Guide to the World Cup groups

South Korea has a side based on discipline and work-rate personified in captain Ji-Sung Park, however there are deficiencies technically and they will probably be fighting Greece for third place.

Algeria, England, Slovenia, USA

Algeria are liable to be a surprise package in this group and push teams a lot more than expected.

Despite struggling through qualifying they have a good level of technical ability and high work rate but in reality third should be the highest they can expect. After flying through qualifying England have two problems in this group.

The first is complacency; a confident string of performances showed how well England can play but this group has the potential to trip them up if they slacken off.

The second is injury: injuries to key defenders have raised doubts as has England's ability to score goals if Wayne Rooney isn't fully fit.

Slovenia cannot be ignored after knocking out Russia, however organisation and solid defence won't be enough for them to really challenge. The USA are England's main rivals in this group.

A solid qualifying campaign will have given them confidence and a strong physical presence added to a talented strike-force makes even the latter stages of the competition a realistic aim for them.

Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia

One of the closer groups in the competition with three teams who will all think they should be in the knockout rounds.

Australia had an easy qualifying round and didn't concede a goal and the amount of talent in the squad means that they will be very confident.

A strong qualification from Germany showed the world that they are still a power with the likes of Michael Ballack and Miroslav Klose leading the way. Much will depend on these older legs performing, but they will expect to make the knockout rounds.

Ghana are one of the big African nations looking to make a mark on the competition. They are very reliant on the midfielders Muntari and Essien however and they lack a consistent goalscorer so they may not get far past the group stage.

Serbia do have some big names in their ranks and have been making big strides in recent years, however a lack of experience and technical ability in many areas of the squad could be their biggest undoing.

Cameroon, Denmark, Netherlands, Japan

Cameroon struggled in qualifying but improved somewhat after Paul Le Guen took over the side.

Like Nigeria the spine of this team is its greatest quality and Samuel Eto'o upfront gives them a lethal edge.

On their day Cameroon will trouble any team in attack and with the likes of Arsenal's Song and Tottenham's Bassong holding fort they won't concede many either.

Denmark don't posses a great number of stars however they came through the hardest European qualifying group in first, having beaten Portugal and Sweden so they may yet again upset the odds in this group.

The Netherlands sailed through qualifying and possess one of the more lethal strike-forces of the competition. Despite conceding only twice in qualifying, defence is their weak point especially in goal, but they should however progress with relative ease.

Japan rely heavily on midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura and lack the depth in ability to trouble the other sides in this group too much.

Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia

This Italian side favours experience over youth in their attempt to defend their world title.

Milan's Pirlo orchestrates the midfield and Juventus' Cannavaro the defence, but these two aren't getting any younger and there are doubts as to where the goals will come from.

However they had an unbeaten qualification so will be a force. New Zealand come into their second ever finals with little hope of great things. With a side assembled mostly from lower league players, sneaking a win is about the best they can hope for.

Paraguay had an impressive qualifying run, finishing just one point behind Brazil. With the ability in the side, headlined by Benfica's Oscar Cardozo and Man City's Roque Santa Cruz, Paraguay could quietly make real progress not just in this group but in the later rounds too.

Slovakia are in their first finals and are unlikely to make much of an impression despite winning their qualifying group well ahead of the favourites Czech Republic. However they lack quality and will struggle to progress from this group.

Brazil, Ivory Coast, North Korea, Portugal

No World Cup would be complete without Brazil, and the five-times winners are hotly tipped to triumph again this year.

Under Dunga's leadership Brazil may not be playing quite as expansive football as its people would hope but the results are coming and this balanced approach could lead them all the way to glory again.

Ivory Coast are the favourites of the African nations and for good reason with Didier Drogba the talismanic striker in a team of experienced European competitors. A mixture of physicality and a high technical ability mean the Elephants really could go a long way in this competition.

Not much is known about North Korea as most of their team is based domestically however it is clear that they will struggle to make much of an impact on the competition. This is more just a chance for them to try to publicise North Korean football.

Portugal struggled in qualifying, despite the presence of Real Madrid's Ronaldo, and will be looking to make amends in this group. They lack an out and out striker but will look to make up for it with the threat of Ronaldo, Chelsea's Deco and Benfica's Simao.

Chile, Honduras, Spain, Switzerland

Chile, like Paraguay, are a side that could cause a few upsets in this competition. Most games should be full of goals as they play very good expansive attacking football.

However, they are weak at the back and conceded 22 goals in qualifying. A squad with an average age little above 20 leads to a side with real ambition and flair but a touch of naivety which will probably be their undoing.

Honduras make their second ever appearance at the finals and it looks set to be brief. Tottenham's Wilson Palacios is the only eye-catching individual in the side and the struggle to qualify did little to prove that they could cause teams problems.

Spain are the top ranked side in the world and will look to carry through their Euro 2008 success. Despite a 2-0 defeat to USA in the Confederations Cup, Spain are expected to dominate this competition with their world class midfield and attack.

Defence is the weakest area but by no means poor, and Real Madrid's goalkeeper Iker Casillas is behind them just in case.

Switzerland lack any true world class talent but put in an impressive few games at the last World Cup where they did not concede until they were knocked out on penalties in the second round.

Up against Chile and Spain the Swiss will have to be on top form defensively and hope they can sneak a goal if they are to have any hope in this group.