Group A - France
Arguably the favourites in the group, although South Africa are the
top seeds, Les Bleus boast some of the best goalkeeping talent at
the 2010 tournament. The first choice glovesman is Hugo Lloris, the
Olympique Lyonnais player, and his performances for club and
country over the past few months have been notable to say the
least. His stand-out showings in the two legged play-off against
Ireland in November went a long way towards ensuring the French
passage to the final tournament. He is currently 54 in the Castrol
Rankings, perhaps indicating that his club side's defensive form
has not been all it could be this season. Among those clamouring to
be his deputies are Cedric Carrasso (36) of Bordeaux and Steve
Mandanda (599) of Marseille. The form of Monaco's Stephane Ruffier
(50) also makes him an outside shot.
Group B - Argentina
While AZ's Sergio Romero seems to have finally convinced Diego
Maradona of his abilities, there is no second guessing what el
Dieguito might do ahead of the FIFA showpiece. Therefore, Mariano
Andujar, the Catania shot-stopper, may still usurp the long-haired
keeper. Andujar is certain to be on the plane to South Africa but
may not command a starting berth. Nonetheless, his five clean
sheets for the Sicilians since the turn of the year have helped him
catapult up the Castrol Rankings by more than 700 places. Andujar
is currently at 448 in the list.
Current Argentine shot-stopper of choice, Sergio
Romero
Group C - England
The Fabio Capello-coached side have selection conundrums all over
the field but it is the dilemma over who keeps goal at South Africa
2010 which is currently unsettling English observers most. Robert
Green (197) of West Ham United and David James of FA Cup
semi-finalists Portsmouth (287) seem to be battling for the number
one shirt, while Capello remains dubious of the credentials of
Birmingham's clean-sheet specialist, Joe Hart. The on-loan
Manchester City keeper is England's top ranked player in his
position at a lofty 42 in the Castrol Rankings. Wigan's Chris
Kirkland (267) is another contender but an injury blighted season
may ultimately count him out.
Group D - Germany
Rene Adler was thought to be in command of the starting shirt in
Joachim Loew's Germany team, but his far from convincing
performance against Argentina last week may have planted seeds of
doubt in the Bundestrainer's mind. Bayer Leverkusen, Adler's club
side, have begun to stutter too, so the man who weighs in at 438 in
the Castrol Rankings may yet be replaced. Dependable veteran
Hans-Joerg Butt of Bayern Munich is a few places behind at 477
whilst Werder Bremen's Tim Wiese is further back at 485. The
Nationalmannschaft's safest bet may be Manuel Neuer of Schalke,
who, thanks to his club's gritty and workmanlike form, finds
himself challenging for a Bundesliga title. His displays have
earned him 166th place in the latest rankings. Roman Weidenfaller
of Borussia Dortmund, ranked at 241, is unlikely to be
considered.
German contender Manuel Neuer
Group E - Netherlands
Going forward, there are few teams who would have the measure of
the Oranje. However, in the backline and in goal is where Bert van
Marwijk's side struggle for dominace. The likes of Maarten
Stekelenburg, Michel Worm and Piet Velthuizen lack the commanding
presence of Edwin van der Sar, who insists he will not be tempted,
again, out of international retirement. The Manchester United
stopper is still ranked just outside the top 10 of the Castrol
Rankings, at 13 with 812 points.
Group F - Italy
Curiously, Gianluigi Buffon is routinely quoted as the outstanding
goalkeeper in the world, but on current form, the Juventus
custodian is well down the Italian order of shot stoppers. Leading
the way is Morgan De Sanctis of Napoli at 101, up 700 places from
the last count, while Sampdoria's Luca Castellazzi is one behind at
102. Coming in ahead of Buffon, who, due to Juve's patchy Serie A
form is down to 311, are Bologna's Emiliano Viviano (161), Genoa's
Marco Amelia (170), Stefano Sorrentino of Chievo at 202, Cagliari's
Federico Marchetti (229), Andrea Consigli of Atalanta at 267 and
Parma's Antonio Mirante at 307. Palermo's Salvatore Sirigu is doing
well at 401, a 600-place improvement on his last ranking.
Group G - Brazil
Julio Cesar of Inter benefits from playing behind one of the
tightest defences around at club level, and, thanks to Dunga's
relatively cautious approach, at international level too. However,
the former Flamengo player has proven time and again his
point-saving and match-winning credentials. Currently 55th in the
Castrol Rankings, the 30-year-old does not face the stiffest of
competition for the gloves in the Selecao set-up. Gaffe-prone Dida
is 79th, though he has not played for Brazil in four years.
Elsewhere, Tottenham's Huerelho Gomes, a squad member, is at
127.
Group H - Spain
The Spanish have some of the world's foremost goalkeeping talent,
including their captain and talisman, Iker Casillas. The Real
Madrid stopper checks in at 89 in the rankings, perhaps
surprisingly not heading the Iberian list of contenders. Diego
Aranzubia of Deportivo heads the standings at 45 with the likes of
Pepe Reina (103) and Sergio Asenjo (132) competing for squad
berths. However, playing at Real Madrid means that clean sheets do
not come easily every week; despite shipping goals, Casillas has
reason to believe that he is one of the globe's best.
