10 things to watch for at the World Cup

Terry Baddoo is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN International. He will be part of the World Sport team at the World Cup, contributing regular Postcards to CNNSI.com.

1. Brazil to surprise everyone by winning the final. I originally tipped Argentina as winners, but I feel the Brazilians have been so affronted by the lack of belief in their current side that they'll rise to the occasion in spite of their detractors.

2. Italy to make the final playing attacking entertaining football. OK, the latter part of the prediction is a longshot, but I do like the Italians' chances.

3. Argentina to initially buckle the pressure created by the early hype and the economic crisis back home, only to recover and make the semifinals.

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4. England's David Beckham to follow in the footsteps of former skippers Kevin Keegan and Bryan Robson by failing to live up to his vast potential at a World Cup due to carrying an injury. Without Beckham at full throttle, England go out in phase one. It would be nice for me to think otherwise, but the omens aren't good when even coach Sven-Goran Eriksson made what sounded suspiciously like a concession speech just days before the team left for the finals.

5. The tournament headlines are all about football and not about hooliganism. Wouldn't that be nice.

6. Spain fail to justify their immense potential again, continuing their run of disappointments in major championships.

7. A major tournament staged in two countries works for the first time. Euro 2000, which was held in Belgium and the Netherlands, lacked atmosphere, in my view. Especially in Belgium, where you hardly knew there was a major soccer event going on. Hopefully, the exotic locations of Japan and South Korea and the pride of the locals in staging the first ever World Cup finals in Asia, will keep the momentum going throughout the longest finals in history, even if the host nations go out early.

8. No player or team will admit taking anything for granted. The mood of every camp will be "confident but not complacent." At every news conference I attend where the interviewees speak English, someone will preface his answer with the phrase "At the end of the day."

9. I do not partake in the South Korean delicacy of dog meat. I have nothing against the Korean diet, provided the animals are treated humanely, but in my exclusively westernized mind dog eating belongs in extreme reality game shows, not on my list of "things to do."

10. All my predictions, except the one about the dog-meat, fail to come true, because I am not Nostradamus and this is football in which anything can happen.

Enjoy the finals.

 

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