Group 1 looks one of the most competitive on paper but that should only really concern the scrap for second place and I make Portugal excellent 2.00 shots to end the section on top.

With just the first placed sides from each pool assured of a place at South Africa 2010 there can be no let up throughout the qualifying campaign and Carlos Queiroz, the ex-Manchester United assistant of course, has inherited a wonderfully gifted squad from Felipe Scolari. They caught the Germans on a rare going day at Euro 2008 in the quarter-finals and should be able to cope without Cristiano Ronaldo for their opening fixtures against Malta and Denmark.

The fight for second place is bound to feature Sweden and Denmark but the former are clearly past their best while the 1992 European Champions are still building for the future.