Before the 2010 World Cup started, who would have expected nations such as Portugal, England, France and Australia to perform so poorly in the tournament?

But who, out of those four worst teams in the World Cup thus far, has been the worst? Vote below and share your opinions in the comments section below.

So the World Cup is now a week old, every team has played at least once. It is now becoming clear whether your team was a sound bet or as dodgy as a Northern Rock balance sheet.

There have already been a few surprises, and those following a minnow may have had a nice surprise. Also those struggling can cling to a few strands of hope as no team has been eliminated thus far.

If like me you have a team you know little about in the office sweepstake, or you have just not bothered with the World Cup so far, I have created a quick summary to get you up to speed.

How is your team doing?

Algeria – A poor start against Slovenia and elimination beckons, unless they pull of a surprise against England. Should Algeria qualify and you live in England you may be forced to change your name, address and seek alternative employment.

Argentina – In Messi you should trust, Argentina recorded one of the most crushing one nil victories you will ever see, in the first game and eventually ran out comfortable winners agains South Korea.  Blue and white fireworks will surely illuminate this tournament sooner rather than later.

Australia – Hammered by Germany and unlikely to progress, the players should start booking their plane tickets home.

Brazil – Although they made heavy work of the North Koreans, I would still be happy to have backed Brazil in this tournament. The quality is there for all to see.

Cameroon - Having lost their opening game, there is a lot left to do if Cameroon are to qualify, hope is not yet lost but I would not back my sweepstake team.

Chile – An opening game victory, playing attacking football, what more can you ask for?

Denmark – Lost to Holland but not out of it yet, Nicklas Bentdner and others will need to be at the top of their game for the next two games though.

England – If you don’t know how they are doing, just google ‘Robert Green’ and all will become clear.

France – Started with a draw and this side looks weary, improvement needed from a side that looks devoid of ideas.

Germany – Emphatic win against Australia, people are already taking notice of the Germans in this tournament.

Ghana – Flying the flag for Africa with an opening game win, this side will receive a lot of coverage in a tournament desperate for African success.

Greece – Poor and uninspired, if they cannot improve they will soon be back to the economic turmoil of their homeland.

Holland – Won their first game, should progress from their group with ease.

Honduras – Lost to Chile, things are already looking bleak for one of the teams no one really knows/expects anything from in this tournament.

Italy – Had a poor first game which was the ultimate defence vs. defence battle that somehow produced two goals.  After 2006 you should resist the urge to rule out these ageing slow starters.

Ivory Coast – After a battling draw against Portugal, Sven’s men need a big win against North Korea, or a miracle against Brazil to progress.

Japan – Secured victory in their opening game, they will be hoping to build on this as expectations back home grow.

Mexico – Only a draw to start the tournament off, massive improvements will be needed in order to prove they can make a mark on this tournament.

New Zealand – The point they got in their opening game was hailed as a miracle for New Zealand, read into that what you like given the opposition was Slovakia.

Nigeria – Massacred in a 1-0 defeat to Argentina, they will be ok if their goalkeeper keeps up the form he showed in that game.

North Korea – Fantastic start, strong favourites to win the tournament, well back home at least. In all seriousness the Koreans showed real passion against Brazil and even got a consolation goal. Unlikely to progress but their compact style may harm the chances of one of the other ‘top’ sides in the group.

Paraguay – Secured a great result against the holders, but may need to play with more attacking intent to progress.

Portugal – Things just don’t seem right in the Portugal camp, a draw in the opening game is ok, however much more is needed.  Only so much can be done as a one man team.

Serbia – Having lost their opening game, the Serbians look to be limping out of the tournament; however there is talent in this side. This will need to shine through if they are to reach the second round.

Slovakia – Having failed to beat the worst team in the competition in their first game, I think the Slovakians are finished in the tournament before it has really begun.

Slovenia – Top of England’s group with a win, Slovenia have a real chance to upset the apple cart and qualify ahead of the USA or England in group C.

South Africa – Full of heart and with their nation behind them, it looks like this will not be enough to help Bafana Bafana progress. Two gutsy displays have not made up for a lack of discernable talent, only a win against France and a miracle will see them through to the next stage.

