Get to Know Group H

I started this little mini series on Wednesday with Group A, and I'll continue it now at the other end with Group H:

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Spain

Population: ~46 million (12th out of 32)
Nickname: La Furia Roja
Coach: Vicente del Bosque
Roster: The 23-man roster features 13 players from either Real Madrid or Barcelona and only three who don't ply their trade in La Liga. 

Qualification and recent form: Spain put together one of the most impressive qualification campaigns, with a perfect 10-0-0 record and just five goals conceded in a group that included Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina.  They also managed a third place finish at last summer's Confederations Cup thanks to a semifinal loss to the United States and an extra time victory over South Africa in the consolation match.  Since their 35-game unbeaten run ended at the hands of the US, Spain have rattled off another 11 straight victories, including two in the last couple of weeks over Saudi Arabia and South Korea.  In both of those matches, they were unable to distance themselves from their Asian opponents, needing late goals to win. 

Despite not being extremely impressive in their tune-up friendlies and the fact that they have some key players returning from or battling injuries, Spain should still be expected to be one of the best teams in South Africa and is being picked by many to win the tournament.

Prediction: Spain will advance to the knockout stages.  I do wonder, though, if any teams that go up against the Spaniards will try to follow the blueprint for victory that Bob Bradley and company successfully used last summer. 

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Honduras

Population: ~7.5 million (26th out of 32)
Nickname: Los Catrachos
Coach: Reinaldo Rueda
Roster: The notable absence from Honduras' roster is Carlo Costly, who fractured his foot in early May.

Qualification and recent form: USMNT fans will be particularly familiar with how Honduras earned their berth in the World Cup, as it was Jonathan Bornstein's stoppage time header against Costa Rica that sent Hondurans into a frenzy.  Their qualifying campaign was largely fueled by home form, with Los Catrachos earning just one win on the road (albeit a pressure-packed one on the final match day). 

Their build up to South Africa hasn't been very impressive, with a 2-0 loss to Turkey in March followed up by a 1-0 loss to Venezuela in April and draws with Belarus (2-2) and Azerbaijan (0-0) over the last week.  Their attack sputtered against lowly Azerbaijan on Wednesday, failing to produce a goal even with a man advantage for the final 20 minutes.  While Honduras have some talented players, it just doesn't seem like they have a potent enough squad to break down their weaker tune-up opponents, let alone the likes of Spain.  They will take on Romania tomorrow in one final tune-up.

Prediction: As much as I'd like to see Honduras move on (after all, CONCACAF success is good for the USMNT in the long run), I don't see it happening.

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Chile

Population: ~17 million (19th out of 32)
Nickname: La Roja
Coach: Marcelo Bielsa
Roster: Click here. 

Qualification and recent form: Chile put together a quality qualification campaign, finishing just one point short of first place Brazil in the CONMEBOL standings to earn their eighth World Cup appearance.  Their success, however, was mostly against the bottom half of CONMEBOL, against which they posted an 8-1-1 record.  Against fellow World Cup qualifiers Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay, however, Marcelo Bielsa's men were just 2-2-4 (W-D-L). 

The Chileans have played five matches in the month of May, winning four of them.  All of the wins came against non-World Cup qualifiers, including two wins on the same night, whereas the lone loss came against a World Cup qualifier (1-0 to Mexico), continuing their unimpressive run against teams headed to South Africa. 

They will have one more tune-up before they open group play, as they take on New Zealand on June 9th.

Prediction: Though Chile has had some issues against quality opponents, both Honduras and Switzerland haven't been overly impressive of late either.  Chile will move on to the knockout stages.

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Switzerland

 Population: ~7.8 million (25th out of 32)
Nickname: Schweizer Nati
Coach: Ottmar Hitzfeld
Roster: Click here for Switzerland's roster, which includes MLS-bound Blaise Nkufo. 

Qualification and recent form: Switzerland had just one loss during qualification, which bizarrely enough came at the hands of Luxembourg in Zurich.  Along the way, they defeated fellow World Cup qualifiers Greece twice.  Since qualification has wrapped up, however, the Swiss have struggled to earn similar results, dropping three straight home matches to Norway, Uruguay, and Costa Rica, the latter of which being their only May tune-up.  In that most recent friendly, the Swiss were unable to find the back of the net and had a complete defensive breakdown on the lone goal of the match, when Winston Parks found his way through three defenders near the edge of the box before slotting home the winner. 

They will take on Italy tomorrow in their final match before leaving Switzerland for South Africa.

Prediction: Blaise Nkufo and Alexander Frei combined for over half of Switzerland's goals during qualification, so their production will be a key factor in how successful Hitzfeld and company are.  I expect their game against Chile on the second Group H match day to decide their fate, and I'll go ahead and say that they are on the outside looking in when all is said and done.

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