Italy: The Italians are the reigning world champions, but they just have a feel that father time has passed them by. Captain Fabio Cannavaro, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Zambrotta, Pirlo (May be out of the cup due to an injury), Gattuso - the list goes on and on - they are all 4 years older and all seem to have lost a step, if not two.  Lucky for them they get an easy Group stage draw and will advance to the knockout round of the tournament.  Anything less would be a disappointment, but do they really think they can repeat.  They just don't seem to have that big time dominant player in the midfield or up top like they had in 2006.  They had Totti, Del Piero and Luca Toni - all extremely dangerous.  De Rossi is a quality midfielder, but not the talent that Totti or Del Piero ever were.  I'm still surprised that Mario Balotelli did not make the 23 man roster...the guy is a beast, size, strength, speed...even if Coach Marcello Lippi didn't start the guy, how great would it have been to have a 100% Balotelli coming off the bench in the 60th minute down by a goal against defenders that have already run for an hour.  Pretty damn good idea if you ask me!! 

New Zealand:  The Kiwis last played in the World Cup 28 years ago.  This team is very tall and strong...even played Italy to a tough 4-3 game earlier in the year...they lost, but what heart.  Ryan Nelsen is really the only player on the squad to make any noise at one of the top leagues in the world.  Want to know why this team is going nowhere in South Africa?  Their starting center midfielder is Simon Elliott - he was released by the San Jose Earthquakes of the MLS.  Yes that MLS.  Nuff said!

Paraguay: This team is well organized and strong at the back.  And they also possess a couple of deadly strikers in Roque Santa Cruz (Manchester City) and Oscar Cardoza.  Their midfield is the big weakness, so if Paraguay want to advance, they will have to play direct and leave the midfield out of the flow of play for the most part.  Keep in mind they did beat Argentina 1-0 to qualify, so if you sleep on the Paraguayans, or of course if your team is coached by a cocaine addict, you could find yourself packing up for home earlier than expected.

Slovakia: Slovakia was able to navigate through a very tough qualifying group that included the Czechs, Poland & Slovenia.  They are a hard working team that can counter with the best of them.  They do have Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel in the middle of their defense, but the best part of their team is the 3 headed monster up front.  They have forwards Robert Vittek and Stanislav Sestak, and then they have Napoli’s young, attacking midfielder Marek Hamsik.  The kid is 22 and has already been named captain…Hamsik will be making a name for himself in Europe as soon as this year.  I think their ranking of 34^th in the world is way too low and they will show everyone their talent in South Africa.

Biggest Match of the Group Stage: Slovakia vs. Paraguay will more than likely determine the runner-up in this group.

Blast from the Past: Now that Czechoslovakia is now just Slovakia…none of significance.  But there was a big game back in 1934 for the World Cup title that involved the Italians with the Czechs.

What the Future Holds: The winner of the Group will draw the runner-up from Group E (Cameroon).  The runner-up will play the winner of Group E (Netherlands). 

Prediction:  Italy wins the Group and Slovakia finishes in 2^nd after defeating Paraguay 2-1 in their match