Day 5 Predictions

New Zealand vs. Slovakia
7:30am, ESPN
Winner: Slovakia
New Zealand captain Ryan Nelsen will do his best to represent former club DC United in South Africa, but Slovakia's superior talent will win out in the end. The Slovaks will offer much stiffer competition than the likes of Fiji, New Caledonia and Vanuatu, all of whom New Zealand faced in World Cup qualifying. The step up in quality will be a bit too much for New Zealand to handle.

Ivory Coast vs. Portugal
10:00am, ESPN
Winner: Portugal
Portugal gets the edge because Ivory Coast will most likely be without their best player, Didier Drogba, who is still recovering from a broken arm suffered several weeks ago. It won't be known for sure if he is in the squad until shortly before kickoff, so there is a chance he could actually play. Seems unlikely though. The Elephants have plenty of good players but without Drogba they lack a quality goalscorer and won't be able to match the firepower of Portugal, particularly Cristiano Ronaldo.

UPDATE - 8:55am: FIFA has approved the cast that Drogba is wearing, and he has been cleared to play. He won't start but is available as a substitute. Not going to change my prediction though. Pretty bold.

Brazil vs. North Korea
2:30pm, ESPN
Winner: Brazil
It will be very interesting to see North Korea, a team, and country, that is normally shrouded in secrecy and cut off from the outside world. Expect the North Koreans to work extremely hard and defend in numbers, but they simply can't compete with Brazil. Dunga, head coach of Brazil, is known for being less than adventurous in his team selections, but that won't stop his players from putting in multiple goals.