Verdict for Group D:
France performed strongly in the first two games which allowed them to field a B-team in the final game. Despite this loss - which was the result of the stolen goal because incompetent defending is not the same as a deflected ball - France can be safely counted towards the small circle of top favorites of this tournament after ending the curse for European world champions of the 21st century. Being able to rest the majority of starters should also be beneficial in this particular World Cup where there wasn't a break between the end of league activity and the start of the tournament.
Denmark will likely be the biggest disappointment of this tournament. They played to the level of their opponents every time; which is a good thing when compared against France, but not against Tunisia and Australia. There are many aspects in football, but at the end of the day it is about scoring goals, something that Denmark was seemingly incapable of this time. They just never got going.
Which makes it a blessing that Australia could score a game-winning goal against Denmark instead of being left with an 0-0 draw. If that had happened, then Tunisia would have advanced on the basis of scoring one goal in total, being lucky to play against France's B-team AND getting huge help from the referees. That would have soured the WC tremendously for me.
11 goals scored for an average of 1.83. If it hadn't been for France's great showings in the first two games, this group would have been a bust. Weak.
...
Performance per continent:
Africa: 1/2 - 50%
Asia: 1/3 - 33%
Europe: 3/5 - 60%
North America: 1/1 - 100%
South America: 0/1 - 0%
Legend11 correctly predicted that GTA IV will outsell Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was wrong.
