Less than a month until kick off for the international kickaround known as the World Cup and all eyes will be on first-cabs-off-the-rank Group A.
Comprising the home team (South Africa), the most hated (France), and two non-USA American teams who play with passion and flair, Group A might not be the revered group of death, but it's definitely one to watch.
South Africa
Nicknamed Bafana Bafana, or 'The Boys' the South Africans will need to become men in order to compete. Sadly their form of late has been ordinary and, if anything, heading backwards. They failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, were absent from the 2010 African Cup of Nations, and have the dubious honour of heading into the event as the lowest-ranked hosts in history. But the heady combination of pride, hometown advantage, and host country-support should never be underestimated and these underdogs might surprise us with the fierceness of their fight.
France
It's a truth universally acknowledged that everyone loves to hate the French. These days even the French hate the French, after the team's lacklustre qualification form and Thierry Henry's now infamous hand-of-God effort, which earned them not the luck but the ire of the Irish.
The main criticism leveled at the French is that they don't play as a team. But their desire to repent for their below par qualification efforts and Henry's desire to rewrite what will, barring any amazing efforts, become his football epigraph, means that even if they don't combine well, they'll be trying.
Indeed, with some 300,000 Irish and 5,000-odd French joining a Facebook group demanding a rematch and others openly calling for everyone to support the French's opposition, you can be sure that France's matches will be among the World Cup's most watched.
Uruguay and Mexico
Rounding out the group are the Americano teams who play with passion and flair. Uruguay has a proud World Cup-winning history that they'll be wishing to recapture, while the fleet-of-foot Meh-hee-cans are known for their willingness to foul fast and fairly often. Their match up against the unpopular French could yield some karma and controversy, which might endear them to the Irish who will spend the World Cup wondering what could have been.
In short, Group A will be France against the rest of the world, with everyone hoping some South Africans or some Americanos (or preferably all of them) can topple Thierry Henry.
