Group C Preview

Pictured above is the 1950 United States team that defeated the heavily favored English in the 1950 World Cup by a score of 1-0. This year's U.S. team will be sporting uniforms with the same sash. The English are once again favored, but not nearly as much as they were in 1950. And a recent injury to England captain and central defender Rio Ferdinand should further even the playing field.

Predicted Finish:

1. England

2. United States

3. Slovenia

4. Algeria

England:

England suffered a big blow today when it was learned that Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of the entire World Cup with some ligament damage in his knee. Matthew Upson or Ledley King will likely take his spot. The English captain is now going to be midfielder Steven Gerrard. This is a big blow, but not something that will stop the English from advancing out of this relatively easy group. With Wayne Rooney up top (and I like Peter Crouch too - even if his height makes him an awkward looking forward), Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard in the middle with Aaron Lennon on the wing, this is a very talented team.

United States:

This blog is heavily biased, so excuse the extra analysis of the U.S. team. Things seem to be falling just right for the U.S. at a World Cup, and this is their best chance to date to not only advance out of the group stage, but to also win their group. With the English injuries and the rise in the American talent pool, the opener on June 12th is winnable.

The U.S. is likely going to use their standard 4-4-2. Here is the predicted and preferred starting 11.

Defenders(from left to right): Carlos Bocanegra (captain), Jay Demerit, Oguchi Onyewu, and Steve Cherundolo.

Midfield: Landon Donovan, Michael Bradley, Jose Torres, and Clint Dempsey.

Strikers: Jozy Altidore and Robbie Findley

The starting defense is all set to go, unless Onyewu has some more trouble with his knee. The midfield is all set except for the Jose Torres (Pachuca) position, which might go to Maurice Edu (Rangers). I like Torres after the U.S./Turkey friendly last week because not only does he have great dribbling and distribution skills, but he finally showed that he is willing to play scrappy defense.

The attacking partner for Jozy Altidore is the final question. Coach Bob Bradley likes to have a speedster there (similar to the still injured Charlie Davies), so it will probably be either Findley (Real Salt Lake) or Herculez Gomez (Pachuca). It's a toss-up - but Findley is from Phoenix so he should get the start.

The scary part about this group is that the players for Slovenia and Algeria are not well-known, and will be tough to prepare for. If the U.S. can tie England and Slovenia, and beat Algeria in the final match, that should get them through to the next round.

Slovenia:

Slovenia is not supposed to be in this World Cup. When they were drawn in a home/away playoff with Russia for a spot most of the world booked Russia and Andrei Arshavin for South Africa. But Slovenia got it done. They are a team without any real stars, but have a lot of experience playing as a cohesive unit - that sounds a lot like the U.S. team. Probably their biggest individual talent is their goalkeeper, Samir Handanovic, who plays for Udinese. This is a hard team to preview so you could say that they have the potential to be a Group C sleeper.

Algeria:

I don't expect Algeria to do much more than get destroyed by everyone else. They stunned their bitter rivals Egypt by qualifying, but don't seem to have a lot of talent. Their biggest problem will be scoring any goals. Their best scoring option is old (35) and their most interesting quality is that their goalkeeper is a little crazy and shows it on the field.

Keys of the Group:

• Landon Donovan: If he can get the ball enough on the wing, the U.S. will score plenty of goals and be dangerous.
• English Defense: Will the injury to Rio Ferdinand be too much for the English?