Group ‘G’ is wide open

Everything therefore points to this group being more open than it would first appear.

In Stuttgart on June 13 France play Switzerland. This derby between the “Alpine neighbours” is one of the classic confrontations.

The sides played out two hard-fought draws (0-0 and 1-1) in Group four of their qualifying campaign, although France got the upper hand with a 2-0 victory at UEFA EURO 2004.

The David vs Goliath match-up is in Cologne on June 23 when Togo play France.

On paper, this would appear to be an extremely one-sided contest between the world champions and a Togo side making their first appearance on world football’s greatest stage. However, one need only think back to Senegal.

History will repeat itself in Leipzig on June 18 when France clash with South Korea.

The two sides met in a friendly on May 26, 2002, a few days before the finals in Korea/Japan kicked off, with France managing to snatch a hard-earned 3-2 victory.

France, winners of the competition in 1998, and South Korea, semi-finalists on home soil in 2002, will start as slight favourites in this group.

However, there is very little to choose between them and Switzerland, who were unbeaten in finishing second in their qualifying group.

Still smarting from their ignominious first-round exit four years ago, France will be adopting a highly cautious approach this time round.

Raymond Domenech’s men topped Group four ahead of Switzerland, inspired largely by the return from retirement of the “old guard”, Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele.

Alexander Frei and Johann Vogel, both of whom play in Ligue 1 in France, know their French opponents inside and out.

Frei, who finished as the leading marksman in France last season, will be out to prove his worth following a disappointing end to Switzerland’s qualifying campaign where he was below his best, particularly against the Republic of Ireland.

Before coming up against the French again in what could prove to be one of the key clashes in the group, South Korea should get a good work-out against Togo in their first match.

The Hawks will be looking to cause an upset in their first appearance at a FIFA World Cup finals and they are capable of doing so with players of the calibre of Emmanuel Adebayor, the top scorer in the qualifiers with 11, among their ranks.

DID YOU KNOW? Zinedine Zidane injured a thigh muscle in a friendly against South Korea three days before the 2002 FIFA World Cup kicked off, an injury which kept him out of France’s first two matches of the competition.

Group G
France
Switzerland
South Korea
Togo

June 13— Stuttgart— France vs Switzerland 1800 GMT
June 13— Frankfurt— South Korea vs Togo 1500
Jun2 18— Leipzig— France vs South Korea 2100
June 19— Dortmund— Togo vs Switzerland 1500
June 23— Cologne Togo vs France 2100
June 23— Hanover— Switzerland vs South Korea 2100