ITALY

Fixtures

Italy v Ecuador June 3 Sapporo 8.30pm
Italy v Croatia June 8 Ibaraki 6pm
Mexico v Italy June 13 Oita 8.30pm

Coach: Giovanni Trappotoni

Record: 1950, 1954, 1962, 1966 1974 First Round; 1986 Second Round; 1998 Quarter Finals; 1978 fourth place; 1990 Third place; 1970, 1994 Runners up; 1934, 1938, 1982 Champions.

FIFA Ranking: 6

Three-time World Champions have done their usual trick of struggling in friendly matches in the run-up to a World Cup finals. Coach Trappatoni has been criticised for leaving in-form Roberto Baggio out of the squad, and top Serie A striker Dario Hubner has also been left at home; but with Maldini, Cannavaro and Nesta in defence and a choice between two of the World’s best goalkeepers in Buffon and Toldo means it will be very difficult to score against this team.
A lot of punters are backing Italy to win the World Cup this time and who could argue? They lost the final of Euro 2000 by not keeping the ball away from their French opponents in the last moments of the match, thus giving the lie to the old chestnut that "Italy can always hang on to a lead".
The ability is there, but is the confidence?

On the sidelines

Italy are awaiting a last minute dispensation to take parmesan cheese with them if they play any of their matches in Korea.

The squad

Goalkeepers
1 Buffon (Juventus) Age 24, 25 caps
22 Toldo (Internazionale) Age 30, 21 caps
12 Abbiati (Milan) Age 24, 0 caps
Defenders
5 Cannavaro (Parma) Age 28, 57 caps
15 Iuliano (Juventus) Age 28, 15 caps
3 Maldini (Milan) Age 33, 121 caps
23 Materazzi (Internazionale) Age 28, 6 caps
13 Nesta (Lazio) Age 26, 42 caps
2 Panucci (Roma) Age 29, 23 caps
Midfielders
4 Coco (Barcelona) Age 25, 12 caps
14 Di Biagio (Internazionale) Age 31, 25 caps
16 Di Livio (Fiorentina) Age 35, 37 caps
11 Doni (Atalanta) Age 29, 3 caps
8 Gattuso (AC Milan) Age 24, 11 caps
17 Tommasi (Roma) Age 28, 13 caps
10 Totti (Roma) Age 25, 29 caps
19 Zambrotta (Juventus) Age 25, 22 caps
6 Zanetti (Internazionale) Age 25, 4 caps
Forwards
18 Marco Delvecchio (AS Roma) Age 29 15 caps,
20 Vincenzo Montella (AS Roma) Age 25 13 caps,
21 Christian Vieri (Inter) Age 28, 23 caps
9 Filippo Inzaghi (AC Milan) Age 28 37 caps
7 Alessandro Del Piero, (Juventus) Age 27, 48 caps.

ECUADOR

Fixtures

Ecuador v Italy June 3 Sapporo 8.30pm
Ecuador v Mexico June 9 Miyagi 3.30pm
Ecuador v Croatia June 13 Yokohama 8.30pm

Coach: Hernan Dario Gomez

Record: First time qualifiers

FIFA Ranking: 35

Star player Agustin Delgado seems to be fit again and might cause some consternation among opposing defenders and Alex Aguinaga will be influential in midfield. But this being Ecuador's first time at the World Cup Finals and their not playing their matches 2,800 meters above sea-level will probably spell trouble for the team from the Andes. On the Ecuadorian Galapagos Islands, Darwin's study of the wildlife led to his ideas on evolution and the survival of the fittest. How fit are the players; can they adapt to the world stage?

Forecast: Out the door at the group stage.

On the sidelines

In their first 25 years of international football Ecuador won only 2 games

The squad

Goalkeepers
1 Jose Cevallos (Barcelona) Age 32, 61 caps
12 Geovanny Ibarra (El Nacional) Age 32, 21 caps
22 Daniel Viteri (Emelec) Age 20, 0 caps
Defenders
15 Marlon Ayovi (Deportivo Quito) Age 30, 27 caps
4 Ulises de la Cruz (Hibernian) Age 28, 52 caps
17 Geovanni Espinoza (Aucas) Age 25, 20 caps
6 Raul Guerron (Deportivo Quito) Age 25, 22 caps
3 Ivan Hurtado (Barcelona) Age 27, 90 caps
2 Augusto Porozo (Emelec) Age 28, 26 caps
Midfielders
10 Alex Aguinaga (Necaxa-Mexico) Age 33, 95 caps
23 Walter Ayovi (Emelec) Age 22, 1 cap
14 Juan Carlos Burbano (El Nacional) Age 33, 18 caps
16 Kleber Chala (El Nacional) Age 30, 64 caps
8 Luis Gomez (Barcelona) Age 30, 7 caps
19 Edison Mendez (Deportivo Quito) Age 23, 25 caps
5 Alfonso Obregon (Liga de Quito) Age 29, 41 caps
21 Wellington Sanchez (Emelec) Age 27, 35 caps
20 Edwin Tenorio (Barcelona) Age 25, 33 caps
Forwards
7 Nicolas Ascencio (Barcelona) Age 27, 13 caps
11 Agustin Delgado (Southampton) Age 27, 46 caps
13 Angel Fernandez (El Nacional) Age 30, 68 caps
9 Ivan Kaviedes (Barcelona) Age 24, 26 caps
18 Carlos Tenorio (Liga de Quito) Age 22, 8 caps

CROATIA

Fixtures

Croatia v Mexico June 3 Niigata 3.30pm
Croatia v Italy June 8 Ibaraki 6pm
Croatia v Ecuador June 13 Yokohama 8.30pm

Coach: Mirko Jozic

Record: 1998 third place

FIFA Ranking: 21

Croatia finished third in their first appearance at the World Cup in 1998 but the squad is getting older and new younger players have yet to burst on the scene. The defence, though still strong will miss Juve’s Igor Tudor, who withdrew with injury. Scoring goals is Croatia’s problem and they will rely on Alen Boksic and the now aging Davor Suker for punch upfront. Still Croatia still possess a lot of quality players in the squad and they will be difficult to beat.
A good bet for draws.

