Ajax v Chelsea tickets at the Amsterdam Arena on July 23rd 2010 are available from £57 through World Ticket Shop. The Netherlands is just a short ferry or flight away, and of course there are plenty of other attractions to a trip to the Dutch capital city too. The match itself features two giants of European football, and given in Chelsea and Ajax’s league campaigns last season they scored 103 and 106 goals respectively, it is sure to be an exciting game between two attacking sides.

FC Kaiserslauten v Liverpool tickets at the Fritz Walter Stadion on July 24th 2010 are on sale from £41 at Sports Events 365, and will offer a chance to see what new boss Roy Hodgson plans for the Merseyside team – and by then some interesting transfers could well have been made.

Speaking of interesting transfers, the overflowing wallet of Sheikh Mansour at Manchester City has already seen the club splash out on some top notch talent in Jérôme Boateng, Yaya Touré and David Silva – and by the time of their next match in the United States they may even have added more talent! Manchester City v Inter Milan tickets at the M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore are available from £30 from Ticketmaster USA, and it will be interesting to see how the English club performs against the European Champions – now of course managed by Rafael Benitez.

Meanwhile, two of the biggest names in club football face off against each other in what could be a pre-season classic: Bayern Munchen v Real Madrid tickets are on sale now from £29 from Seatwave, and new Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has already started to make his mark on his side – despite not having played a match. He has signed Benfica and Argentina winter Angel Di Maria, who will cause havoc down the left. For the Munich side, Arjen Robben will look to make an impression on his former side.

UEFA Champions League winner Cambiasso wasn’t even selected by coach Diego Maradona for this year’s tournament in South Africa, along with Inter Milan teammate Javier Zanetti, but even though Argentina haven’t progressed beyond the quarter finals of the tournament since 1990, they have a real chance of winning the 2010 World Cup.

A forward line of Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Diego Milito, Carlos Tevez, Sergio Aguero and Martin Palermo will inspire fear in every team in the tournament, while surprisingly Maradona has adopted a greater emphasis on defence than in his earlier matches.

The tournament may be under a week away, but World Cup tickets are still on sale for all matches of the tournament, beginning at £37, while World Cup final tickets can be found for £16494!

Argentina are in Group B of the 2010 World Cup, where they will face Nigeria, South Korea and Greece. Argentina tickets are available from £56, and a guide to each of their group stage matches is below.

Argentina v Nigeria tickets at Ellis Park Stadium in Johannesburg are on sale from £123 through Manchester United and Chelsea’s official partner Viagogo, and rise to £1121.

Argentina v South Korea tickets at Soccer City in Johannesburg start at prices of £56 from Viagogo, with the most expensive currently retailing at £449.

Greece v Argentina tickets at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane range from £97 via Ticket Network to £2336 from Viagogo.

Ticket listings for the world cup have been indexed from websites from around the world. Please check local laws on the re-sale of World Cup tickets before purchasing tickets.

Tonight the national team will board an aeroplane at Heathrow to OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg, and then business will truly begin.

With ten days until England’s opening match against the United States, there is still time to join them in South Africa – and thousands of World Cup tickets are still on sale from just £81.

England v USA tickets at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg are available from £153
England v Algeria tickets at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town are available from £103
England v Slovenia tickets at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth are available from £81

Although Capello’s final squad has attracted plenty of questions, there still remains a very real undercurrent of hope in England that this could be the most successful tournament since the  run to the semi-finals in 1990. A look at their projected path to the final – should they progress that far – shows that the knockout stage features some dangerous teams, but ones that can be beaten.

Having won their most recent two international friendly matches against Mexico and Japan, England are the favourites to top Group C, and in that scenario would play the second placed team in Group D: Germany, Serbia, Ghana, or Australia.

Group C winners v Group D runner-up tickets at Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg are available from £123

Should they emerge from the second round victorious, they would be expected to play France in the quarter finals.

World Cup Quarter Final tickets are available from £164

While French coach Raymond Domenech has attracted widespread criticism for his bizarre management style – which reportedly includes selection based on astrology signs – his team still has a number of talented players in their ranks. France have also participated in two of the last three World Cup Finals, in 1998 and 2006.

If England were to triumph over the French, their semi-final would be at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town – against the best national side in football history: Brazil.

