World Cup 06
 

This just won't start quick enough!

I'm loving how wide open this tournament figures to be. There are easily ten teams that could win it all.

I know there are more of you football watching freaks out there, so spill it...Predictions, trash talk...all of it here.

58 days!!!

My predictions.

Group A - Germany, Poland
Group B - Sweden, England
Group C - Argentina, Serbia and Montenegro
Group D - Portugal, Angola
Group E - Italy, United States
Group F - Brazil, Australia
Group G - Korea, France
Group H - Spain, Tunisia

Darkhorses - Angola, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago (English fans,DO NOT TAKE THIS TEAM LIGHTLY), Ukraine

Teams most likely to Dissapoint - England, United States, Netherlands, Argentina

Champion - Brazil (who else?)

I love soccer. I'll watch some of it even though I haven't really scouted the teams and won't know them that well (other than the US).

I don't think Ukraine should be underestimated - they and Tunisia could provide some shocks. Spain could very easily go out in round one to those two.

Argentina have a phenomenally talented side at the moment and are my favourites to win. Netherlands stand a chance too, they could pick up their first title.

Other than Tunisia, it could be that this is the African continent's worst world cup for some time - I think that in recent cups some strong teams have been there, but Angola, Togo, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire are relatively weak teams with one or two very string individual players. Thei weaknesses should be exposed at a major tournament.

It would be nice if South Korea could at least partially replicate the success that they had in the last World Cup - they are the better Asian team in my opinion, I consider JApan to be a little overrated.

I'm looking forward to the Mexico/Iran/Angola/Portugal group, it has a nice blend of teams.

I always get behind holland and spain but they never get very far.

I like your predictions about Australia, haha. But seriously, I do hope that they go far.

I would love to see a 'new' winner this year. A nation that has never won it before.

Argentina always has a great line-up, but they lack something their former teams of the 70s and 80s had. What a joke that 02 squad was...

I can't seem to get past Brazil. While there are a lot of teams that could potentially pull it off, none of those teams really match up well against them.
I mean, they can pull off just about anything...I mean...well...look....http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...29759841098031(WARNING: MAY BRING BACK AWFUL MEMORIES FOR ENGLISH FANS)

So I'm bumping a thread that was never very popular but may attract more attention being so close to the tournament.

AND

The US line up has been announced and I'm totally into it! Best team the US has ever put on the pitch. Perhaps we will surprise....

I'm pretty pumped to watch some good soccer. The MLS is ok, but I'm ready to watch some World Cup action.

im pretty excited because aus have not made a world cup for 32 years or something, now they are going to win, hehehe

Probably won't win. But I do believe the socceroos will be heard.

USA v. Czech Rep = L
USA v. Italy = L
USA v. Ghana = T

Tough group in '06. No quarterfinals this time, sorry.

everyone looks at me in amazement when i predict at least quarter finals for the US.. i think they're about to change "the beautiful game" with new strategies and innovative gameplay..

and yes, they probably will take the fun out of it too..

brazil seems to be a sure win, england will surely dissapoint..

any surprises?

Australia is in the world cup for first time in 32 years we can't wait, the whole country will be watching.

England are now seriously screwed now that Rooney is out probably be either France or Brazil that'll win.

By the way it's football not Soccer.

How come so many people get ready to be disappointed by England? I was about to bet with some friends that they'd be there in the 1/4. They have more great mid-field players (Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham) that they ever had (Ince was alone, and so was Gascoygne - but was he a mid-field? - that guy was a wonder - even though the only thing for which I seem to remember him is that yellow card he received for watching the referee while lying on his belly, a shoulder on the ball, his jaw resting in his hand).

Rooney out? Was he injured? What happened? Who's supposed to take his place?

France would win? As it's my nation, I'm fed with information about the players. And I doubt it. Zidane is still a great player (as Beckham), but there's noone as good as him in his sector. There's some hope for Ribery (plays in Marseille) to join the team, but if not, Zidane would be the only talented player in the attacking-mid-field sector. And there are some fears about the defence.
Well well... As the selection hasn't been revealed yet, all we can do is speculate.
Once it's done, I might throw in some comments about the players you've never heard of, so that the bets mean something (and I'm hoping to see a few things here too about the Netherlands - Van Basten didn't select Seedorf, can you believe that).
As for Brazil, well... I don't know who could beat them. Perhaps, if the selectioner only kept players whose name started by the same letter, other teams would have a chance... and it would be so sportsmanlike that I would applause.

France is no where near as strong as they have been in previous competions!

The Netherlands lineup is a total farce! Seedorf not even a reserve?!?!

Thats too bad about Rooney, I thought he was only supposed to be out for a month though? That would mean he could be in the line up at least for second round games (supposing England gets out of that group).

I don't think the Czech Republic is nearly as good as many are making them out to be. Plus Nedved is a douche.

Group F-Brazil, Australia.

good luck with australia. the last time they played Croatia it was 4 or 5 nothing Croatia.

Friendlys mean piss!

They've done quite well at a few Confederation Cups. And they have Hiddick at the helm.

Just look at France in 2002. It will show you something about the world cup. You can never predict who will win what game. Unless in involves Australia.

