatient, and have no fear of being proven idiots, so we are launching our Group previews. Who plays who, and where? Which players will we identify as vital to their country’s advancement only for them to be left off the roster in the next few months? Which country will we tab as the surprise of the group only to see them fail to earn a single point in the group stage?

Join us after the jump for generalizations, highly inaccurate predictions, and straight-up misinformation, won’t you?

Group H features three Spanish speaking teams and Switzerland, so don’t expect it to get a ton of play in the English-speaking press. Still, though, we have the defending Euro 2008 Champions Spain alongside Honduras from CONCACAF and Chile from CONMEBOL, so at the very least there will be some quality on display. Spain is likely to win the group going away, and they should if they have any aspirations of lifting the Jules Rimet Trophy, but the fight for second place could be interesting.

First, though, lets take a look at the fixture list:

June 16 – Honduras v Chile – Nelspruit
June 16 – Spain v Switzerland – Durban
June 21 – Chile v Switzerland – Port Elizabeth
June 21 – Spain v Honduras – Johannesberg
June 25 – Chile v Spain – Pretoria
June 25 – Switzerland V Honduras – Bloemfontein

And on to the teams…

Country: Spain
Coach: Vincente Del Bosque
Current FIFA Ranking: Numero Uno
WC history: Despite the recognized strength of Spanish football and La Liga, the national team has actually done rather poorly, with their best showing a fourth place all the way back in 1950. In 2006 they were heavy favorites against the French in the round of 16 but ended up losing 3-1.
How they qualified: Spain won all 10 of their qualifying matches, scoring 28 goals in the process, and generally waltzed into the finals.
Players worth a mention: The squad is full of megawatt star power, and you know all of them. Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Torres, Fabergas and many others highlight a very strong team. As always, the question will be one of fitness and whether players from Real Madrid, Barcelona, and the Premiership can mesh into an effective unit.
Notes: Since their little slip up to the US National Team (f**k yeah!) in the Confederations Cup, Spain have resumed normal service against admittedly weak competition. They did beat Argentina in a friendly in October thanks to two goals by Xabi Alonso. They will be heading to South Africa as more or less the favorites to win the whole thing, and they are certainly capable. But as mentioned, their history in this competition is not glorious, and the pressure will intense in the knock out matches. Although they have a new coach, the squad will be basically the same as the one that won Euro 2008, so they have experience winning a big time tournament. If Spain can play free flowing football, then they will be tough to stop.

Country: Switzerland
Coach: Ottmar Hitzfield
Current FIFA Ranking: 18
WC history: Switzerland has made the quarterfinals three times before, the last being in 1954. There were then some lean years, with just a single appearance between 1966 and 2006 (USA 94). In Germany 2006, they made it to the round of 16 where they lost to the Ukraine in penalties.
How they qualified: Switzerland won their group by one point over Greece, scoring 18 and conceding 8.
Players worth a shout: Their best known player is probably 30 year old striker Alexander Frei, who currently plys his trade in the domestic league. He has 70 caps and has tallied a staggering 40 goals. Up and comers to watch include Gelson Fernandes of St Etienne and Eren Dediyok of Bayer Leverkusen.
Notes: Despite being a host team in Euro 2008, they were knocked out in the first round. They will find matches against their spanish-speaking opponents from the new world very difficult, and I don’t think they get out of the group.

Country: Chile
Coach: Marcelo Bielsa
Current FIFA Ranking: 17
WC History: Chile’s best showing was third in 1962, but they have been a fairly regular fixture and appeared in the first World Cup in 1930. The country was banned from the 1990 and 1994 World Cup due to a scandal involving diving and fireworks in a 1989 qualifier against Brazil.
How they qualified: Chile finished an impressive second in CONMEBOL qualifying, well ahead of Argentina.
Players worth a mention: Chile have a lot of players playing domestically and in second tier leagues in Europe, although that could change with a good showing next summer. The goalkeeper Claudio Bravo plays in San Sebastian for Real Sociedad, while star 23 year old midfielder Matias Fernandez (7 goals in 35 caps) plays in Portugal.
Notes: Former Argentina manager Bielsa is a cult hero in Chile for leading the team back to the World Cup for the first time since 1998. His attacking style should win plaudits next summer, especially if he can get Chile into the second round.

Country: Honduras
Coach: Reinaldo Rueda
Current FIFA ranking: 38th
WC history: They have only one appearance, in 1982, where they finished last in their group but managed to draw hosts Spain and Northern Ireland. More famous for getting in a war over a qualifier for the 1970 World Cup.
How they qualified: Third place in CONCACAF, including a nice win over Mexico.
Players worth a mention: David Suazo, the Inter Milan striker, and newly hot midfielder Wilson Palacios, who plays for Tottenham.
Notes: Clear pick for last place in the group, but if they get an early goal they can frustrate opponents with a masterclass of time wasting, faking injuries, and dirty plays.

Spain 3 wins.
Chile 2 wins.
Switzerland 1 win.
Honduras 0 wins.

Spain wins it going away, and Chile joins them in advancing to the next round. JT pens 10,000 word marriage proposals to Fernando Torres, while I pine for David Villa at Arsenal (SPEND SOME MONEY, ARSENE!).