As you know, we will be dealing with Group C and England at the end. We now move on to Group D. You know the format two teams today and two tomorrow, with the Paddy Power Index and SportTrades Group Predictions. So in alphabetical order and with help from our friends at Telegraph Sport here are Australia and Germany.The following verdicts are taking in full from our friends at Telegraph Sport. The verdict was compiled by John Ley and Jason Butt.
Australia
World Cup record: 1974 1st rd, 2006 2nd rd.
How Australia qualified for World Cup 2010: Asia, Group A winners.
The Coach: Pim Verbeek (Holland, 53). Appointed: Dec 2007. WC experience: Player: none. Coach: 2002 South Korea assistant, 2006 Australia assistant.
Verbeek was assistant to Guus Hiddink in 2002, reaching the semi-finals, and worked alongside Dick Advocaat when he led Australia to the finals in 2006.
The Country: There are those who believe there was political movement involved when Australia were switched from Oceania to Asia for qualiying purposes. It was certainly not taxing for the Socceroos, who eased into the finals without so much as even conceding a goal in the six matches it took them to qualify. A 0-0 draw against Qatar in Doha confirmed qualification for Verbeek's team after they won 14 points in Group A of the final Asian qualifying phase.
Verbeek has been criticised by for playing boring football but the methodical Dutchman insists he is a results-orientated coach. He may be unknown generally, but his experience is vast, and he was key to South Korea’s success in 2002.
An average player, he has coached in Holland, Japan, South Korea and Germany as well as spells as national coach in the UEA and Dutch Antilles.
By September 2009, Australia had risen to 14th in the Fifa world rankings, their highest ever placing, and many believe the squad is now experienced enough to take the country to another level.
Their players are familiar enough: nine of the current squad play in England, including all three goalkeepers. And in Fulham’s Mark Schwarzer, now 37 and an international for 16 years, they have one of the most consistent in the Premier League.
In addition to Everton’s Tim Cahill, Lucas Neill and Blackburn’s Brett Emerton, their squad is supplemented by players who operate in countries as diverse as Russia, China, Italy, Turkey, Holland and Germany.
Verdict: Sailed through one of the easiest of qualification campaigns without even conceding a goal in six matches. Showed their competitiveness and desire to win in last World Cup and will be a danger to any opponent. May no longer have Guus Hiddink in charge but another Dutchman, Verbeek, has proved an organised, shrewd operator with some good players at his disposal.
Germany
World Cup record: 1934 3rd, 1938 1st rd, 1954 Winners, 1958 4th, 1962 QF, 1966 RU, 1970 3rd, 1974 Winners, 1978 2nd rd, 1982 RU, 1986 RU, 1990 Winners, 1994 QF, 1998 QF, 2002 RU, 2006 3rd.
How Germany qualified for World Cup 2010: European Group 4 winners.
The Coach: Joachim Loew (German, 49). Appointed: July 2006. WC experience: Player: None. Coach: Germany (assistant).
The Country: Germany is synonymous with the World Cup finals; they have not missed a finals competition since 1950 and that record was extended as they booked their place with a 1-0 win away to their group rivals Russia.
Miroslav Klose's first-half strike confirmed the victory and saw Germany, who played the last 22 minutes with 10 men after Jerome Boateng was sent off, win the group with one round of matches remaining.
Germany has won the World Cup three times, behind only Brazil (five titles) and Italy (four titles). It has finished as runners-up four times, two more than any other side. In terms of semi-final appearances, Germany leads with 11, one more than Brazil's 10.
In the last 14 World Cup tournaments, Germany has always reached at least the quarter-finals; Germany has also qualified for every one of the 16 World Cups it has entered - it did not enter the inaugural competition in 1930 for economic reasons, and could not qualify for or compete in the post-war 1950 World Cup as the DFB was reinstated as a Fifa member only two months after this tournament.
But they are a world force. In the finals, the likes of Miroslav Klose and the enduring Michael Ballack will fly the flag.
Verdict: There are so many clichés surrounding the Germans who were well-beaten by England in that Berlin friendly last year but who, without much trouble, again qualified for the finals. Would appear far less strong than in recent tournaments but simply cannot be discounted. Any team that wins away in Russia – playing the last 22 minutes with 10 men - needs to be respected while Ballack remains a forceful personality and player. A big threat with a rising star in Mesut Ozil.
Of course since this was written by the guys at Telegraph Sport, Mr Ballack has been ruled out of the World Cup.
Tomorrow on the Pulse Files we will be looking at Ghana and Serbia in Group D
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