© EuroFootball.com
England
FIFA ranking: 10
Qualification: 1st place in the group
Friendly matches: 2-1 against Uruguay, 3-1 against Hungary, 6-0 against Jamaica
Form and position: Wayne Rooney's injury threatened to destabilize the situation in the England national team, but the excellent form of Peter Crouch, with goals and dances, raised the team's spirits. The return of W. Rooney to training also boosted the team's confidence in their abilities, and in the last friendly matches, the English team scored quite a few goals. However, there are still uncertainties about tactics and the starting lineup, as well as concerns about Michael Owen's form.
Prediction: England's lineup is probably the strongest in the past 15 years, so if luck is on their side and they manage to break the penalty shootout curse after a 40-year hiatus, the World Cup trophy could return to the country known for its football heritage.
Paraguay
Qualification: 4th place in the group
FIFA ranking: 33
Friendly matches: 2-2 against Norway, 1-1 against Denmark, 1-0 against Georgia
Form and position: Paraguay players recently had problems playing against opponents from Scandinavia, especially thinking about the match against Sweden. The biggest issue should be the lack of attacking options. Experienced forward Jose Cardozo, the team's top scorer in the qualifiers, will miss the tournament due to injury, while one of the team's attacking leaders, Roque Santa Cruz, is struggling with a knee injury.
Prediction: While Paraguay's defense is not as strong as before, in order to advance to the next stage, this team needs to solve the scoring problem first.
Sweden
Qualification: 2nd place in the group
FIFA ranking: 16
Friendly matches: 0-3 against Ireland, 0-0 against Finland, 1-1 against Chile
Form and position: It seems that Sweden's game has worsened at the worst possible time - after two dismal draws, the team is facing increasing criticism. The biggest problems arise in the right-back position, Zlatan Ibrahimović cannot find his game, and Freddie Ljungberg has a minor foot injury. All this means that the team will need to find inspiration from their long-time leader Henrik Larsson.
Prediction: With Sweden not having lost to England in 38 years, they should advance from the group and could spring a surprise in the knockout stages.
Trinidad and Tobago
Qualification: 4th place in the group and victory against Bahrain in the play-off match
FIFA ranking: 47
Friendly matches: 1-2 against Wales, 1-3 against Slovenia, 0-3 against Czech Republic
Form and position: The "Soca Warriors," as the Trinidad and Tobago national team is called, lost to a young Wales team in friendly matches and were defeated by Slovenia and Czech Republic. However, the team's coach Leo Beenhakker surprisingly stated that his players are in good form. Nevertheless, the team's inability to deal with the height of Czech striker Jan Koller should be a cause for concern, especially knowing they will most likely face England's striker Peter Crouch. The team might find optimism in the fact that one of the main defenders, Marvin Andrews, has recovered from injury and will be able to take the field.
Prediction: Simply participating in the tournament is already a great achievement for this team, and from the brave Soca Warriors, we can expect nothing but a respectable performance and an attempt to avoid finishing last in the group.
