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In about 10 days the World Cup will be starting a month worth of action and will be watched around the globe.  This version will be hosted by South Africa, which coincidentally is in the same Group (A) as the United States.

Perhaps this is a brief period for all to put aside the issues and troubles and just come together and enjoy some great soccer.  European countries have come under a glutton of scrutiny lately, so maybe the 12 teams representing the region will put on a performance for the world to marvel at.  The Asia-Pac region has four entrants, while the Americas come forth with eight (including the US).

We should be treated to some world-class soccer over the coming month, and maybe...just maybe a distraction from all the negative issues we've been facing.  Perhaps this one shining moment that comes once every four years will give us all the breather we need amid less tension.

For much of the world apart from the U.S., the biggest upcoming event in 2010 is the FIFA World Cup.  The global soccer tourney begins June 11th, 2010 in South Africa.  This is the first time the tourney has been played on the continent of Africa.



I wanted to share with you a little tip if you are interested in the upcoming World Cup at all, whether from a wagering perspective, office pool, as a fan, player, or viewer:

Do not pick a European-based team to win the 2010 Cup.

European teams are the majority of the world's powers in soccer/football/futbol, but don't "travel well" in the world's biggest country competition.  A European team has never won the World Cup when it was staged outside of Europe. 

Remember what happened in the 2002 WC in Korea/Japan?  Brazil won, while non-powers Korea and Turkey made the Semifinals.  Additionally, the USA and Senegal made the Quarterfinals.

With that in mind, we can "throw out" many of the world's soccer powers when picking the 2010 World Cup winner -- Spain, France, England, Germany, Holland, Italy and Portugal.  Using history as a guide, this narrows down the field of likely contenders considerably.

In fact, according to online odds, these are the only other teams qualified for South Africa 2010 with better than a 100-1 chance of raising the golden trophy:

Argentina - 9/1
Brazil - 4.5/1
Chile - 40/1
Ghana - 66/1
Ivory Coast - 25/1
Mexico - 80/1
Paraguay - 50/1

Obviously out of this group Brazil and Argentina stand out as the likely and logical choices to win.  They are certainly historic and current world soccer powers.  Ghana and Ivory Coast both have the "home continent" advantage, have some world-class players (Drogba, Essien, etc), and may be worth a look as well as a live longshot.

The USA?  Well, we fall just outside the threshold of the names above, with our current odds at 100-1, alongside the likes of Australia, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Uruguay.  These names should likely only be picked to make the Semifinals, at best.