South Korea – After winning their first game in an impressive fashion, the Koreans will dream of a repeat of 2002 or even better. Combining a strong work ethic with touches of flair. Despite  losing to Argentina, this team has the potential to have a stellar World Cup.

Spain – The favourites lost their opening match to Switzerland, potentially setting up a second round tie with Brazil. Still not out of the running, their Rolls Royce midfield engine needs to start ticking over, and fast.

Switzerland – After beating Spain this team must feel on top of the world, the second round may be their target, but they have certainly already made their mark on the competition.

United States – Brilliant result if not performance against England, confidence must be at an all time high. Slovenia must not be underestimated though and Friday’s game will be key to their campaign.

Uruguay – Almost through to the next round, they looked good against France and South Africa. Manchester United fans may not recognise the Diego Forlan of this World Cup compared to his days in England as he fires Uruguay forwards in the competition.

So this is where we stand after one week, in the next few days the group pictures will become a lot clearer and we may start to lose teams.

If you have backed Brazil or Germany you should be very happy with your investment, those following Slovenia, Switzerland, Chile or Uruguay may have been pleasantly surprised by last weeks games.

As we move forwards every team still technically in with a shout, each team is now  just 6 games from immortality.

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This decade has seen the Premiership continue to grow and attract some of the worlds greatest players throughout the last ten years. By continuing to attract some of the biggest stars in the world, only La Liga can truly consider itself a rival for the quality of the players on show throughout the league. Yet who would make the best Premiership team of the decade?

Which players have consistently delivered year in, year out, or given years of sterling service throughout the decade? Well I present you with my best 11 of the last ten years, from goalkeeper to striker and I think you may be surprised with some of my choices. Once you’ve glanced through the team, let me know who you think should have been in or your best 11 of the decade.

1. Shay Given

The most consistent goalkeeper of the last ten years, with only the criminally underrated Jussi Jaaskelainen coming close for me. Seemingly trying to keep Newcastle up on his own, he served under 9 managers at St James Park this decade until he finally ran out of patience with the chaos in the boardroom and accepted a move to Manchester City. Since joining City in January, along with Craig Bellamy, he’s easily been head and shoulders above the other high profile signings at Eastlands.

2. Gary Neville

England’s most underrated player of the last 15 years and one of the best fullbacks this country has ever produced. Solid, dependable and wholly committed to Manchester United, Neville has often been in the shadow of higher profile players at United. For all the plaudits that Scholes, Giggs and Beckham received, without Gary Neville, it would have been a very different period without his consistent quality for club and country.Was clearly the best full back in Europe for a while along with Michel Salgado.

3. Ashley Cole

Yes, he’s got the personality that gets on your nerves and his autobiography was beyond deluded, but he’s been head and shoulders above most other left backs in the last ten years. Despite his issues, Cole is a fabulous full back and his duels with Ronaldo for both club and country have been more exciting than they should be. Only Patrice Evra can come close to him over the last few years. If only he could score more goals!

4. Roy Keane

Love him or hate him, Keane was the ultimate midfield enforcer over the first half of the decade in the Premiership. When Arsenal and Manchester United clashed, Keane vs Vieira was always worth the waiting for. Yet, he scored more than his fair share of important goals than Vieira and Makelele who were the other two key players in a similar position. Controversial until the end, Keane has always spoke his mind, but as a player, for me he was peerless.

5. John Terry

Mr Chelsea, 100% no nonsense defending, Terry epitomises everything that defenders represent. Tough, uncompromising and occasionally has too much to say on the pitch but as captain of club and country, Terry has given everything for the cause at domestic and international level. When he retires, Chelsea will have a major job on replacing him.

6. Rio Ferdinand

Another player who’s off field antics can sometimes grate with the followers of football, but there is no doubting the quality he has as a player. The silk to Terry’s steel for England and Vidic for Manchester United, Ferdinand is the best centre half of his generation. He’s had a ropey few months struggling with injuries and the scandal that the missed drug test caused unfairly tainted his reputation for a while but only Ledley King can come close as a footballing centre half over the last decade.

