Who are the favourites to win the Fifa World Cup???

Review of all the top teams participating in the Football World Cup 2010 to be held in South Africa

2010 FIFA world Cup

Spain

There is not an iota of a doubt that LA Furia Roja will be the team to beat at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. For ages they have been branded the underachievers in world football until they finally proved their mettle by winning Euro 2008. The World Cup will be akin to the final frontier and this will be their greatest opportunity to win it. The Spanish team at present is the best that there has ever been with mix of both experience and youth. Starting with two of the deadliest and most feared strikers namely Fernando Torres and David Villa they will pose a threat to any defence. With a midfield packed with superstars like Xavi, Alonso, Iniesta and Fabregas together with a strong defence consisting of Puyol, Ramos and Pique and goalkeepers like Casillas and Reina they look set to go all the way. Coached by the experienced Vicente del Bosque it would be safe to say that Spain are one of the top favourites to win the Fifa World Cup.

Brazil

Five time winners Brazil have showed superb form lately by comfortably sailing through the World Cup Qualifiers. Currently ranked first by FIFA, Brazil is among the strongest football nations in the world. Coached by 1994 World Cup winner Dunga the Brazilian Team for the first time is devoid of stars except KaKa. Their attack looks suspect with likes of Nilmar, Luis Fabino and Robinho not being of the same pedestal as some of the former Brazilian strikers. But they will be relying on the brilliance of Kaka and experience of Lucio and Julio Cesar among others to pull them through. Together with Spain Brazil would be the one of the top favourites for the World Cup.

Italy

Four time winners Italy will be keen to defend their title in South Africa. They will be coached again by Marcello Lippi and led by Fabio Cannnavaro. Also much of the side remains unchanged from World Cup 2006. The Azzurri with their strong defensive play will be tough to score against and have also shown good attacking flair lately. They will be dependent on the genius of their playmaker Andrea Pirlo to feed the ball to the strikers. Italy is clearly one of the favorites for this edition.

Germany

Three time winners Germany would do well to put the disappointment of Euro 2008 and World Cup 2006 behind them. Recent form has been good for them and they qualified for the world cup without much difficulty. With their style of play they will be relying on the head more rather than the feet to score the goals. Coached by Joachim Low the Die Mannschaft have a decent attacking mix with the Golden Boot winner in the 2006 editon Miroslav Klose and talented Lucas Podolski. Ballack will be leading the midfield which has some decent quality in the likes of Frings and Schweinsteiger. Germany will be one of the favorites.

England

The Three Lions have made giant strides under Fabio Capello and have put the disappointment of not having qualified for Euro 2008 beyond them. Led by their talismanic skipper John Terry ,England have a nice mix of established players at the club level like Lampard, Gerrard, Rooney, Cole and Ferdinand as well as a huge fan following. However their performances in the past in big tournaments have left much to be desired. Overall they do stand a good chance at the World Cup 2010.

France

France just about qualified thanks to the hand of Thierry Henry. The team has struggled with the absence of Zidane and Makelele and barely made it to the World Cup. Their Squad lacks depth but the Les Bleus can’t be written off completely. Coached by Raymond Domenech and with players like Henry, Anelka and Viera they will be one of the sides to watch out for at the World Cup.

Argentina

Two time winners Argentina barley made it to the World Cup. But like France, even the Albicelestes can’t be written off completely. Coached by the legendary Diego Maradonna the Argentina side will strongly revolve around their star striker Lionel Messi. They have enough quality to support him in the form of Tevez, Higuain, Ageuro and Mascherano. Surely they will be one of the sides in contention for the World Cup Trophy.

Portugal and Netherlands

Others in with a chance include Portugal, Netherlands, Ivory Coast and Ghana will be the dark horses for the tournament.