World Cup Preview: Mexico

In Group A with South Africa, France and Uruguay

Appearances: 13 (Reached Quarterfinals in 1970, 86), Last appearance in 2006.

Current FIFA Ranking (As of Feb.3): 17

Captain: Rafael Marquez (Centre Back)

Leading Scorer in Qualifying: 6 players tied with 3 goals. Pavel Pardo, Jared Borgetti, Fernando Arce, Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Andres Guardado, Carlos Vela

Key Injuries: No significant long term injuries.

Key retirements since 2006: Claudio Suarez (Center Back), Jared Borgetti (Striker, retired in 2008)

Team Overview: Mexico makes its' fifth straight World Cup appearance this year. They have been knocked out in the round of 16 four years in a row. The team this is different from previous years due to the massive infusion of young, talented players; mostly in the midfield and forward positions.

Guillermo Ochoa is the clear starter at the keeper position. A smart player, Ochoa possesses long reach and is excellent in covering corners and crosses. His 6-foot frame and excellent reflexes also help in keeping the ball out of the net.

Mexico's central defense is strong with Marquez and Carlos Salcido stifling the opponents forwards. Marquez is considered by many to be the best defender in the country's long history. His passing ability from the back line gets attacks started quickly. The two side backs are a weakness and can be beat by quick wingers so Ochoa will have to be on top of his game.

Mexico's midfield and forwards feature many young players with three of their best forwards under the age of 22. Gerardo Torrado and Cuautemoc Blanco are the elder statesmen among the team and Blanco has the second most goals in Mexican history. Surrounding these two are a multitude of young, albeit massively inexperienced, players. It could be tempting, but unwise to start all of them with the eyes of billions watching them from around the world.

Giovani dos Santos and Carlos Vela will mostly likely be the guys to play in the forward position with Borgetti gone. Both players are quick, agile, and possess powerful shots. In the 2009 Gold Cup final against the United States, Vela scored or assisted in four of Mexico's five goals while dos Santos was named the MVP of the entire tournament. Other players in the mix to see lots of playing time include Andres Guardado, Javier Hernandez and Giovani's younger brother, 19-year-old Jonathan dos Santos.



Player to Watch: Cuauhtemoc Blanco is unquestionably the heart and soul of the team. Blanco actually retired from international soccer after the 2006 World Cup, but terrible performances by Mexico in the early stages of 2010 World Cup qualifying led coach Javier Aguirre to ask his former player to return to the team. Before Blanco's return, Mexico had lost three of it's first four games. After Blanco was placed back into the lineup, Mexico went undefeated in its' remaining games. They won five games in row before playing a 2-2 draw in their final qualifying match. Blanco is 37-years-old so playing the full 90 minutes as the main cog in the offense will be a tough task. If Blanco is healthy and on form, Mexico stands a much better chance of getting into the knockout rounds.

Prediction: Knocked out during the group stage.

The final squad will not be announced until June 10 but here is a small list of players in the running to make the team.

Match Schedule

World Cup Preview: France

In Group A with South Africa, Uruguay, and Mexico

Appearances: 12 appearances. Won in 1998. Last appearance was in 2006 (Runners-up).

Current FIFA Ranking (As of Feb.3 2010): 7

Captain: Thierry Henry (Striker)

Leading Scorer in Qualifying: Henry, Andre-Pierre Gignac (4 goals each)

Key Injuries: Gignac (leg injury, out until mid-March), Eric Abidal (leg injury, out until May)

Key Retirements since 2006: Fabien Barthez (Keeper), Zinedine Zidane (Midfielder), Claude Makelele (Midfielder), Lilian Thuram (Center Back), Willy Sagnol (Right Back)

Team Overview: The French enter this year's World Cup with a lot of controversy after Henry's handball that knocked Ireland out of qualifying.



Their biggest strength is perhaps their sheer luck. Besides the Henry handball, France was also lucky enough to be in a soft group. Mexico is the second highest ranked team in the group, but at number 17 in the world. France did not look very convincing during their other qualifying games, winning by only one goal or tying the opponent in 9 of their 12 matches. This can be attributed to the retirements of five key players from their 2006 World Cup team including three-time world player of the year Zinedine Zidane.

The French are in transition in most of their defensive group and midfielders. 23-year-old Hugo Lloris has been asked to replace Fabien Barthez, who is widely regarded as the best keeper France has ever had. Lloris has not disappointed, allowing only one goal in France's 2-1 aggregate win over Ireland and only four goals in his six qualifying matches. Lloris is also the reigning French league goalkeeper of the year.

