World Cup Draw
- Thread starter Illuminattile
- Start date
my feelings on the World Cup:
i hope holland lose in first round, im sick of the whinging about being the best to have not won the WC trophy. if you win it, you will just be the worst to have won.
i think brazil are overrated but i cant see them getting beat until the final. i think european continental advantage will push whatever european (if indeed) team's players take part, over the brazilians.
i think some upsets are in line, namely paraguay taking second in group B and USA getting through
and it is quite obvious germany will make it to the semis at least because of the easy group stage (again....) and the following 2 matches being challenging but do-able on home soil.
also, sure the ivory coast is good, but they are relying too much on drogba to do everything. like with portugal and germany - roque santa cruz and ballack. but the latter two have much more talent outside the 'main' player.
it will be an interesting world cup i cant wait 6 months
i hope holland lose in first round, im sick of the whinging about being the best to have not won the WC trophy. if you win it, you will just be the worst to have won.
i think brazil are overrated but i cant see them getting beat until the final. i think european continental advantage will push whatever european (if indeed) team's players take part, over the brazilians.
i think some upsets are in line, namely paraguay taking second in group B and USA getting through
and it is quite obvious germany will make it to the semis at least because of the easy group stage (again....) and the following 2 matches being challenging but do-able on home soil.
also, sure the ivory coast is good, but they are relying too much on drogba to do everything. like with portugal and germany - roque santa cruz and ballack. but the latter two have much more talent outside the 'main' player.
it will be an interesting world cup
i cant wait 6 monthsYeah, the defence plays that high up the pitch that their defence is rarely put under pressure, they just let their attacking players play in your half.
I'd seriously doubt their ability to score 5 against one of the bigger nations though, if you can somehow force them to defend that bit deeper and not let them come on to you i think you have half a chance.
I'd seriously doubt their ability to score 5 against one of the bigger nations though, if you can somehow force them to defend that bit deeper and not let them come on to you i think you have half a chance.
Let me break it down for you guys, this is prolly going to be the most surprising World Cup of the century with 4 new African nations advancing for the first time (Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, and Angola) only our team, Tunisia is going for a 3rd World Cup in a row and is the only one out of Cameroun, Nigeria (the 2 greatest African teams of all time), Senegal, and South Africa to qualify this year contrarily to these four. As for other new teams this year includes Ukraine (Schevchenko guys) and Serbia Montenegro seems too impress a lot.
My predictions and analysis, anyways let's start:
Group A
The only survivors of last World Cup that had a major impact include Kahn and Ballack (my personal fav. in Germany). Don't forget to be on the lookout of up and coming Polish born Podolski. This kid is said to be an incredible force on the field. What an irony as Germany vs. Poland will be interesting to see Podolski against his compatriots.
As far as Ecuador goes, they have a very strong team. Hell, They beat Brazil 1-0 in a qualifier! Costa Rica's also interesting as their style is very simliar to Mexico if you saw them play last World Cup.
Prediction: Germany 1st, Poland 2nd.
Group B
That's a very interesting group as we will see one of the greatest rivalries and reunion of the Swedes in this as Eriksson will reunite with his Swedish fellows. On paper, England has never beaten Sweden since 1968 and the Swedes seems to be sharper than ever with their sole survivor of 1994 World Cup (don't 4get they finish in 3rd place) - Henrik Larsson, the one and only magician who scored the best goal (diving header) in Euro '04 against Bulgaria which ended 5-0. Anyways we also have England with their strongest lineup for a couple of decades. So here's the breakdown for England's key players: Beckham playing midfield; Lampard and Gerrard which I call the siamese twins as they are a force to be reckoned with and can do major damage if they play on both wings. Put Owen and Rooney up in front and it's over. Oh you've said it 7hug Life as England prolly have the best chances to go to the finals more than ever this time around. But Sweden my friends will surprise everyone, first you have the youngster Anders Svensson as talented as Owen and others. There's also the offense consisting of Ljunberg (this guy is sick), Marcus Allback (normally a sub for Larsson or Ibrahimovic), Larsson, and Bosnian born Ibrahimovic. BTW these 5 are supposed all to play at the same time. Anyways England vs. Sweden will prolly be the most exciting first-round match of the World Cup as I will be forward to be looking at this one.
