A draw in
Johannesburg announced following teams in
group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay and
France. Once the teams of
Mexico,
Uruguay and
France already played in the same group and the fourth position belonged to
England. Back there
England and
Uruguay progressed to the next stage of competition. The winner of this group will play with the second-in-place from group B. Second-in-place from group A will play with the winner from group B.
Short description of teams:
France:
France participated on the first world cup in
Uruguay in
1930. Back there they were eliminated in the first round of the competition. From the beginning and until now they have participated on
12 World Cup's. Their biggest achievement was in
1998 where they have won the
World Cup in front of their supporters at home. Besides winning the
World Cup they have also won the title of
European Champions (in 1984 and in 2000). The first game was played against
Belgium in
1904 which ended in draw. Their biggest win was against
Azerbaijan. The game ended with a score of
10:0 for
France. Their biggest loss was against
Denmark with a score of
17:1. France played in group 7 together with
Serbia,
Austria,
Lithuania,
Romania and
Faroe Islands. They have won a second place which granted them qualification match against
Ireland.
France won the first match in
Dublin with score of 1:0. In Paris the match ended with draw, 1:1. Gallas's score was very questionable and
Ireland complained about it but no one responded.
France progressed with a final score of 2:1.
For progress to the eighth finals the highest odd is on bwin
1,30
Uruguay:
Uruguay hosted the first World Cup Competition in 1930 and won the title. They have played against Argentina in the final match. In 1950 Uruguay won the title of World Cup champions for the second time. They have played their first game against Argentina in 1901 and lost it with a score of 3:2. Their biggest win was against Bolivia in 1927 with a score of 9:0. Their biggest loss was against Argentina in 1902 with a score of 6:0. So far they have participated on 10 World Cup competitions. Besides World cup they have also won Copo Americo competition and the Olympic games two times. In South American qualifications Uruguay took 5. position from the total 10 which granted them qualification match against Costarica. They have won the first match with 1:0. The second match ended in draw with a score of 1:1.
For progress to the eighth finals the highest odd is on betfair 2,04
Mexico:
Mexico is one of the best North American teams. Until now, they have won 8 Concafac trophies. They have participated 13 times on World Cup competitions, their best was playing in quarter finals. Their first game was against Guatemala with a score of 3:2 for Mexico. Their biggest win was against Bahamas with score of 13:0. Their biggest loss was against England in 1961 with a score of 8:0. They hold 17. position on FIFA's ranking list. In 2006 they were 4. which was their best. In qualification group they have occupied second place and got to World Cup competition without having to play any additional matches.
For progress to the eighth finals the highest odd is on bwin 1,85
South Africa:
South Africa or Bafana Bafana, as the locals have named it, got to World Cup competition without having to play any matches. They are automatically participating because they host the WC. They have participated 3 times without any mayor success. They were knocked out of the competition in the first round in 1998 and 2002. They have played their first game in 1906 against Argentina with a score of 1:0 for South Africa. Their biggest win was against Australia with a score of 8:0 and their biggest loss was against Australia with a score of 5:1. They have won African cup once. Until 1990 they weren't allowed to participate in any mayor competitions due to apartheid. Because they host the WC a lot is expected from them.
For progress to the eighth finals the highest odd is on betfair 3,10
