I love the World Cup, always have.  The first one I remember was ‘82, I was 9 years old and I can vaguely remember getting in from school and settling down to watch the games.  I don’t remember too much England related though, it was Socrates, Zico, Falcao, Eder & co that made the biggest impression on me.  I remember watching that famous game with Italy, and being gutted with the result.

Four years later it was Argentina who captured my imagination.  I had an Argentina kit, and after watching games I’d be out dribbling round trees in the garden trying - and obviously failing - to emulate Maradona.  Once again, England weren’t on my radar, and whilst the nation was up in arms over the ‘hand of God’, I wasn’t arsed, and that’s putting it mildly.  I’d been supporting Argentina all tournament, so I was rooting for them anyway.  Besides, slag Maradona off all you want, but even using his hand he should never have got anywhere near that ball against the six foot plus Peter Shilton.

I never liked Shilton when I was a kid, I thought he was shit and that he came across as a bad knobhead.  When the next World Cup came around in 1990 Shilton was between the sticks for England, and his inability to jump was still hurting the team as he embarrassingly allowed a deflected free-kick against Germany to loop over his head in the semi final.  I was cursing him that night, as that was the first tournament I actually got behind England.  Not at the start, I was pretty indifferent during the group games, and even against Belgium when Platt scored that volley I wasn’t particularly bothered about it.

I liked Bobby Robson though, and felt sorry for him as he got battered by the press.  Gazza made me want to root for him too, he was class in that tournament and by the time the Germany game came about, I wanted England to beat them and was mildly upset that they didn’t.

1994 wasn’t the most memorable of competitions.  England weren’t even there, which in some ways made it easier to enjoy.  It wasn’t a great spectacle though, and even the final was rubbish.  Brazil weren’t particularly impressive, and won the final on pens if I remember correctly.  The only memories I can recall from that tournament are Baggio blazing a pen over the bar (gutted, I loved Baggio), Leonardo almost taking some yank’s head off with an elbow, and Bebeto’s stupid cradling the baby celebration.  Apart from that, not much stands out.  Oh, apart from Aldo’s boss rant at the 4th official.

‘98 was Michael Owen’s tournament.  I was supporting England in that one, largely because of Owen to be fair.  When they lost on pens to Argentina, I was gutted.  I’d been pretty upset when they lost on pens in Euro 96 too, and around that stage of my life I had no issue with supporting England.  I’m not sure exactly when that changed, but by the time the next world cup came around I was pissing myself laughing when Ronaldinho lobbed Seaman from 40 yards (insert your own smutty punchline here) and was glad when England went out.

Same thing in 2006, and going into this tournament I don’t really want them to win it either.  If it happened, I could live with it as Stevie would be the one lifting the trophy and maybe Carra would be involved too.  I’d be delighted for those two if they got World Cup winners medals, and it would make it easier to put up with all the gobshite, car flag waving, face painted, bandwagon jumpers who spend the whole year slagging off our players only to then kiss their arses when they pull on an England shirt.

I hate John Terry and Ashley Cole, to a lesser extent Wayne Rooney and Frank Lampard, and I’d seriously like to do some physical damage to that Sheffield Wednesday band.  I don’t want to see any of them celebrating a world cup win, so I won’t be supporting England.  The Gerrard and Carragher factor (not really arsed one way or another about Johnson) means I won’t be taking much pleasure if they fail, but I won’t be painting my face and there won’t be any flag flying from my car.

I am really looking forward to the tournament though.  It will provide a nice welcome relief from all the shite going on at our club, and after the dire season we’ve just sat through it will be nice to hopefully see some good attacking football.

There’s 12 Liverpool players involved, so there’s plenty of ‘local’ interest too.  I can’t wait for it all to get started.

So, here’s a little preview I’ve put together on how I see things going.  I’ll be doing a regular round up during the tournament, although I haven’t decided how frequent it will be.  Maybe one a week, or maybe more regularly, depends how things pan out.

