Rooney is England's Go To man

Wayne Rooney had the weight of an entire country on his back. With him England has a good shot at making the final in South Africa but without him, England doesn't really stand a chance. He will be England's play maker if he maintains his current form. He has been demolishing Premier League teams with his role for Manchester United, and has had a huge impact on the international scene. English legend Sir Geoff Hurst said Rooney will be the "x-factor" for England an the reason they will advance to the later stages of the tournament. If Rooney were to get injured, England wouldn't have enough talent at the forward position to create a lot of scoring opportunities.

Lionell Messi Ready For This Saturday?

Lightning fast. Uncanny balance. Superhuman agility. Unbelieveable touch. Superb vision. This is Lionel Messi and what he does on the soccer field is unrivaled. Watching him play is like listening to the Beatles, or watching Santana play the guitar. He is truly in a class of his own with all the talent in the world. He creates like no other player in the game, either by scoring on his own or creating an open shot for his teammates. That is exactly what he'll be doing this Saturday against Xerez. Xerez and Villarreal are the only two teams that he has yet to score against in his already incredible career, with the World and Player of the Year awards, and I have a strong feeling he will be doing plenty of that on Saturday. This season he has scored on all but five teams, scoring an impressive 27 goals in league play. All eyes should be on him from the time the whistle blows because I'm sure he'll be chomping at the bit to finally get that chip off his shoulder.

2010 South Africa Prediction- SPAIN ALL THE WAY

My prediction for the World Cup champion is Spain by a landslide. Other than Brazil they are possibly the most talented team in the world. With players like Xavi, Villa, Torres, Ramos, Fabregas, and Puyol they will be virtually unstoppable. With the Euro in 08, and the heartwrenching upset to the U.S. in the Confederations Cup, I have a feeling they will come out guns blazing. They cruised through their qualifying games with 10 wins, scoring 28 goals, only giving up 5 to their opponents. There is no doubt that they are ready for the World Cup. The only problem they have is if Torres isn't ready, having surgery on his knee Sunday. He's expected to return in 6 weeks but the question everyone wants to know is if Vicente del Bosque will keep him on the roster. FIFA wants the final rosters sent in on June 1, and it is questionable if he'll even be healthy by then. With Torres, Spain will destroy the competition and win the whole tournament with ease. Even without Torres they still have a good shot at winning it all, but will be rivaled by Brazil, a team with just as much talent and explosiveness.