Paraguay's also strong even though Chilavert is gone for a long time but they've still proven to be one of the greats in S.A. As far as T&T goes I've heard they have a very strong team but we'll have to wait and see.
Prediction: England and Sweden - a toss up on who's 1st.
Group C
The famous group of death. Yes my friends, there will be upsets in this group like the last WC where we saw Argentina leaving very early. Argentina well is Argentina, even though they're not as strong as in 1998 with the Veron's and Batistuta's they once had or even the Maradonna's in 94 and earlier. Still they have proven to be S.A. 2nd best.
Ivory Coast is not called the Elephants for nothing as they have greats such as Drogba, Dindane (aka the duo of death), Toure, Kalou among others. Proven to snatch the Indomitable Lions and Kings of Africa place - Cameroun - Ivory Coast will stir things up this year. S&M; I haven't heard much about them, other than they topped their group which consisted of Spain! It also looks like they can have major effect in this WC like the Czechs did in '04.
The Netherlands, my favorite football team of all time seems promising with all the new sensations such as Arjen Robben among others will surely shake up Argentinian veterans and IC and S&M newcomers. Unfortunately, nostalgics such as me hoping for Seedorf, Kluivert, Davids, Stam, De Boer twins, Van Der Sar (even though he helped them qualify), Overmars among others will NOT be part of this World Cup. Yes I know the '98 team consisting of all those plus Bergkamp (Dutch's GOAT after Cryuff), Zenden and others should've won the finals but they finished 4th. Same with the Euro 2000 in Amsterdam, finished 3rd. The Netherlands resumes in 9 words: The greatest team to never win a World Cup.
Prediction: Netherlands 1st, Ivory Coast 2nd.
Group D
Another interesting group that will bring another family reunion between Portugal and Angola. Pauleta's scoring has been extraordinary and will continue to do so, and with Figo's last World Cup expect them to pull something big. On the other side, Angola has proven to be very strong with no loss during their qualifying campaign that included Nigeria in their group.
Iran has proven to be stronger than in '94 when they beat the USA and they have greats such as Ali Daei with more than 100 international goals. Expect Iran to surprise many football fans.
For Mexico, well it's Mexico and they're aiming for no less than passing through the 1st round.
Predictions: Mexico 1st, 2nd place is really a toss up at this point.
Group E
Another very interesting group. I don't know about Italy guys this time around they haven't seem to be playing the same football they once did in 1994 or even 98 but they might prove to be strong once again with the Del Piero's and Vieri's if they are part of this WC.
It brings us to Ghana, which are considered to be the Brazil of Africa and this is no joke as they have a killer trio: Appiah, Essien, and Muntari. They also have a very strong defense which constrasts to typical African teams. Expect a similar showdown to France vs. Senegal when Ghana meets the Italians. Offense and defense balanced alltogether, what do you need more?
USA will bring about another reunion for Ghanaian youngster - I forgot his name. Anyways their team may have key players but prolly won't be enough to pass through the second round.
This brings us to the Czech, the team that should've won last Eurocup. Anyways key players to watch: Koller, Baros, Cech, and making his international return is the great Pavel Nedved. They will bring it all as this is Nedved and Koller's last international appearance at a major tournament. Expect them to go very far in the tournament.
Predictions: Czech 1st, Ghana 2nd.
Group F
I call this group, the most balanced one because of the exception of Brasil, we have 3 teams that are all very rounded. Well Brazil is going through no question aiming no less than the WC. Take a look at their lineup Ronaldo, Ronaldhino, Adriano, Junhino, Robhino, Kaka. The last four have all come out of the factory after 2002. Seriously it's incredible how the Brazilian factory produces so much talent in less than four years. Japan is very speedy but I don't think will make it. Croatia is very strong finishing ahead of Sweden in their qualifying group. Let's hope they hit us hard, like in '98 with the Davor Suker era Flip Mo. As for Australia, look out for them as their coach Guss Hiddink brought the Dutch to the semis in '98, '00, and brought South Korea to the semis in '02. So expect a something big from the Socceroos as a major upset will not be unexpected. BTW it's their second appearance since 1978 in the WC for anyone wondering. With them eliminating my personal fav. S.A. team Uruguay during qualifiers, there's a reason for Australia for being in the WC.
