The deepest group in the tournament was made all the more interesting when injuries to Michael Ballack and Michael Essien took the two biggest names out of Group D. On this episode of the World Cup Buzz podcast, myself, Laurence McKenna and Kartik Krishnaiyer consider what the absences of Ballack and Heiko Westermann do to Germany’s chances to get out of a group that also features Ghana, Serbia, and Australia. Along the way, we hear thoughts from Andy Brassell, Raphael Honigstein, Jonathan Wilson and Simon Hill.

Tomorrow, we have our final group preview: Group C, as we take a very contentious look at England, the United States, Slovenia and Algeria. Then, on Thursday, each of us complete our brackets and tell you who well feel will win the 2010 World Cup.