Lets put a wager on it!

Apart from the fact that I think morals should be important to representation of your country, and that therefore Rooney's streak of yobbishness should rule him out...

...in Euro 2004, whenever Rooney wasn't on the pitch, Sven The Glorious Leader had absolutely no plan (and no clue) how to do anything, and that cost us dearly. Without Rooney, we'll have to think of a team performance, not just about getting the ball to one guy.

Steve McClaren's been confirmed as the man to become England manager after the World Cup. I'd have preferred Alberto or Hiddink, or Allardyce, but whatever, I wish Sven would just f*** off now, and not hang around until after the tournament.e

Yeah, McClaren taking over seems to be a step back for England.

Maybe Sven will got out a winner.

Look at group F. Brazil will go on no doubt. But the second spot is between Croatia and Japan. In 2002 most "experts" choose France to go to the finals. They didnt go out of the group. Im not doubting you opinion on who will win what game, but no one knows. My opinion is that Australia will not go on because of their experience.

And you may be right, they're only predictions. Japan has looked lack luster through out qualifying and friendlies (though they mean little, they do give some idea of what to expect). Croatia always seems to find a way, and there is no doubt Brazil will take the group. But the group does seem a little tougher than what we've seen Brazil matched up with in the past (Scotland, Costa Rica, etc.).

i cant wait for it to start!

Me either. Seriously, I can't take it anymore. IT MUST START!

Rooney definitely won't be fit, so Sven Goran Eriksson should really stop saying that he'll "take him to the world cup if there's even a slight chance of him being recovered". So yes, England got screwed, but I think they already got screwed years ago when they started to import foreign managers and players en masse into the Premier League, halting the progress of English youth players. I can't think of any big English club that has more than one English striker in the squad playing regularly... and now they don't have a good substitute for Rooney... what a surprise. Their midfield is still great though, one of the best in the world, provided Sven does something useful with it. Also a lot more important than Rooney I'd think. In my opinion England would have a bigger problem if Lampard broke his foot... or Robinson (goalkeeper) for that matter.

Interesting take. I'm still trying to think of a English club team with more than one English born striker...hmm...

Seedorf sometimes is amazing for AC Milan, but he was never really impressive in the dutch national team. Apart from his notoriously big ego, another problem is that he often gets a free role on midfield in the Milan team (4-4-2), but when playing 4-3-3 like Holland does then it's too risky to have midfielders just doing what they feel like. For the same reason Van Basten didn't select Mark van Bommel for a long time. He was doing well at Barcelona, but in the dutch team he was often neglecting his defensive duties in situations where there were already lots of players upfront.

At least Van Basten has made it clear that he doesn't like big egos... and it wouldn't be the first time big egos ruined a world cup run for Holland. He also doesn't particularly care about big names it seems. Aside from the Seedorf and Van Bommel thing, Roy Makaay is not even on the shortlist of 33 players having a chance of going to the world cup either. Another big name, but more the kind of player for a team playing with two strikers rather than for a team playing with three attackers. Van Basten has got balls though, something which his predecessor Dick Advocaat painfully lacked. There will be lots of inexperienced 22-year olds from the dutch league in this world cup squad. There is talent, but the question is how they will perform on the big stage in a difficult group with teams like Argentina and Ivory Coast. I can't deny the results have been more than good in the preliminaries, but I'd be really surprised if this team made it further than the quarterfinals.

Brazil are the obvious favourites for the title... miles ahead of everyone else. But they have failed at winning it before while being in the position of absolute favourites. The pressure on them will be immense and even losing in the final will be considered a disappointment in Brazil. Also, anyone who's been following AC Milan this season saw Dida make some stupid mistakes. Imagine he'll do that for Brazil in the final minutes of a game... Argentina have a very talented side too. From the European teams I rate Italy the highest at the moment, just by the quality of their players. They finally seem to be able to attack every now and then too... which can only be good.


edit: that post was way too long... there's still a month before the start!

Though you're right on with the ego thing. Holland will be interesting with the mix of young and old players. I've been changing my mind again and again, and the more I think about it, the more I don't see Holland getting out of that group. Ivory Coast is probably the second best African nation in the field (after Tunisia) and Serbia & Montenegro are dangerous.

I'm going to guess you're Dutch, user name an Ex reference? I'd like to see the orange do well.

Playing for the Brazil national team in the World Cup might just be the toughest job in all of sport.

Yes, i'm dutch. You're right on the The Ex reference too, although I mainly just like the word pokkeherrie...
I honestly don't know about the chances for the dutch. Last time holland played serbia and montenegro (still called yugoslavia then) it was 6-1 for holland, but that was in 2000. the entire defence at that time were all playing for juventus, barcelona or manchester united and the likes. now it's a completely different story... i can't really say the dutch defence looks impressive. it's definitely the weakest spot, although they only had 3 goals against in their 10 qualifying games. Serbia & Montenegro only had 1 goal scored against them in 10 games though. Their defence must be good, but I think Holland should still be able to win that game. Against Ivory Coast it will probably be a strong physical game... not sure about that one. The Argentina game will be the most interesting. I'd rate Argentina favourites for that game, but if both teams attack then it could go either way. Holland's got a good record against the Argies too, only lost once against them (although that one time was in a world cup final :()
It could be a benefit that the game against Argentina is the last game, at least if they collected enough points in the previous games.


