Brazil & the Netherlands have cinched spots in the knock-out stage, but a handful of the big boys are sweating it, not the least of which are the finalists from WC2006.
France has disintegrated, falling apart after their draw with Uruguay, kicking Anelka off the squad and refusing to train yesterday for the final match against hosts South Africa. France will need at least a 4 goal difference over Mexico to advance.
Italy sits on two points after a draw with New Zealand(?!). Their all-star keeper Gianluigi Buffon is out indefinitely after leaving at the half of the first match. They will advance with a win over Slovakia.
Germany can still claim a spot if they defeat group leader Ghana, but they are without the services of striker Miroslav Klose who received a red card in the Serbia match, otherwise they will be at the mercy of the result of the Serbia-Australia match.
The Swiss astounded everyone by downing favorites Spain 1-0 in the first match of group H.
And of course there's the USA situation which plays out like this:
If England wins, USA must win
If England loses, USA must at least draw
If England draws, USA must at draw and not be outscored by more than 2 points by England in the final round or win.
US can still be group winner with a win & an England win with a lower goal difference.
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