Anybody else looking forward to this year’s World Cup in Brasil? I don’t make all that much time for soccer anymore these days but when the World Cup is on I DEFINITELY tune in. Are you going to?
I’m very excited, although I don’t think the US is as good as last go around, and their group is much harder. I’m expecting a three and out.
Can’t wait. Luckily have TV at work so should be able to watch EVERY game. Awesome. England are my team, will be happy to get out of the group - we have some good young players but the team is very average. Might put a bet on Argentina to win the whole thing. Just got a funny feeling about them.
There seem to be MANY people who “love” Jürgen Klinsmann as the U.S. manager. Personally, I’m not a big fan of his but I can’t argue (too much) with the results his methods delivered during qualifying (although having “El Tri” be in “meltdown” mode for most of “the hexagonal” certainly didn’t hurt the USMNST’s cause). But I think the USMNST will be doing well to finish anywhere but bottom of its group. Four points is the absolute MOST I see the USMNST getting in Brasil and I would actually be surprised if it got more than one or maybe two. We shall see…
I don’t watch soccer like I used to but I’ve read quite a bit on World Cup history and IIRC the English team hasn’t been knocked out of a World Cup in the first round since 1958 or 1962. That’s a pretty long time. On the other hand they have the team that won the World Cup the last time it was held in Brasil and a team that will, no doubt, be intent on improving upon its VERY poor showing in 2010 in their group so it’s going to be interesting to see which of those teams fails to advance (I’m assuming only one of them will unless, of course, Costa Rica pulls a HUGE surprise the way they did 24 years ago).
Very kind of you given that you’re a fan of the English team. I’ve never been a fan of the Argentine team but the current group doesn’t bother me so much. Messi should be in top form given his skills and age and they are playing right next door (they didn’t go the last time the World Cup was held in Brasil). They, too, had a dreadful finish to their World Cup 4 years ago - I expect them to try to make amends (at least this time they have a true soccer manager, I can only assume). I’d rather see the hosts take the title but it won’t break me up TOO much to see La Albiceleste win it although I doubt the same could be said of the LOCALS if that happens (esPECially if that victory comes against the hosts - whew!)!
Regarding racepug’s comments about England above:
England did not get out the first round in 1958, losing a playoff to Russia after tying for 2nd place in their group.
Note that England did not qualify for the WC in 1974, 1978, or 1994.
England’s only WC championship was from 1966, held in England.
Brazil is going to win it. No doubt in my mind. They destroyed Spain in the Confederations Cup.
Spain or Germany will win.
I can’t wait until the World Cup.
The USA I can’t see doing anything. Their squad isn’t inspiring (and not as good as last time) and they’re particularly weak in the centre of defence and up front and so it is hard to see how they will score more goals than they will concede in such a tough group. They will really need Tim Howard (who has had a good season at Everton) in goal to do something special and Clint Dempsey (who was poor this season on loan in the Premiership, but picked his form when he returned to the MLS) to show he can still score with regularity against good teams and a lot of luck to get through their group. The positives I can see are that whilst Ghana are better than the USA, it is easy to overestimate them and the gap isn’t big and Portugal rely only on a few players (of course foremost of whom is Cristiano Ronaldo) and if those players have bad games, the whole team’s performance suffers in a big way. I won’t even mention Germany as they should qualify from this group easily.
England’s group is tough, but England aren’t overmatched by Uruguay and Italy and the best Costa Rica in this group can hope to do is play the part of spoiler by taking a few points off the other teams. In my opinion I think the balance of probability just about favours England getting into the 2nd round (maybe I’m biased though).
Overall winners? Of course Brazil have a good chance being at home, however this Brazil team is not as good the near-invincible teams of old. The squad is good, but not as good as some of the other team’s squads. The Confederations Cup victory may give them additional optimism, but winning the World Cup is much harder. Remember Brazil won the 2009 Confederations Cup, but failed to beat any of the top echelon teams in the World Cup and went out in the QFs. Spain were knocked out of the Confederations by USA in 2009, but went onto win 2010 World Cup. I think it is reasonably certain that the overall winner will come from one of Germany, Spain, Argentina of Brazil; my pick being Germany.
Yeah, this.
I’m assuming that the ‘mc’ in mcgato and the tone of your post indicates that you are Scottish or of Scottish ancestry…
In which case I deem you an impartial observer (excluding England matches obviously), as Scotland’s only representatives beyond the first round have been match officials.
Who am I kidding? England are going to walk it!
Actually, that was Uruguay, a country with at that time a population the size of… [drum roll]… Wales!
England didn’t progress to the group stages in that tournament (after graciously having consented to enter) after losing to the U.S.A. 1-0, the goal scored by Joe Gaetjens.
The story of Gaetjens took a tragic turn, he returned to his native Haiti and because he had family members actively opposing ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier he was imprisoned and then killed in the notorious Fort Dimanche.
Story here.
