World Cup in Germany

[twelli]

I think it is about time to open a WC thread.

Here are my predictions for the final three rounds

Quarter Finals:
Germany-Netherlands
Argentina-France
England-Portugal
Brazil-Czech Republic

Semi Finals:
Brazil-Argentina
Germany-England

Final:
England - Argentina

World Champion:
England

I am sure Bernados has other ideas... :P

[Arne]

Originally Posted by twelli

I think it is about time to open a WC thread.

Here are my predictions for the final three rounds

Quarter Finals:
Germany-Netherlands
Argentina-France
England-Portugal
Brazil-Czech Republic

Semi Finals:
Brazil-Argentina
Germany-England

Final:
England - Argentina

World Champion:
England

I am sure Bernados has other ideas... :P

My prediction is Germany-Brazil in the final.

[harsh euro barge]

I'm sure my predictions will be totally wrong, but here it goes...

Round of 16
Germany-Paraguay
Holland-Mexico
Poland-Sweden
Cote D'Ivoire-Portugal
Australia-Czech Republic
France-Spain
Ghana-Brazil
Switzerland-Ukraine

Quarterfinals
Germany-Holland
Sweden-Cote D'Ivoire
France-Czech Republic
Brazil-Switzerland

Semi Finals
Holland-Czech Republc
Cote D'Ivoire-Brazil

Finals
Holland-Brazil

Winner
Holland

[Winwall]

Germany will be eliminated in the first round

[Trenchflow]

Germany..first round knock out...maybe it´s time for Argentina to do it again

[Mavdog]

Group A
Germany
Costa Rica
Poland
Ecuador

could they make it any easier for the host nation to win their group? no, I don't believe they could...Costa Rica gets the second position.

Group B
England
Paraguay
Trinidad and Tobago
Sweden

England goes through with Paraguay.

Group C
Argentina
Côte d'Ivoire
Serbia and Montenegro
Netherlands

A tough group, with Ivory Coast a possible spoiler for the second spot. Argentina and Netherlands prevail.

Group D
Mexico
Iran
Angola
Portugal

Mexico and Portugal will fight it out for the top spot.

Group E
Italy
Ghana
USA
Czech Republic

THE toughest group IMO. Italy, USA and the Czechs and only two go through...it will be the USA and the Czechs (in that order)!

Group F
Brazil
Croatia
Australia
Japan

wait, maybe the German's aren't in the softest group, brazil has little competition, the croats will be the second team playing on.

Group G
France
Switzerland
Korea Republic
Togo

France will be the winner, with the Koreans right behind.

Group H
Spain
Ukraine
Tunisia
Saudi Arabia

Spain easily wins and the Ukraine squeaks by.

Round of 16:
Germany d Paraguay
England d Costa Rica
Argentina d Portugal
Mexico d Netherlands
USA d Croatia
Brazil d Czech
France d Ukraine
Spain d Korea

Quarterfinals:
Germany d Argentina
England d Mexico
USA d France (I'm a homer...)
Brazil d Spain

semifinals
USA d Germany (revenge!)
Brazil d England

final
Brazil d USA (I may be a homer but it's brazil!!)

[orangedays]

Hm, very interesing predictions Mavdog.

We'll see how well the U.S. does - I think they'll have a hard enough time getting out of the first round.

[Mavdog]

not make it out of rd 1 orange? shame on you for doubting....

I expect Italy to be disorganized with the scandal at home distracting them. my view is Ghana doesn't have enough depth and experience, so its the usa and the czechs...the good guys show the world that there is more than american football being played in the usa these days.

[mavsman]

Round of 16:
Germany d Paraguay
Netherlands d Portugal
Sweden d Poland
Mexico d Côte d'Ivoire
Italy d Australia
Switzerland d Spain
Brasil d Ghana
Ukraine d France

Quarters:
Germany d Netherlands
Sweden d Mexico
Italy d Switzerland
Brasil d Ukraine

Semis:
Sweden d Germany
Italy d Ukraine

Final:
Italy d Sweden

[twelli]

I very much doubt that the US, Sweden or the Ivory Coast will come anywhere near the final. My gut says England will win it all. It's about time that they get their act together. It's been 40 years since Wembley 66. And they have a very strong squad.

