World Cup Preview: Group C

Group C

This is one of the two groups of death. Aside from tournament contenders Argentina and the Netherlands, both Serbia and Montenegro and the Ivory Coast have the talent to get out of this deep group.

Argentina

What you need to know — Other than Brazil, who is on another level, Argentina is one of the favorites to win it all. In qualifying, Argentina throttled Brazil, 3-1, and completely dominated the game. And they will be looking to make amends for their last World Cup appearance when they were unexpectedly sent home without advancing out of the group phase.

Style — Argentina is blessed with some of the highest skilled offensive-minded players in the game today. They like to run the offense through Juan Roman Riquelme, who, with his tight control and precision passing, funnels the attack through cleverly-weighted for strikers Hernan Crespo, Leo Messi, Carlos Tevez, etc.

Achilles heel — Great up front, suspect at the back, especially in goal, where Roberto Abbondanzieri can be a liability. They are generally so dominant in ball possession, though, that the defense goes through long spells without being tested.

Player you need to know — Juan Roman Riquelme. The Villarreal midfielder is a maestro with the ball. He's not much for defending and doesn't possess a tremendous amount of speed, but the ball seems to move around him, not the other way around. He had a strong year with his club, leading the undermanned Spanish side to the semifinals of the Champions League, and has also been brilliant in qualifying, particularly in their home win over Brazil, when he was the best player on the field. The knock on him, though, is that sometimes he disappears for long stretches in a game, especially when he is dealt with physically.

Player you will learn to know — Leo Messi. The 18-year-old Barcelona winger is being labeled as the next Maradona. An injury cost him most of 2006 with his club Barcelona, but it is being reported that he is fit and raring to go, and before the World Cup is over, he might be the biggest star of the tournament.

Prediction — This is the toughest group in the World Cup. But Argentina should go through. However, when adversity strikes this team, things go south in a hurry. They have the talent and the depth, but do they have the heart? Head coach Jose Pekerman went a long way towards ensuring that, dismissing regulars Juan Sebastian Veron, Javier Zanetti, Walter Samuel, and Martin DeMichelis in an effort to change the mentality of his squad. This team could make it to the final, or they could get bounced out early on. I'm leaning towards the latter, but I won't be surprised if they make me look foolish ... like in the 2002 World Cup.

Netherlands

What you need to know — Another revolution of sorts, as head coach and former Dutch legend Marco Van Basten came in and cleaned house from a squad that reached the 2004 Euro semifinals. He passed over European stars Edgar Davids, Clarence Seedorf, and Roy Makaay and brought in unheralded local talent like Denny Landzaat, Hedwiges Maduro, and Ryan Babel. And it proved successful as Holland went undefeated in a qualification group that featured Romania, Finland, and former nemesis the Czech Republic.

Style — The Dutch continue to use the 4-3-3 formation and a belief in total football, although they might not play as elegantly as they used to. One other thing — Van Basten will try anything. He doesn't care what the fans or media think, and because of the deified status he enjoys in Holland, will not fear the consequences of his unorthodox methods.

Achilles heel — When you go with a youth movement, experience is obviously sacrificed. The defense can be inconsistent, and key midfielder Rafael Van der Vaart is coming off a foot injury.

Player you need to know — Ruud Van Nistelrooy. Due to a bust up with club manager Sir Alex Ferguson that has led to his reputation being damaged, Ruud will be eager to demonstrate in this World Cup that is the prolific striker everyone remembers him to be. There have even been whispers that he could be replaced as the lead striker with on the Dutch squad with Dirk Kuyt, but Van Basten has been quick to quash such rumors.

Player you will learn to know — Arjen Robben. The Chelsea winger lit up the 2004 Euros, and is one of the most dangerous players with the ball at his feet. He has a propensity for keeping the ball too long and not looking to pass, but is brilliant none the less.