France's midfielders are an extremely talented group. Franck Ribery is one of the best in the world and Yoann Gourcuff is growing quickly into a world class player. Recent comments by head coach Raymond Domenech have also indicated that old captain team Patrick Viera could return if he is able to get into form by June. Viera's experience and toughness are invaluable to a young, inexperienced, and small midfield.

The clear strength on the French squad is the trio of talented strikers, handballs aside: Henry, Nicolas Anelka and Karim Benzema. All three are gifted with the ball and have powerful shots. Expect Henry and Anelka to start while Benzema will replace whoever looks out of form during the World Cup. Andre-Pierre Gignac could also be in the mix once he gets healthy. They open in a group where all the teams are weaker in the back so expect some points to be scored early in France's favor.


Player to watch: The player that must play well for France to succeed is attacking midfielder Yoann Gourcuff. The 23-year-old has already drawn comparisons to French legend Zidane due to his smooth style of play, his technical gifts on the ball and his great vision. He led the team with five assists during the qualifying campaign. His attacking midfield position, Zidane's old spot, puts him directly behind the main striker on the field which will allow him many touches on the ball. With his ability and the talented strikers in front of him, look for Gourcuff to be one of the revelations on this year's World Cup.

Prediction: Quarterfinal loss to England

The final squad will not be announced until June 10 but here is a small list of players in the running to make the team.

Match Schedule

World Cup Preview: Uruguay

In Group A with France, South Africa and Mexico.

Appearances: 10 appearances. Won in 1930 and 1950. Last appearance was in 2002.

Current FIFA Ranking (As of Feb.3 2010) : 21

Captain: Diego Lugano (Center Back)

Leading Scorer in Qualifying: Diego Forlan (7 goals)

Key Injuries: None

Team Overview: As like previous years, this Uruguay team is very inconsistent and was only able to reach this year's World Cup by defeating Costa Rica in a home/away playoff game. Like most South American teams, they have a heavy emphasis on the attacking portion of their game. Diego Forlan is a scoring machine. He twice won the Pichichi Trophy award, given to the top goal scorer in La Liga, and the European Golden Boot, which is given to Europe's leading scorer.

A problem that is currently plaguing the Uruguayans is they have yet to find their top goalie. Currently they have four different players vying for the opportunity to represent their country as the number one keeper. Juan Castillo was looking to lock up the spot two years ago before tearing ligaments in his knee. He has struggled to find his form since then and 23-year-old Nestor Muslera has taken the pole position after performing well in the final qualifying games. Look for Muslera to be the keeper in June.

Key Player: With much of the attention expected to be on Forlan, the key player for Uruguay may be Luiz Suarez. The speedy 23-year-old found his scoring touch in the past couple of years and scored 5 goals in qualifying. Playing opposite of Forlan should give him ample chances to make a difference. With the recent emergence of midfielder Nicolas Loderio, both Forlan and Suarez should be seeing a lot of the ball. The one problem that has plagued Suarez is his propensity to get yellow cards.

Prediction: Round of 16 loss to Argentina

The final squad will not be announced until June 10 but here are the players in the running to make the team.

Match Schedule

Sports Illustrated Profile

Stars Trade Signals End for Turco

The Dallas Stars traded for goalie Kari Lehtonen Tuesday night, sending defenseman prospect Ivan Vishnevsky and a fourth-round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers.

With this trade, the Stars have all but shown Marty Turco the door. Turco has been in the Stars net for 10 years and has been a great number 1 goalie for the team, compiling a record of 257 wins, 149 losses, 26 ties, and 35 overtime losses. While he still has the talent to be a top netminder, age has finally caught up to the 34-year-old. In his last two years, he has allowed numerous soft goals that he used to stop and he has begun to play fewer games due to fatigue.

Turco and backup Alex Auld will both become unrestricted free agents at the year and both will almost certainly be let go. Turco is a prime candidate to be traded by the March 3 trade deadline because he still has the talent level to be a starter and every playoff team wants to have at least two solid guys to mind the net.

Lehtonen, 26, is a talented goalie who was drafted second overall in the 2002 draft. He does come with a knock however; he has struggled with injuries during his career. He has suffered groin injuries from collisions in three of the past four years and is coming off two back surgeries during the offseason. He has yet to play in an NHL game this season. When healthy, he has shown the ability to be an elite goaltender and he comes cheap. With the Stars' money troubles, a young, cheap and talented goalie is too good to pass up.

Vishnevsky is a talented prospect for the Stars but has only played in five games in his two year career, scoring twice. He is an offensive-minded defenseman who will need to improve his game.