E is for ecstasy

There’s no such thing as an easy draw in the World Cup. That said, compared to who we could have got, lining up alongside Germany, Saudi Arabia and the Cameroon provides us with a really good chance of progressing from Group E.

It’s certainly a lot less daunting than England’s group, which is, without doubt, the toughest of the lot.

I was at Old Trafford on Saturday for the Manchester United game against Chelsea and, I have to say, there was a lot of dark muttering about Sven’s men being pitched against Argentina. When Gabriel Batistuta can’t get into the Argentina starting eleven, you know you’re up against a strong team! There’s a bit of spice too in the fact that Sven Goran Erikson will have to lead England into a clash against his home country, Sweden. And as for Nigeria – you can bet that they’ll be good.

Not that we should be smug about our own prospects. They may have been woeful against England, but Rudy Voller’s boys showed in the play-offs against Ukraine that they’ve still got plenty of quality. Even if they’re not up there with the great German sides of the past, you know that, by the time they get to the finals, they’ll be well organised and able to pass it around.

Of course a lot depends on the strength of the squad that finally makes the trip – but if we close them down quickly, I think we can come away with at least a draw.

I imagine that Saudi will be very similar to Iran – who, let’s not forget, had enough chances in Dublin and Tehran to kill us off. We were expected to beat Egypt in 1990, but they got a very credible draw and on another day might have won the game. All the same, we should be looking to take three points from them.

The same goes for the Cameroon who don’t seem to be the force they were in Italy, and will probably be trying to lure Roger Milla out of retirement again! It’s going to be extremely hot in Japan in June, and Cameroon and the Saudis do have the advantage of playing regularly in heat – something that caused us problems in ’94, when we met Mexico in Florida. The key, as I’m sure Mick will be aware, is to go over early and acclimatise properly. If we do that, and avoid injuries and red cards, I think we’ll get through as runners-up.

Having called Ireland/Iran right, I’m going to be really bold and predict that the following countries will make it through to the second stage:

Group A – France and Uruguay

Group B – Spain and Paraguay

Group C – Brazil and Turkey

Group D – Poland and Portugal

Group E – Germany and Ireland

Group F – Argentina and – sorry everyone! – England

Group G – Italy and Mexico

Group H – Belgium and Russia

Out of those, I’m tipping France, Argentina, Ireland (I have to!) and Turkey, strangely enough, to make it to the semis. A lot of people are backing Argentina as the favourites, but I still think France have a slight edge.

Returning to Old Trafford – the gloom and doom surrounding the World Cup draw was nothing compared to the mood when Chelsea’s third goal went in. From the fan’s point of view, I’d say it was equal parts shock and anger that another three points had been surrendered so easily. As Alex famously said himself a few seasons ago, you can only afford to lose five, maybe six games before your championship ambitions go out the window. They’re now up to five, with a whopping 26 goals conceded, which will give everyone above them a big boost.

United used to go through whole games without putting a foot wrong, but now they’re making unforced errors on a weekly basis. On Saturday it was a Veron pass going astray which confirmed the rot. Against Arsenal, it was down to Fabien Barthez’s ten minutes of madness!

Really, it’s gone beyond a joke. “Arrogance” is perhaps too strong a word, but Fabien certainly creates problems for himself by wanting to be involved in the game all the time. Sprint off the line as often as he does, and you’re going to get caught out.

It must be a nightmare for the defenders playing in front of him, particularly Wes Brown whose confidence – and chances of breaking into the England starting eleven – look shot to pieces.

Another manager might have left Fabien on the bench for the game against Chelsea and brought in Roy Carroll, but Alex is in one of those mind-sets where he wants to prove people wrong. Dropping Barthez would be admitting that he, as manager, has made a mistake and I don’t think he’ll do that. Something else to bear in mind is that no international player will want to be left out of the side with a World Cup coming up. If Roy Carroll were to get an extended run, I’m sure you’d have a certain Frenchman handing in a transfer request.

In a similar vein, Robbie Fowler’s arrival at Elland Road is bad news for Robbie Keane who – bottom line – hasn’t been scoring enough goals. He’s a class act but with Leeds going full tilt for the title, David will be looking for him to up his tally. If he doesn’t, and gets dropped to the bench on a regular basis, I think you’ll see him looking for a move.

The World Cup is a hugely appetising prospect – but it promises to be a very interesting six months of football between now and then.