[twelli]

Prediction for the first games:

Germany beats Costa Rica 3:0
Polen and Equador 1:1

[orangedays]

Originally Posted by Mavdog

not make it out of rd 1 orange? shame on you for doubting....

I expect Italy to be disorganized with the scandal at home distracting them. my view is Ghana doesn't have enough depth and experience, so its the usa and the czechs...the good guys show the world that there is more than american football being played in the usa these days.

Just being realistic. I fear that a number of people are overestimating the talent of the U.S. squad. The Azzurri were impressive in qualifying (though their competition failed to match) and I'm inclined to believe that trend will continue. I am sure that their game against Ghana will help to dismiss any concerns about their play this year.

It will be critical for the U.S. to win in either Dortmund (Czechs) or Kaiserslautern (Italy) - 5 points will not be enough to win out of their group.

[AnMan21]

Originally Posted by Mavdog

not make it out of rd 1 orange? shame on you for doubting....

I expect Italy to be disorganized with the scandal at home distracting them. my view is Ghana doesn't have enough depth and experience, so its the usa and the czechs...the good guys show the world that there is more than american football being played in the usa these days.

the group of death will be tough to advance, let alone win. the us squad appears to have more natural athletes than they've had in years past, but they sure haven't finished strong going into the tourney. injuries and lack of focus have hurt them. can they get it back together in time to make a run? i sure hope so!

i read an article on cnnsi yesterday that pointed out:

"Of course, consider what might happen if we actually win. If the United States, which really doesn't care about soccer, beats everybody who is passionate about it, we'd really be despised around the world. You think they hate us now? If we should win the World Cup, there would be absolutely nobody else left in the coalition of the willing."

the thing is, this is the first year it's actually BAD to draw the US in the opening round. 4, 8 , 12 years ago, this isn't called the group of death. while the expectations here at home are light, it should take some of the pressure of the squad. however, it's important for them to follow up their world ranking and prove they will be a force for years to come.

as for predictions, i don't have any - i'm just hoping to see some great games while i'm there!

[bernardos70]

I haven't worked out the groups, will do when I have some time :P

But I can tell you right now who I think will win it all..........

[mavsman]

Originally Posted by twelli

I very much doubt that the US, Sweden or the Ivory Coast will come anywhere near the final.

I'm not so sure about that. I see that you predicted only former WC-Champions to reach the semis. That has happened only one time yet (in 1990) and I'd be very surprised if we didn't have a cinderella team this time. Might as well not be Sweden, but also Switzerland, Ukraine, Mexico and even Australia might have a run at least for the semis.

My gut says England will win it all. It's about time that they get their act together. It's been 40 years since Wembley 66. And they have a very strong squad.

Very much depends on how they start against Paraguay. If they only draw them, look out for their final match in the group stage. The swedish coach against the swedish team. That might be fun for the english media. But if they start well, anything is possible. I have them failing once again.

[OzMavs]

I'm just hoping Australia gets to the round of 16. Hiddink: do your stuff!!

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Never thought there would be 3 goals in the first 18 minutes of the World Cup. This game has been great so far.

[Murphy3]

So you're saying that people still play soccer around the world? I thought everyone just kinda quit playing a few years ago...gave it up out of boredom...

Didn't everyone pretty much just stop in the middle of their games and just walk off the field?

[bernardos70]

Nope, and in fact there's more people watching the game right now than there'll probably be watching the NBA finals......... all games........... combined.

[twelli]

Germany - Costa Rica 4:2

Nice game, lot of chances for the Germans. Great goals.

Poland - Ecuador 0:2

Poland attacked, but Ecuador made the goals. Credit to the Ecuador defense.

[Würzburger]

Great game yesterday... but our defense showed it's weekness again....

@ Murphy: 1.5 Billion people were watching it.. insane!!
You've got a typical American point of view

[Murphy3]

1.5 billion people with sad and pathetic lives.... it truly is depressing.

[bernardos70]

lol, bastard..........

I understand you though. Don't get me started on the boredom factor of baseball though.