Group A:

South Africa - Hope they go out in the group stage, for no other reason than those stupid, annoying, ear piercing horns that all of the fans over there are blowing continuously throughout every game.  I hate it, it might just ruin the entire tournament, and I blame South Africa as a nation for it.  So I want them out, even though I realise it won’t stop the infernal racket.  It will make me feel better though knowing their team are out.

Mexico - I like Mexico, have done since the ‘86 world cup when Negrete scored that boss volley.  Thought they played some excellent football against England the other week, in the first half at least, but it’s a difficult group they are in and I can’t see them doing much. The full back Salcido is a good player, and hopefully we’ll see the old stager Blanco do his ‘Bunny Hop’ at some point though, although he may feel the risk of breaking a hip isn’t worth it now.

France - The only thing there is to like about the French team is their National Anthem, which is second only to the Italians in the singalong stakes.  I hope they go out in the group stage, but I think they’ll just about sneak through but will look crap in the process and lose to the first decent side they face in the knockouts.

Uruguay - One of my favourite international sides, mainly due to their past reputation of rivalling Argentina for being the dirtiest, nastiest, most cynical side in world football. I liked the crude, take no prisoners style of their defenders, and although the game has changed to the point where they are no longer such a dirty side, I still have a soft spot for them.  Think they will just about edge out Mexico for second place, but in an ideal world they’d both go through and France would be out.

Group B:

Argentina - Along with Spain, the most talented squad in the tournament by far.  Not as talented as they should be though, as Maradona left behind Cambiasso and Zanetti, two players who would have made any other squad in the competition.  What makes it even more baffling is he has selected that winger from Newcastle!! They almost weren’t even in South Africa, having made seriously hard work of qualification.  Maradona won a world cup almost single handedly as a player, so it’s ironic that chances are he will single handedly be the reason they don’t win this one.  He’s as mad as a box of frogs, and despite having the likes of Tevez, Messi, Higuain, Milito and Aguero at his disposal, he’ll probably find a way to somehow cock it up.  Still love him though.  Hopefully Maxi and Mascherano will have good tournaments, the former to boost his confidence ahead of next season and the latter to boost his transfer value when he moves on.

Nigeria - Always good to watch, and they should have enough to get out of the group along with Argentina.  The big story here is whether Yakubu can beat Roger Milla’s record and become the oldest man to score in the finals.  Milla was 46 or something wasn’t he?  The Yak would shatter that if he can get on the scoresheet.  He may be a blue, but I wish him luck and hope he can do it.

South Korea - They were brilliant in 2002 when they were the co-hosts.  They played the game with a really quick tempo and were super fit.  Good technically, and they play with a refreshing enthusiasm.  I’d like to see them do well, but with Argentina and Nigeria in their club it’s unlikely.

Greece - The entertainers!  Or maybe not.  Not much to say about them except that I hope ‘Soto’ plays and does well, he’s a good honest pro and it would be nice for him to have a good tournament.

Group C:

England - Never seem to play as well as the sum of their parts.  Doesn’t seem to matter who the manager is either.  Capello had them looking pretty good in qualifying, but they’ve looked mediocre in recent games.  Much depends on Gerrard, Lampard and also on Rooney’s ability to keep his mouth shut and his temper in check.  Telling him to stop abusing referee’s however, is like telling Emile Heskey to stop being shite.  Ain’t gonna happen, it’s just the way he is.  Probably go out in the knock out stages on penalties, as usual.

USA - Always a difficult team to play against as they’re super fit and well organised.  They don’t have any stars, Landon Donavan and Clint Dempsey are probably the nearest thing they have, but they all work hard for eachother and they could surprise a few people, including England.  Should make the knock out stages.

Algeria - Don’t know much about them other than that Portsmouth duo Belhadj and Yebda play for them and former Liverpool reserve defender Carl Medjani made their squad.  Good luck to him, he was a decent lad and always showed a good attitude when he was here.  They’ll surely be going home early though.

