World Cup Breakdown by Businessweek

Originally Posted: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_24/b4182079802786_page_4.htm

The World Is Watching the World Cup

THE SPOILERS

The soccer world has become flat: Any of the following could make life very difficult for their opponents.
Chile
GDP: $162 billion. Odds: 66-1. Players to watch: Plump striker Humberto Suazo will be joined by Alexis Sánchez, a prodigy known as "El Niño Maravilla." The bottom line: Coach Marcelo Bielsa has molded a squad keen to prove Goldman Sachs' (GS) assessment that there is no correlation between equity markets and Cup performance.
Serbia
GDP: $42.9 billion. Odds: 50-1. Players to watch: Coveted defenders Nemanja Vidic and Neven Subotic. The bottom line: The team's top players are aware that a strong World Cup showing may well lead to a lucrative money transfer after the tournament.
Slovenia
GDP: $49.2 billion. Odds: 250-1. Players to watch: Midfielder Robert Koren is the puppet master; striker Milivoje Novakovic is a skillful beanpole. The bottom line: Despite a population about one-fifth that of Moscow's, Slovenia stunned Russia to qualify.

THE REDEEMERS

Aligning yourself with these teams may be the righteous thing to do.
Algeria
GDP: $141 billion. Odds: 400-1. Player to watch: Midfielder Mourad Meghni, known as le Petit Zidane, after the French legend. The bottom line: Still smarting over their controversial elimination by West Germany and Austria in 1982, this squad must not be underestimated by the U.S.
Australia
GDP: $997 billion. Odds: 125-1. Players to watch: Tim Cahill is one of the greatest headers of the ball, and striker Joshua Kennedy is known as "The Messiah." The bottom line: They harbor extra motivation owing to their exit at the last World Cup, when opponent Italy was awarded a controversial penalty in the game's dying seconds.
Honduras
GDP: $14.3 billion. Odds: 750-1. Players to watch: Forceful midfielder Wilson Palacios and defender Maynor Figueroa. The bottom line: Their qualification brought joy to streets that had recently witnessed a coup. This team could surprise.
Ivory Coast
GDP: $22.5 billion. Odds: 33-1. Players to watch: Chelsea's one-man forward line, Didier Drogba, and Barcelona ball handler Yaya Toure in midfield. The bottom line: The host continent's top team is haunted by the death of numerous fans crushed in a 2009 stadium stampede.

THE GROUPS: TWO TEAMS FROM EACH WILL ADVANCE

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, South Korea, Greece
Group C: England, U.S., Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Paraguay, Italy, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile