Arsene Wenger discusses World Cup Group A
World Cup: Arsène Wenger profiles Group A
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With the World Cup fast approaching, Arsène Wenger has been sharing his views on the competition.
The Official Arsenal Magazine spoke to the manager about all eight groups and his thoughts on Groups A-D have been published in the current issue, which is on sale now.
The manager's analysis of Groups E-H will be printed in the next issue of the Official Arsenal Magazine, due for release on Thursday, June 10.
Until then we've put together brief profiles of each nation involved and will bring you Wenger's views on Groups A-D over the next week, starting with Group A.
| Manager | Carlos Alberto Parreira |
| Captain |
Aaron Mokoena |
| Qualified |
Hosts |
| World Ranking | 83 |
| World Cup Best |
Group Stage 1998, 2002 |
| Manager |
Javier Aguirre |
| Captain |
Rafael Marquez |
| Qualified | Second in CONCACA |
| World Ranking |
17 |
| World Cup Best |
Quarter-Finals 1970, 1986 |
| Manager | Oscar Tabarez |
| Captain | Diego Lugano |
| Qualified | Beat Costa Rica in Play-Off |
| World Ranking |
16 |
| World Cup Best |
Winners 1930, 1950 |
| Manager | Raymond Domenech |
| Captain | Thierry Henry |
| Qualified | Beat Ireland in Play-Off |
| World Ranking | 9 |
| World Cup Best | Winners 1998 |
WENGER'S VIEW
When you first saw the group you thought that France were quite lucky to be drawn with those teams. First of all they are lucky to be at the World Cup with what happened against Ireland, and then the group looks to be kind too.
"But when you look at it a bit better, you see that the European teams often struggle against South American sides, so to have two South American teams - who both have a real football culture in Mexico and Uruguay - is difficult.
"When you add the host nation in there too, you see it's not simple. I still believe that France should be real favourites to get through, but also Uruguay might make it. Look at the names in their squad and you'll see some very good players.
"It is vital for a successful competition that the home team stays in as long as possible, at least until the Quarter-Final preferably.
"Frankly if I am being completely honest, I can't see South Africa doing that, because all of the results they have made in the warm-up tournaments have been poor.
"What makes me slightly more optimistic is that in Carlos Alberto Parreira they have a coach with great experience, who knows how to prepare a side for these tournaments. He won the World Cup with Brazil in 1994. They could click if they get a lot of support. Like Korea did in 2002, if they can get some momentum, then who knows, it could work.
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[Wednesday, June 02, 2010]
