The Guardian is reporting that the chances of Chelsea securing the services of Dutch defender Gregory van der Wiel seem to have improved – after German giants Bayern Munich have dropped their interest in the player.

23 year old Van Der Wiel has been a Chelsea target for a while as they look to revitalize their ageing squad following the signings of Fernando Torres and David Luiz. But the Dutchman’s arrival would cast doubt over current Chelsea right sided defenders Paulo Ferreira and Jose Bosingwa.

Ajax anticipates that Van Der Wiel will move on in the summer and is likely to command a transfer fee in the region of £9m. Van Der Wiel seems keen to sample a new challenge in comments during an interview with Fifa.com; he said “I’ve never left Amsterdam and don’t know what life is like elsewhere.” On moving to a new club he said “It would be a huge challenge but it ought to work out well – I’m sure of that. I want to win trophies, keep progressing and play at the very highest level.”

Van Der Wiel has made over 100 league appearances for Ajax and played a significant part in the 2010 World Cup with Holland. He has now played 21 times for his country.

Like this rumour? Follow me on Twitter

10. Vuvuzelas

It is apart of the culture in African football but they are very annoying to hear throughout 90 minutes. To be fair it has died down a bit since the departure of the host nation but still manage to make an appearance in the remaining games. It’s disappointing only for the fact we don’t hear no football chants and crowd reactions towards certain decisions.

9. The Jabulani Ball

The Jabulani ball has taken some criticism since the tournament began over 2 weeks ago and by the evidence we have seen it deserved it. Many players who have played with the ball in South Africa have struggled to adapt with the new Adidas ball, claiming that it is to round…what do you want guys, a ball shaped like a square or something? It seems a bit of an excuse to me, however, having watched all the games in South Africa so far, it’s clear to see that it is very different from previous tournament balls. Players have misjudged the flight and bounce, as well as failing to really hit it properly (exclude Carlos Tevez of course). For those reasons stated above, it does make for disappointing viewing at times.

8. Fernando Torres – Not performing like he is capable of

The Spanish striker does not look like he is in the grove this summer as he has been in previous tournaments, and so far in this World Cup, Torres has not been able to find the back of the net. The Liverpool hitman does not look the same player prior to the competition beginning, and its visible to see that he is either unfit or has other things on his mind. Many (including me) thought that Torres would be amongst the other elite strikers in the world battling for the illustrious golden boot. Unfortunately this is not the case this year. Generally, Torres has been poor in South Africa, and for those who placed a bet on the 26-year-old to be top goal scorer of the tournament, well it looks like you guys have lost your money.

7. France – So much Talent, yet no cohesion

The French have got to be the biggest joke in world football today. So much talented stars like Franck Ribery, Yoann Gourcuff, Patrice Evra and Thierry Henry yet they failed in what was one of their worst World Cup campaigns for a number of years. Raymond Domenech was useless as ever as the French manager, and trouble within the camp prior to the tournament and during it certainly didn’t help the cause either. A number of problems caused the Les Bleus to underachieve and evidently failed miserably in their attempt to qualify to the next round. It’s disappointing because we expected better performances from some of the players the football world has to offer, but instead everybody was sucked into the mayhem off the pitch. The FFF has a big crisis on their hands.

6. Didier Drogba – Not seen as much as we expected

The Chelsea hitman had a great season for the West London club and was tipped to be amongst the contenders for the golden boot. Unfortunately, during a friendly game against Japan a week before the commencement of the World Cup, the Ivory Coast striker broke his arm. Drogba struggled and many thought he was out of the tournament. However, the 32-year-old recovered in time and managed to appear in all of the Ivory Coast matches. He only scored one goal against Brazil but this was only a consolation. Africa’s star man was not 100% fit and because of this, he was unable to replicate what he did last season in this years World Cup. A big disappointment for the continent of Africa in whole.

Check out the top 5 on page 2, click here

10. The Slovenian goalkeeper is a coward

When Landon Donovan’s rocket early in the second half of USA’s game against Slovenia hit the back of the net, one couldn’t help but notice Slovenia’s ‘keeper move out of the way rather than make a save. What is surprising is that the goalkeeper is Samir Handanovic who plays for Udinese and is regarded as a good goalkeeper in Italy. He is probably the side’s most high profile player and to see him bottling a save doesn’t fill you with a lot of confidence about Slovenia’s chances.

9. Dennis Rommedahl is actually a good player!

Fans of Charlton Athletic including myself will be scratching their heads wondering, why couldn’t Dennis Rommedahl show that kind of form at Charlton on a regular basis? The Danish midfielder looked inspired during Denmark’s 2-1 victory over Cameroon. His blistering pace caused the Cameroon defence all kinds of problems down the right hand side managing to put in a cross for Nicolas Bendtner to score and cancel out Samuel Eto’o’ s opener. Then he in the second half he went on to a score the winner for his side by twisting and turning his way through the defence before placing a nicely curled shot into the back of the net.

