Almost, but not quite.....

With work finished up and less than a week to go, we are almost ready to start the next World Cup Adventure.

Even though I'm gonna miss the team at AsureQuality, I was glad to finish up there with a few weeks to spare. I've needed a break from work for quite a while now, and you know what, I think that 66 days of travel, football, adventure and the more than occasional beer is just what I need...

So this is the point where I need to ask myself the age-old question I always ask at this point in proceedings.... Who do I think will win the World Cup...??

This time around, the chances for the host nation, South Africa, are pretty slim, in fact, I don't really give them much of a hope of getting past the Group stages. Having said that, you can never under-estimate the power of the home crowd advantage, so who knows how they will fair.

There are effectively only a few teams that have a realistic chance of making it all the way through to the Final stages, and if I was a betting man, (which I am), then my money would be on either Spain or Brazil taking the cup in 2010.

On current form you would have to fancy Spain's chances, with their recent European Championship, their strong club sides and their wealth of talented and skillful players playing around the world. But Spain don't have the greatest record in the World Cup, having imploded on more than one occasion, and rarely making the final stages. With this be their year...?

Anyone who counts out Brazil would be a fool.... Brazil are the archetypal tournament team, and regardless of their form leading up to the World Cup or recent performances, they always 'bring it' when it matters. I would expect them to sail through the group stages and secure at least a semi-final spot.

My bet for an outside chance would be Holland, it's about time they pulled something out of the bag, and lived up to their reputation.

As ever, I will continue my long suffering devotion to supporting England. Before every tournament they promise so much, and nearlyalways they deliver so little. Is 2010 going to be any different...? Fabio Capello has pulled together a strong squad that is more focused and prepared than for previous World Cups. I dunno,... I just can't quite see them pulling it off this year, but I can quite easily see them losing on penalties once again ain the later stages. I hope I am wrong...

But there is something to be positive about... This time around I will have the All Whites to root for, and even though they have only a fraction of the chance that Spain, Brazil or England have of getting through to the next round, it's gonna be fun regardless of what they achieve. If they can get a couple of wins in the group stages, and qualify for the next round, that will make me almost as happy as England winning the whole damm thing.

So Fiona & I will be heading off to Namibia next Tuesday for the start of this years adventure. With minimal wi-fi coverage in the desert, I suspect that posting to my blog may be sporadic for the first couple of weeks, but I will try and write something every couple of days even if I don't get to download it straight away...

I hope you will join us on the trip....

Steve & Fiona