Group B, EnGerLand, The US of A, Cymru (aka Wales) and the Islamic Republic of Iran

Before we start the preview of group B, I must correct a factual mistake pointed out to me by an eagle eyed reader in the group A preview. Since 2006, the host nation plays in the opening game, however my point still stands as the Qataris were due to play on Monday in the first of four games, but somehow managed to get it switched to be on Sunday and the only game. It did not help them as we saw despite the rumours of bribes being offered to the Ecuadorans to throw the game. Integrity won through.

The intriguing composition of Group B, puts me in mind of a spicy sausage, sizzling with anticipation and bursting with flavour.. Hey, just let your imagination roam for a while and you will soon see what I mean.

Let us begin with the Islamic republic of Iran, I do not think that many readers would disagree that they are one of the pariah nations of the world, since the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the overthrow of the Shah. This is a great shame for the people of Iran as the history and incredibly rich culture of the Persian nation is a long and noble one. 

One of the worst insults you can throw at an Iranian is to call them an Arab. While the Arab tribes were enjoying their camels in the deserts of Arabia, the might of the Persian empire stretched from India to Ethiopia, it was pitting its wits against Sparta at the famous battle of Thermopylae probably better known to younger readers as the setting for the film 300,  

It also defied the might of the best legions Rome had at its disposal beating them at the battle of Carrhae and purportedly pouring molten gold down the throat of the defeated Roman general Crassus who was known for his love of the metal.

Why is this relevant? Well, because it shows that they are a proud and patriotic people, and the success of their football team is one of the few ways the ordinary person in the street can enjoy being Iranian in these very difficult times for that troubled nation.

They are one of the best teams in Asia, this will be their seventh appearance in a world cup, but they have never advanced beyond the first round. They have only won twice, but one of those was against the bogeyman of the Ayatollahs at least, the great Satan, better known to us as the Good ol' US of A who as luck would have it are once again in the same group. See the highlights below.

I cannot see Iran moving onto the next stage, but as I wrote above, I hope they can bring their fans watching at home something to help alleviate the miserable reality of their current existence, even if only fleetingly.

That was a good segue to our next team in the group The good ol' US of A. The first problem is that old chestnut, they still call it soccer, due to them not having the mental capacity to be able to deal with the concept of two sports called football.  This makes the rest of the world not take the Americans seriously, actually there are many reasons for that, but they are beyond the scope of this blog.

Anyway, there is no doubt that they have improved as the years go by, they have a massive potential talent pool if they invested properly in the game. The USNWT has consistently been one of the best in the world for the past two decades at least, while the USMNT has not grown as much as they should have in the same period. W stands for women and M for Men in case you were not sure.

On a side note, it is interesting that in the land that gave us political correctness and, in a world, where gender identity is so fluid so that anyone can identify as anything, it is the Americans who specify in their official name the gender of the team leaving no room for doubt. Just saying.

The good ol' US of A have twice played EnGerLand in previous world cups and are undefeated against them, and with a number of their squad now plying their trade in the English Premier League, there could be some interesting encounters on match day.

The EnGerLand fans will be hoping not to see a repeat of this when the two teams face off on thanksgiving weekend.

The Yanks main problem on the field is that they find it difficult to score, which is a bit of an issue.

Although we have already mentioned EnGerLand, I will now move on to Cymru (which should be pronounced as Kumrie) There is a plan after the world cup to ask to have their name officially changed from Wales to Cymru to recognize their Celtic origins. Wales have only once previously played in a world cup, way back in 1958, so they have no form to speak of. A quarter of their squad play in the EPL, but the majority are from the second or third tier of English football and they are a bit in the mould of the woodchoppers and water carriers of biblical times.

Wales bring passion, both on and off the field, they will fight to the last minute giving their all. One can almost see the dragon hearts beating proudly as they take the field. If you get a chance to watch the Welsh national anthem (Old land of my fathers) being sung by their fans, make sure you do, it is a stirring sight.

It is probably a coin flip between Cymru and the good Ol' US of A as to which team will finish in second place, which makes their clash on Monday evening a vital game.

We finish this group with a look at  EnGerLand, and to be honest, I do not think they have much of a chance this time round. They reached the semifinals four years ago and lost in the Euros final last year, but their defence is slow and whilst they should progress through to the knockout stages, I just cannot see them going too far. 

However, despite that, once again they could have a relatively easy path to the latter stages, as they did four years ago. We shall have to wait and see if it "will be coming home" as the song goes.  It will probably end in a glorious failure as it usually does. It is fifty-six (56) years since EnGerLand last made the final, let alone win it. 

The EnGerLand manager, Gareth Southgate OBE is an ex-player who was mentally scarred in 1996 when he missed a penalty in the Euros against the Shermans. If you were to try and picture the epitome of an English Civil servant going to work in his grey suit doing his boring job without ever making any waves, then that is Mr. Southgate.

What they do have going for them is big game experience and the very English ability of making do. There are no prima donnas in the squad, there are no WAGS (wives and girlfriends) of note to distract the players as in previous years.

So EnGerLand to top the group and I will plump for the good ol' US of A to go through as well.

Next up are groups C & D, so C U tomorrow.