7. Christiano Ronaldo

Love him or hate him, Ronaldo’s 2007-2008 season was something magical. Quite how he kept scoring at the rate he did can’t really be explained and the following season was always going to disappoint but even though his head had been turned, he still kept scoring marvelous goals throughout the season. If he can replicate his domestic form internationally, then he will be remembered as one of the greats, but he has yet to deliver for Portugal. He needs a great World Cup to cement his reputation. Pace, trickery and explosive finishing that belies his size.

8. Frank Lampard

There is a hair’s breadth between Lampard and Steven Gerrard for me but Lampard gets my nod because he creates more chances for his team mates and doesn’t have the nasty streak that Gerrard can fall back in to on the pitch. A fabulous finisher and a master of the late run, Lampard has consistently delivered season after season for club and country. Has struggled a little this season with the new system that Ancelotti has implemented at Stamford Bridge this year, but I wouldn’t back against him to score another 20 goals this season.

9. Thierry Henry

Well, at least he didn’t have as bad a year as Tiger Woods, his fellow Gillette endorsed scandal buddy but that handball has certainly tainted his reputation almost as much as his whining after Arsenal lost the 2006 Champions League. That aside, Henry was immense for the majority of the decade, even suffering from sciatica for the last few years. His partnership with Bergkamp left defenders dizzy during the Gunners pomp. Failings aside, a damn fine player and terrifying sight in full flight.

10. Didier Drogba

When Jose Mourniho signed him for £24 million from Marseille back in 2004, eyebrows were raised all over England, but he has made the critics more than eat their words. On his day, he is simply unplayable and is once again banging the goals in for Chelsea. His form dipped under Scolari and he flirted with leaving the club, but he’s still at Stamford Bridge and the Blues are far more formidable for his continued presence.

11. Ryan Giggs

What is there to say about Ryan Giggs that hasn’t been said? How good would England have been if he’d stayed true to his schoolboy football roots instead of choosing to represent Wales. Clearly in the category of the greatest players never to have made it to a World Cup, he has scored and created more goals for Manchester United than you can think of. Even now, with Ferguson wrapping him in cotton wool he still delivers. A truly remarkable player.

Notable mentions must go to the following players: Jussi Jaaskelainen, Patrice Evra, Jamie Carragher, Ledley King, Patrick Vieira, Cesc Fabregas,Michael Essien, Paul Scholes, Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Fernando Torres and Dennis Bergkamp. I don’t think anyone would come up with a similar starting 11, so comments please!

How long does he have left?

With Portugal on the verge of non-qualification for the World Cup in 2010, manager Carlos Queiroz is under extreme pressure and has the very real possibility of unemployment looming over him. Given this threat, and inevitability that this will occur, I ask you… How long before we see the Portuguese back in the Manchester United dugout alongside Sir Alex Ferguson?

With Portugal lying fourth in their World Cup qualifying group with only ten points from seven matches. Going into the qualification group as favourites, the current state of affairs comes as a real shock for the Euro 2008 quarter-finalists.

Denmark have more or less qualified for the World Cup with Hungary and Sweden in equally strong positions. It was imperative the Portuguese overcame Hungary in the last match, but even still, the jobcentre still looms large for Queiroz.

With Portugal lying third in Group A, level on points with fourth placed Hungary and two points behind Sweden who lie second. With two games remaining Portugal face Hungary and Malta, both in Portugal, nothing less than six points from these games will do. But Sweden do have a relatively straightforward fixture with Albania, before which, they play Denmark, a game that will decide the fate of Carlos.

Queiroz therefore may be looking for new employment sooner rather than later and the Old Trafford bench is a familiar environment, one where he has had success in the past as well.

During his first reign sat beside Ferguson for only one year but managed to help the Old Trafford side win the Premier League title on season 02/03, before being poached by Real Madrid. It was after an unsuccessful year in Madrid that he was brought back to Old Trafford by Ferguson to begin an extremely successful four-year reign as assistant manager.