Prediction — Everything has gone swimmingly for Van Basten so far, and he says he is ahead of schedule with his team — the former player of the year claims his actual goals were the 2008 Euros and 2010 World Cup. Now that he is here, though, everyone with a Van in their last name will expect big things this summer. And if they do indeed get out of their group of death, with a little luck, they could be poised to take the title.

Serbia and Montenegro

What you need to know — Part of the former Yugoslavia, Serbia and Montenegro qualified by winning their group, a group that included Spain (who received a top seed in this World Cup), and hated rivals Bosnia-Herzegovina. They went undefeated, and conceded an astonishingly low one goal in 10 games.

Style — Their qualification speaks for itself ‚ defense, defense, and more defense. They rarely make mistakes at the back, as evidenced by their record of only giving up one goal in 10 qualifiers. While not lethal offensively, they do have veteran strikers (Mateja Kezman, Savo Milosevic, Dejan Stankovic, Mirko Vucinic) that play at the highest level of competition in Europe.

Achilles heel — There might be one troubling spot with this team, but it is far removed from the pitch. Montenegro has just passed an independence referendum from Serbia, which means this will be the last time the country is unified in the World Cup. I'm not going to pretend to be a history buff when it comes to the likes of Serbia, but I know just enough to realize there is a lot of bad blood in that part of the world, and politics can break up a team's chemistry a lot faster than any other internal grievance.

Player you need to know — Mateja Kezman. The former PSV standout and Chelsea striker didn't have a spectacular year at Atletico Madrid, but he was his country's leading scorer in qualifying, including one goal in each of the last four qualifiers.

Player you will learn to know — Mladen Krstajic. When this central defender starts, Serbia does not lose, or at least not yet. His country is undefeated when this Schalke defender's name is penciled into the starting lineup.

Prediction — Everyone, including FIFA, overlooks this team. Their current ranking of 44, 39 places behind Spain, who they tied twice in two critical qualifiers, is an absolute joke. A lot of teams love to play the line of "they're giving us no respect," which is usually unwarranted — but not in this case. This is one of the teams everyone was looking to avoid. I think the class of Argentina and the Netherlands will win out in the end, but just narrowly.

Ivory Coast

What you need to know — They almost choked their qualification away when they lost at home to Cameroon, only to get in, thanks to the Indomitable Lions' Pierre Wome's missed penalty on the final qualification day. Earlier this year in the African Cup of Nations, they finished second to the host Egypt, losing out on penalty kicks.

Style — This is a team that posses an abundance of talent, especially attacking. Between Didier Drogba, Arouna Kone Aruna Dindane, and Bonaventure Kalou, they have the ability to score on anyone. And their coach Henri Michel is prone to letting his young guns attack without hesitation.

Achilles heel — Their defense also boasts household names, particularly the Arsenal duo of Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue, but they, like a lot of African teams, sometimes lose their discipline. This was especially true in their qualifier against Cameroon, when strikers were roaming inside the Ivorian box completely unmarked. They did show significant improvement in the Africa Cup of Nations, but their competition was not at the level they will see in the World Cup this summer.

Player you need to know — Didier Drogba. The Chelsea striker has a staggering 21 goals in 31 internationals. There has been a lot of negative criticism surrounding his play over the last year (he actually came out and said he wants a change of venue after being branded a cheater in England for his perpetual diving), but Chelsea didn't shell out €36 million Euros because he isn't any good — he is one of the top strikers in the world.

Player you will learn to know — Didier Zokora. The defensive midfielder is being linked to many English clubs as a transfer target, and will have to play a pivotal role if the Ivorians hope to control any part of the midfield against Argentina, the Netherlands, or Serbia and Montenegro.

Prediction — If the Ivory Coast were in any other group, I would find myself picking them to go through. But the group of death is a hard place to make your World Cup debut. They certainly have the talent, but I believe the overall talent of Argentina and the Netherlands along with the disciplined style of Serbia and Montenegro will be too overwhelming this time.