World Cup Preview: Group D

Group C

Group D is about as straight-forward as you get. Two teams (Portugal and Mexico), both flooded with distinguished players, and two teams (Iran and Angola) who are clearly not.

Portugal

What you need to know — The classic standard barrier for underachievers when it comes to the world stage. They have disappointed in World Cups before, including most recently in 2002 when they were famously bounced out of the first round by an unheralded United States team. They could have made amends for all their past failures in the 2004 Euros, but were beaten on home soil in the final by a less talented, but mentally stronger Greece squad.

Style — Beautiful attacking football. Portugal possesses some of the greatest talents in the game. They boast highly-decorated European based stars throughout the squad, and it was on full display throughout qualification, as they breezed to the World Cup without a loss, outscoring opponents at a 35-5 clip.

Achilles heel — Intestinal fortitude. No matter how talented, Portugal comes up short. This was never more evident than in 2002 when despite being one of the pre-tournament favorites, they came staggering out of the gate, losing to the United States 3-2. There is a real question of whether or not this team has the stomach to become one of the elites.

Player you need to know — Cristiano Ronaldo. The 21-year-old Manchester United starlet is one of the most exciting talents in the game. To call his footwork dazzling would be an understatement — perhaps only Ronaldinho is more entertaining with a ball at his feet. He can also score, finishing second on his team in qualifying with 7 goals.

Player you will learn to know — Pedro Pauleta. He is well-known in France, but flies under the radar when it comes to national prominence. He did lead all of Europe in qualification, scoring 11 goals, and could be primed to excel in Germany.

Prediction — This team is way too talented to get bounced out of the first round again, especially considering the competition. They are so gifted that if they get a little bit of luck, we could be talking about this team in the final. Although I'm willing to bet those same words have been uttered before about Portugal.

Mexico

What you need to know — This CONCACAF power is a World Cup regular, and they're not just happy to be there. Mexico has made it to the second round every time since 1994. But they usually bow out there, and have never made it past the quarterfinals.

Style — As they demonstrated in the 2005 Confederations Cup, Mexico attacks against everyone. Be it Germany, Argentina, or Brazil, they are not afraid to go for goals. They are highly-skilled and present matchup problems for many of the European elite, as Italy and the Netherlands can attest to in previous world cups.

Achilles heel — They can be overmatched physically and psychologically, which the United States has exploited before — most notably the 2002 World Cup. Their talent level also does fall short when comparing them to the elite squads in the world.

Player you need to know — Jared Borgetti. The leading scorer in CONCACAF qualifying now applies his trade for Bolton in England. And unlike almost every Mexican forward before him, Borgetti is more than capable in the air, where he is unusually dangerous.

Player you will learn to know — Rafael Marquez. The Barcelona central defender is an absolute rock at the back for Europe's best team and is equally adept when he moves forward on set pieces.

Prediction — Like Portugal, I would be beyond shocked if Mexico didn't make it out of this group, not because they are one of the best 16 teams in the world, but because Angola and Iran are not. After that though will be the real test. Something that should help Mexico this time around is their diversity. Unlike in years past where almost every national team member would play his club ball in Mexico, they have some integral players flourishing in Europe, and that could prove most beneficial when it comes to getting into the last rounds in Germany.

Iran

What you need to know — They have been in the World Cup twice before, and have won exactly one game, over the United States in 1998. They have never made it past the group stage.

Style — I would be lying to you if I said that I was an expert when it comes to Iranian football. I have seen them play zero games since 2002, when I saw them lose to Ireland 2-0 in a World Cup playoff. But when I have seen them in the past, they are a well-disciplined team that likes to play conservative and keep the game low scoring.

Achilles heel — Talent, although not nearly the gap there was in years past when comparing them to everyone else in the World Cup. Before, Iran would be lucky if one of their players played outside of the middle east. Now they have five, four of which are in Germany. In addition to a lack of talent, they also have a lack of competitive matches. They qualified from Asia, which is one of the weakest regions in the world, and Iran will find it most difficult when they are playing Portugal as opposed to Bahrain.

Player you need to know — Ali Daei. The 37-year-old striker is a living legend in Iran. He has 109 goals in 147 appearances for his country, and even had a small, successful spell in Germany.

Player you will learn to know — Ali Karimi. The Bayern Munich attacking midfielder is the most skilled player on his country's squad, and if Iran are to have any hope of getting a goal, he will need to be involved.

Prediction: Plain and simple, it's too little against too much. If Iran gets out of this group, it will be a miracle.

Angola

What you need to know — They are the reason Nigeria is not here, beating them out in qualification thanks in large part to an impressive home record in what was one of the most astonishing runs in the entire field. They are making their World Cup debut.

Style — A lot of their results came narrowly, outscoring their opponents by only six goals in twelve games, but they displayed amazing resilience in just being able to qualify. Keep in mind, this is a team that hadn't qualified for last three Africa Cup of Nations until this past one in January.

Achilles heel — Talent. Like Iran, Angola has few players that are common names to anyone outside Angola, and even a lot of Angolans might be shocked to learn who these guys are. In the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations, Angola failed to get out of their group, losing out to a good Cameroon team, as well as a marginal Congo squad.

Player you need to know — Fabrice Akwa. The captain was Angola's leading goal scorer in qualifying, and is the heart and soul of the team.

Player you will learn to know — Pedro Mantorras. Possibly the highest skilled player on the team, the Benfica forward has struggled chemistry wise with his national team, and almost wasn't picked to accompany the squad to Germany. But if Angola is to make any noise here, Mantorras will have to be heard from, and probably as a substitute.

Prediction — Angola is essentially brining a knife to a gunfight. I have no idea how Nigeria failed to get past them in qualifying, but after watching their games at the Africa Cup of Nations this winter, I can't see any possible way that they could upset the apple cart.