As a number one, Queiroz is terrible, making mistake after mistake. He is also accountable for Portugal’s failure to qualify for Euro ’92 and after taking over a very talented Sporting Lisbon team, led them to three seasons of failure and was promptly dismissed. After his first stint at Old Trafford, Real Madrid offered him a dream job, one that he could not turn down, and one that was a veritable disaster.

Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed the failed coach back to Old Trafford as his number two in July 2004 and so began a fruitful relationship. A number of trophies became housed at Old Trafford, including the 2008 Champions League trophy. Queiroz was seen as instrumental in United’s success, introducing new training methods and tactical plans that underpinned the Manchester United side of a few years back.

He also has an eye for talent spotting; he famously discovered Portugal’s so-called ‘Golden Generation’ and also had a hand in bringing Cristiano Ronaldo to Old Trafford. But these positives have not transpired into the managerial stage and who knows, he may be back sharing a glass or two of Chianti with Sir Alex before the year is out.

First of all, let me say what a super performance Germany gave last night. They tactically outclassed Portugal from the get go and thoroughly deserved their win. Anyway, enough of yesterday, now for today’s big clash. Before yesterday, I’d have put my house on Croatia winning this game, now I’m not so sure I don’t have a niggle like yesterday but Turkey have shown you write them off at your peril. The Croats have played some excellent stuff in this tournament but Turkey have shown tremendous nous and spirit to come back from the dead in two straight games.

Realistically though, Croatia started slowly but have begun to improve game on game, their second string beating Poland 1-0 with a goal from Klasnic and I honestly think that Luka Modric has been one of the star players at this tournament so far. Turkey need to get a man marker on him and try to stifle his creativity. Having said that though, Germany put Frings on him and he danced around him like a statue. Turkey’s danger man is Turan; he loves to come from deep and attack the ball, playing off Nihat and Tuncay. Will Croatia go like for like or simply get the ball down and try and play their way through? Turkey have also lost first choice keeper Voltan after Jan Koller’s acrobatics, so Rustu Recber comes in for his for his record extending 117th cap tonight and the former Barcelona player will be keen to show he’s lost none of his abilities at 35 years of age.

Turkey have shown us all that they are a fast breaking team who play positive, possession football. Both sides have shown that they like to play good attacking football and play with pride for their nations. It is a lesson England would do well to try and emulate in future under Capello. The British press are complaining that this is the weakest of the 4 games but I’m disappointed to hear that type of criticism. Then again, the commentary in last night’s Portugal v Germany game was so biased toward Portugal as to be embarrassing, Ronaldo’s personal fan club defending his every action, slating every German challenge on him and then they didn’t bother interviewing any German players at the end which was really sad to see. Old habits die hard in British football coverage even in 2008.

Both sides fully deserve to be here and I think we’ll get a great game of football. Using my head, I’m going for a Croatian win, maybe 3-2 or 2-1, but if Turkey get a late goal, hold on tight because we’ll get a grandstand finish.

So here we go, we’ve had 12 days of blood and thunder football, sublime skills, shock results, new stars and the retirement of legends. Tonight sees the first of the Quarter Finals and what a way to start this section of the competition. There is no doubting over the last 10 years, Portugal’s stock has risen immensly and this tournament sees the team probably have their best chance of winning a major tournament. Whilst I appreciate they were the host nation last time round, sometimes the weight of expectation from your countrymen can bow down on a side and the pressure can disrupt the best of players.

There will be no excuses for Scolari’s men tonight: They know this game is there for the taking and a potential and probably semi-final meeting with the crafty Croatians. On paper, Portugal should rip Germany to pieces, be far too canny, too sly and too much pace for Germany to cope with. Yet, I’ve this nagging feeling borne out of the fact that I’ve seen this type of situation too many times with Germany. They always survive somehow; always get the last minute winner, the last minute goal line clearance, always the deflection bounces their way. Perhaps that’s down to watching them beat England time after time until 2000. Even in the Croatia game, when they were outplayed for long periods of the match, I still expected them to snatch a late equaliser. Surely it can’t happen again? Honestly, Portugal will either win this game by 3 or 4 or lose 1-0. It’s that type of game for me.

