SOCCER

(06-08) 23:25 PDT -- This concludes a four-part series previewing the World Cup, which begins Friday. Each Wednesday, we have analyzed two groups. We finish with groups G and H, whose top teams will meet in the second round of the tournament.

Group G

Brazil: The contrarian coach, Dunga, is going to look awfully smart if traditionally fancy Brazil wins the Cup with counterattacks and defense. That's the entire foundation of his strategy, and it just might work with world-class defenders Lúcio and Maicon in front of the superb goalkeeper, Júlio César (expected to play despite a nagging back injury).

Watching this team won't be the same for fans rhapsodizing over past magicians Pelé, Garrincha, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, but count on the Brazilians being cohesive and dominant, with Kaká and Luís Fabiano stepping to the front on attack.

And if the team disappoints? "I will be killed," Dunga says. Not literally, one hopes.

Portugal: This team could really use a veteran anchor, like the great Luís Figo (now retired) from the '06 squad. Club followers claim that the team's mood, so positive under former coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, has been diminished since Carlos Queiroz took the job.

Then again, skepticism follows Portugal as a matter of course, and the mere presence of Cristiano Ronaldo, a man who performs miracles with the ball and can strike from anywhere, makes the Portuguese worth watching - not to mention Chelsea stars Deco and Ricardo Carvalho.

In a bit of discouraging news Tuesday, Manchester United striker Nani was ruled out of the World Cup after injuring himself in Friday's practice. He attempted an overhead kick, fell awkwardly to the ground and broke his left collarbone.

Ivory Coast: Didier Drogba, the Premier League's leading scorer (29 goals in 32 games for Chelsea), expected enough trouble trying to play through a painful hernia, likely to require an operation at Cup's end; now the team's hopes revolve around him pulling a Willis Reed, of sorts, and playing this tournament with a broken arm.

All seemed lost last week, when Drogba fractured the ulna of his right forearm during a warm-up match against Japan, but he underwent emergency surgery over the weekend and might be able to play. This is a talented team on many fronts, but Drogba - a national hero for his work in easing the tension of a brutal civil war - is both the engine and the inspiration.

Although most observers see this team as Africa's best, the players have spent less than a month with coach Sven-Göran Eriksson, and Group G is very tough. They'll need all the motivation they can get.

North Korea: So the Germans are efficient, the English are worried, the Spaniards are elegant - and the North Koreans are secretive. Making its first World Cup appearance since 1966, and doing so mostly for the sake of propaganda, this team has succeeded in being a complete mystery to everyone.

The players have spent months in an intense, secretive training program at home, and they arrived in South Africa under a shroud of paranoia. They thought they'd pulled a fast one when they registered striker Kim Myong-Won as the third goalkeeper on their final roster, hoping to sneak in an extra field player, but FIFA caught on and ruled that Kim can play only in goal. In the past, they've been known to change lineup numbers and squad shirts just moments before taking the field - simply to screw with people.

They are not to be taken lightly, though. They allowed only five goals in 14 qualifying matches, and after all that conditioning, they will be among the fittest teams in the tournament.

Group H

Spain: Followers were encouraged Tuesday when Fernando Torres, the center of attention as he recovers from knee surgery, came off the bench and scored during a "friendly" against Poland. Doubt has surrounded this team for months, as there are also injury concerns surrounding elite midfielders Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta (described by England's Wayne Rooney as "the best player in the world") and Cesc FÀbregas.

Assemble all of these men in good health, add striker David Villa and a dash of that Euro '08 championship spirit, and you have a solid bet to win it all. Go out of your way to watch them.

Chile: Already an endearing story in the wake of the massive earthquake that killed hundreds of people in February, Chile's presence will be a particular blessing if leading scorer Humberto Suazo recovers from a hamstring injury that felled him last week.

Just hours after the earthquake, Suazo's Real Zaragoza team took the field for a game in Spain. Using a black marker, he inscribed "Fuerza Chile" (Be Strong, Chile) on an undershirt he wore underneath his jersey. He scored both goals in a 2-0 win, and, within days, players across western Europe were wearing mass-produced Fuerza Chile shirts. Then "Chupete," ("Pacifier") as he is known, led his underdog team through the tough South American qualifying, placing it in the World Cup for the first time in 12 years. Much to like here.

Honduras: How much emotion can you take? Last summer's political strife left the country in turmoil, dividing a people and leaving little hope for resolution. Then came soccer: Honduras charging boldly through the qualifying, miraculously winning a berth and changing the conversations on every street corner.

Reinaldo Rueda, the team's Colombian-born coach, flatly told the Los Angeles Times, "The people have been liberated behind soccer. It allowed brothers that have been separated to embrace, married couples who had been in conflict to reconcile." The general belief is that soccer saved the country - and that's why this game, and its devoted fandom, takes a singular place in sports.

Switzerland: Into this swirl of Group H passion steps Switzerland, heartened by its recent 1-1 draw against Italy but appearing a bit overmatched. If history is any help, the Swiss won their group in 2006 - finishing ahead of eventual runner-up France - before losing to Ukraine on penalties. Players to watch this time around include winger Tranquillo Barnetta and central midfielder Gökhan Inler, said to be coveted by several European clubs.

Coming Thursday: An expanded Sporting Green previews the World Cup, telling you when to watch and what to watch for.

E-mail Bruce Jenkins at bjenkins@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page B - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle