Who are the champions? Winners revealed

A global poll of football experts has been conducted by the BBC Sport website to produce a predicted top four at the 2010 World Cup.

BBC SPORTS


We have been asking pundits, players, managers, journalists and other experts to give us their one-two-three-four forecast at the tournament, which kicks off in South Africa on Friday.

The identities of the top four have been revealed daily, one by one, and we can today announce that SPAIN were the favourite choice for outright tournament winner.

Our survey shows Brazil in second, Argentina third with England fourth.

We polled over 50 experts from more than 20 nations, and no-one plumped for other previous winners Germany, Italy and France to repeat the trick in South Africa.
Predictions in full: All the World Cup 1-2-3-4s

If the survey is proved right, Euro 2008 winners Spain will make history by becoming world champions for the first time and the first European team to win the World Cup in another continent.

They narrowly saw off Brazil as the most popular pick for our experts, who were asked to draw up their top four teams, with the caveat that not all predictions might work out precisely because of the variable nature of the World Cup draw.

WHY THEY PICKED SPAIN

Here are some reasons why pundits plumped for the team managed by Vicente del Bosque.

Ronald de Boer Ex-Netherlands midfielder, 67 caps

Spain have the same group of players as they did in winning Euro 2008, only more experienced. They have played together for a long time so the players know each other's qualities inside out. Also, they have a great bench and in many games it's the substitutes who make the difference.

Papa Bouba Diop Senegal and Portsmouth midfielder, 58 caps

"They are the best team, Spain, and they have the best players. They proved it at Euro 2008 and it's hard to say they won't win this time. An African team, maybe Ivory Coast or Ghana, can do well."

Juan Casto Nogales International writer, Spanish newspaper Marca

"Spain are the best team for the quantity and the quality of exceptional players our national team has. No other team in the world has played like them worldwide. Good keeper, good defenders, exceptional midfielders and some exceptional forwards."

Alan Hansen Former Scotland and Liverpool defender, BBC pundit

"We know how good the Spanish players are and by winning Euro 2008 they showed they could handle the pressure too. They will be full of confidence in South Africa."

Brede Hangeland Norway captain

"If you look through their squad, they have the best players of any nation. To put it into perspective, they'll have some of the best players in the world sitting on the bench and that says it all. They are unbeaten in a very long time and when you see them play the look very solid."

Hardy Hasselbruch Editor, Kicker football magazine, Germany

"Spain are European champions and have the most skilful players. Del Bosque is a very good man to guide the stars from Barca and Real. Stout in defence, creative in offence and strikers like Fernando Torres and David Villa - what a generation of talent."

Paul Kennedy Soccer America magazine/website

Spain has more world-class players than any other team in the tournament. Its midfield (when healthy) is the best in the world. And Del Bosque has an assortment of quality strikers to choose from.

Hans Krankl Former Austria striker, 1978 European Golden Boot winner

"Spain are the best team in the world right now but the rest of the favourites are always the same. Just outside these four, I'd tip Germany and Holland to have success too."

Henrik Larsson Ex-Sweden, Barcelona and Celtic striker

"Spain did so well in Euro 2008 and they have more or less the same team. It is vital for them, though, that Torres stays fit. If he is 100%, they have the best chance but England under Fabio Capello are dangerous. He has got them playing in a different way and also brought the discipline they needed."

Patrick Mboma Ex-Cameroon striker, 33 goals in 56 games

"They are the best in terms of quality and they have the best players in each role. I cannot see why they can't win the World Cup."

Vicente Miera Former Spain manager and defender

"They are, at the moment, the national team that is playing the best football."

Bojan Sec Contributor, Sport Den za Dnem, Russia

"Anyone who has watched them over the last several years has seen a coherent, stable, well-organised group of players who are superbly gifted technically. They lacked a big title but they got that in 2008 and that has given them a winning mentality."

Alan Shearer BBC TV pundit and former England striker

"I was so impressed with Spain in the way they won the Euros two years ago. Their chances might not be diminished by Torres' injury because he could still play a part. He is crucial to their chances, he will be a big player for them, but they have David Villa as well."

Martin Skrtel Slovakia and Liverpool defender

"It would be a mistake to underestimate France and Germany are always a threat. England are tactically strong while Spain play the most beautiful football."

Edwin Struis Nu Sport, Dutch soccer magazine

"In every World Cup since 1930 one of the 'Big Four' (Italy, Argentina, Germany, Brazil) has been in the final. This World Cup won't be an exception on that rule, but we will have a 'debutant' as a winner - Spain. The best players, the best team, some good strikers and a European Championship in the suitcase. Spain will win the double."

Chris Waddle Former winger, 62 caps, BBC 5 live pundit

"I think Spain will win because they have the best squad, won a tournament two years ago and now have the belief."

Vladimir Weiss Manchester City's Slovakia winger, son of national coah Vladimir

"Spain have got some great players and they play the right way too. Their midfield is the best in the world, which is the most important thing in modern football."

FIFA World Rankings, May 2010: Brazil Replace Spain as Number One

By Matt S, Bleacher Report

Brazil have ended Spain’s five-month reign at the top of the FIFA World Rankings to become the top ranked side in the May 2010 rankings released by FIFA last week.

A Seleção now top the rankings for the seventh time in the history of the rankings, Dunga’s side replacing the European Champions at the summit of world football.

Portugal’s rise continues with Carlos Queiroz’s side now up to third, their highest ever position since the launch of the rankings in 1993. They switch places with the Netherlands, who had held third spot for nine consecutive months.

Other movement in the Top 10 sees Argentina move up to seventh, with England down to eighth.