[Scoobay]

anyone catch the Sweden vs. T and T game? The trinidad goalie hilsop or whatever was on fire! That guy totally saved the game with some great goaltending. otherwise unremarkable game for the most part but cool that T and T was able to tie Sweden. big upset

[twelli]

England - Paraguay 1:0

3 minutes of play and England was up by 1. Thought this would become a goal-rich game. Boy, was I wrong. England didn't really convince me that they will be more successful this time than in previous tournaments.

Trinidad - Sweden 0:0

Like England, Sweden struggled against weaker opposition. They looked good for stretches, but couldn't finish. And yes, Murph, goal-less draws suck...

Argentina - Ivory Coast 2:1

Entertaining game. Nice ball-handling by the Africans. The Argentines played well for most of the game, but were lucky to hold on to the lead at the end.

[Murphy3]

Originally Posted by twelli

Nice ball-handling by the Africans.

Personally, I'd never let anyone from Africa handle my balls. They do have a high incident rate of AIDS on that continent.

[Arne]

Originally Posted by Murphy3

Personally, I'd never let anyone from Africa handle my balls. They do have a high incident rate of AIDS on that continent.

Just piss off. If you don't like soccer, don't post in a soccer thread.

[MavKikiNYC]

Is that soccer thing still going on over in Europeville?

[SaltwaterChaffy]

I know you guys are trying hard, but all these anti-soccer posts are worthless. Maybe if they were funny, but they aren't even that.

[DNNF]

those anti-soccer posters have been riding jim rome's nutsacs for many years..

[MavKikiNYC]

Originally Posted by SaltwaterChaffy

I know you guys are trying hard, but all these anti-soccer posts are worthless. Maybe if they were funny, but they aren't even that.

At least the comebacks are snappy.

Soccer. Baseball. Bass fishing. Equivalent excitement.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Are they?

[bernardos70]

Just think about it for a Second. World Cup is called so because countries from all continents are on it, and it has a worldwide appeal.

Can you say that about the World Series?

I was rooting for Angola today, but they're just hard to root for. Interesting matchup though, as Portugal only quite recently left their country after years of colonization. I thought Angola would be hungry for the win, and they might have been, but they're just very technically limited.

Portugal didn't show me much today, aside from Cristiano Ronaldo doing his thing, everything was very unimpressive. I missed Holland's and Mexico's game.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

I thought Iran played well in the first half, just didn't capitalize on their scoring chances. I missed the 2nd half, though.

Angola just doesn't have it. They played sloppy. When Figo (as good as he once was) is blowing by your defenders like they are standing still, it doesn't bode well.

[NXperience]

Ah the world cup has been nice till now. I have seen almost every game. I was a bit disappointed in Sweden and England (altough I was rooting for T&T and have been so happy about there 1 point)
The best games till now have been the opener (although I'm a bit of a homer there but 6 goals with a lot of offense is just nice for the fans)
And Argentina against the Ivory Coast has been greatness.
Hmmm I'm waiting fot tomorrows match of the US against the Czech. If the Czech Republic is playing up to their normal level I can't see any chance for you though.

[twelli]

I didn't like baseball in the past, cause I thought it was a slow game. Then I started to watch some games involving players I could relate to, learned about the teams and the history and stuff, and now every once in a while I turn it on and it's cool. It's an acquired taste if you have been growing up in a country where soccer is the no. 1 sport.

Same goes for soccer. Once you have been to a few games in Europe, and have experienced the atmosphere in the stadiums, it's difficult to not like it if you are a sports fan, no matter your background. Right now, the least attractive ball sport for me is cricket. Indians and Pakistanis love it. I can't even tell from the scoreline who has won... But I am sure, if I would be living in Bombay for a while, I would probably like it soon.

What I don't like about soccer is that there are too many games, where both teams struggle to score. And often a team finally scores and the goal is disallowed because of the offside rule. I really hate the offside rule. Just get rid of it. It would be nice if the average goal count per game would be somewhere between 3 and 4 goals.

[twelli]

Holland - Serbia 1:0

This game was all about Robben. He's a bit selfish at times, but at least he made the goal and came close on a few occasions. I was amazed by the skillful Serbian players. However, they didn't convert the many chances they had. Holland, Argentina, Serbia, and Ivory Coast all looked very strong. Hard to tell which two teams of this group will advance eventually.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

USA! USA! USA!

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Damn. Koller is massive.

[u2sarajevo]