England’s position as runner up in the Group means that they will not play in their anticipated second round clash on Saturday 26th June between Group C winners and Group D runners up. Instead they will play Group D winners Germany on Sunday 27th June at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, which will be a tantalising clash between two rivals.

Interestingly though, ticket vendors also thought that England would be the winners of Group C, and so Saturday’s Second Round match between the USA and Ghana is now substantially more expensive than the price of England v Germany tickets. While tickets for USA v Ghana are upwards of £209, to see the Three Lions take on the Germans begins at a far more affordable £164 from Seatwave.

In addition, World Cup tickets to all the remaining games of the tournament are on sale, including what looks likely to be a Brazil v Holland fixture at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth on July 2nd 2010 for £65 from Viagogo.

Remember, ticket listings have been indexed from websites from around the world for informational purposes. Please check local laws regarding the re-sale of World Cup tickets before transacting.

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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Group E in next summer’s FIFA World Cup is very well balanced group and one that is not all that straightforward to predict.

Holland are the seeded team in Group E and they will rightly be favourites to qualify top of the pile after their flawless record in qualifying. Arjen Robben, Wesley Sneijder and Rafael Van Der Vaart will cause any defence problems as will Arsenal’s Robin Van Persie assuming he suffers no complications recovering from his long-term injury. One area which might be considered a weakness is at the back where they have failed to convince in recent years. But the Dutch play with the attitude of ‘you score one, we’ll score two’ and they certainly have the talent to do that.

Denmark will take part in their first major tournament for six years when they pitch up in South Africa and they will be confident of making it through the group. The Danes suffered just one defeat in qualifying for the tournament and finished above much-fancied Portugal to secure an automatic berth. The team lack any superstars but a strong collective work ethic means they are capable of felling supposedly superior opposition.

Japan have been regulars at the World Cup of late and they made it to South Africa with the minimum of fuss – losing just once on the road to qualification. A good showing on home soil in 2002 was not followed up in 2006 when they managed just a single point but with skills of former Celtic star Shunsuke Nakamura in their midst they will certainly pose a danger especially if needless free-kicks are conceded within shooting distance.

Cameroon will be making their sixth appearance at World Cup finals and though they may not reach the heights of the 1990 side they are not to be discounted. Led my former Lyon and Rangers manager Paul Le Guen they are a tough outfit which also has a major goal threat in the form of Inter Milan’s Samuel Eto’o.

Prediction: Holland and Denmark to edge through in a very tight group

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England have been named as one of the top seeds for the FIFA World Cup draw that is to take place in Cape Town on Friday.

There was fear amongst FA officials that England might just miss out on a place amongst the elite and therefore risk being paired with the likes of Spain or Brazil. Thankfully for Fabio Capello and his squad that eventuality has been avoided though with Portugal and France in Pot 2 and a strong Ivory Coast team in Pot 3 there is still no room for complacency.

The draw will be held at 17:15 GMT on Friday 4th December

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On Sunday at The Emirates Stadium, the two best teams in England will clash in a London derby of added significance when Arsenal play Premier League leaders Chelsea.

Arsenal seem to have some added steel about them this season which has come from within rather than purchased in the transfer market. The average age of the squad is ludicrously low – they have only three players over 30 years of age in their entire first team squad – yet it looks like they are finally growing up.

Manager Arsene Wenger has been chided by some parties for overseeing a team that has appeared to be continually in transition for the last three years.

The biggest area of concern was the middle of the pitch, primarily when stripped of possession, and while Cesc Fabregas is almost the complete midfield player even he needs a little help. The rise to prominence of Alex Song, the all-round ability of Denilson and Wenger’s switch to a three man midfield has seemingly corrected this imbalance.

The arrival of Thomas Vermaelen, has reinforced another traditionally weak area of the Arsenal squad, – central defence. The Belgian has struck up an immediate rapport with the talented but turbulent William Gallas who, allegedly, was the catalyst behind Kolo Toure’s fall from grace in north London.

But he will be examined most thoroughly on Sunday when he comes up against the bulldozing Didier Drogba. The Chelsea striker has a fantastic goalscoring record against Arsenal having netted eight times in nine starts against them including the winner in last season’s FA Cup semi-final.

As with the majority of games at this level though the match will be won and lost in midfield and this is where the intrigue really lies. The new Chelsea formula is more exhilarating than that of previous regimes but is still based on keeping things tight.

Arsenal may have got tougher in that area but they can still outpass most teams in Europe; Ancelotti will be keen that his team are not outnumbered in this crucial part of the field.

The Italian might be able to call on the services of Frank Lampard after his thigh injury healed sooner than expected.

Lampard’s return will add even more physicality to an already imposing Chelsea midfield which is certain to feature Michael Ballack and Michael Essien in enforcing roles.

If Arsenal do manage to gain the edge in this department then they will then have the unenviable task of breaching Chelsea’s formidable back line.

With just ten goals conceded in 20 matches in all competitions this season – and just two in their last eight – Arsenal may well rue the injury to in-form Robin Van Persie who was injured on international duty with Holland.

If there is one area that Arsenal can exploit it is Chelsea’s right side of defence. Branislav Ivanovic is a solid defender but he lacks the pace of Jose Bosingwa and can be outflanked with a clever pass or a cunning touch. Andrei Arshavin will no doubt be primed by his manager to run at him on a regular basis.

Chelsea will simply be looking to play their powerful passing game, hoping their physical presence helps to dominate in midfield. In Drogba and Anelka, Chelsea have the best strike-force in the Premier League and any slip in the Arsenal rearguard will be punished like it was when Chelsea emerged from the Emirates Stadium with a 4-1 victory on their last visit in May.

A similar scoreline is out of the question but a Chelsea win would put them 11 points clear of their London rivals and almost out of sight.

The clever money should go on a keenly fought draw but with two such talented teams it really could go either way.

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Key injuries are threatening to disrupt the so-called Big Four clubs as they prepare to embark on the most gruelling part of the season.

Liverpool have had a torrid time this campaign and much of it can be put down to the unavailability of vital personnel. Their talismanic captain Steven Gerrard has not played a full ninety minutes since the 2-0 defeat at Chelsea in early October and though he looks to be on his way back to fitness it may take some time for him to regain match sharpness.

Fernando Torres is still out with a groin injury and they have struggled for goals in his absence. Rafael Benitez is unsure whether his star striker will be available for the Merseyside derby on November 29^th but hopes to have him back in time for their trip to Portsmouth on December 19^th.

Leaders Chelsea will have to do without their midfield general Frank Lampard as he picked up a thigh injury while on duty with the England national team and will almost certainly miss the huge match with Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium along with former Gunner Ashley Cole who has a depressed fracture of the tibia.

Arsenal themselves will be without the services of Robin Van Persie for that match after he tore ankle ligaments following a challenge from Giorgio Chiellini in the friendly match between Holland and Italy. Croatia striker Eduardo will lead the line in his absence.

Champions Manchester United have had defensive problems all season which have not been helped by injuries to their first-choice central defensive pairing of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic. The injury to Ferdinand is particularly perplexing as it seems to keep rearing its ugly head and it looks like keeping him out the match at his former club West Ham United. Happily for United Vidic appears to be returning to full fitness.

Such injury woes might leave the door open for a Manchester City or Tottenham to force themselves up the table though Carlo Ancelotti, Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and Rafa Benitez will be hoping their large squads will prevent too much damage.

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