Brazil's defence is their weakest spot too, but they'll probably get away with it because no team will be brave enough to attack them. Their attack and midfield more than make up for it though... unreal. Also injuries of key players doesn't seem to become a problem for them. They could easily field two teams.

Spain's got some really nice players too... but history tells me I shouldn't have high expectations from them.

The Ex are one my favorite bands EVER.

You can really make an arguement that Hollands group, is the group of death.

Spain will find a way to fuck things up again...KOREA! Some questionable calls in that quaterfinal game in 02 though.

strange. i can't watch league games but when it comes to international games, be it for a cup or a friendly, i'm all over it. doesn't matter who's playing either. i pick a team and root for them.

the czech republic, or maybe sweden...

AMEN!!!

So Van Basten seems to be a daring guy for Holland. That's interesting. Great to have read the reasons for which he left Seedorf and Van Bommel aside. I didn't know Seedorf wasn't doing as well for the national team.
A bit like McManaman for England.
Domenech, for France, I guess, will stick with older players, the exact opposite, and I come out with the same feelings - no great chances; but there's still hope for surprises and a match of experimented players & new ones.

First off let me say that I am a Brazilian and I love Brazil's football team, but for some reason I think they are going to foul up. Like someone said the toughest job in all of sport is playing for Brazil in the cup. Couldn't have said it better myself. Don't get me wrong, Brazil has such a deep talent pool that they will never by left in a lurch by injuries or anything of that sort, I just don't see them going all the way this cup, I would love to see it again, I mean who wouldn't want to see their home country be the first team to win 6 FUCKING CUPS! Who knows maybe I'm full of shit and know nothing and I'm a skeptical bastard, either way I'll be routing my boys on from the first whistle to the last!

Wait wait wait wait! You're predicting either Czech Republic or Sweden to win it?!?

The 23 players French list has been revealed a few minutes ago.

6 former 98 World Cup & 00 European cup winners : goal keeper Barthez (Marseille), defender Thuram (Juventus), midfields Vieira (Juventus) & Zidane (Real Madrid), strikers Henry (Arsenal) & Trezeguet (Juventus)

1 former 00 European cup winner : Wiltord (French championship winner 06 Lyon)

These players did well enough with the selection to be chosen even though Barthez made a few errors with the national team (against Costa Rica) and Vieira seemed out of shape (with his club too).
The ones who impress me the more are Wiltord (always available, never giving up) & Henry.

Other goal keepers : Coupet (Lyon - did really well, elected best goal keeper by the players this year - but he'll be #2), Landreau (Nantes - mostly known for being really good during the penalty kicks phase)

Defenders : Abidal (Lyon, with a striker mentality, reminds me of Koeman when it comes to kicking the ball far away to a partner & not missing him), Boumsong (Newcastle, central, impressive body, always better during the second half), Chimbonda (Wigan - the greatest surprise : he hadn't been selected before & the French don't know him), Gallas (English 06 championship winner with Chelsea - could play left field, right field, but would favor central), Givet (Monaco - had a sore year but very regular guy; won't take many risks, won't cross the midfield line), Sagnol (Bayern Munich - I suppose they won this year too - great at delivering good balls in front of the opponents cage - right wing), Silvestre (Manchester UD - had been terrible a couple of years ago with the national team; was asked back for last game and proved his solidity)

Other midfields : Diarra (Lens - would replace Vieira, a young player), Dhorasoo (Paris Saint-Germain - not sure it's the greatest pick, but a team might need someone who's got a good nature and brains), Makelele (Chelsea - formerly with Real Madrid - won lots of trophies), Malouda (Lyon, seemingly slow but it's a lure, left wing, delivering goodies, fine character, could score a lot more according to his managers; lots of kick offs should be given for faults he will endure)

Other strikers : Cissé (Liverpool - scored a lot to get France to the World Cup, sometimes misses it all), Ribéry (Marseille, scarfaced, really really talented, really fast, with the ball sticking to his feet, lots of stamina - his club missed a place for next year's European Clubs Cups), Saha (Manchester UD, very altruistic guy who took Van Nistelrooy's place in club)

Very excited with the list in spite of the non-selection of striker Anelka (Fenerbace - who had been so good during the last games).
Promising

Englands problem will be the fact that they don't really have any strikers. Only taking 4 is suicide, especially when Rooney and Owen aren't fully fit and may not be ready for the start of the tournament. Imagine the fear that Crouch and Walcott will strike into the hearts of defenders!! OK, they're not that bad but Walcott is soooo unexperienced and Crouch...well, he's actually reasonably skillful for a big guy but he's not world class.

I also tip Ukraine to surprise a few people which will probably mean they go out in the group stages. One of the African teams has got to do well despite most of them being pretty awful on paper. I can't see anything other than a Brazil vs France or Germany final though. Even though Germany aren't much cop these days they are improving and they have got home advantage.