World Cup 2010 - Group H

Spain

Switzerland

Chile

Honduras


Group Strength
La Furia Roja has been spared a nightmare scenario but being Spain at a World Cup they will no doubt still face some tough tests in the section. Ottmar Hitzfeld's Switzerland recovered from a poor start to their qualification campaign to top their listings ahead of 2004 European Champions Greece aswell as Israel. Meanwhile, Chile were only one point worse off than CONMEBOL section toppers, Brazil and are an exciting, dynamic prospect under coach Marcelo Bielsa, scoring 32 times in the qualification process. Honduras, back after 28 years to the world stage, are somewhat of an unknown quantity to a global audience but managed to inflict a 3-1 over Mexico during the CONCACAF qualification process and boast a number of impressive performers not to be taken lightly, particularly Spurs midfielder Wilson Palacios.

Group Favourites
Spain will certainly fancy their chances of topping the group with relative ease; nine eminently winnable points are on offer for the current world number two and European champions. Wins over Switzerland and Honduras could leave Spain with the enviable prospect of fielding an under strength side in the final match against Chile. With players like Xavi, Andreas Iniesta, Fernando Torres, David Silva and David Villa at their disposal Spain could go the whole way and should see this group as a warm up for tougher tests further down the line. Spain’s history at major tournaments, particularly the World Cup where they have never gotten past the ¼ final stage, could be their downfall but they should still qualify from this group with relative ease.

Battle for Second
Chile and Switzerland will both see themselves as favourites to qualify alongside Spain and are separated by only six places in the current world rankings. In Ottmar Hitzfeld the Swiss have one of the best coaches in the world, having won two Champions League titles with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich, and will be looking to at least equal their two most recent world cup performances where they reached the second round at USA 94 and Germany 06. Chile, however, were the stars of the South American qualification rounds, finishing above Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and just behind the number one team in the world, Brazil. The second match day fixture between these teams should decide who follows Spain into the second round and earns a fixture against Brazil. The tie really hinges on the players who perform best on the day for their country. For Chile Gary Mendel and Mark Gonzalez will be the main men while Hakan Yakin and Alexander Frei will be the men Switzerland will be pinning their hopes on.

The Outsiders
It would be unfair to label Honduras as rank underdogs in the section as they could have been handed a lot worse draw. However, the central Americans need to hit the ground running with a decent result against Chile on matchday one. It would be foolish to dismiss La Bicolor as no-hopers, boasting the likes of Wilson Palacios, David Suazo and Carlos Costly in their ranks. But I still believe the best they can hope for is a draw against Switzerland on the last day as the Swiss should have already qualified alongside Spain by then.


Going Forward
The runners-up in Group H will surely have a stern task on their hands in the knock-out round of 16. Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal and outsiders North Korea comprise Group G, with the top-placed team in that pool moving on to meet Group H's second best. Whoever finishes second will more than likely be taking on Brazil in the second round and should see their tournament end at that point, but Spain will fancy themselves against either Ivory Coast or their Iberian neighbours in the second round. Spain are the favourites to go all the way and win the tournament but in order to do this they must do two things for the first time. They must get past the ¼ final stage and they must become the first European team to win the World Cup outside of Europe. In order to do this they are going to have beat the likes of Portugal, Holland, Italy and Brazil along the way. They may have been handed a relatively easy group but once the knock-out stages begin Spain will have the toughest route of all. However, I still expect them to go far and at least reach the semi-finals.

Fixtures
Honduras – Chile, June 16th, (12.30)
Spain – Switzerland, June 16th, (15.00)
Chile – Switzerland, June 21st, (15.00)
Spain – Honduras, June 21st, (19.30)
Chile – Spain, June 25th, (19.30)
Switzerland – Honduras, June 25th, (19.30)

Prediction
1st – Spain
2nd – Switzerland
3rd – Chile
4th - Honduras