Croatia are up to ninth, and remain the highest-ranked team not to have qualified for next month’s World Cup.

Other non-qualifiers Egypt remain Africa’s top-ranked side at 13, and the continent now has three representatives in the Top 20 with Nigeria joining Cameroon alongside the African champions.

Switzerland (down six to 26) are the only nation to drop out of the Top 20.

World Cup host nation South Africa fall two positions to 90, their worst ranking for over 16 years.

Meanwhile North Korea remain the lowest ranked team to have qualified for next month’s World Cup, down one place this month to 106.

Republic of Ireland move up one place to 43, one spot ahead of Scotland, who slide three places to 44. Northern Ireland are down seven to 57, whilst Wales are up two places to 75.

Very few matches were played last month so all positional changes are the result of the devaluation of points for past results.

The next rankings will be released on May 26 after many nations will have played their warm-up games for the upcoming World Cup, so more movement can be expected then.

FIFA World Rankings, Top 20, May 2010

(movements from April rankings in parenthesis)

1. Brazil (+1)

2. Spain (-1)

3. Portugal (+1)

4. Netherlands (-1)

5. Italy (-)

6. Germany (-)

7. Argentina (+2)

8. England (-1)

9. Croatia (+1)

10. France (-2)

11. Russia (+1)

12. Greece (-1)

13. Egypt (+1)

14. USA (+2)

15. Chile (-2)

16. Serbia (-1)

17. Mexico (-)

18. Uruguay (-)

19. Cameroon (+1)

20= Nigeria (+2)

20= Australia (-1)

2010 World Cup Top Goal Scorer Prediction

Bet On World Cup 2010

Aside from the outright winner, one of the most fun things to debate, speculate, and gamble on in a World Cup is who will win the coveted Golden Boot, awarded to the top goal scorer in the competition.

Here we discuss some of the players in the running and take a look at what might work for and against them.

1 – David Villa – Spain (8-1)

With Spain the current favourites to win the tournament outright and David Villa’s excellent goal scoring record for both clubs and his national side, it is no surprise that he leads the pack in terms of the prices on offer to bet on the Golden Boot.

Despite it being logical that the longer a player’s team stays in the cup the better chance they have of scoring the most goals, the theory behind predicting this is actually a lot more complex.

The highest scoring games in the majority of major tournaments come during the group stages, before the weaker teams are sent home. In later stages, as teams become more evenly matched, low scoring games and matches settled on penalties (which don’t count towards the Golden Boot) become more common. For this reason, strong players like Villa in strong teams like Spain have a much better chance if their group stage opponents are “easy” teams they can beat with a high scoreline.

With Spain facing Honduras, Chile and Switzerland, their group does, with no disrespect to their opponents, look much easier than that which other strong sides were drawn in (Brazil’s group looks very tough by comparison with the Ivory Coast and Portugal).

What may work against Villa is the fact that one of the other favourites, his strike partner Fernando Torres, is on the same team. With only so many goals likely to happen in the tournament, whether either of them will lay claim to enough of them to win the Golden Boot remains to be seen.


2 – Lionel Messi – Argentina (9-1)

With some bookmakers offering him as joint favourite with Villa, again, there is nothing surprising about the short odds on the Argentina and Barcelona star. Many consider Messi to be the greatest current footballer in the world.

The Argentina squad are generally thought to be less strong going into the competition than Spain, with odds of 8-1 compared with Spain’s 4-1 at the time of writing, however they are still a fairly safe bet to progress far enough to give Messi a chance to notch up some goals. Like Spain, their first round opponents are not, on paper at least, likely to be too troublesome for the Argentine team – they face Nigeria, South Korea and Greece.

3 – Wayne Rooney – England (10-1)

These odds are from the UK betting market, where there is likely to be a slight bias towards England and England players in the odds, given that a lot of people in the UK will want to take these bets.

Even so, Wayne Rooney has a brilliant goal scoring record and when fit can give Villa and Messi a run for their money. As England’s top striker, Wayne may never quite have lived up to the “new Pele” talk around him when he shot to notoriety during the Euro 2004 tournament, but his skills are a force to be reckoned with and he should have no problem putting goals past fellow Group C competitors the USA, Slovenia and Algeria.

4 – Luis Fabiano – Brazil (12-1)

With ultimate football heavyweights Brazil second favourites to win the Jules Rimet trophy outright with bookies almost unanimously offering 5-1 odds, Luis Fabiano is another man in with a very serious chance of securing the Golden Boot.

The Sevilla striker has scored 25 goals in 36 appearances for Brazil since 2003, and has had some amazing club seasons too, the peak being the 07-08 La Liga season when he scored an incredible 34 for Sevilla in 44 games across all competitions.

The one thing counting against Fabiano here is the comparative strength of the opponents in Brazil’s group. Whilst they can still be expected to progress to the next stage, defeating the Ivory Coast and Portugal by a number of goals will be no mean feat.

5 – Fernando Torres – Spain (12-1)

Liverpool’s golden boy is the second appearance by a Spanish player in the top five. Torres plays very well alongside Villa for the national side, and is a consistent, reliable scorer. Often scoring enviably inspired goals, Torres can almost certainly be relied on to supply some of the most entertaining goals of the competition, but can he also deliver the most?

With an injury keeping him out for the rest of the season, though he is expected to be fit to play in the 2010 World Cup, Torres will be missing out on a lot of the preparation he was probably hoping for. Also, with Liverpool’s disappointing season, where it seems that they have lost their place as part of the renowned Premiership “Big Four”, it is possible that odds on Torres will drift as those favouring Spain opt to back Villa instead.