World Cup Semi Final tickets are available from £355

Stars of Brazil sides over the years have included Pele, Zico, Romario, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, and this year’s tournament offers Kaká the chance to shine behind Luis Fabiano up front. With a world class keeper in Julio César, and solid defence thanks to the likes of Lucio, this will be a tremendously difficult task for England to overcome.

There would be no shame in going out at the semi final stage, and a bronze medal might be some consolation.

World Cup Third Place Playoff tickets are available from £131

Still, should they put in an incredible performance and beat Brazil for the first time since March 1990, they would then perhaps face either Spain or Argentina in the World Cup Final.

World Cup Final tickets are available from £560

Capello has publicly stated that he is aiming no lower than the final, but England haven’t beaten Spain since 2001 in Sven-Göran Eriksson’s first match in charge. They have since lost the last three encounters.

The record against Argentina is a sight better, and England v Argentina matches certainly have a history of drama. A wonder goal from the eighteen year old Michael Owen could not prevent England being eliminated on penalties in the 1998 World Cup second round – with David Beckham being sent off for a kick on Diego Simeone. Still, Beckham was redeemed four years later in South Korea, when he scored the winning penalty in the 2002 Group Stage match.

Although he is contracted to Los Angeles Galaxy, there will be no Hollywood climax to Beckham’s career with a World Cup win; an injury to his Achilles tendon has ruled him out of the tournament.  Nevertheless, Beckham is set to play a role in England’s effort to claim the FIFA World Cup trophy – he will travel with the squad as moral support.

You could still do the same yourself.

They may well be the dark horses for the tournament – despite being written off in nearly all quarters.

Much criticised coach Raymond Domenech has recently tested a more attacking 4-3-3 formation, which will make them substantially easier on the eye. Although this new strategy only helped the team to a 2-1 victory over Costa Rica in a recent international friendly, that was mostly thanks to an incredible display from opposition goalkeeper Keylor Navas. Ribery and Manchester United full back Patrice Evra combined excellently down the left, while Yoann Gourcuff and Sidney Govou also excelled.

There are still over 2000 World Cup tickets left for France’s Group A games, and there is still time to get to South Africa for the holiday of a lifetime.

Uruguay v France tickets are on sale from £93
France v Mexico tickets are on sale from £90
France v South Africa tickets are on sale from £118

Despite potentially dangerous opposition in Diego Forlan’s Uruguay, recent England opponents Mexico and host nation South Africa, one would expect France to progress to the second round as winners of Group A. They will have extra incentive to do so, for the first knockout stage will most probably be tough for second place qualifiers: Group A runner-up v Group B winners would almost certainly mean facing Argentina in the second round. While that would be a hugely difficult task for either team, it has all the makings of a potential classic. Tickets are available from £140.

Group A winners v Group B runner-up would see France most likely face one of South Korea, Nigeria and Greece, who would be far more agreeable opponents from a French perspective.

From there, anything can happen. There is excellent value to be found in buying France tickets at this summer’s World Cup, and after appearances in two of the last three World Cup Finals, who would bet against the French to triumph again?

The term ‘Group of Death’ always sounds as if it should be the title of a particularly dire Steven Seagal movie but instead is attributed on a quadrennial basis to an individual FIFA World Cup group. 2002 saw England draw Argentina, Sweden and Nigeria – with the South Americans exiting the tournament – while the Albicelestes then found themselves alongide Ivory Coast, Holland and Serbia-Montenegro in 2006.

This time it is their arch rivals Brazil that find themselves in a pickle as they have been pitted against Portugal, Ivory Coast and North Korea. The five-time winners should still be relevantly confident of going through but must be cursing England and Italy’s luck who arguably got the most plum draws of all the seeded teams. The grace of Kaka, the thrust of Maicon and the penetration of Luis Fabiano should see them safely through to the next round but they will need to maintain their concentration throughout.

Portugal will be even more disappointed. After a troubled qualifying campaign that only just saw them overhaul Sweden to claim second place they were then drawn against the free-scoring Bosnia-Herzogovina in their playoff. They squeaked through with a 2-0 aggregate win but will have to improve massively if they are to make an impact on the tournament. Able to call on the sublime skills of Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo and an experienced back four, they will need big performances from them all to guarantee their place in the next round.

