World Cup 2010 rankings

GRAHAME L. JONES’ RANKINGS

Top Contenders

1. ARGENTINA, Group B

First-round opponents: Nigeria, South Korea, Greece.

Best finish: Winner, 1978, 1986.

Comment: Wins it all if Lionel Messi shines and Coach Diego Maradona doesn’t muck it up.

2. BRAZIL, Group G

First-round opponents: North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.

Best finish: Winner, 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, 2002.

Comment: Coach Dunga to be second-guessed forever if he leaves out Ronaldinho and loses.

3. GERMANY, Group D

First-round opponents: Australia, Serbia, Ghana.

Best finish: Winner, 1954, 1974, 1990.

Comment: No legitimate reason to be ranked so highly except that, well, it’s Germany.

4. NETHERLANDS, Group E

First-round opponents: Denmark, Japan, Cameroon.

Best finish: Runners-up, 1974, 1978.

Comment: Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben and a bit of luck could end the Orange drought.

5. SPAIN, Group H

First-round opponents: Switzerland, Honduras, Chile.

Best finish: Fourth, 1950.

Comment: Barcelona would win the World Cup, but Spain is not quite at that level, right?

Others to Watch

6. ENGLAND, Group C

First-round opponents: United States, Algeria, Slovenia.

Best finish: Winner, 1966.

Comment: Wayne Rooney’s fragility hurts Three Lions’ chances.

7. ITALY, Group F

First-round opponents: Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia.

Best finish: Winner, 1934, 1938, 1982, 2006.

Comment: Longer in the tooth and thus perhaps vulnerable now.

8. FRANCE, Group A

First-round opponents: Uruguay, Mexico, South Africa.

Best finish: Winner, 1998.

Comment: Les Bleus need to keep a close eye on the referees.

9. PORTUGAL, Group G

First-round opponents: Ivory Coast, Brazil, North Korea.

Best finish: Third, 1966.

Comment: It’s time Cristiano Ronaldo lived up to all the hype.

10. CHILE, Group H

First-round opponents: Honduras, Switzerland, Spain.

Best finish: Third, 1962.

Comment: Coach Marcelo Bielsa plus post- earthquake support.

11. CAMEROON, Group E

First-round opponents: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan.

Best finish: Quarterfinals, 1990.

Comment: Pedigree plus Samuel Eto’o add up to possibility.

12. SERBIA, Group D

First-round opponents: Ghana, Germany, Australia.

Best finish: Debut.

Comment: Just tough enough to perhaps emerge from the pack.