Spain and Brazil could eliminate themselves in eighths and would open the World Championship (Yahoo)

The fact that the two maximum candidates, Spain and Brazil could eliminate themselves in the eight of final, so one of them could remain in a way too early and Portugal could enter also in confronting vs the champions of Europe in the same instance, this is most outstanding of the drawing lots of the World Championship in South Africa performed in Cape Town.

As it happens sometimes, many of the speculations regarding the future of the next final phase of the World Championship that will take place between the 11 of June and the 11 of July next in the South African territory, end now on the strictly qualitative level and we already pass to matters in which the fortune is very important and as always, lefit those who benefit and those who lose.

Though this time cannot be affirmed that there is “death group” among the eight components of the final phase, it is clear that the hardest and most competitive are the D (Germany, Australia, Serbia and Ghana), the E (Holland, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon) and the H (Brazil, Portugal, South Korea and Ivory Coast). It is clear that in those three groups there will be always a strong team that will remain outside of the eighth of final.

Likewise, there is already a kind of certainty as to the fact that we shall have two or three matches very strong in the crossing of eighth of final, because the two first of the Group H will have to cross with those of the first Group G, composed by Spain, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile, so we could have Brazil-Chile (as in France 1998) or Spain-Portugal, or Spain–Ivory Coast or even more impacting and that could determine an impacting change in the contests previsions Spain-Brazil.

Likewise, the eighth final could determine a cross between Argentina and France or that it could be repeated the confrontation in the eighth of the last World Championship in Germany between Argentina and Mexico, of that of 1986 between Argentina and Uruguay, a Southamerican classic, or well, we could have a confrontation of Africans among Nigerians and South Africans or between French and Nigerian, that also could call attention.

It can be also said that the local team, Southafrica, resulted somewhat benefited in a group A with no inaccessible rival, always that France is not in their best moment (though they could have another European team of lower level), Uruguay represents an incognita but has not done a good eliminatory, meanwhile Mexico may be an exigent adversary as they grew since Javier Aguirre took the command of the North American team.

Japan was not very lucky and will have to make efforts if they want to pass the eighth- final in a group with two strong European teams as Holland and Denmark, that classified easily, meanwhile that the fourth team is nothing less but Cameroon with the terrible Samuel Eto´o in his attack.

The first of this Group E has good possibilities to continue a good race in the World Championship because group F seems quite open for the classification of Italy (present World Champion) and Paraguay, who will have in front New Zealand, and Slovakia. Therefore, the team that will avoid Italy has more possibilities, in principle, advancing to the next phase.

In the case of groups A and B, there appear as favorites Argentina and Nigeria in the second (they will have to confront North Korea and Greece that may convert in the arbiter), meanwhile that in the first there is more parity though France and Mexico have better rendering in the last times, though there could be a surprise, because of the history that Uruguay has and being local the South Africans.

The cross of eights between the classified in the groups E and F appears as quite unbalanced because on the side of E and F , England and the United States appear as the favorites having to confront Argelia and Slovakia, meanwhile on the contrary, the group F appears as the uncertain final due to the enormous parity. Germans will have to confront Ghana, Serbia and the always complicated Australian team having already Italy suffered in eighth-final of the past World Championship.

Here there could happen another cross which will clear the World Championship of another strong candidate because we could have England-Germany, or well, England-Serbia or Germany-United States in the eighth-final.

For the final, a terrific group G, where for the first time in a long period Brazil would have to be eliminate with very hard teams as Ivory Coast or Portugal (completes North Korea with scarce chances), with which already one of the strong teams will not pass the first phase, meanwhile the two that will continue will have surely to confront Spain and possibly Chile, of great eliminatory. In the group H, Switzerland appears as arbiter and possible surprise and Honduras does not seem to be lucky participating with these teams.