Provisional Squads...

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, exams have been taking over my life.

But...now that they are over, it's time to finally concentrate on the main event taking centre stage this summer...that's right, there are now only 25 days left until it all kicks off in South Africa!!!

So, every manager has now announced their 30 man provisional squad (or just under 30), and after a few friendlies, the squads will be reduced to the final 23! So I thought it apt to take a look at whether some of the other nations' teams have thrown up any surprises. A more detailed post on the England provisional team will appear soon!

So looking at the French squad first up and it's a shock to see Vieira missing from the list. Vieira has been a major force in the French team and has been present for the best part of a decade. He was a central component in the team that won in 2000 and was also part of the World Cup campaign in 1998, coming on as a substitute in the final. He offers experience and presence in midfield, but perhaps Domenech feels it is time for a more youthful approach. Since signing for Man City, Vieira has had limited opportunity to shine, often coming off the bench and it is clear to see that he is only a shadow of the player he was at Arsenal. Still, it is nice to see him taking it all in good grace, declaring that he respects Domenech's decision which he can see was made on "sporting grounds". Still it is somewhat of a shame as this would surely have been his last World Cup. Other surprise exclusions include Nasri and Benzema. Benzema, who transferred to Real Madrid from Lyon this year has had somewhat of a frustrating season both on and off the pitch. The saga surrounding the private life of some of the French team's finest footballers would have been an unwanted distraction to Domenech's preparations, yet he has included Ribery, Ben Arfa and Govou in his squad despite their role in the scandal. Djibril Cisse was also a surprise call-up, the former Liverpool man hasn't played for the national team since he was not included in the squad for Euro 2008. Hugo Lloris has also been given the No.1 position after his impressive performances for Lyon. It seems that Domenech is opting for a more younger, fresher looking squad than seen in previous tournaments, with experience coming from the likes of Gallas, Toulalan and captain, Henry.

Diego Forlan has been given a place in the Uruguayan squad and quite rightly so, after the wondrous season he has had with Atletico Madrid, not only scoring the winning goal in the Europa League final but also hitting the back of the net plenty of times in La Liga this season and last season too!

Meanwhile, Diego Maradona, who in the past has more than enjoyed rotating his squad about has opted to leave out Cambiasso and Zanetti despite them being crucial components of the Inter team that are about to play in this season's Champions League final. Also, only one half of the Milito brothers will be in with a shot in getting on that plane to SA - Gabriel Milito has been left out of the squad but Diego Milito will have a chance to prove his worth in the upcoming friendlies. Also it should come as no surprise that Barca's star man, Lio Messi has made it in and is one of those virtually guaranteed to be heading to SA in a few weeks time.

The Algerian squad has been massively affected by injuries but they should be boosted by the addition of 3 French Junior Internationals who have been cleared by FIFA to play for the Algerian senior team.

The German team is currently awaiting scan results for their captain Michael Ballack after he was injured in Chelsea's FA Cup Final win yesterday against Portsmouth. The confident midfielder admitted he was concerned about his participation in the tournament after being substituted off due to a bad tackle on his ankle. If Ballack is unable to participate, it would be a huge blow to the Germans. Nonetheless, manager Joachim Low has opted for plenty of experience by choosing many of the players who reached the semi-final of the World Cup in 2006. Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Klose, Lahm, Mertesacker have all experienced the World Cup before. What's unusual is that Low has not picked any player from, last season's Bundesliga winners, Wolfsburg. Instead he has picked two uncapped players in Daniel Aogo and Holger Badstuber. I have seen Badstuber playing for Bayern this season in the CL and he has been pretty impressive in his defensive duties. He looks to be a really promising prospect.

A noticeable miss for the Dutch squad is Ruud van Nistelrooy. He actually reversed his decision to retire but worries over his fitness levels and injuries this season have ultimately resulted in his omission.

The big player missing from Brazil's team is Ronaldinho. It seems strange to go into a massive tournament without him, but the coach, Dunga, has decided against including him in the 23-man squad. Instead Ronaldinho has a chance to become one of the 7 stand-by players. Ronaldinho has played quite well this season for AC Milan and he had hoped to add to his previous two appearances at World Cup finals in 2002 and 2006 respectively.

Finally, strong favourites Spain have decided to include the injured Fabregas, Torres and Iniesta in their provisional squad. All three are in a race against time and are determined to get fit before the tournament gets underway. There is no doubt that they figure heavily in the Spanish team and will be huge losses if they don't get fit in time. It is a little bit of a risk for Spanish boss, del Bosque, but risks that could be well worth it for the European champions. Del Bosque has picked 5 goalkeepers and all have great quality. Casillas will no doubt occupy the no.1 spot and Reina will be strong favourite as first-choice reserve, but a call up for Atletico's 19 year old goalkeeper David de Gea and Barca's keeper Victor Valdes means that competition will be tough in battling it out for the 3rd spot. De Gea has been phenomenal in the Europa League this season for Atletico. His tall, towering presence combined with fresh youthful energy has clearly been picked up on by the Spanish manager. Valdes has also been rock solid at the back for Barca, particularly in La Liga and the Champions League. Valdes' teammate, Pedro has also been included in the provisional squad after having a great season with the Catalans, however his teammate Bojan has not been included. Still, Bojan is very young and has many chances to be part of what is looking to be a very strong Spanish side, in the future. Finally, the veteran Raul will not be featuring at this year's finals in what would surely have been his last World Cup tournament.