In the 2010 World Cup, Uruguay stormed through the first round and will now move on to the round of 16 as the winners of Group A. On Saturday at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, they will face World Cup odds favorite, South Korea in the first game of the second round. Kickoff is scheduled for 10:00 AM ET. South Korea qualified after finishing second in Group B.

Of the tournament, Uruguay has been one of the most impressive teams. Through three games, their experienced defensive unit has played magnificently. Uruguay’s back line includes Diego Lugano, Maxi Pereira, and Diego Godin. They combined with goalkeeper Fernando Muslera to give up zero goals in group play and all who play for good European clubs.

Uruguay boasts one of the most feared attacking duos in the tournament, in addition to their solid defenders. Forwards Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez assists in qualifying and picked up where they left off in the first round and they are placed in the top five in goals. Forlan scored two goals in Uruguay’s 3-0 win over host South Africa. Suarez scored the team’s only goal, in Uruguay’s clinching 1-0 win over Mexico.

At the World Cup, South Korea has been a regular, but they failed to move past the first round in all but one of their seven previous appearances. 2002 was the one time they moved on when they co-hosted the tournament with Japan. They finished second in their group and will play in the second round for the first time on foreign soil, after a draw, a loss, and a win in group play this year.

So far in the tournament, South American teams have been impressive. They have just one loss, nine wins and two draws. When South Korea faced South American Argentina in their second game, they gave up four goals in a 4-1 loss. Uruguay will be favored in this game to continue South America’s dominance and it has represented South America well.

Slovakia and Italy will square off on June 24th. These two teams were chosen to play in Group F of the 2010 World Cup.

It is easy to see on paper that these teams do not match up well against each other. Italy will without doubt be the favorites to win this match. This will be their 3rd and final match. It could be their opportunity to either A) win the group or B) advance out of the group.

Many people note that this provides Slovakia with the opportunity to play the role of a spoiler. I think it’s a little early to say that, as they may still actually be in competition in this match. They play New Zealand in the first match. This will be a very winnable game for them. All they will need to have a good opportunity to advance will be a victory over Paraguay or Italy.

Although they are certainly not favorites to win, Slovakia does have a chance. They play a style of ball that can keep both teams in the game. Their offense is pretty good, but their defense will struggle against Italy.

Italy has an offense that can capitalize on another team’s weaknesses. They will be taking on a team that does not have any World Cup experience. This team has never qualified for the World Cup since the conception of the country. This will provide an inexperienced team, but also a team that is eager to prove that they belong in the World Cup. Look for this team to come out fighting. Don’t expect them to be intimidated by the defending champions.

On June 20th in the 2010 World Cup, Slovakia and Paraguay will play each other. In Group F, these teams have been placed. This will be an important match for each team.

In the first round, Slovakia will have just played New Zealand. To take a win early in the group play, their match against New Zealand will be an obvious opportunity. If they are able to come away with a win, they will be playing with everything that they have in order to advance as they take on Paraguay.

On the other hand, Paraguay will have just taken on Italy. To win the group, Italy is the favorite. If they lose to Italy, they will be fighting for their life as they take on Slovakia. As these teams square off, this match will likely have a lot at stake.

At a comparable level, offenses of Paraguay and Slovakia play. To score some goals, each team has the potential, but they probably won’t blow you out. This fact favors Paraguay. Paraguay is significantly better on defense, although they may have a slightly worse offensive attack.

To shut a team out, Paraguay’s defense has the potential, and they will be playing for a shutout as these teams faceoff. If Slovakia hopes to succeed in this match, they will need to get a lot of shots on goal early. They may be in trouble, if they allow Paraguay’s defense to set the tone of the game. Paraguay will definitely be the favorite in this one.

On the 23rd of June Ghana and Germany will square off out of Group D in the 2010 World Cup. On paper it appears that this is a lopsided match, but anything goes in a soccer game with such worldwide implications.

The beauty of this game is that though Germany is ranked much higher in many of the world rankings, that takes away nothing from the ability of Ghana to stay in this game. You can expect Ghana to be pumped up to play a high level of soccer as they play one of the premier teams in the world. If Ghana can take this one match it will give them the confidence to move along and make a solid run in this World Cup just as they did 4 years ago in Germany.

The home continent crowd cannot be talked about enough as it will be a huge advantage to have millions of people in the area supporting your team against all other teams that are not from Africa.

Germany will have to be defensively sound if they hope to seal the deal in this game. They have given up more goals than a top level team normally would in their recent matches and that gives any team a chance to play with them in a game.

The Ghana team will need to show their defense is capable of stopping a formidable attack as well if they hope to compete. They may have the second best defense of Group D and will need to show it in order to compete.

Argentina and Greece face each other in the final game of group play of the 2010 World Cup. The game will start at 2:30 p.m. ET in Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa.

The match will start at the same time as the Nigeria-South Korea match, meaning all four Group B teams will be playing at the same time. When the games end, two teams will advance to the knockout round and two teams will be finished competing.
Argentina starts the tournament as the favorite to come out of Group B. They are managed by former star Diego Maradona, who led Argentina to the World Cup in 1986. While Maradona is revered in Argentina and considered one of the greatest players of all time, he has struggled as a coach and has been losing support. This tournament will be crucial in establishing whether Maradona is cut out for coaching at the international level.

Argentina is led by Lionel Messi, the number 1-rated player on ESPN’s list. He led his team with 6 goals in the qualifying games and has been described by Maradona himself as the next Argentinean great. This will be his first World Cup as a regular starter. He has earned the admiration of millions with his brilliant play with his club team, Barcelona. He is currently tied for the league lead with 17 goals this season in Spain’s top league.

If Argentina comes into this game after winning their first 2, they will likely take this one as well. The fear with Argentina is that an early loss will cause Maradona to overreact and shift the lineup around to the point that they lose some of their competitive advantage.

Argentina will need to work hard to prevail against the strong defense of Greece. Their defensive strategy has earned them a reputation as a boring watch but their results have proven that they can succeed. They will be underdogs against Argentina, but they have played that role very well before. They won Euro 2004 despite receiving little attention leading up to the event.

Argentina and Greece have faced each other one other time. It was in the 1994 World Cup, with Argentina winning 4-0.