I know you are joking, but this seems an opportune moment to discuss Hodgson’s squad announced yesterday. Looking at it in the paper this morning, it seems lacking to me - the only truly world-class players are either past it or short of form (Rooney, Gerrard, Lampard) - OK, with the possible exception of Hart, though he looks less solid than a year or two ago. Quite a lot of relatively inexperienced players, in particular in the attack (Sturridge, Welbeck, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana). A starting back four with little international experience that haven’t played as a unit together. So I’m not very hopeful, but I think it could go one of two ways - we get stuffed by Italy in the opener and then a draw with Uruguay effectively knocks us out, even though we scrape past Costa Rica in the last game. Or we put on a rousing display against Italy, nicking it with an early goal, followed by the team really gelling as the players come into form and beating Uruguay and Costa Rica, after which the squad is on the crest of a wave and makes a decent run into the knockout, where anything can happen. I know which is more likely though…
All fair enough but I’m not sure many people would have diverted wildly from this squad he chose. If we take the old-guard we’ll get what the old-guard always gives us and bearing in mind that our last world cup outing was the worst major-tournament performance by England that I have ever seen…we don’t want that again.
No-one is expecting us to do particularly well as we just don’t have the strength in depth to play sustained possession football like the top teams. Roy Hodgson has proved that he’s good at putting together a game plan but the problem is whether we are good enough as a team to execute it well enough. I think not.
The best I’m hoping for is to be entertained. I’ll live happily with a group stage exit if we actually try to win games and view this as a blooding exercise for the next generation.
For all his dour persona, Hodgson is not averse to taking a bit of a risk and the four lads you mention, playing with the shackles off, can certainly do damage (such a shame Townsend is injured though)
I suspect we might see the making of Lallana at the tournament. I like him a lot. Great vision, one of those players that makes others around him look good.
My tip? Germany. Fit, technically good, great counter-attacking, good balance of youth and experience.
Even though Brazil has chosen a fairly unspectacular roster, they’re still my pick. They may have the best defensive half in the tournament, which will allow Neymar to roam free at the top, counterattacking in space against national defenses which are traditionally not as cohesive as those of the top clubs.
As a dark horse, I’m having increasingly positive thoughts about France. Looking to rebound from the disaster that was 2010 and with lots of stars sprinkled through the lineup – Ribery, Giroud, Pogba and the kid who’s going to be one, Anton Griezeman.
I still think it’ll be Argentina, mainly because I think the pressure and expectations will get to Brazil, and also because Argentina has about as easy a projected path to the Semifinals as I’ve ever seen.
Their Group has Bosnia, Iran, and Nigeria: anyone think they won’t go 3-0-0? Then after winning their group, they would play the #2 team from Group E. My guess is that France will win the group, and either Ecuador or Switzerland will be #2. Argentina should beat them. Next would be against the winner of the 1H/2G matchup, or probably Belgium vs Portugal, Ghana, or the U.S. (if only!). Belgium or Portugal wins that, and I think Argentina beats either of them, but I think it’d be close.
And voila! They’re in the Semis
BRAZIL WILL WIN, with Argentina a long shot possibility in the case of a serious injury.
I can’t see a European team going down to Brazil and winning. While Germany and Spain are strong, the players just aren’t used to traveling and playing outside of Europe, especially in tropical climates. In any case, Spain seems to be aging but still sticking with their old guard. Xavi the creator has slowed down considerably and they have a plethora of younger talents that should be used (but won’t). Iniesta also isn’t the same as his Ballon D’Or level of last year. Similarly with Germany, Schweinsteiger is getting very slow. If the tournament was in Europe, either would have a chance, along with Italy (somehow always a cohesive unit with strong defense), France and Belgium (if either could turn their individual talents into cohesive units). I think that weather will be a big factor for European teams, especially since it is winter in Brazil. The climate will vary significantly from game to game and city to city, from extreme heat and humidity in some areas to cold in others.
Even with a 2nd-rate goalie in Julio Cesar, Brazil’s back line is rock solid, with Thiago Silva as the anchor. Plus, they provide quite a bit of creativity to facilitate their attack, with Marcelo, Dante, Dani Alves and of course David Luiz. I think they can only lose if there is a serious injury to Silva, Oscar or Neymar.
I don’t think that Brazil will even come close to losing a game. To aid their chances, I think they will inevitably get favorable referee decisions due to the home country advantage. Even in the Confederations Cup, I felt that Brazil received very friendly calls. I don’t think that referees will intentionally favor Brazil, but it’s more of a subconscious reaction to the large Brazil-centric crown and latent fear of retaliation.
Brazil will beat Argentina in the Final and Uruguay will take 3rd Place. Neymar or Fred will win the Golden Boot and Neymar, Silva or Oscar will win the Golden Ball.
Oh, absolutely - my post was not intended as a criticism of Hodgson, and as you say most would pick the same squad. It was more bemoaning the fact that we are in a bit of a “gap” at the moment, with the younger generation yet to prove themselves and the older generation somewhat past their best. Let’s see if Greg Dyke can manage to turn that around of the next 10 years, though I rather doubt it.
Jackknifed Juggernaut makes a very good point about the heat and humidity being an issue for the European players. There simply isn’t enough time for them to acclimatise with most domestic European seasons still not over. Ideally you would want them training in Brazil for 3-4 weeks before the first game of the tournament.
Well, it is winter down there, and though it’s cold comfort to England, only the games played in Manaus should really be affected by the heat (and maybe Belo Horizonte). The Italians should have just as much trouble as the English.
I’m interested in what Argentina can do with a real coach, but am very disappointed that my favorite player didn’t get an invite (Carlos Tevez). I don’t see them winning, though.