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Brazil

They are quite simply the most powerful and successful nation in the history of the World Cup, who have reached three of the last four previous finals. Their failure in 2006 was something of a surprise but the general rule is that when a World Cup is played outside Europe, Brazil do well. They won in Japan, the United States, Mexico and Chile and should have won it when it was staged in their own country in 1950. They are the favourites to win the trophy in its first staging on African soil. They are capable of slip-ups as they showed against France in 2006 and have to manage the weight of their own expectations.

Results & Fixtures Team Analysis

Portugal

In Cristiano Ronaldo they may have the best player in the world but to call them favourites to go through is a big call. When Portugal are at their best, as they were in the European Championships of 2000 and 2004, they can be irresistible but in the 2002 World Cup that came between them they were a thorough-going mess and although they were semi-finalists four years ago, there was a certain toothless quality to their attack. Much will depend whether Ronaldo seizes the occasion in a way he did for Manchester United but not for Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Results & Fixtures Team Analysis

The Outsiders

Ivory Coast

There is no reason to regard them as underdogs, they qualified more easily than Portugal and they may even have a better-balanced side. What they don't have was a settled coach. Ninety days before the start of the tournament the Ivory Coast FA was trying and failing to persuade Guus Hiddink and then Sven-Goran Eriksson to take over. And as they were in Germany four years ago when they found themselves pitched in with Argentina, Holland and Serbia and Montenegro, they have not been handed an easy group. The first game, against Portugal in Port Elizabeth is likely to determine their fate

Results & Fixtures Team Analysis

North Korea

Totalitarian, isolated and in so many ways unknown. There will be many eyes trained on the North Koreans and not just to see how they play football. In this company they may be so much cannon fodder but Italy underestimated them in 1966 and the Azzurri were pelted with tomatoes by outraged fans after the Koreans eliminated them in a 1-0 victory at Middlesbrough. They are most unlikely to progress but they are, as you would expect, highly disciplined and well-drilled and no team returning to the limelight after a gap of 44 years could want for more than an opening fixture with Brazil.

Results & Fixtures Team Analysis

Star Players

Kaka (BRA/Real Madrid) His move from Milan to Madrid that at £68m was slightly cheaper than Ronaldo's transfer from Manchester United has been hampered by a hernia injury. By his standards Kaka disappointed in Germany four years ago but the Confederations Cup final showed him at his best.

Cristiano Ronaldo (POR/Real Madrid) Alongside Lionel Messi, he can claim to be the best and most exciting footballer in the world. The way he drove Manchester United to the Champions League in 2008 emphasised the claim that he is the best natural footballer Old Trafford had seen since George Best.

Didier Drogba (CIV/Chelsea) The Ivory Coast pack a heavy punch and the Chelsea striker with a boxer's build and an athlete's pace is the spearhead. As he showed when Chelsea were eliminated from the Champions League by Barcelona last year, his temper can be uncontrollable.

Hong Yong-jo (PRK/Rostov) As the captain and the only member of North Korea's squad to play in Europe, Hong carries a significant burden especially when you consider he is a striker in a squad in which goals have not been plentiful. He found the net four times in qualification.

Luis Fabiano (BRA/Sevilla) An uncompromising forward, whose occasional lack of discipline is matched by exceptional ability in front of goal - as proved by his five goals in the Confederations Cup and his two goals against Argentina in Lionel Messi's home city of Rosario.

Nani (POR/Manchester United) He has not quite lived up to his billing as Ronaldo's younger brother but this season the boy from the Cape Verde Islands has shown the kind of maturity his manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, believed he lacked, although he is still prone to indiscipline.