On the sidelines

Previous manager Miroslav Blazevic quit half way through the qualifying campaign but is in Japan to cast a watchful eye on his protégés.

The squad

Goalkeepers
1 Stipe Pletikosa (Hajduk Split) Age 23, 18 caps
12 Tomislav Butina (Dinamo Zagreb) Age 28, 7 caps
23 Vladimir Vasilj (NK Zagreb) Age 26, 2 caps
Defenders
21 Robert Kovac (Bayern Munich) Age 28, 19 caps
17 Robert Jarni (Panathinaikos) Age 33, 78 caps
20 Dario Simic (Internazionale) Age 26, 25 caps
3 Josip Simunic (Hertha Berlin) Age 24, 6 caps
6 Boris Zivkovic (Bayer Leverkusen) Age 26, 16 caps
2 Daniel Saric (Panathinaikos) Age 29, 25 caps
15 Anthony Seric (Verona, Italy) Age 22, 2 caps
Midfielders
4 Stjepan Tomas (Vicenza) Age 26, 17 caps
14 Zvonimir Soldo (Stuttgart) Age 34, 59 caps
8 Robert Prosinecki (unattached) Age 33, 48 caps
10 Niko Kovac (Bayern Munich) Age 30, 20 caps
16 Jurica Vranjes (Bayer Leverkusen) Age 22, 7 caps
7 Davor Vugrinec (Lecce, Italy) Age 27, 21 caps
5 Milan Rapaic (Fenerbahce) Age 28, 23 caps
13 Mario Stanic (Chelsea) Age 30, 43 caps
Forwards
11 Alen Boksic (Middlesbrough) Age 32, 36 caps
9 Davor Suker (1860 Munich) Age 34, 67 caps
19 Goran Vlaovic (Panathinaikos) Age 29, 50 caps
18 Ivica Olic (NK Zagreb) Age 22, 4 caps
22 Bosko Balaban (Aston Villa) Age 23, 13 caps

MEXICO

Fixtures

Mexico v Croatia June 3 Niigata 3.30pm
Mexico v Ecuador June 9 Miyagi 3.30pm
Mexico v Italy June 13 Oita 8.30pm

Coach: Javier Aquirre

Record: 1930, 1950, 1954, 1958, 1962, 1966, 1978 First Round; 1994, 1998 Second Round; 1970, 1986 Quarter Finals

FIFA Ranking: 7

As Soccerphile predicted, Mexico star player Cuauhtemoc Blanco rescinded his withdrawal from the Mexican national team. Just as well, really. His artistry and invention on the field of play make him one of the most entertaining of performers. He scored in Mexico's 2-1 victory over 10-man Milan in LA recently. This was followed by a 2-0 Mexican win against J-League team Tokyo Verdy in their final warm-up match, with heavy metal fan and Espanyol player Juan Francisco Palencia finding the net. All's well then for the boys in green, unless you remember what happened in Werner Herzog's 1972 movie classic 'Aguirre: The Wrath of God': up a creek without a paddle.

Forecast: Sombre sombreros heading home early.

On the sidelines

Mexico holds the record for the largest number of consecutive defeats – 9 between 1930 and 1958, conceding 34 goals in the process, before they scraped a 1-1 draw with Wales.
German Villa is in the Mexico midfield and not in the south of Spain.

The squad

Goalkeepers
23 Jorge Campos (UNAM) Age 35, 129 caps
1 Oscar Perez (Cruz Azul) Age 29, 35 caps
12 Oswaldo Sanchez (Guadalajara) Age 28, 21 caps
Defenders
20 Melvin Brown (Cruz Azul) Age 23, 9 caps
16 Salvador Carmona (Toluca) Age 26, 54 caps
2 Francisco Gabriel de Anda (Pachuca) Age 30, 10 caps
4 Rafael Marquez (Monaco) Age 23, 26 caps
22 Alberto Rodriguez (Pachuca) Age 28, 13 caps
5 Manuel Vidrio (Pachuca) Age 29, 27 caps
Midfielders
21 Jesus Arellano (Monterrey) Age 29, 37 caps
19 Gabriel Caballero (Pachuca) Age 31, 5 caps
3 Rafael Garcia (Toluca) Age 27, 19 caps
8 Alberto Garcia Aspe (Puebla) Age 35, 108 caps
11 Braulio Luna (Necaxa) Age 27, 16 caps
13 Sigifredo Mercado (Atlas) Age 33, 18 caps
7 Ramon Morales (Guadalajara) Age 27, 14 caps
18 Johan Rodriguez (Santos Laguna) Age 26, 14 caps
6 Gerardo Torrado (Seville, Sp) Age 23, 27 caps
14 German Villa (America) Age 29, 63 caps
Forwards
10 Cuauhtemoc Blanco (Valladolid, Sp) Age 29, 71 caps
9 Jared Borgetti (Santos Laguna) Age 28, 28 caps
15 Luis Hernandez (America) Age 33, 82 caps
17 Juan Francisco Palencia (Espanyol, Sp) Age 28, 71 caps