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France
FIFA ranking: 8
Qualification: 1st place in the group
Friendly matches: 1-2 against Slovakia, 1-0 against Mexico, 2-0 against Denmark, 3-1 against China.
Many probably think that France will struggle, probably because most of the players who won the World Cup in 1998 are still playing. However, the team lacks excellent players like Thierry Henry, Louis Saha, Lilian Thuram, William Gallas, Patrick Vieira, Claude Makelele, and Zinedine Zidane. In the warm-up matches against Slovakia and Mexico, it did not seem like the hero of the 1998 final, Z. Zidane, was in the best form, so he might even start the first match against Switzerland on the bench.
Prediction: Last chance for the old "guard" to reach the heights, but most likely they will not properly bid farewell to one of the brightest footballers of the past decade, Z. Zidane.
South Korea
FIFA ranking: 29
Qualification: 2nd place in the group
Friendly matches: 1-0 against Angola, 1-1 against Senegal, 2-0 against Bosnia and Herzegovina, 0-0 against Norway, 1-3 against Ghana.
Koreans in the 2002 World Cup reached the semifinals providing one of the biggest sensations in football history. Will they be able to repeat this feat this year? After the last match against the Ghana national team, which Koreans lost 1-3, team coach Dick Advocaat was not pleased with the team's performance. "Match after match our team's game is deteriorating more and more and it disappoints me," the coach did not hide his displeasure. Although team spirit has decreased, 90% of the players believe that they can reach the top eight teams. Optimism is not lacking, but maybe it's just blind faith?
Prediction: Considering the current team position, it seems unlikely that they can repeat the result achieved in 2002, but they definitely have a chance to advance to the next stage from the group.
Switzerland
FIFA ranking: 35
Qualification: 2nd place in the group
Friendly matches: 3-1 against Scotland, 1-1 against Ivory Coast, 1-1 against Italy, 4-1 against China.
Considering the results achieved in the warm-up and qualification matches, coach Köbi Kuhn can rightfully think about advancing to the knockout stage. This is not a team full of stars, but it is difficult to beat them - similar to the Greek national team at the 2004 European Championship. Forward Alexander Frei seems to be in good form - he scores more than one goal every two matches.
Prediction: France should be the group leaders, while the Swiss will be the main favorites in the battle for the second place. However, the team may lack experience when playing against better teams in the later stages.
Togo
FIFA ranking: 61
Qualification: 1st place in the group
Friendly matches: 0-1 against Saudi Arabia, 1-0 against Liechtenstein.
Debutants at the World Cup by taking the first place in the group, but since then the team has not been performing well. Arguing about salaries, the team players even threatened not to play in the championship, later the national team coach Steve Keshi was dismissed, which further fueled disputes among the players. Due to all these things, the team failed to score a single point in this year's Nations Cup, followed by a loss in friendly matches against Saudi Arabia and a tough victory against Liechtenstein.
Prediction: New team and the oldest tournament coach Otto Pfister face tremendous work to avoid a quick trip home. It is hard to expect Togo to avoid elimination after the group matches.
