Brazil - Argentina - Germany - Spain

So far, the South American powerhouses Brazil and Argentina have looked good. Germany and Spain too have been strong throughout.

France, England, Italy and the Czech Republic have all struggled to find their form.

England has fought off injury to finish a first in their Group, but can't get the win over Sweden that they desire.

France can't find the goal, and with Trez (#2 scoring in the Italian League) on the bench most of the time, one wonders if a change is coming for this last crucial group match against Togo.

Italy is playing their typical inconsistent soccer. Who knows who will show up to play the equally confused Czechs.

World Cup Inbreeding

After viewing the rosters of most of the teams, one thing stands out. The Italian team is composed entirely of players from the Italian Serie A league. Not a single player on the team competes in Spain, England, Germany, France, Holland...

Mind you, Germany, England and Spain also get the majority of their players from within their national leagues. So the difference may not be significant.

Still, one wonders what this means. The fear for Italy is that it means the current crop of Italian players do not play their best outside the borders of their fair nation. And as the World Cup is being held in Germany, that would not bode well for a team with high expectations.

On the otherhand, perhaps it only means that the Serie A league is so competitive, that Italian players have no reason to go abroad for the best club soccer has to offer.

We shall see.