The perils of World Cup previews written 60 days out

The folks at Beckett Media who asked me to produce wheel barrels full of content for their World Cup preview needed the material, like, yesterday.

In one sense, that’s OK. We all know plenty about England, the United States, etc. We know Spain and Brazil will be favored. We know Brazil will win matches but still suffer heavy weapons barrages of criticism because they didn’t do it with enough panache. We know Italy will be old but effective because they will roll around on the ground the way my border collie rolls around scratching her itchy back. We know logistics in and around South Africa 2010 will be an absolute cluster-you-know-what.

We know plenty about the big picture. But the details! This is going to be tricky. Here’s a great “for instance:”

My pick for Golden Boot? Spain’s Fernando Torres. Which looked like a pretty reasonable pick. Yeah, you could say that David Villa would outrace Torres, as the Liverpool man tends to score more prolifically at home. Both stand to benefit from the service of artistic midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta. But I liked Torres anyway.

Well, now you can be even surer today that Villa will outrace Torres – as the Liverpool man might be on one leg! He has undergone surgery and may miss the World Cup. So, pardon me while I rush over to the printing press and use an X-acto Knife to correct this little oopsy.

Read on for a few of my other, ahem, predictions ...

Dark horse favorite: If the Netherlands can dodge its tendency for stirring the foul brews of self-destruction, they have technical ability and balance throughout the lineup.

Teams most likely to disappoint: The Netherlands (see above). And Italy, as the defending champs will bring an old team, one in need of a few younger lions to keep pace in the taxing tournament.

Really dark horse favorites: Ghana or Serbia, only because they could avoid Brazil and Spain en route to a potential final.

Team most likely to leave without scoring: New Zealand will look so feeble that tournament officials will (again) reconfigure qualifying out of the weakling Oceania region.

Best team that won’t get out of the group: Between Germany, Serbia and Ghana in Group D, a really good side will be left behind. Go with Ghana as odd man out.