LEADING LIGHTS TO LOOK OUT FOR G D H

England has not lived up to any of the hype that has surrounded their “golden generation” of players in the last decade or so, and it may be one final chance in 2010 for some of the most well-known faces today. England stormed to nine wins out of ten matches in their European Zone qualification, blasting 34 goals in the process, a zone-high. Their line up is comparable to Brazil’s, with several household names including captain Rio Ferdinand, vice captain Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe and key player to watch, Wayne Rooney Rooney was awarded the FWA footballer of the year 2009-10, as well as the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, and shouldered much of the responsibility in the qualifying stages. He will surely want to make a difference for his side, which has a penchant for underperforming on the big stage.

Argentina

Diego Maradona has himself claimed that this year’s Argentinean World Cup side is even better than his own legendary 1986 World Champion side (although he somewhat contradicts this by saying he will run naked through the streets of Buenos Aires if his side goes all the way). And Argentina has no excuse for not dominating their early competition, with possibly the most explosive side in the tournament. And you cannot say too much about their chances without mentioning the key player to watch, perhaps in the entire tournament – Lionel Messi A team’s hopes cannot rest entirely on one man’s shoulders in football, but if they could, then Argentina’s plight is the perfect example. A lot of Argentina’s hopes are pinned on this superstar, who is generally recognised as the best footballer in the world at the moment. Now it’s up to how Maradona can best exploit his talent – the eccentric boss is not known for his strategic prowess, but if he gets it right, there is no reason this team cannot lift the cup. The team does, however, feature some brilliant attacking talent including Carlos Tevez and Diego Milito, and should have no difficulty scoring goals.