The night before

What can I say? It all starts tomorrow and I am thoroughly excited.

The big news for the hosts is that Michael Ballack has been ruled out of the opener with the Ticos due to a calf injury. (I'd hyperlink it, but the appropriate buttons seem to be unavailable to me for the time being.) I think this makes doodle-squat worth of difference, and the hosts will win more or less comfortably. Poland vs Ecuador tomorrow is a fascinating match-up; both teams will feel they can and must win this match. I think it's going to be a jittery error-filled encounter and a probably a draw.

So while we're at it, here are my quite ill-informed pre-tournament predictions:

Group A: Germany and Poland. Too many factors are going against Ecuadro and Costa Rica, and I think Poland will make it through this group.

Group B: England and Sweden. It won't be a formality before the final game; I think Paraguay can pick up a point off Sweden. But the Swedes always do well against the English, and I think another draw will carry them through.

Group C: Holland and Argentina. S & formerly M are all defense and no bite. Ivory Coast will battle valiantly to no avail.

Group D: Portugal and Iran. You read it here first: Iran stuffs Mexico in their opener, Their squad is experienced, comfortable playing in Europe and well coached. A subsequent win against Angola pulls Iran through to the last 16, leaving us with the prospect of a European visit from Ahmadinejad.

Group E: USA and Czech Republic. And really what were you expecting? Italy gets held by Ghana in the first game and beaten by US and Czechs. Yeah, you know you want it,

Group F: Brazil and Croatia, Three Brazil wins and a buttload of draws. Croatia on goals scored.

Group G: South Korea and France. The conventional wisdom on this Korea squad is that they don't travel well, but I don't see how this group can hurt them. The French class of 1998 will scrape through this, but will be eliminated in the 16.

Group H: Spain and Tunisia, The Tunisians will be your African team of the year. They can beat the Ukraine, and they'll have a nice draw in the round of 16 (perhaps a tasty postcolonial encounter with the French!) The Spanish coast.

And the final will be...

Spain beats Holland. I liked the Dutch a lot formerly, but I think their injury issues will hurt their long-term cohesion. Everyone is going to assume that Spain will bottle it this year as they always do. But they have a world-class side, have had promising results and a virtual coast through to the quarterfinals. I say they win it and beat Brazil along the way.

I'll be trying to post brief match reports for every match I catch, which will be... well, all of them. So good night, and enjoy tomorrow's games!