We’ve 4 wonderful quarter finals to look forward to, the football purist would love to see Portugal, Croatia, Holland and Spain go through. How would we feel on Monday morning if we were looking at Turkey, Germany, Italy and Russia as semi-finalists? I wouldn’t mind Turkey and Russia, both sides have really impressed me but my first 4 would conjure up two of the best semi final line ups the Euro’s have ever seen. Italy and Germany have been fortunate, very fortunate but that’s their football history and the tenacity that they show in international football. You can never write them off.

Scolari will be picking a full strength side tonight, full of flair and ability. Germany have fitness doubts over Frings and Podolski and manager Joachim Low banished to the stands for this game. Is this the game that Portugal finally come of age and dismantle one of the old guard of European giants? I think they will, but I’m still going to have that nagging doubt right to the final whistle but then again I thought that during USA 94 when Hristo Stoichkov destroyed them in a wonderful win for Bulgaria. The nagging will persisit though, unless of course the Portuguese go 3 up before half time, then I’ll only be slightly concerned until the final whistle.  Portugal to win 3-1

Tonight sees the first dual clash with Czech Republic playing Turkey whilst Switzerland host Portugal. With Portugal through as Group Winners, all eyes will be on Geneva. We could potentially have a first in Group qualification with the fact that should tonight’s game end in a draw, we will go straight into a penalty shoot out to decide who finishes runners up in the group. I hope we don’t come to that and the game is completely decided before the final whistle is blown.

It’s looking more and more likely that the Czechs will revert to playing Koller and Baros together up front. This tournament has really shown just how much quality they’ve lost from midfield with the retirements of Nedved, Berger, Smicer, Poborsky and the injury to Rosicky. They’ve played a game that is based on midfielders bursting forward to link up with the front man, but the quality simply hasn’t been there.

Turkey also may look to starting the game with the team that finished the 2-1 victory that eliminated the Swiss as coach Fatih Terim looks to guide the Turks through. He made a tactically brilliant change at half time to swing the game in their favour and Terim has often been underrated as a coach, the disappointing spell as coach of AC Milan perhaps diluting his achievements at Fiorentina and Galatasaray and his first stint as national coach. 

Turkey certainly looked back to their best in the second half against the Swiss and this game is make or break for both coaches. I’m going to go for a 1-0 win for the Czech Republic tonight, which will then lead them to a potential clash with Germany in the Quarter Finals.

Tonight’s other game will probably gives us a chance to see the players on the fringes of the Portuguese squad, with Queresma, Almeida and Nani expected to start. Switzerland will be playing for pride tonight but know that their opponents will have several players trying to prove to Phil Scolari that they deserve a chance of being in his first choice XI. Whilst it would be nice for the Swiss to get anything out of this, I can’t see them beating Portugal and think it could be a 3-0 defeat for the Swiss.   

