Neo

I was thinking about the teams coming up for the World Cup in 2010 and how strong Spain is going to be. They have a crop of amazing young players that are all coming into their own at the same time for top teams, many of whom have played together on the club side as well.

In 2010 all of these guys are going to be in or entering the peak years of their carreer and among the best in the world:

Fabregas
Torres
Sergio Ramos
Reyes
Casillas
Iniesta

Throw in a grizzly world class veteran in Puyol to marshall the defense, and Spain looks like a real monster. If not 2010 then I think they will win it in 2014. Of course, Spain is a traditional underachiever when it comes to national team footall, but with Fabregas, Torres, Ramos, and Iniesta all in their prime.... it's not just talent, those guys have the right team attitude and desire to finally bring home the greatest trophy of them all.

2010 is a long way away, but barring disastrous injury problems, Spain will have one of the most incredible squads to ever set foot on a pitch.

Brazil and Argentina will undoubtedly field strong sides, but neither nation looks like having the right combination of settled world class players who can integrate well with each other's game. I expect Germany to be strong, as well, with a core of spectacular young players -- Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Podolski -- who have just been tempered in the forge of a World Cup in their own backyard.

Italy is one country that I'm not expecting much from in 2010. They won this year with a team of real veterans, and look to be about in the middle of a transitional period when 2010 comes around.

The dark horse will be the Ivory Coast. If an African nation ever had a chance to win it will be 2010 when the World Cup comes to their own home continent, and with superstars Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure, and Emmanuel Eboue forming the core of a team filled with top flight European professionals, Ivory Coast might just be able to shock the world.

But in 2010, Spain will be simply magical. I can't wait

Dan

England will be strong with Rooney, Lennon, Richard and Terry, Gerrard, Owen, Joe Cole

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Sir.Shearer

Certainly have some quality player set for the near future, but so do many other countries. Even England have a relatively young team, almost every player in the national team now could still easily be there in 3 years, and most of them in that 'prime age' category.

The only current England nationals were born before 1980 are; Rio (78) Carra (78) Neville (75) and Lampard (78) so our current 'already well experienced' crop still have a lot of years to go. As mentioned there are some quality youngsters ready to step up in the coming years, not quite as developed as those Spaniards but have a lot of chance for 2014.