I'm highly doubtful anyone from this group is going too deep in the tournament. Italy and Paraguay have talent to be sure, but age and inconsistency haunt both these squads. Slovakia is scrappy and could play spoiler here depending on how things shake out. Here's how I see it:
Italy vs. Paraguay (6/14) - Draw
New Zealand vs. Slovakia (6/15) - Slovakia
Slovakia vs. Paraguay (6/20) - Slovakia
Italy vs. New Zeland (6/20) - Italy
Slovakia vs. Italy (6/24) - Draw
Paraguay vs. New Zealand (6/24) - Paraguay
1st Place: Slovakia 2nd Place: Italy
Rationale: Italy always seems to do enough, and there isn't enough firepower in this group to stand in the way of getting to the next round. I think I'm picking the right two teams to make it out of this group. I give the 1st place spot to Slovakia because they've shown they can come through in the clutch and they attack from the midfield. That should bring goals in group play. I don't see New Zealand getting even a point in this group, but if they do, my guess it will be off of Paraguay, who just hasn't been the same since starting out so strong in qualifying.
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