ITALY + PARAGUAY + SLOVAKIA + NEW ZEALAND
Fixtures:
BBC Mon June 14 Italy v Paraguay Cape Town 19.30
BBC Tue June 15 New Zealand v Slovakia Rustenburg 12.30
BBC Sun June 20 Slovakia v Paraguay Bloemfontein 12.30
ITV Sun June 20 Italy v New Zealand Nelspruit 15.00
ITV Thu June 24 Slovakia v Italy Ellis Park 15.00
ITV Thu June 24 Paraguay v New Zealand Polokwane 15.00
ITALY
Coach: Marcello Lippi (since 2008)
FIFA World Ranking: 5
World Cup best: Winners in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006
Last appearance: 2006
How they qualified: The Italians were unbeaten in qualification with seven wins and three draws from their 10 games in UEFA Qualifying Group Eight. The Republic of Ireland caused a few problems by securing two draws but Bulgaria away was the only occasion in which Italy dropped points in a straightforward progression.
Premier League picks: All 23 men in the final squad play their club football in Serie A with former Manchester United forward Giuseppe Rossi, now at Villareal, missing out. Fellow strikers Francesco Totti and Luca Toni also failed to make the cut, as did Fabio Grosso, the full-back who hit the winning penalty in the 2006 Final. Udinese's Antonio di Natale is likely to play up front on his own. Full squad.
Prediction: Quarter Finals
World champions Italy would have struggled to have hand-picked a friendlier group for their start of their defence. Paraguay are not one of the South American powerhouses while Slovakia and New Zealand have played in one finals appearance between them. Put simply, in the group phase, the Azzuri should have no problems extending their unbeaten World Cup run which now stands at 24 qualifying and finals matches. The knockout stages are a different matter and it is difficult to see this ageing Italian squad dealing with Spain's quick possession football if they meet, as expected, in the Quarter Finals.
PARAGUAY
Coach: Gerardo Martino (since 2007)
FIFA World Ranking: 31
World Cup best: Second Round in 1986, 1998 and 2002
Last appearance: 2006 - First Round
How they qualified: Paraguay made a strong start to the South American Qualifying Group, winning eight of the first 11 matches, including a 2-0 home win over Brazil. The Albirroja also beat Argentina 1-0 at home, and gained away wins at Chile (3-0), Colombia (1-0) and Uruguay (2-0). A fourth away win in Venezuela secured a fourth successive finals appearance with a game to spare.
Premier League picks: Manchester City's Roque Santa Cruz will hope to have a fruitful World Cup after his 2009-10 season was disrupted by a calf injury, meaning the £18m man could only make 20 appearances. Meanwhile, centre-back Paulo da Silva and midfielder Cristian Riveros will swap the red-and-white stripes of Sunderland for those of Paraguay. Full squad.
Prediction: Second Round
South America's consistent over-achievers have made it to a fourth finals in a row and the group draw has sparked hopes of a decent run in this year's competition. However, even when the Paraguayans have qualified from the group, they have always hit a glass ceiling at the Last 16. With their top scorer in qualifying Salvador Cabanas out after being shot in the head in a Mexican bar in January, that will not change this time either.
SLOVAKIA
Coach: Vladimir Weiss (since 2008)
FIFA World Ranking: 34
World Cup best: 2010 is debut in World Cup finals
Last appearance: N/A
How they qualified: Slovakia took four points off neighbours Czech Republic, and did the double over Poland and Northern Ireland, on the way to finishing top of UEFA Qualifying Group Three. The Slovakians found Slovenia much tougher and two defeats, the second of which came in the penultimate game, left qualification in the balance. But a final-day win in Poland rendered irrelevant the Slovenians' predictable success in San Marino.
Premier League picks: Slovakia coach Vladimir Weiss has named five British-based players in his squad, including Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel who continued his recovery from breaking his metatarsal in February by coming through a warm-up match against Cameroon. Weiss also includes his son of the same name after his loan spell at Bolton Wanderers from Manchester City. Marek Cech, who impressed during West Brom's latest promotion season, has been selected along with Miroslav Stoch, who spent last season on loan, winning the Dutch title with Steve McLaren at FC Twente. Dundee United goalkeeper Dusan Pernis provides back-up. Full squad.
Prediction: First Round
Slovakia may be playing in their first World Cup finals since independence in 1993 but this team is hardly a set of naive beginners. The Slovaks came through a tough qualifying group, holding their nerve by beating Poland away on the final day when any slip-up would have let in Slovenia. Victory over the Czechs, who have usually dominated their neighbour since 1993, was also especially sweet. Expect Slovakia to push Paraguay and even Italy hard before just falling short.
NEW ZEALAND
Coach: Ricki Herbert (since 2005)
FIFA World Ranking: 78
World Cup best: First Round in 1982
Last appearance: 1982
How they qualified: New Caledonia, Fiji, Vanuatu and Bahrain - it is the sort of qualifying run any of the other 31 finalists would have begged FIFA for. But Australia's decision to move to the Asian confederation in search of more competitive football left New Zealand as the only major nation in the Oceania region. Five wins out of six - defeat came against Fiji in a dead rubber - put the All Whites in a playoff with Bahrain. A tense 0-0 draw in Bahrain was followed by a 1-0 home win in Wellington with Rory Fallon hitting the winner on the stroke of half time. The full-time whistle brought mass scenes of celebration rarely seen at a soccer match in NZ as they just did enough to qualify for a first World Cup in 28 years.
Premier League picks: Blackburn Rovers defender Ryan Nelsen will captain New Zealand in their second World Cup. Nelsen is joined in the squad by Plymouth's Rory Fallon, Middlesbrough's Chris Killen and young West Brom striker Chris Wood as well as Ipswich's Tommy Smith and Motherwell's Michael McGlinchey. 12 of the 23 men play their club football in either Australia or New Zealand and there are two players - Simon Elliott and David Mulligan - currently without a club. Full squad.
Prediction: First Round
If nothing else, New Zealand showed at last summer's Confederations Cup that they learn quickly. In their first match against Spain, suicidal defending helped Fernando Torres to a 17-minute hat-trick and the Spanish to a 4-0 lead after 24 minutes. In the second half, the All Whites improved, conceding just one more goal and they also looked a little more solid despite losing 2-0 to South Africa in the second match. Then, out of nowhere, a clean sheet - and though the opponents were Iraq, NZ could celebrate their first point in the finals of a FIFA competition at the 12th attempt. Another point this summer would be an extraordinary achievement and this is set to be another steep learning curve for Ricki Herbert's men.
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