World Cup 2010 Groups, Teams and Analysis

With the 2010 World Cup ready to get underway, you'll of course want to know about all of the teams involved, and which teams have what it takes to move on and advance. Here's a quick guide to the World Cup 2010 groups, teams and group favorites.

Group A Teams - South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and France

Group A Analysis - South Africa is the host country and as such will have a huge advantage and plenty of raucous crowds, however the team is not generally considered "world class". France is the big name in the group but barely managed to qualify into the field. US archrival Mexico is hoping to make it past the Group Stage and has a fighting chance, and is the stronger team ahead of Uruguay.

Group B Teams - Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic (South Korea) and Greece

Group B Analysis - Argentina is undoubtedly the heavy hitter of this group, although they too went through their own qualifying struggles before righting the ship. Greece is eager to prove that their EURO win wasn't a fluke with a deep run, while Nigeria hopes to play the role of advancing African team on the continent's first World Cup.

Group C Teams - England, USA, Algeria and Slovenia

Group C Analysis - Rabid US soccer fans (do they exist?) were clamoring for a match-up with the cocky Brits, and they got it. England and USA are clearly the two big dogs in this group, and the USA not advancing past the Group Stage would be both an upset, and a failure.

Group D Teams - Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana

Group D Analysis - Germany is a perennial championship contender, however will now be playing without their captain following an injury during club play. Serbia will perhaps be the second favorite in the group, although both Australia and Ghana could play the role of the right team at the right time and advance past the opening round.

Group E Teams - Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon

Group E Analysis - The Netherlands is eager to showcase their unique and high quality brand of football on the world's biggest stage. The team has twice lost in the final game, but has never won a championship and will be trying to reverse the trend. Cameroon enters the 2010 World Cup as the highest ranked African team and will be favored to make it past the groups.

Group F Teams - Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia

Group F Analysis - Italy is the defending champion, having won the 2006 World Cup in Germany. They're still one of the strongest teams in the field. Having thrived through a difficult South American qualifying journey, Paraguay is the likely number 2 team to advance, although Slovakia is eager to make their mark as well.

Group G Teams - Brazil, Korea DPR (North Korea), Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) and Portugal

Group G Analysis - Another highly ranked team that struggled with qualification was Portugal. Their reward, despite their lofty worldwide status, is placement into 2010's Group of Death. Brazil and Portugal are two of the top three, or five, teams in the world, and both will be heavily favored to move past the Group Stage. However, the Ivory Coast is a talented and tested bunch that could surprise.

Group H Teams - Spain, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile

Group H Analysis - The Spanish squad is the major force in Group H, and they will be expected to cruise past qualifying and content for the 2010 World Cup championship. La Furia Roja has never made it to the final game and will be desperate to succeed this year. The second advancing group member could be any of the three remaining teams, although Switzerland may be favorited.

Sources: www.fifa.com for teams, groups and team profiles.