Ivory Coast must have spent the last four years routinely trashing every mirror they have come across as they find themselves in a horrible group for the second tournament in succession. Chelsea’s Didier Drogba will need to be fresh and firing for them to have any hope of progressing but if he is then he might just be a contender for the Golden Boot. The Toure brothers and Didier Zokora will be names familiar to most but they do have a talented squad. They will definitely need it.

North Korea have made it to their first finals since 1966 where they famously dumped Italy out of the competition before being eliminated by Portugal in the quarter-finals by a 5-3 scoreline despite taking a 3-0 lead. There is no chance of them recreating this adventure – and you can quote me on that – but just being there will hopefully bring a bit of joy to a people that have lived under a brutally oppresive regime for more than half a century.

Prediction: Brazil to top the group with Ivory Coast bringing tears to Ronaldo’s eyes.

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While seeded teams such as Brazil and Germany have been placed in taxing groups for the FIFA World Cup, the same cannot be said about Italy.

The reigning world champions and their manager Marcello Lippi must have punched the air once the draw for Group F was concluded with their passage to the knockout stages  – force majeur notwithstanding – all but guaranteed. Having gone unbeaten throughout their qualifying campaign despite being pushed all the way by Ireland, they will have to navigate past Paraguay, New Zealand and Slovakia to book their place in the second round and it would take a brave man to bet against that happening.

Slovakia though will be no pushovers. On the road to South Africa they topped their group ahead of fellow World Cup qualifiers Slovenia, forcing the Czech Republic to watch the tournament from the sofa. They will field Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel in central defence while Napoli’s Marek Hamsik will be putting himself in the shop window with a number of high profile European clubs having already registered an interest in acquiring his services.

Paraguay qualified in impressive style by collecting a record haul of points from their 18 matches. They still only finished third in the oversized CONMEBOL group but they did clinch their place in South Africa by beating Diego Maradona’s Argentina. They found themselves in England’s group in Germany 2006 and failed to make it to the second round. If Manchester City striker Roque Santa Cruz can get some playing time under his belt before the World Cup they might feel that they have a good chance of improving on that.

New Zealand have made it to their first World Cup finals since 1982 and that itself is a reason for celebration. The All Whites took advantage of Australia’s decision to defect to the Asia qualifying zone and booked their passage with a nervy 1-0 aggregate victory over Bahrain in a trans-federation playoff for the final place in South Africa. Nothing is expected of them except to show commitment in each of their games and they will rely on Blackburn’s Ryan Nelsen to provide the experience that they will need to compete. It’s certainly one of football’s more romantic stories but don’t expect the dream to continue into the second round.

Prediction: Italy to stroll through with Paraguay edging into second place.

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Diego Maradona will return to the FIFA World Cup on June 12th when his Argentina side take on Nigeria at Ellis Park, Johannesburg.

Argentina may get the odd sensation of deja vu that day when they come up against an African team playing in Green. In 1990 a goal from Cameroon’s Francois Omam-Biyik condemned the defending world champions to a 1-0 defeat in the opening match of the tournament and only the inspiration of Maradona and Claudio Caniggia dragged the Albicelestes through their group and ultimately on to the final.

A topsy turvy-qualifying campaign that saw their controversial coach call up an incredible 78 different players was finally wrapped up with a 1-0 win in Uruguay that preceeded a quite extraordinary press conference in which Maradona insulted journalists and made obscene gestures.

But having qualified, his team must be one of the favourites to lift the trophy. With the talents of Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero at their disposal they will be very tough to best.

Nigeria are currently the highest ranked team in Africa though the Super Eagles did not have it all their own way in qualifying. The spine of their team though is strong with Joseph Yobo at the back, John Obi Mikel in midfield and a strikeforce of Yakubu and Obafemi Martins. They will be both physical and skillful and while they will not win the tournament they could prove to be a major obstacle to those with real aspirations.

South Korea will be hoping to recreate the performances that took them all the way to the semi-final in 2002 but they will have it all to do if they are to get out of Group B. A talented side they certainly are but it seems like they will struggle physically amid a group full of muscular teams.

Greece have qualified for their first World Cup since 1994 and now as then they find themselves drawn alongside an Argentina outfit led by Diego Maradona. While the great man cannot now play and score against them as he did in the USA, Greece will know they will have to be at their best of they are to make the second round.

Prediction: Argentina top the group ahead of Nigeria – but only just.

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