World Cup...And other round things this month...

You can almost smell it. The fresh green turf at the various stadiums in Germany, waiting for the players to put their best foot forward (literal and non-literal). World Cup fever is officially engulfing the entire global map. From Ang Mo Kio to Zurich, I guarantee you will find football fanatics, young and old, male or female, topless or clothes on, cheering on their favourite team in front of the television set.

The magical quartet of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho looks set to terrorise opposing defences. How did they manage to leave Adriano out of the picture? The benchwarmers in the Brazilian team could almost walk into the first team of any other participating country, so be warned... The Selecao are coming to town!

Other than the defending champions, I reckon Argentina, Spain, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal and England will be the teams to look out for, especially Portugal and Holland. Why the unique choice of the team to watch? Well for starters, Portugal are drawn in Group D together with Mexico, Iran and Angola, who are participating in their first ever World Cup. Other than Mexico, I really don't see the other teams posing much challenge to the Team of Shields, but like they say, the ball is always round and I eagerly await to see what surprises World Cup 2006 is going to spring on us. Cristiano Ronaldo and Deco are the players to watch in this Portugal squad. Don't forget about Pauleta too, though at age 32, he may seem like a has-been in terms of footballing age, his experience and technique will be crucial in Portugal's progress beyond the Group stages, as seen in his recent hat-trick in a friendly against the Cape Verde Islands. (Ok... I noe Cape Verde Islands is no big deal, but a hat trick isn't easy to come by in international friendlies!)

Holland too promises to become a threat to teams beyond the group stages, provided they get pass Group C, or more commonly known as the Group of Death. Van Basten has reshuffled almost the entire Oranje, bringing young players such as Wesley Sneijder and Dirk Kuyt while leaving out household names such as Clarence Seedorf and Edgar Davids. Old ranks such as Ruud van Nistelrooy and Phillip Cocu however, still retain their places to give the Dutch team a more complete look, with the combination of youth and experience. The reserve players also managed a come-from-behind win over Mexico in a World Cup warm-up match, so if this new-look Oranje does not self-destruct like the previous Holland squads, we may see more of them to come.

(On a side note: Yes lar... My fingers were itching to write something on the World Cup and I have stopped the itching hahaha... Which team are YOU supporting? Feel free to write it down and post it on the tagboard... Meanwhile... its off to watch the NBA Finals!!!)