Things that might happen at World Cup 2010

Wide-open games. The last several World Cups have seen a steady decrease in goals scored, from 2.7 goals per game in 1994 to 2.3 at Germany 06. That should change this time for a few reasons. Squads like Holland and Spain have a rich vein of goal scorers throughout their lineups; the African qualifiers are all led by athletic, goal-oriented attacks (the possible loss of Drogba by Cote D’Ivoire aside) that could lead to a goal glut; teams like USA and Australia have matured and have attacking midfielders who have honed their skills in Europe. Packing the box may not work so well this time around.

African teams to crash out early. Every tournament, pundits claim that this is the year an African nation will advance deep into the World Cup and win it all. That won’t happen in 2010 because while attacking is fun, defense wins tournaments. Even with an expected rise in goals scored, the better attacking sides also have good defenders. Cote D’Ivoire are strong, especially if Drogba plays, but they are also in the Group of Death. They have to get past Brazil and Portugal, something that will be interesting to watch.

The rise of Concacaf. One of the traditional minnows of the World Cup are actually better than advertised. Tournament success has as much to do with the road to the championship as talent. Both the US and Mexico have winnable draws and could win their respective groups (settle down, England). One quarterfinal draw could feature a Concacaf derby, US v MEX in a North American grudge match. Miss that match at your own peril.

Later-round excitement. There are quite some tantalizing matchups potentially awaiting after the first round, which only has Brazil v Portugal on tap. Starting in the Second Round, we may see Portugal v Spain, England v Germany and France v Argentina. The Quarterfinals could see Holland-Brazil, Argentina-Germany, England-Argentina or Mexico-USA. There is every likelihood that the championship match will be a reprise of 1974, with Holland facing arch-nemesis Germany. Dare to dream.

Say no to the samba beat. Brazil are always favorites but we don’t think they will get past Holland in the quarterfinals. If that match takes place, it could be an instant all-time classic. In fact, while we would definitely be surprised, it would not shock the CounterAttack if Brazil fail to get out of their group. You heard it here first….

Better referee decisions. We just think that after so much focus on referees, they are due for a good tournament. We fully expect referees to get into better positions, get the offside calls right, call the matches tighter, look for flagrant or violent fouls, and not tolerate dissent. We also see more judicious use of cautions and send offs.

Injuries to play a role. This could be the biggest factor in which teams advance. Already, players like Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben, Rio Ferdinand will miss all or part of the tournament. That makes squad depth a significant factor and many squads just don’t have the depth beyond their starters. However, while that may change how the groups play out, we still expect the favorites to get through. This will, however, affect the later round matchups more significantly.

Let the Games begin!