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WORLD CUP PREVIEW

DIFFICULT TO CALL

The View from LIFA President Sepp Groomo

Well, here we are once more as teams from around the globe embark on a quest to capture the most coveted of coveted prizes - the LogicaCMG World Cup.

Incredibly the tournament has expanded again, and is bigger than ever this year with an earth-shattering 24 teams taking part. Fortunately the Organising Committee were able to procure 6 fantastic state-of-the-art stadia for the tournament, enabling us to complete everything in two days. This has all principally been down to the commander-in-chief of this year's tournament, Bill Ramsay, and he should be congratulated on impeccable organisation and communication. Organising this tournament is an incredible amount of work and you get a lot of grief for no reward, so cheers Bill, good on ya!

This year welcomes several new qualifiers in the shape of Altrincham, India, London, LondonGPS, Shell and the Hull Canaries. We also see the return of some old friends in the form of France, Edinburgh and Aberdeen who have been absent from recent tournaments. I ask you all to join me in welcoming the new teams and their supporters, along with the teams returning to the fold.

With there being 24 teams this year, a reformatting of the tournament was required. After much careful consideration, six groups of four was deemed slightly preferably to eight groups of three, mainly because it guarantees each team six matches rather than just five over the two days. As a result, qualification for the quarter finals of the main tournament this year is especially tough with each team fighting it out for first place to guarantee qualification, the remaining two places going to the two Group runners-up with the best records. There will be two strands of play-off matches for the remaining teams, each also comprising eight teams: the remaining group runners-up plus four best third-placed teams will play-off to determine positions 9-16, whilst the remaining teams will play-off for positions 17-24, and of course the coveted Wooden Spoon prize.

So who’s going to win the Cup? Can an English side reign supreme in 2006? Will Italy once again walk away as champions of the world? Or can one of the new qualifiers set the world on fire and end the Italian dominance? These and many other questions can only be answered in their totality come Sunday 2^nd July at 5pm. Until then it would only be right and proper to speculate.

In truth, its hard to look beyond the Italians retaining the crown, and they will surely start as the bookies' favourite. But with the weather likely to suit the UK teams (the current forecast predicts rain and strong winds), and a number of new teams debuting for whom we have no form guide, there could just be a new name on the Cup. The Italians also find themselves drawn in a difficult group. As well as a tough match against twice World Cup winners Holland A, the Italians will also not know what to expect from either LondonGPS or Altrincham.

France will be keen to do well, and they’ve been keeping their cards close to their chests as the French FA barred all paparazzi from the French training camp in Paris. However, if the squad has comparable ability to the French teams of the past - they won the World Cup the last time the tournament was held in Scotland back in 1997 - then they will be certain to go a long way in the tournament and, who knows, maybe all the way...

The Czechs will be looking to go at least one better than last year’s Third Place and make the final. They are a solid side who also score plenty of goals, and will pose a potent threat, most notably to the England Lags' chances of the progressing. The Lags will certainly be expecting to qualify for the next phase, however, and anything less will be a disappointment for them especially after last years no show. The Shell team are rumoured to be a well-oiled machine, whilst India’s progress will be closely monitored, and they’re likely to be a favourite team for the neutrals.

Reading A will certainly be the favourites to claim top spot in Group C after an excellent fourth place finish last time out, and, like the Czech’s, will be looking for an improvement that will mean a place in the Final. The other teams in this group however will be no pushovers. The Hull Canaries boast an excellent squad and should do well, whilst co-hosts Edinburgh will be hard to beat on home soil. The Welsh Wizards will certainly be out to enjoy themselves whilst ruffling a few feathers along the way, as they strive to reproduce the excellent form of their first appearance in the Finals in Rome three years ago.

Group D features the England Pups and France, along with Essex and Manchester B. The group is sure to be tight with the Pups being renowned for a resolute defence but a shot-shy attack, a failing that could ultimately cost them a place in the quarter-finals. The French are likely to be strong as previously mentioned. Essex have never made it beyond the group stage and will certainly be expecting to put in a better show this year along with the Manchester B squad.

Similarly, there won’t be much daylight between the teams in Group E when all is said and done. Manchester A are very difficult to beat, and are no strangers to the Final, having finished as runners-up in both Rome and Milan. Portugal are expected to be stronger after last year's tournament debut. London boast a talented squad, and the other host team Aberdeen won’t be rolling over for anybody.

Calor will start as favourites to claim top spot in Group F, although spirits are high in the Leatherhead camp. Reading B are reporting a stronger squad than last year, so Calor will not have it all their own way. Holland B are likely to be strong, and will be very difficult to break down as all the Dutch teams traditionally are, making this Group very difficult to call.

Ultimately, however, football is a funny ol’ game and anything can happen...

Enjoy the tournament,
Sepp