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Much like holding suited cards gives a poker player the hope of a flush, the pairing of Yakubu and Obafemi Martins up front gives Nigeria a shot, but they need to hit a string of form at just the right time. USA Pair of Jacks (49) The Americans should be optimistic. While they are likely battling it out for second place in the group, their recent form in the Confederations Cup shows they have the talent and organization to move on. Slovenia is a deceptively dangerous team and represents a threat, but the USA just needs to raise early and often, so their superior hand forces the other competitors to feel overwhelmed. Serbia King-Jack (33) The Serbians have made their first World Cup after completely dominating their qualifying group.

Ghana is a formidable team who also qualified in a strong position and Australia proved at the last World Cup they can grind out victories. Denmark Pair of Nines (40) vs Cameroon King-Eight (25) Denmark managed to qualify in first place from a very difficult European group. They were rewarded with a group that resembles a table in which 3 players raise before the flop. While the Danes have the upper hand for the second spot in the group, Cameroon absolutely possesses the card to sink them, and his name is Samuel Etoo.

The offense was fairly ineffective and they racked up points by avoiding losses rather than notching definitive wins. Ivory Coast Jack-Ten suited (33) With players like Didier Drogba, Yaya Toure and Kolo Toure, the team shows all kinds of promise. Unfortunately, theyve been drawn into this years Group of Death Brazil and Portugal are both world class opponents. The Elephants will need to be on top form to move on, but could easily end up with the straight flush to do it. While Switzerland is well organized defensively and many are high on Chiles chances to advance, no team poses a serious threat to the European Champions without once-a-decade luck. France Aces in their sleeve (0) Les Bleus got into the World Cup by cheating.

In poker, it would be the equivalent of finding a glitch in an online entry tournament. That said, teams that get in by shady means, typically find that sports karma comes back to haunt them. I have a sneaky hunch that France is in for a very rough time on the worlds biggest stage. As we get closer to June, we'll add some in depth analysis of each group and it's participants.This article is also featured on Sports Opinionated . . As a Son's of Ben Supporter and season ticket holder, I am more than impressed with the way the expansion Philadelphia Union have built their franchise. From the implementation of Nick Sakiewicz as CEO, Tom Veit as President and Peter Nowak as manager, to the site selection for the stadium and the team colors and crest. The Union have also done a solid job to date of player selection, including the first ever trade in franchise history.Just four days after selecting 10 players in the 2009 Major League Soccer (MLS) Expansion Draft, the Union added former Real Salt Lake goalkeeper Chris Seitz to the roster, in exchange for allocation money. Financial terms, as per club policy, are not disclosed. We are extremely excited about acquiring Chris Seitz who has been in the U.S.