Predictions: Brazil 1st, sorry FlipMo but I have a feeling Australia is going to snatch that 2nd place from Croatia.
Group G
Well France will prolly finish on top of the group with Zidane, Makalele, and Thuram coming back. Expect a similar team to '98 with the exception of greats such as Djorkaeff, Desailly, Karembeu, Deschamps. In other words, expect France to hit us hard this time around. Switzerland is a very interesting case as they bested Turkey to qualify for the WC. With a very balanced team that also managed to draw against France during the qualifying campaign we will have another reunion.
I don't know why but Korea Republic might be stuck in the middle of nowhere with 3 strong teams all thinking than no less than advancing through the first round. Then, there's Togo who snatch the place from Senegal to get their place in their first ever WC. With the likes of Adebayor who is Africa's top scorer for the qualifiers with 11 goals ahead of Drogba and Dindane. Also Adebayor is said to be somewhat similar to Nigeria's jewel Kanu in height and style of play so expect something big.
Predictions: France 1st, Togo 2nd.
Group G
Finally the last group. Ok so it looks like an easy group for Spain right. Well think again, first they had trouble in qualifying as S&M caused a lot of trouble in their group. Also expect Ukraine to be a mindblowing team with the "Andriy" trio. Yes there is not one but three Andriy in this team. Also don't forget that they were the 1st European team to qualify for the WC with the exception of Germany. Also their group was proved to be one of the most difficult with Turkey, Denmark and Greece. They also had a clean sheet with no loss and an incredible 8 wins, 4 draws. Also during their qualifiers they had won 6 matches in a row without conceding even one goal. How impressive is that my friends? Expect them to bring something new to the table as they will prolly go very far in the tournament.
Then you have Tunisia (my home country), winners of ACN (African Cup of Nations) of 2004, eliminating Senegal, Nigeria, and winning against Morocco. The last match of the group proved that a draw against Morocco was enough to ensure another WC. As the sole survivor of the "five of Africa from last WC" Tunisia has the potential to do something, they only need to produce more goals as its been said by English commentators their the football is very different than any other African team. Brazilian born Clayton is playing his last WC and has proven to be one of key players. There is also Brazilian born Santos; Bouazizi, Badra, Ben Achour and other youngsters that are coming up might prove to shock Spanish veterans. That means we have to make it up against Spain and KSA hopefully because against Ukraine it's going to be a tough one.
Finally Saudi Arabia (KSA) has been in the past three WC but have only produced one goal in all. Realistically, KSA has very slim chances of making it to the next round if the 8-1 loss against Germany last WC happens again.
Predictions: Ukraine 1st, Tunisia 2nd.
All in all, you can all see that this WC will differ from traditional WC as there is no Colombia, Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroun, Senegal, South Africa, Uruguay (the only past WC winner not qualified this time around).
Peace
My predictions and analysis, anyways let's start:
Group A
The only survivors of last World Cup that had a major impact include Kahn and Ballack (my personal fav. in Germany). Don't forget to be on the lookout of up and coming Polish born Podolski. This kid is said to be an incredible force on the field. What an irony as Germany vs. Poland will be interesting to see Podolski against his compatriots.
As far as Ecuador goes, they have a very strong team. Hell, They beat Brazil 1-0 in a qualifier! Costa Rica's also interesting as their style is very simliar to Mexico if you saw them play last World Cup.
Prediction: Germany 1st, Poland 2nd.
Group B
That's a very interesting group as we will see one of the greatest rivalries and reunion of the Swedes in this as Eriksson will reunite with his Swedish fellows. On paper, England has never beaten Sweden since 1968 and the Swedes seems to be sharper than ever with their sole survivor of 1994 World Cup (don't 4get they finish in 3rd place) - Henrik Larsson, the one and only magician who scored the best goal (diving header) in Euro '04 against Bulgaria which ended 5-0. Anyways we also have England with their strongest lineup for a couple of decades. So here's the breakdown for England's key players: Beckham playing midfield; Lampard and Gerrard which I call the siamese twins as they are a force to be reckoned with and can do major damage if they play on both wings. Put Owen and Rooney up in front and it's over. Oh you've said it 7hug Life as England prolly have the best chances to go to the finals more than ever this time around. But Sweden my friends will surprise everyone, first you have the youngster Anders Svensson as talented as Owen and others. There's also the offense consisting of Ljunberg (this guy is sick), Marcus Allback (normally a sub for Larsson or Ibrahimovic), Larsson, and Bosnian born Ibrahimovic. BTW these 5 are supposed all to play at the same time. Anyways England vs. Sweden will prolly be the most exciting first-round match of the World Cup as I will be forward to be looking at this one.
