BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- Jacques Chirac would be satisfied: in this group G, French is certainly the communication language between a majority of players, only the Korean tigers don't speak the language of Jules Rimet, the founder of this prestigious sport event.

    After their traumatic experiences four years ago at Korea/Japan 2002, Les Bleus seem have this time all the chances to take the lead in this French speaking group, which includes also Switzerland, Togo and Korea Republic.

    France was a miracle in the football world during the last few years of the last century. It won the World Cup in 1998 when the country happened to the host of international soccer family, and then showed everyone that it was no fluke by winning the European Championships in 2000.

    Afterward, they struggled to stay on their glory but failed. Les Bleus went into 2002 as a favorite, but went home winless. France did better at Euro 2004, but still went home earlier than expected after losing in the quarterfinals to tournament Cinderella Greece.

    With the return of Zinedine Zidane and some other members of the champion team of 1998, though they may not be in their prime, France seems the most favourite to take Group G. France just has to play together, like what it did in 1998, and find a way to score some goals.

    The others three teams will most likely be fighting for second place. Switzerland was a very good team up until the 1950s. It has been downhill since then. 1994 was the only time since 1966 that it came to the World Cup finals, though it did make it into the second round.

    Co-host with Austria of the Euro 2010, Switzerland proved to be more than a handful for France during the qualifiers. Switzerland is a young and quick team, though it remains to be seen how it will stand up under pressure. Johann Vogel, AC Milan's defensive midfield organizer, acts as the soul of the Swiss. Alexander Frei, who finished as the leading marksman in France last season, knows his French opponents inside and out. He will be out to prove his worth following a disappointing end to Switzerland's qualifying campaign where he was below his best, particularly against the Republic of Ireland.

    South Korea's performance in Asia has earned them everyone's respect. In 2002 on home soil, it became the first Asian team to play a semifinal match and finished fourth. A key to the 2002 victory was coach and master motivator Guus Hiddink, who is managing Australia this year. Coach this time by Dick Advocaat, also a Dutch like Hiddink, the team will have to play at the best of its ability, especially its first match against Togo, if it even wants to come close to replicating that run.

    The Hawks will be looking to cause an upset in their first appearance on world football's greatest stage and they are capable of doing so with players of the calibre of Emmanuel Adebayor.

    The Arsenal striker was at his best in qualifying play and the team made it through fairly easily.

    Before the African Cup of Nations started, though, Adebayor fought with coach Otto Pfister and spent the whole tournament throwing temper tantrums. The team self-destructed, failing to get a single point. If he can't keep his mind on the goal at the World Cup, it could be a short tournament. Enditem