Yeah, the fact that some other dudes won the world cup almost fifty years ago is really going to give England the boost it needs :dubious:
My thoughts exactly.
I dunno, Uruguay ended 3rd in the last Cup, England are always though and Italy won it in 2006 that’s much more than anything Ghana or Portugal ever did.
I am seeing nothing about comments about ow we are done, but c’mon. We beat Ghana and tie Portugal. While Germany beats Portugal and Ghana, Ghana and Portugal tie and we move. It is not a ludicrous scenario. Anything like that. We need to beat Ghana of course, but let’s stop acting so miserly about it.
I just hope Germany does not end 2d place in their group…
Ghana’s beaten the U.S. in the last two WCs. Maybe third time’ll be the charm?
OTOH, the U.S. did beat Portugal in 2002, FWIW. Portugal had some “huh?” moments in Euro qualifying, in particular the two ties with Israel. Then again they did pretty well in Euro 2012, losing to Germany, but beating Holland, Denmark, the Czechs, and taking Spain to PKs. I think a tie would be a gift.
It’s a single match tournament, anything can happen, and usually does. But I give the U.S. less than 1 in 3 of making it out of this group.
Group D and G are the hardest. England will not get out of their group and given they are due to play Italy first and Uruguay second could be out before their 3rd game - but nevertheless cannot be taken lightly by either of the other big 2 in that group. I reckon USA were probably the best team in their pot, so always had a chance of a tough group, as they were always going to get a seed and a European team. Still, couldn’t be much tougher for them. Every game in Group G will probably be worth watching.
Group E and F look very straightforward for France and Argentina. Croatia v Cameroon likely to be the deciding game for 2nd place in A. Group H is straightforward for Belgium, who could be dangerous in the knockout stages with 3 games that they can tune up in.
I think that the difference between supposedly tough draws and easy ones is overstated. The truth is, we just don’t know which teams are going to shine this time round. Maybe Spain are a bit past it? Maybe Chile will surprise people and make the semis? It’s entirely possible.
So, on paper, USA, England, and Australia (ouch) have difficult draws. But I don’t know, England had a supposedly easy draw last time and really struggled. Part of me would rather play top teams from the off. Italy v. England? Bring it on!
:dubious:
I’m certainly not pleased with our grouping either (B). Three very strong squads and an almost need-to-win the group situation as the “reward” for finishing second is more than likely meeting Brazil in the round of 16.
More: cake draws for Brazil – as expected – and Argentina. France quite fortunate considering they got in through the back door (hi Platini!) and rather irrelevant groups in in C & H.
Picks in order of finish:
A: Brazil & Cameroon
B: Tough one, but have to go with Spain & Holland – again second place is pretty much screwed.
C: Taking Colombia & Ivory Coast
D: Italy & Uruguay
E: France & Ecuador
F: Argentina & Bosnia-Herzegovina
G: Germany & Portugal – though if Ronaldo keeps his current insane form, he might just carry Portugal all the way to the Final…
H: Who cares? Alright, Russia & Belgium.
All in all, quite an unbalanced draw…but we already knew that from looking at the pots. Some of the best squads to go out in the group and/or the round of 16, while some weaker ones are more than likely to show-up in the latter rounds, producing mismatches. FIFA :rolleyes:
Official site of the WC:
I’m thinking G is the Group of Death, obviously D is close behind.
I’m not sure these are the most unbalanced groups in the World Cup ever, but they’re close.
How do we make England play worse in World Cups than usual? Stick them in the Amazon
So, just to be clear, you give me the big raised eyebrow and then essentially agree with me in your analysis of the groups. Thanks!
Group B is not ideal because of what is going to happen to the team that finishes second, but the teams that are coming out if it are straightforward. It is hardly as difficult to qualify apfrom as some of the other groups. If Spain put it in against the Netherlands, they will probably get to the quarters simply and from there have the pedigree to win. It is not though of the order of the Germany group where a decent side or two will get knocked out. The other two sides in Group B would have struggled to get out of any group bar Switzerlands.
Belgium have a chance to go a decent distance, I think. The team is full of good quality players and so long as they avoid Germany in the second round, they have the goods to beat any of the other teams in group G in the second round. They’re in a fairly easy group though. I like that people are over looking them. They won’t win it but could surprise people.
I think B, D and G are the hardest.
The difficulty in group B will be that everyone will need to beat Australia to have a chance of progressing (as far as I know the lack of quality of Australia is kind of widely known)… so that game becomes a ‘must win’. Chile is better than many people, they recently outplayed England at Wembley and even 4 years ago in SA they played very well (against Spain too). For the Netherlands losing to Spain would almost mean all the remaining games are ‘must win’. Honestly, I would have preferred to be in England’s place (minus the location of the games): I think it is pretty open between the three ‘strong’ teams… unilke group B where Spain should take it and it will all be on the line against Chile.