8. Holland look efficient

Although they didn’t look spectacular in their game against Japan they got the result at the end of it, much like in their game with Denmark. As of writing they are the only side along with Brazil and Argentina to have won their two opening games, and they have made the best start out of all the sides in Europe. The fact that they haven’t blown anyone away yet but possess so much talent is scary thought for other sides and they will surely be a force to be reckoned with in the knockout stages.

7. Ghana know how to celebrate

After coolly slotting away a penalty for Ghana, Asamoah Gyan and his team mates all proceeded to break into a wonderfully choreographed celebration that has got to be the best one of the tournament so far!

6. Luis Fabiano knows how to score a good goal or two

Brazil striker Luis Fabiano finally opened his World Cup account by scoring two well taken goals against the Ivory Coast yesterday. His first was a powerful shot smashed into the back the net after a lovely passing team move. The second goal he scored was a sublime finish reminiscent of Paul Gascoigne’s goal for England against Scotland in Euro 96. It was perhaps the best goal of the tournament so far but the claim will be spoilt because of a debateable hand ball by Fabiano.

Continue reading on the next page to see the final 5

The favourites
The underachievers
Fallen giants
Surprise Nations

The so called “Favourites”

Brazil- It’s rare to enter a WC without Brazil being amongst the group of favourites, and this is no different. After their poor showing in Germany 06 this Brazil team under guidance of coach Dunga will see anything but lifting the Jules Rimet trophy as a failure. Starting from the top down you can justify their place in this group. They have arguably the best goalkeeper in the world in Julio Ceaser. A defense spearheaded by the no nonsense Lúcio, with their usual gut busting full backs in the form of Douglas Maicon and Michel Bastos. A midfield where Kaka is given freedom to roam and Gilberto Silva he task of protecting the back 4. An attack where the likes of Robhino or Luis Fabiano can cut through a defense without hesitation. The only doubt cast over this squad was the decision by Dunga to leave Pato, Ronaldinho, and Adriano behind.

Strengths: Goals from every area of the field bar the goalkeeper.

Weaknesses: Weaknesses at the back with attack minded defenders.

Spain- Labelled a perennial under achiever, Spain head to South Africa playing the best football in the nation’s history. They won Euro 2008 in an almost effortless fashion and although the WC will pose a tougher test, you wouldn’t put it past them to go all the way. They went on a 35 game unbeaten streak. They eased through qualifying. They have one of the best goalkeepers in the world in Iker Casillas. They have possibly the best front 2 heading into this tournament in Fernando Torres and David Villa. And are spoilt for choice in midfield with names, like Xavi, Inniesta, Fabregas, Senna, Xabi Alonso and Sergio Busquets just to name a few. So what’s stopping them from going all the way? Nobody but themselves.

Strengths: Clinical forwards, and an army of talented midfielders.

Weaknesses: Consistency. They have never maintained consistency throughout a WC.

Argentina- So far Diego Maradona’s spell as Argentina’s coach can only be described as eventful. Saying that they scraped qualifying by the skin of their teeth would be exaggerating, but they did cut it fine. Despite not beating Brazil in their 2 games and getting hammered 6-1 by Bolivia, they still head to South Africa with one of the best squads. Maradona has mixed and matched youth and experience. With players like Juan Seba Veron with bags of experience, and the likes of 22 year old current world player of the year Lionel Messi. By looking at this squad you can already see where they’re strongest. They have an abundance of fire power. With the likes of Messi, Tevez, Higuain, Aguero, and Diego Milito, once can’t help expect a bagful of goals from this team. Their only weakness here is Maradona’s indecisiveness. He’s so far used 78 players during his spell as coach and is not any closer to knowing his best XI.

Strengths: An embarrassment of riches up front

Weaknesses: Left out 2 big names in Cambiaso and Zanetti. Still doesn’t know best XI

Click here to see the underachievers

Heading into qualification Australia looked like one of the strongest teams, and it was no surprise when they topped Group A. They remained unbeaten in their 8 games, picking up 20 points and conceding just 1 goal. Premiership and Everton star Tim Cahill is one of their key players, whilst Blackburn midfielder Brett Emerton top scored with 4 goals. Japan finished second in the group to book their place in next summer’s tournament as well, losing just to Australia. Bahrain finished ahead of Qatar and Uzebekistan in 3rd place to qualify for the play-off.

In Group B, both Korean teams triumphed in what was a fiercely competitive group. South Korea were unbeaten and UAE managed only 1 point, but only 1 point separated Korea DPR, Saudi Arabia and Iran. South Korea topped the group and Manchester United’s Ji-Sung Park will be looking to impress in the finals, whilst Korea DPR scraped 2nd place on goal difference ahead of Saudi Arabia who qualified for a play-off against Bahrain.

Bahrain triumphed against Saudi Arabia on away goals and faced New Zealand for a place in the 2010 World Cup finals. New Zealand won the Oceania qualifying section after comfortably winning their qualifying group. After a goalless first leg in Bahrain, a goal from Plymouth striker Rory Fallon who plies his trade in the English Championship, helped New Zealand to an aggregate 1-0 win and their first appearance in the FIFA World Cup finals since 1982.