Spain/Nigeria/Bulgaria/Paraguay

SCHEDULE June 12th June 13th PARAGUAY - BULGARIA (MONTPELLIER, 14:30) SPAIN - NIGERIA (NANTES, 14:30) June 19th NIGERIA - BULGARIA (PARIS, 17:30) SPAIN - PARAGUAY (SAINT-ETIENNE, 21:00) June 24th SPAIN - BULGARIA (FRANCE, 21:00) NIGERIA - PARAGUAY (TOULOUSE, 21:00)

Will Spain and Nigeria win through this deadly group or will there be an upset? If there is any group that fits the well-used phrase "deadly group", it would be Group D. On top of that, having Spain and Nigeria clash in the first match only adds to the sense of potential upsets. Many have named Spain as a candidate for the championship. However, the three points that were supposed to back up the reputation of this Spanish team as "better than the Best 8 team of the previous World Cup" are all shaky. First, although Raul, who is a threat running to the front of the opponent's goal from the second row certainly has a large range, the prospects for the injured Giurdiolla{?}, who executes creative passes from his slightly back position in the middle are unclear and more than anything else the slump by Alfonso, who was expected to be the answer for the lack of finishing-off power, casts a major shadow. Nigeria, which is chasing after Spain, has obtained the famed Coach Milutinovic, who has led three different countries in the last three World Cups and won his group each time, but he has lost his canoe since the days when he won the gold medal with the Dutch Olympic team. Precisely because the Nigerian squad had been weak and is being led for the first time by Milutinovic the possibility that they may suddenly become much stronger makes them an interesting team to watch. The Spanish team is based on the solid DF line which is solidified by players with experience from the previous World Cup and there is little danger of Spain losing in the preliminary league, but of all the teams in the tournament, Nigeria is the one with the broadest range of possibilities.

The remaining two countries can be classified into two different types. Paraguay, with its base in severe defense strength, resembles Spain, whose main sales point is a sense of stability. Although Paraguay is facing a transition period, the sharpness of its counter attacks makes opponents nervous and it resembles Nigeria in the drastic difference in the quality of its play in good matches and bad. However, Chilavert, who's supporter of the Paraguay, has seen continued, violence, etc. and even if Bulgaria's leader Stoichkov fulfills his role, his anger takes the lead. Given its greater maturity as a professional team, Spain will not lose out in the preliminary rounds, but this is a group where anything could happen to the other teams.

TEAM POTENTIAL
	Offense	Defense	Overall	Probability of winning through
SPAIN	B	B	B	75%
NIGERIA	B	B	B	60%
PARAGUAY	D	B	C	40%
BULGARIA	B	C	C	40%