Prediction Brazil and Ivory Coast advance

Young winger Miroslav Stoch could well be on his way to a breakout World Cup.Prediction: Italy and Slovakia advance.Group GBrazil heads the unanimous Group of Death and unless they have a serious breakdown, should navigate safely through. The performances of Dunga's Brazil have been rock steady, if not over-the-top, classic, Samba flashy. A Confederations Cup trophy and convincing friendly wins over England and Italy in the past year, has proved Brazil is at their consistent best.Ivory Coast features arguably the best and strongest pure striker in the world in Didier Drogba. The Toure brothers, Emmanuel Eboue, and Saloman Kalou make the Ivorians the most versatile of the African group. It will be a tough ask to come out of this group, especially after the mental lashing they must be getting after being drawn into the Group of Death for the second World Cup in a row.

But this is a dark horse to win the Cup, and Drogba is just the man to ride that horse.Portugal qualified for the World Cup by the slimmest or margins. There has been a lack of consistency in this team since the 2004 European Championships. The in-and-out status of Cristiano Ronaldo can't help the cause, but the team doesn't seem to be drastically affected by his absence. There is too much talent in the Portuguese side to ignore, but if Carlos Quieroz can't get his players to work for him, they won't make it out of this group.North Korea is at the bottom team in this group, if not the entire tournament. Their first appearance since 1966, and they'll be lucky to get on the scoresheet.Prediction: Brazil and Ivory Coast advance.Group HThe defending European Champions Spain have fluctuated some from their No 1 ranking from FIFA to a brief appearance as the world's No 2.

But the Spaniards are back in the top spot and no team in the tournament looks as talented and as deep as Spain. The only thing that could stop Spain from winning the whole thing could be their own tendency to misstep on the big stages.Switzerland didn't win many style points at Euro '08 but the joint hosts held their own. A surprisingly strong midfield allows the Swiss to keep possession near 50/50, a trait they will need to get the most from when they play Spain.Chile took a surprising second in CONMEBOL to get to South Africa. Playing in a group with Switzerland and Honduras give the Chileans a great opportunity to advance.Honduras has US defender Jonathan Bornstein to thank for their qualification. If it wasn't for his stoppage-time winner against Costa Rica in the final round of CONCACAF qualifying, Costa Rica would be arriving in South Africa in the Hondurans places. A fateful header has turned to a fateful draw and gives Honduras a real chances at progression.Prediction: Spain and Switzerland progress.There you have it, a group by group analysis and prediction of the 2010 World Cup. Check back in early June to read up on all the revisions and read about knockout round predictions..