But France’s draw is ridiculous; especially given the BS about how they decided at the last moment the FIFA ranking weren’t good enough. While this was no problem when assigning ridiculous group heads.
Maybe. US fans are so afraid of Ghana, but they’re not significantly better (they’re not significantly worse either). Tough draw.
Also check out the travel. The US is traveling 3X as far as Germany. Fun.
I take you know next to nothing about the current Chilean squad. May want to look-up names such as Marcelo Díaz, Vidal, Valdivia, Medel, Vargas & Alexis. I think, on a given day, Chile can beat anyone and wouldn’t discard them over either Holland or Spain. Though on paper, you’d give us, the Defending Champions, the edge to go through, at this time there’s nothing between those three squads – thus my raised eyebrow was due to the fact that you (and others, TBF; yours just happened to be the last post on the matter) failed to mention how tough this group really is. Moreover, and this you do mention, as I said, you don’t win the group and it’s something like 97% curtains for the round of 16. The UN, The Treaty of Lisbon, The Holy See & Amnesty International combined wouldn’t be able to stop Brazil from getting through their second round match.
North Korea/Japan ring a bell?
Mind you, I am not whining, as I very much doubt that we’ll defend the Title regardless of grouping – team is aging and DB hasn’t really integrated any number of up and comers from our U-21 European Championship teams: Isco, Illaramendi, Koke, Jese, Ander Herrera, Bartra etc. OTOH, the likely addition of import Diego Costa might be just the boost we need up front. Simply commenting – as does Knorf – that this is likely one of the most unbalanced groupings I’ve seen in a WC and prone to give us some rather predictable quarter-finals matches.
That said, we did avoid playing the best team in the world: Spain 
– bolding mine.
Agreed, they have a good squad what with players such as Lukaku, de Bruyne, Courtois, Chadli and Hazard. But the bottom line is that they are not title contenders!
Feel bad for the US not just grouping-wise but as Yookero’s link depicts, their travel schedule is brutal. Also agree with polar bear regarding France…which shows once again that FIFA should skip these farces and just mail in the groups.
No, I know about Chile. I have just watched them beat England at Wembley. An England that was reasonably experimental, with a few second stringers in the team. Whilst they have some excellent players, they showed themselves to be vulnerable when England (England!) kept the ball for prolonged periods, because their defensive shape is not as strong as you might suspect. From what I have seen, they have a game that Spain’s traditional possession approach is tailor made for. You will need to ensure you don’t get hit on the break, but I see Spain handling them reasonably well. The main concern I would have is Xavi’s current form. Ideally he gets back to something approaching his best before the tournament.
All that said, you don’t want to finish second in this group.
What are theoretical KO stage matches?
Well assuming Spain and Netherlands go through: Brazil vs Spain or NL.
The rest all seems pretty staight forward, unless a favorite fails to win their group. I guess Belgium vs Germany/Portugal could be fun as well.
Group A - Brazil Croatia Mexico Cameroon
Likely to be very interesting, except the matches where Brazil are playing, and winning comfortably. Cameroon aren’t what they used to be, though, and Mexico always choke on the big stage, so Croatia for second.
Group B - Spain Holland Australia Chile
Chile could be good dark horses, but Spain and Holland are the obvious candidates. Expect Spain to fail when they come up against anyone good. They were impressively useless against Italy in the Confed Cup, and got a right caning from Brazil.
Group C - Colombia Japan Greece Ivory Coast
Japan were very good at the Confed Cup, but flimsy at the back and too easily hit on the break. I expect to like them, and be very disappointed when they go out in the first round. Cote d’Ivoire to underperform as always. Expect Greece to grind into the next round, and no further, with Columbia.
Group D - Uruguay Costa Rica Italy England
Uruguay are no good at all. There Confed Cup performance was dull as dishwater, and I don’t expect any better. There will be tabloid headlines about their cheating antics, and disappointed commentators when Suarez/Forlan/Cavani all playing together get no service and don’t score a goal between them. Costa Rica are cannon fodder. Italy are excellent. England may get second place, depending on the number of players incapacitated in the Uruguay game by extreme heat and humidity and the knee-high leg-breakers that characterise Uruguayan defending.
Group E - France Switzerland Honduras Ecuador
Honduras last in group, France first, Switzerland or Ecuador to go through with them.
Group F - Argentina Iran Nigeria Bosnia
Argentina and Bosnia go through. Iran are just making up the numbers, Nigeria might steal a march on Bosnia, but seem to be hopeless.
Group G - Portugal Germany Ghana USA
Germany are excellent, but might wilt in the heat. The rest are probably as you’d expect, Portugal second, Ghana third. But, anything could happen.
Group H - Russia Belgium South Korea and Algeria
Belgium, everyone’s favourite dark horses, against three completely unremarkable teams. Russia or Korea will probably go through. E and F are probably weaker.