Now that the group stages are over, how does it look for the member confederations?
Round of 16
2 CONCACAF
Mexico
USA
(2 out of 3 qualifiers)
5 CONMEBOL
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Paraguay
Uruguay
(5 out of 5)
1 CAF
Ghana
(1! out of 6)
2 AFC
Korea Republic
Japan
(2 out of 4)
5 UEFA
England
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
Slovakia
(5 out of 13)
The OFC had one entrant - New Zealand.
What does it all mean? The strong federations are still as strong as ever. I wouldn't say that there were any minnows in the groups -maybe teams that came not to lose and teams that couldn't overcome the odds. North Korea I think had a letdown after the Brazil game. Honduras ended up with the same results as us in 2006 - two 2-0 losses and a 0-0 tie. They looked more overwhelmed than over matched though, we know from qualifying they are capable of playing better, esp at home.
The African teams I think wilted under the pressure. Cameroon and the Ivory Coast are better than the record suggests.
At this point, I'm still picking Brazil to go all the way, leaving Holland to ponder the empty trophy case.
USA for the semi-finals beating Ghana and Korea. (and I am a hater eh!)
Argentina doing in Mexico yet again, and then taking care of Germany.
Spain wins the Iberian battle and then goes on to defeat Japan.
Speculation, yes. That's why they play the games. We'll know the real answer soon enough.