Hi! Guys...to help wif your decision, here's a brief rundown of the teams:
a) ARGENTINA
Federation: Conmebol
World Ranking: 4
Group: C
Fixtures: June 10: Ivory Coast; June 16: Serbia & Montenegro; June 21: Netherlands
Coach: Jose Pekerman
Player to Watch: Juan Roman Riquelme (Villarreal, Spain)
Road to finals: Runners-up in group
World Cup record: 1930, 1934, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
Tournament best: Winners in 1978, 1986; Runners-up in 1930, 1990
b) IVORY COAST
Federation: Africa
World Ranking: 41
Group: C
Fixtures: June 10: Argentina; June 16: Netherlands; June 21: Serbia & Montenegro
Coach: Henri Michel
Player to Watch: Didier Drogba (Chelsea, England)
Road to finals: Winners of Group Three
World Cup record: First time qualifiers
c) SERBIA & MONTENEGRO
Federation: Uefa
World Ranking: 47
Group: C
Fixtures: June 11: Netherlands; June 16: Argentina; June 21: Ivory Coast
Coach: Ilija Petkovic
Player to Watch: Dejan Stankovic (Inter Milan, Italy)
Road to finals: Winners of Group Seven
World Cup record: First time qualifiers*
*Yugoslavia reached the finals in 1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1974, 1982, 1990, 1998. They reached the semi-finals in 1930, 1954(fourth).
d) NETHERLANDS
Federation: Uefa
World Ranking: 3
Group: C
Fixtures: June 11: Serbia & Montenegro; June 16: Ivory Coast; June 21: Argentina
Coach: Marco van Basten
Player to Watch: Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg, Germany)
Road to finals: Winners of Group One
World Cup record: 1934, 1938, 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998
Tournament best: Runners-up in 1974, 1978
e) ITALY
Federation: Uefa
World Ranking: 12
Group: E
Fixtures: June 12: Ghana; June 17: USA; June 22: Czech Republic
Coach: Marcello Lippi
Player to Watch: Luca Toni (Fiorentina)
Road to finals: Winners of Group Five
World Cup record: 1934, 1938, 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966, 1970, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
Tournament best: Winners in 1934, 1938, 1982; Runners-up in 1970, 1994
f) GHANA
Federation: Africa
World Ranking: 50
Group: E
Fixtures: June 12: Italy; June 17: Czech Republic; June 22: USA
Coach: Ratomir Dujkovic
Player to Watch: Sulley Ali Muntari (Udinese, Italy)
Road to finals: Winners of Group Two
World Cup record: First time qualifiers
g) UNITED STATES
Federation: Concacaf
World Ranking: 8
Group: E
Fixtures: June 12: Czech Republic; June 17: Italy; June 22: Ghana
Coach: Bruce Arena
Player to Watch: Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy)
Road to finals: Winners of group
World Cup record: 1930, 1934, 1950, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002
Tournament best: Semi-finals in 1930
h) CZECH REPUBLIC
Federation: Uefa
World Ranking: 2
Group: E
Fixtures: June 12: USA; June 17: Ghana; June 22: Italy
Coach: Karel Bruckner
Player to Watch: Pavel Nedved (Juventus, Italy)
Road to finals: Runners-up in Group One; Winners of play-off against Norway
World Cup record: First time qualifiers*
*Czechoslovakia reached the finals in 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1982, 1990. They were runners-up in 1934, 1962.
Thanks a million!
For the polls, keep them rolling!