South Africa - Mexico - France - Uruguay
First of all, let me lay my cards on the table. The fact that this World Cup is being hosted by South Africa stinks. The fact that a nation with a history of institutionalised racism has been rewarded over the past 15 years with the rugby, cricket and now football World Cups simply for dispensing with apartheid is hardly a convincing argument in favour of democracy and racial equality is it? No wonder there is an upsurge in extreme right-wing sentiment across the globe. It is a free pass for hosting rights for major sporting events. If only we'd re-elected Howard in 2007, then the 2022 World Cup wouldn't be such a pie-in-the-sky dream.
I abhor racial discrimination and cultural stereotyping in all its forms, and as such I hope the sombrero-wearing burrito-eaters do a number on the Rainbow Nation. I have always liked Mexico and they have a good record in the early stages of World Cups, and the fact that South Africa are also not very good will help considerably in this regard, irrespective of 60,000 vuvuzela horns.
As for the French, well... They qualified courtesy of Thierry Henry's handball, and as such their entire team must be judged on the basis that one of their players is a dirty cheat. They will no doubt do what France always do - fail to impress, but somehow escape the group and progress to the latter stages of the tournament. There will be talk about their ineffectual manager, and of course this time they will be without Zidane, but somehow they will create enough scoring chances for Ribery and Anelka and will top the group. Everyone will cheer loudly when they are ultimately eliminated.
The second place in the group I think will be a battle between Mexico and Uruguay. Mexico will win this battle, but I should point out that this assessment is made with guidance from Homer Simpson's immortal words...
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