Similar to Group C, this group is a draw of death for Italy, Czech and the United States. For some reason each of these team have drawn the short end of the stick and is pitted against each other. They have the right to be in the second round but only one of them is possible to get there.
Our gut instincts— Czech Republic
Czech Republic has a slight advantage over Italy and is favorites to come of this group through their superb lineup and recent performances. Italy on the other hand may gain confidence along the way as they could pile up a quick win against the lowest seeded Ghana among the four of them.
We should not underestimate Ghana though, Radomir Dujkovic remains to be their fuel and is not about to get pushed that easily. Their qualifying is impressive conceding only four goals in their 12 qualifying matches. Italy has to remain focused, dispatch Ghana and build along the way in the hopes of getting a crack off Czech.
Czech on the other hand needs to do what it does best — Win. They could encounter a resilient team in Unites States who are on a higher level compared to their previous team in World Cup 2002. They now have a mixed talent of experienced and young players working in beautiful music altogether.
This is a predictable grouped with unpredictable surprises sneaking up fast.
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