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Many of you are no doubt aware by now that the 2010 World Cup has been released and has probably offered some of the most even groupings in a long time, granted some groups are tougher than others and Group G consisting of Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal and North Korea has unanimously been named as the Group of Death™. But, even this group is in my mind not as infamous as some of the Groups of Deaths of the past, who can forget England, Argentina, Sweden and Nigeria of World Cup 2002 – Now, that was a Group of Death!

South Africa first ranked in Group A, as is custom for the host nation, must feel a tad slighted with their tough group members of Mexico, Uruguay and France. Odds are South Africa will be the first host nation not to make it past the group stage, but it’s the World Cup and anything can happen particularly when you’re got rabid support on your side.

South Korea have been handled a tough but not impossible group if they’re good enough, having Argentina, Nigeria and Greece in Group B.

The Group C opening match of England and US is already been much talked up and should be an interesting match. Joining the English and Americans in their group are Algeria and Slovenia.

Australia has got a tough group but this is the World Cup and not tiddly winks so it is to be expected to a degree as there really no easy matches once you reach the cup. The Aussies will compete against Germany, Ghana and Serbia for a place in the second round.

The Netherlands, Denmark, Japan and Cameroon make up the teams in Group E. This group has been somewhat overshadowed by talk of the other groups, though it should prove to be a fairly interesting group.

New Zealand will be working hard for pride and the hope of one or two results going their way as they face tough opponents in Italy, Paraguay and Slovakia in Group F. Can their fairytale continue through to the next round?

Group G – The Group of Death™ . Rumour has it that the North Korean regime will not televise any matches unless the North Koreans win. I’m sorry to disappoint them but any chance of a replica of their 1966 heroics are highly unlikely. Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal stand between them and their inevitable post-Cup trip to the gulag. Poor bastards!

Spain, Switzerland, Honduras and Chile make up the final group – Group H. A fairly easy group for the number one ranked team and favourite, alongside Brazil, going into the Cup. But, the Spanish have a knack for butchering World Cup campaigns so they can’t go counting any eggs just yet!

The Group of 16 shall see the winner of Group A play Group B’s runner-up and Group C’s top team play D group’s runner-up. Possible match-ups include France vs Greece and England vs Ghana.

The top dog in Group D will play the second placed team in Group C and Group B’s winner playing Group A’s runner-up. Possible matches could be Germany vs US ( a potential re-match of their WC 2002 quarter-final) and Argentina vs Mexico.

Group E’s top team will play Group F’s second team and Group G’s best team will play Group H’s second team. The Netherlands vs Paraguay may well be a potential match-up along with Brazil vs Chile.

And, finally Group F’s best team will compete against Group E’s runner-up, while Group H’s will play Group G’s second best team. Here we could possibly see Italy vs Cameroon and Spain vs Portugal or Ivory Coast.

The winners will then proceed to the quarter-finals of the knockout tournament playing against the winners of the match they are aligned with, and so on until the final.

I was considering making predictions on winners, losers and runner-ups but will wait a little closer to the games before I start making any rash predictions. Here’s a closer look at the draw (and in Excel format):

See you in South Africa!