The following verdicts are taking in full from our friends at Telegragh Sport. The verdict was compiled by John Ley and Jason Butt.Now we have started the Pulse Files on the world cup groups, I really feel the final is getting closer. We completed Group A yesterday, and sit down for this, now for Group B. The review of each country will be posted alphabetically, not the order we think they will finish. The first 2 teams in Group B will follow and the remaining teams, Paddy Power Index and SportTrades Group Prediction will be tomorrow.
ARGENTINA
World Cup record: 1930 2nd, 1934 1st rd, 1958 1st rd, 1962 1st rd, 1966 QF, 1974 2nd rd, 1978 Winners, 1982 2nd rd, 1986 Winners, 1990 RU, 1994 2nd rd, 1998 QF, 2002 1st rd, 2006 QF.
How Argentina qualified for World Cup 2010: fourth place in Conmebol (South America)
The Coach: Diego Maradona (Argentine, 49). Appointed: Nov 2008. WC experience: Player: 1982 2nd rd, 1986 Winners, 1990 RU, 1994 2nd rd. Coach: none.
Maradona has won the World Cup and been sent home in disgrace for using an illegal substance. And as a manager, he has much to prove.
The Country: Argentina have won the World Cup twice and a finals tournament without the Albicelestes is unthinkable, yet it very nearly happened with Maradona’s nation securing qualification only in their final game, the 1-0 win in Uruguay securing a 15th finals appearance.
On 16 October 2008, following the controversy over the historic defeat against Chile in the qualifiers, manager Alfio Basile tended his resignation, paving the way for Maradona, the country’s greatest player, to take the helm.
It, too, was a controversial appointment. He won 91 caps and scored 34 goals for Argentina, and that spanned four World Cup finals, including the 1986 World Cup where he captained Argentina to final success over West Germany. Maradona won the Golden Ball award as the tournament's best player, a tournament in which he will also be remembered for the infamous “Hand of God”, when he palmed the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton in the quarter-finals.
His reign has been as controversial as his appointment and qualifying was not easy: it took Mario Bolatti's late goal secure Argentina’s place in South Africa. And his squad is one of the weakest in recent history so hopes for a successful campaign in South Africa are not great.
And to add to their problems Maradona was banned from by Fifa for two months following his remarks after Argentina qualified. He told journalists they "take it up the arse", grabbed his crotch and insisted the world's media should "suck it and keep on sucking".
Verdict: Shambolic campaign, shambolic coach. Training is at a whim with Diego Maradona’s chaotic approach undermining a ridiculously talented group of players. If they stick with him, as they surely will, they are doomed to failure. Expect a cynical approach with Argentina trying to out-muscle opponents. A crying shame given the strength of the squad.
GREECE
Greece's World Cup record: 1994 1st rd.
How Greece qualified for World Cup 2010: European play-off winners.
The Coach: Otto Rehhagel (German, 71). Appointed: Aug 2001. WC experience: Player: None. Coach: None.
Rehhagel is the only person who, as player and as manager, has participated in over 1000 Bundesliga matches. This also explains his nickname Kind der Bundesliga (child of the Bundesliga).
The Country: Greece was seeded in the first pot for the draw of the European qualification zone and their campaign began and ended with matches against Luxembourg. Two losses to Switzerland placed the Greeks one point behind the Swiss group winners, leaving Greece's 2010 World Cup hopes to be decided in a play-off with Group 6 runner-up Ukraine.
And the Greeks confirmed a night of celebration back hom when they secured a hard-fought 1-0 win in the return leg (watch YouTube). Panathinaikos striker Dimitris Salpingidis claimed the only goal of the match sending Greece, the 2004 European champions, into their second World Cup finals after a 16-year absence.
On a rain-soaked pitch of the half-empty, 50,000-seater Donbass Arena, Ukraine’s former Chelsea striker and national captain Andriy Shevchenko missed a chance to put his team into the lead in the eighth minute and Greece replied with a header by Celtic forward Giorgos Samaras, which went just inches above the crossbar from a well-struck Giorgos Karagounis free-kick.
Sofoklis Plavios, chairman of the Greek Football Federation, was jubilant after Wednesday's victory. "I can't find words to describe the atmosphere in the dressing room," he said. "This triumph is unbelievable. No one is saying anything. They're just celebrating and hugging each other. The boys believed in themselves and have brought joy to Greeks. It is an amazing feat to eliminate Ukraine at home."
Verdict: Another case of a coach wringing out every last bit of talent from an apparently ordinary squad. But then, in the shrewd Rehaggel, the Greeks have the man who led them to improbable glory in Euro 2004 and has now taken them to their first World Cup Finals since 1994. Organisation is the key and they will be hard to beat if not always good to watch.
Tomorrow we will be reviewing the remaining countries in Group B, Korea Republic and Nigeria
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