Group Stage CRUNCH Time!

Another week of World Cup action comes to an end... with more surprising results.

Heavily favoured teams conceding the top spots to the underdogs, two reports blaming losses on girlfriends or ex-girlfriends, some teams blaming the ball, playing field... and of course bad officiating... although, depending on the team you cheer for, isn't there always bad calls or missed calls?

Going by rankings alone, one should easily be able to pick who advances to the next round... thankfully that isn't the case and that's what makes the matches so fun (or painful) to watch.

It's CRUNCH time in the Group Stage, which brings (or should bring) some exciting matches.

If you missed any of the previous games, you won't want to miss these...

Group A: MP W D L GF GA Pts.

Uruguay 2 1 1 0 3 0 4

Mexico 2 1 1 0 3 1 4

France 2 0 1 1 0 2 1

South Africa 2 0 1 1 1 4 1

9th place France sits at the bottom with 83rd place Host, South Africa... but this should all change on the 22nd as Group A top teams Uruguay(16) faces Mexico(17) at the same time France will take on South Africa.

Group B: MP W D L GF GA Pts.

Argentina 2 2 0 0 5 1 6

Korea Republic 2 1 0 1 3 4 3

Greece 2 1 0 1 2 3 3

Nigeria 2 0 0 2 1 3 0

Group B's matches have played out more or less as expected, but there is always room for the unexpected as Argentina plays Euro 2004 Champions, Greece, and South Korea play Nigeria on the 22nd. Still room for people to advance depending on who wins and by how much.

Group C: MP W D L GF GA Pts.

Slovenia 2 1 1 0 3 2 4

USA 2 0 2 0 3 3 2

England 2 0 2 0 1 1 2

Algeria 2 0 1 1 0 1 1

Group C has been full of surprises with England ranked 9th and USA ranked 14th, both winless.

Slovenia that has the least amount of World Cup appearances compared to rest of the group sits up top.

On the 23rd all will be decided as England plays Slovenia and USA play Algeria.

Group D: MP W D L GF GA Pts.

Ghana 2 1 1 0 2 1 4

Germany 2 1 0 1 4 1 3

Serbia 2 1 0 1 1 1 3

Australia 2 0 1 1 1 5 1

Group D is another close group with standings to be decided on the 23rd as Ghana plays Germany and Serbia plays Australia.

Group E: MP W D L GF GA Pts.

Netherlands 2 2 0 0 3 0 6

Japan 2 1 0 1 1 1 3

Denmark 2 1 0 1 2 3 3

Cameroon 2 0 0 2 1 3 0

Group E... I like! Sure I'm a little biased, but Netherlands is pretty much the only team that seemed to keep its form from the last Euro Cup. With Netherlands' win over Japan and Denmark beating Cameroon, Netherlands became the first to advance to the next round and Cameroon was the first to go out.

The 24th has Denmark playing Japan for the advance, and Cameroon playing Netherlands for pride.

Group F: MP W D L GF GA Pts.

Paraguay 2 1 1 0 3 1 4

Italy 2 0 2 0 2 2 2

New Zealand 2 0 2 0 2 2 2

Slovakia 2 0 1 1 1 3 1

Group F... Who saw this coming? Defending Champions, Italy still with no "W's". A lot of people over here are happy about it due to the traffic problems people have when Italy does win.

With Italy playing Slovakia, and New Zealand playing Paraguay on the 24th... We might see traffic problems soon...

Oh Joy! Just befor the G20 :P

Group G: MP W D L GF GA Pts.

Brazil 2 2 0 0 5 2 6

Portugal 2 1 1 0 7 0 4

Côte d'Ivoire 2 0 1 1 1 3 1

Korea DPR 2 0 0 2 1 9 0

Group G... Another group that I like. This group is playing out like one would expect... Which makes a lot of Italians very unhappy :P The 2 Portuguese speaking countries collide on the 25th as the Ivory Coast takes on North Korea.

Brazil is guaranteed it's advance, and if Ivory Coast "destroys" North Korea, much like Portugal did, they just may advance.

Group H: MP W D L GF GA Pts.

Chile 2 2 0 0 2 0 6

Spain 2 1 0 1 2 1 3

Switzerland 2 1 0 1 1 1 3

Honduras 2 0 0 2 0 3 0

Group H... Euro Champions, SPAIN... David Villa... well, they sure don't look like the same team from Euro Cup, and competing against Group Leader, Chile on the 25th, I hope they can regain their form considering Switzerland is playing Honduras which could potentially knock Spain out if Spain can't pull off the WIN.