World Cup 2010 rankings
GRAHAME L. JONES’ RANKINGS
Top Contenders
1. ARGENTINA, Group B
First-round opponents: Nigeria, South Korea, Greece.
Best finish: Winner, 1978, 1986.
Comment: Wins it all if Lionel Messi shines and Coach Diego Maradona doesn’t muck it up.
2. BRAZIL, Group G
First-round opponents: North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
Best finish: Winner, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002.
Comment: Coach Dunga to be second-guessed forever if he leaves out Ronaldinho and loses.
3. GERMANY, Group D
First-round opponents: Australia, Serbia, Ghana.
Best finish: Winner, 1954, 1974, 1990.
Comment: No legitimate reason to be ranked so highly except that, well, it’s Germany.
4. NETHERLANDS, Group E
First-round opponents: Denmark, Japan, Cameroon.
Best finish: Runners-up, 1974, 1978.
Comment: Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and a bit of luck could end the Orange drought.
5. SPAIN, Group H
First-round opponents: Switzerland, Honduras, Chile.
Best finish: Fourth, 1950.
Comment: Barcelona would win the World Cup, but Spain is not quite at that level, right?
Others to Watch
6. ENGLAND, Group C
First-round opponents: United States, Algeria, Slovenia.
Best finish: Winner, 1966.
Comment: Wayne Rooney’s fragility hurts Three Lions’ chances.
7. ITALY, Group F
First-round opponents: Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia.
Best finish: Winner, 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006.
Comment: Longer in the tooth and thus perhaps vulnerable now.
8. FRANCE, Group A
First-round opponents: Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa.
Best finish: Winner, 1998.
Comment: Les Bleus need to keep a close eye on the referees.
9. PORTUGAL, Group G
First-round opponents: Ivory Coast, Brazil, North Korea.
Best finish: Third, 1966.
Comment: It’s time Cristiano Ronaldo lived up to all the hype.
10. CHILE, Group H
First-round opponents: Honduras, Switzerland, Spain.
Best finish: Third, 1962.
Comment: Coach Marcelo Bielsa plus post- earthquake support.
11. CAMEROON, Group E
First-round opponents: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan.
Best finish: Quarterfinals, 1990.
Comment: Pedigree plus Samuel Eto’o add up to possibility.
12. SERBIA, Group D
First-round opponents: Ghana, Germany, Australia.
Best finish: Debut.
Comment: Just tough enough to perhaps emerge from the pack.