Slovenia - Just looking through my Panini World Cup sticker album and the only player I’ve heard of plays for West Brom.  Therefore I’m assuming these are garbage and will finish bottom of the group.  They only got here because the Czech’s are having a bad time of it and failed to qualify.

Group D:

Germany - I don’t mind the Germans, they’re a very efficient nation and Germany might just be the cleanest place I’ve ever been to.  Their football is also ‘efficient’, and no matter how bad their team might look on paper, they always seem to be there in the latter stages of big tournaments.  They’re a lot easier to like since that ape Oliver Kahn retired, and it helps that Ballack isn’t in the squad.  Can’t stand that coach though with his died black hair and tight fitting white shirts.  Even worse than that is the way that senile old goat Motson pronounces his name.  “Joachim Luuuuuuurve”.  Interesting World Cup fact; Motson is the only sound in the world more annoying than those horns.  Expect Miroslav Klose to fill his boots in the group stages, mostly with headers, and the Germans to somehow find themselves in the semi finals.

Australia - I don’t like the Socceroos.  Cahill plays for them, for a start.  Then there’s Harry Kewell, another knob.  And let’s not forget Lucas Neill.  Hopefully they won’t get out of the group.

Ghana - Don’t know a great deal about the Black Stars.  Essien isn’t playing, which is a shame as even though he’s a Chelsea player, and even though he once nearly severed Didi Hamann’s leg at the knee, he’s a great player and I enjoy watching him.  Former Pompey man Sulley Muntari plays for them as well, and I reckon he’s a great bet to get a red card at some point, look up ’stupid unnecessary challenge’ in the dictionary, and there’s a picture of Muntari.  They also have a couple more familiar faces in John Pantsil of Fuham and Sunderland’s John Mensah, a highly intelligent player (Oh yeah, that’s right, I went there).  Hopefully they’ll finish above the Aussies.

Serbia - Liverpool fans will be keeping a close eye on the Serbs to see how Milan Jovanovic does.  The Standard Liege forward is reportedly set to join us after the tournament, so it will be good to see him in action.  That yard dog Vidic also plays for them, and he’s as likely to get a red card as Muntari, especially if Serbia get through and end up facing Spain and Torres at any point.

Group E:

Holland - If Spain don’t win it, I think the Dutch are a good shout to do it.  They play great football, have a system that everybody knows, and they’ve got a lot of matchwinners.  Van Persie could be the star of the tournament if he stays fit, likewise Robben and Sneider is boss as well.  Dirk and Babel are both in the squad, but given the attacking options available to the Dutch, I can’t see Babel getting much of a look in.  They seem to love Dirk though.

Denmark - The Danes used to be brilliant.  Back in the mid 80’s their fans used to sing ‘We are red we are white we are Danish dynamite’  And they were.  Not any more though.  A quick look through my panini album tells me that Gronkjaer and Rommedahl are still part of the set up, which probably isn’t good.  Their big hope is the woeful Nicklas Bendtner, which defo isn’t good.  They’ve got good defenders though in Agger and Kjaer, and won’t be any pushovers.  Hope they go out early, as even though they have Agger and one of my best mates is a Dane, all that is cancelled out by the completely irrational hatred I have always had for Jon Dahl Tomasson. *shakes fist at picture of Tomasson in sticker album*

Japan - They play good football, most of their players have very funny haircuts, and they’ll be going home early.

Cameroon - You never know what you’ll get from them.  They’ve provided some brilliant world cup memories down the years, such as Roger Milla’s goals and dancing, and the time when three of them tried to kill Argentina’s Cladio Caniggia.  I like Cameroon, good old Rigobert is still going strong (according to my sticker album anyway) and I can see Eto’o really making a mark on this tournament, especially after being criticised by Milla recently.