I’ve finally had a chance to catch up on watching some of the Euro 2008 matches I missed. The jet lag hit me later in the week, so I found myself watching many of the games this week at weird hours on DVR.The one thing about football is that it can be so subjective. Earlier in the week, I found myself watching the 1-0 Croatia win against Austria game on the giant screen TV at the FanZone in Zurich. To me, Croatia looked like a very hard working team in the first half who were playing some wonderful football. Especially impressive was Ivica Olic, the Croat striker who plays for Hamburg, who was a workhouse throughout the game putting in an incredible performance. If ever there was a player who would do well in the Premier League, Olic is it.In their game against Austria, Croatia changed their tactics in the second half, which allowed Austria to press forward more. And it was the Austrians who impressed me, putting to bed all the fears about them being the worst team in the tournament.So I was surprised when I returned to the States and was hearing and reading the comments about Croatia looking weak in their first match. Against Germany, the Croats showed their true strength in their 2-1 win and it’s now Germany — many people’s favorites to win Euro 2008 — who risk getting knocked out of the tournament depending what happens in their final match against Austria.The other thing I found surprising when I returned to the States was the perception among many that this has been a boring tournament thus far. Sure, it’s easier to enjoy the atmosphere and games when you’re experiencing them in Switzerland, but still, the tournament to me has been one of the most exciting football events in quite some time, even more so than World Cup 2006. The France against Romania nil-nil match was horrible, but aside from that, I’ve enjoyed all of the other matches.Speaking of Romania, their 1-1 draw against Italy on Friday was a brilliant match to watch. So much goalmouth action with balls hitting the post or goalkeepers pulling off incredible saves. Buffon’s penalty save, too, was amazing to watch. Romania could have easily won the match in the first half, while Italy showed in this game their masterful technical touches — beautiful flicks, excellent ball control, deft passes and wonderful creativity — something which is desperately lacking in the Premier League and on the England national team.Italy, though, has to feel cheated by the goal that was ruled offside. On replay, it’s clear that the goal should have counted. But when I watched it in real-time, it looked to me to be offside, so I empathize why the referee and assistant referee thought the whistle should have been blown for offside.I’ve been writing about how impressed I’ve been about Holland since Monday and they completely blew me away again on Friday with their 4-1 win against France. In fairness, the French are to blame for this scoreline as they had plenty of chances to score. Just as in the match against Italy, the Dutch took full advantage of the chances they had with their clinical finishing.While Holland and Croatia continue to impress, Portugal can be added to that list. In their first game against Turkey, I thought the Portugese looked very entertaining with Pepe, especially, being a revelation. Portugal also looked breathtaking in the 3-1 win over Czech Republic. So far this tournament, the Czechs have done very little to impress me.For all of the bad press Austria got from the pundits and their own fans before the tournament started, I’ve been more impressed by the Austrians than Switzerland. Austria deserved to get the 1-1 draw against Poland earlier this week, and the penalty decision by Howard Webb, I believe, was a correct one.Speaking of Switzerland, the national team was dealt a cruel blow when Alex Frei was injured in their 0-1 loss to Czech Republic. But in the Swiss 2-1 loss to Turkey, it was Turkey’s Arda Turan who was the relevation. The Galatasaray winger scored two beautiful goals. The first, a beautifully taken header, and the second was an amazing shot in the last minute of the game, which will be one of the goals of the tournament.The one group I haven’t had a chance to watch so far this tournament is Group D because I was traveling throughout the day on Tuesday and missed Spain‘s demolition of Russia and the entertaining game between Sweden and Greece. I’m looking forward to seeing those matches on Saturday.

After one set of games, we now have the groups beginning to take shape and we move into the second phase of matches. Everyone who wins in this particular round knows that they still have a chance of qualifying or indeed making sure that they have qualified for the Quarter Finals.

The first of tonight’s matches sees the Czech Republic play Portugal, the winner definitely through to the next round. Looking at both sides first games, Portugal will be strong favourites to win tonight and if they play anywhere near as well as they did Saturday night, then they’ll over-run the Czechs. Yet the Czechs will also know that they were fairly fortunate against a very resolute Swiss team and will be looking to give a far better account to themselves than they did.

They looked quite poor up-front though and the strikers will need to offer a lot more for them to have any chance of taking anything from the game. I’m going for a 3-1 Portugal win in this match.

The second game features Switzerland v Turkey. Both teams need to win to have any chance of having a strong chance of qualification so we should see an open game. Switzerland were a lot better than I thought they would be in the first game but couldn’t finish. With Yakin coming in for the injured Frei, they’ll have clever player pushing them forward. Turkey looked shell shocked on Saturday, they never got into the game and were quiet flattered by a 2-0 score line.

I expected a lot more from them than they showed, which really surprised me. Whilst they’re not the strongest Turkish side of recent years, Portugal made them look very ordinary and they’ll be up for showing everyone a lot more. I think the home support will be crucial tonight and I’m going to plump for a 1-0 win to Switzerland.

Real Madrid defender Pepe scored his first goal for Portugal today in their game against Turkey. While the goal was impressive, the interplay between Pepe and captain Nuno Gomes was exceptional. There are few aspects of soccer that are a better example of teamwork than a well executed one-two. Watch this perfect example: