World Cup Preview: Group A

Group A

One of the weakest groups in this summer's World Cup features the host nation Germany, along with Poland, Ecuador ,and Costa Rica.

Germany

What you need to know — Their CV is impeccable with 13 European Championship and World Cup finals since 1954, having won three of each. And this summer, they are the host, which means they were the only team that didn't have to qualify.

Style — They have undergone a revolution of sorts since their disappointing 2004 Euro campaign. Head coach and former German star Juergen Klinsmann has decided to go with youth and speed, which has produced a more exciting brand of soccer. In addition, 2002 World Cup Golden Ball recipient Oliver Kahn was replaced as the No. 1 goalkeeper by Jens Lehmann.

Achilles heel — The defense. Yes, Germany is scoring more, but they are also conceding more than what is typical of the former three-time World Cup champions. Also, they haven't played a competitive match since they were unceremoniously dumped out of the 2004 European championships by the Czech Republic.

Player you need to know — Michael Ballack. The captain is clearly Germany's most talented player, but, despite his much ballyhooed move to Chelsea, is not an elite player. That being said, he did almost single-handedly carry Germany to the 2002 World Cup final. The best way to sum him up is that he's an excellent footballer, just not a special one.

Player you will learn to know — Tim Borowski. The Werder Bremen midfielder has had a break out season and is primed for the World Cup.

Prediction — Former England striker Gary Lineker is famous for saying, "Football is a simple game — 22 men chase a ball for 90 minutes and at the end, the Germans win." That is not the case any more. Germany is vulnerable, and their track record since 2002 is sporadic. But they are at home, which is a huge advantage. The three previous hosts also enjoyed a large amount of success: South Korea made it to the semis in 2002, France won it in 1998, and the United States made it out of the group stage in 1994, when at the time they might have not been a top-50 team in the world. Germany is clearly the class of their group, but not one of the class teams in the world. They will win their group, but not get past the quarterfinals, something that will not sit well with the fans.

Poland

What you need to know — They finished second in their qualification group behind England, and finished last in their group in the 2002 World Cup behind South Korea, the United States, and Portugal.

Style — Like Germany, Poland has undergone a revolution, as well. They have opened up their game to a more attacking philosophy, but coach Pawel Janas shook things up even more by not including longtime incumbent goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek or co-leading qualification scorer Tomasz Frankowski in his squad, something that has prompted outrage back home.

Achilles heel — Talent. Poland is a good team, but nowhere near one of the best. Time and again, when faced against the best opposition the world has to offer, Poland cannot compete. Twice they lost to England in the preliminaries and they didn't qualify for the 2004 European Championships. In addition, they were completely embarrassed in the 2002 World Cup after losing their first two games by a combined 6-0 margin.

Player you need to know — Maciej Zurawski. Known as Magic to his fans, Zurawski spent last season with Scottish champions Celtic, where he scored 16 goals in 24 games.

Player you will learn to know — Ebi Smolarek. The forward scored 13 times for his club team Dortmund, which also happens to be the site of the game between Poland and Germany.

Prediction — Poland borders right in between the mediocre and strong teams, as they proved during qualification where they won all of their games against lesser opponents Austria, Northern Ireland, Wales, and Azerbaijan, but struggled twice in losses to England. They should be able to handle Ecuador and Costa Rica, finish second to Germany, and bow out in the round of 16.

Ecuador

What you need to know — They finished third in South American qualifying behind superpowers Brazil and Argentina, and finished last in their group in the 2002 World Cup with losses to Italy and Mexico, while defeating Croatia.

Style — Ecuador is a disciplined team that relies heavily on frustrating opponents with strength in the middle of the field. Despite a few qualifiers that would suggest a propensity for goals, Ecuador is not a high-scoring team.

Achilles heel — Games not played in Quito. Ecuador's home and away form is staggering: 23 points in qualification came at home, where as they only 5 came away. The reason? The altitude. Quito sits almost twice as high above sea level as Denver. When their opponents get wheezy, the Ecuadorians take advantage.

Player you need to know — Agustin Delgado. This will be the last World Cup for the team's co-leading qualification scorer, who is one of the members of Ecuador's golden generation.

Player you will learn to know — Edison Mendez. A club and country teammate of Delgado, the midfielder was the other co-leading scorer for Ecuador during qualification and will need to be an impact player if his team has any chance of getting out of the group stage.

Prediction — The track record is clear: if the World Cup was played in Ecuador, the team might be one of the favorites, having beaten Argentina and Brazil during qualification on home soil. But when they leave the cozy confines of Quito, they are no better than Venezuela. If they advance out of the group, it will be a historic achievement.

Costa Rica

What you need to know — They finished third in CONCACAF, which aside from Asia, is probably the weakest qualification zone. However, in the 2002 World Cup, they did perform valiantly, losing out to Turkey for second place in their group based on goal differential. And Turkey went on to the semifinals!

Style — The Ticos were in jeopardy of missing the World Cup until Alexandre Guimaraes was reinstated as head coach and took an out of control Costa Rica squad that loves to attack and applied some discipline, but their strength remains with their offense.

Achilles heel — Talent. They are clearly a step below Mexico and the United States. They did have a win over the U.S., but that was after America has already qualified and Bruce Arena sent his B-team to play at San Jose. In addition, they needed last-minute miracle wins against Guatemala and Panama at home just to get to Germany this summer.

Player you need to know — Paulo Wanchope. He has played successfully in Europe and despite having returned to play his club football in Costa Rica, he was still the team's leading scorer in qualification.

Player you will learn to know — Carlos Hernandez. As anyone who saw him play against the United States will attest to, he can score when you least expect it. He has the ability to change the game with the spectacular.

Prediction — Costa Rica was unfortunate not to do better in the last World Cup, but this time they appear to be on the way down rather than up. A leaky defense will probably see them wind up finishing last in their group.

Note: Piet Van Leer will be providing previews for each group leading up to the start of the World Cup on June 9th. He will also be providing regular coverage during the tournament.