Group F:

Italy - They’ll probably be negative, boring, struggle to score goals, but they’ll be there or thereabouts at the end.  The reigning World Champions know how to get the job done, but it’s not particularly pleasing on the eye (even though the ladies would argue that many of their players are).  I hope Italy go all the way to the last four, if only so I can listen to their anthem as many times as possible.  I know the words, and I’ll be belting it out before every game.  I would not be unhappy if the Azzurri retained their crown, but I’d prefer Spain or Argentina to take it from them.

Paraguay - Always liked them, they have a nice kit and I used to love Chilavert.  They’ve got some good players up front in Santa Cruz and Cardozo, and I think they’ll just edge out Slovakia for the second qualifying place behind the Italians.

New Zealand - Ryan Nelson is going to be very, very, very overworked during this tournament.

Slovakia - Apart from Skrtel, the only Slovak players I’ve heard of are Vladimir Weiss and Marek Hamsik.  I’ve heard lots of good things about Hamsik but never seen him play, so I’m looking forward to watching him.

Group G:

Brazil - Not the force they were.  In years gone by, Brazil were the team everyone wanted to watch, as they had all the star players and were the great entertainers.  The likes of Pele, Garrincha, Jairzinho, Zico, Socrates, Junior, Careca, Romario, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho….the list was endless.  Look at today’s crop.  Good players, such as Luis Fabiano, Maicon, Lucio, Alves and of course Kaka, but no-one to match the superstar quality they had in years past.  They’ll still do well, because they’re Brazil, but the buzz about watching them isn’t there anymore.

North Korea - No idea what they’re like, but presumably they’re a poor man’s version of South Korea.  They’re like Austria are to Germany, or New Zealand to Australia.  I’d be shocked even they even managed  goal, never mind a point.

Ivory Coast - Did Drogba make it or what?  Last I heard he was out with a broken arm, but you can never tell with this fella, as even the boy who cried wolf thinks Drogba is a bit of a drama queen.  If he made it, then I can see them upsetting Portugal and going through behind Brazil.  They’ve got some good players and should be fun to watch.

Portugal - A lot depends on Ronaldo, and my gut instinct is that the Portuguese are going to fall flat on their faces in this competition.  I don’t think they’re anywhere near as good as they were, and they could be going home early.  I hope so anyway, I’ve got no time for any player in their entire squad.

Group H:

Spain - Fantastic team to watch, stars all over the place, and Torres and Reina are in their ranks.  I want Spain to win it, not just because of those two, but also for Xabi, the big awesome bearded leg.  Come on Spain.

Switzerland - I hate the Swiss, I hope they lose every game.  For such a ‘neutral’ inoffensive nation, they rub me right up the wrong way.  Not sure why, I think a lot of it is to do with their big ginger haired balding defender, who I took a real irrational dislike to four years ago.  Magnin I think he’s called.  Did Degen make the squad?  I don’t think he did, but if so then there’s another reason I hope they lose.  Two years, 38k a week and a big signing on bonus, and for what?  He’s contributed bugger all, through a combination of being injured and being shit.  They might make great watches and delicious chocolate, and I love Toblerones and Stephane Henchoz, but sorry, fuck off Switzerland.

Honduras - There’ll be a team in this competition who no-one expects anything from, but will do great.  It might just be the Hondurans.  I don’t know if they’re any good, they probably aren’t, but every tournament throws up a surprise team who plays some great stuff and springs a surprise or two.  I reckon it will either be the South Koreans or the Hondurans.

Chile - Mark Gonzalez gets a game for them, which tells me they aren’t good.  Chile used to be ace when they had Zamorano and Salas up front, and it’s difficult replacing players of that quality.  Alexis Sanchez is meant to be a bit handy, so I’ll be looking out for him, and they also have the wonderfully named Waldo Ponce at the back.

Predictions:

I’ll go for Spain or Holland to win it, and as for top scorer I’ll go with the obvious and say David Villa or Torres.   Van Persie may be a good shout too, and if Brazil have a good tournament then one of their strikers will be up there, probably Fabiano.  As an outside bet, I’ll say Forlan and Klose.