Paraguay's also strong even though Chilavert is gone for a long time but they've still proven to be one of the greats in S.A. As far as T&T goes I've heard they have a very strong team but we'll have to wait and see.
Prediction: England and Sweden - a toss up on who's 1st.
Group C
The famous group of death. Yes my friends, there will be upsets in this group like the last WC where we saw Argentina leaving very early. Argentina well is Argentina, even though they're not as strong as in 1998 with the Veron's and Batistuta's they once had or even the Maradonna's in 94 and earlier. Still they have proven to be S.A. 2nd best.
Ivory Coast is not called the Elephants for nothing as they have greats such as Drogba, Dindane (aka the duo of death), Toure, Kalou among others. Proven to snatch the Indomitable Lions and Kings of Africa place - Cameroun - Ivory Coast will stir things up this year. S&M; I haven't heard much about them, other than they topped their group which consisted of Spain! It also looks like they can have major effect in this WC like the Czechs did in '04.
The Netherlands, my favorite football team of all time seems promising with all the new sensations such as Arjen Robben among others will surely shake up Argentinian veterans and IC and S&M newcomers. Unfortunately, nostalgics such as me hoping for Seedorf, Kluivert, Davids, Stam, De Boer twins, Van Der Sar (even though he helped them qualify), Overmars among others will NOT be part of this World Cup. Yes I know the '98 team consisting of all those plus Bergkamp (Dutch's GOAT after Cryuff), Zenden and others should've won the finals but they finished 4th. Same with the Euro 2000 in Amsterdam, finished 3rd. The Netherlands resumes in 9 words: The greatest team to never win a World Cup.
Prediction: Netherlands 1st, Ivory Coast 2nd.
Group D
Another interesting group that will bring another family reunion between Portugal and Angola. Pauleta's scoring has been extraordinary and will continue to do so, and with Figo's last World Cup expect them to pull something big. On the other side, Angola has proven to be very strong with no loss during their qualifying campaign that included Nigeria in their group.
Iran has proven to be stronger than in '94 when they beat the USA and they have greats such as Ali Daei with more than 100 international goals. Expect Iran to surprise many football fans.
For Mexico, well it's Mexico and they're aiming for no less than passing through the 1st round.
Predictions: Mexico 1st, 2nd place is really a toss up at this point.
Group E
Another very interesting group. I don't know about Italy guys this time around they haven't seem to be playing the same football they once did in 1994 or even 98 but they might prove to be strong once again with the Del Piero's and Vieri's if they are part of this WC.
It brings us to Ghana, which are considered to be the Brazil of Africa and this is no joke as they have a killer trio: Appiah, Essien, and Muntari. They also have a very strong defense which constrasts to typical African teams. Expect a similar showdown to France vs. Senegal when Ghana meets the Italians. Offense and defense balanced alltogether, what do you need more?
USA will bring about another reunion for Ghanaian youngster - I forgot his name. Anyways their team may have key players but prolly won't be enough to pass through the second round.
This brings us to the Czech, the team that should've won last Eurocup. Anyways key players to watch: Koller, Baros, Cech, and making his international return is the great Pavel Nedved. They will bring it all as this is Nedved and Koller's last international appearance at a major tournament. Expect them to go very far in the tournament.
Predictions: Czech 1st, Ghana 2nd.
Group F
I call this group, the most balanced one because of the exception of Brasil, we have 3 teams that are all very rounded. Well Brazil is going through no question aiming no less than the WC. Take a look at their lineup Ronaldo, Ronaldhino, Adriano, Junhino, Robhino, Kaka. The last four have all come out of the factory after 2002. Seriously it's incredible how the Brazilian factory produces so much talent in less than four years. Japan is very speedy but I don't think will make it. Croatia is very strong finishing ahead of Sweden in their qualifying group. Let's hope they hit us hard, like in '98 with the Davor Suker era Flip Mo. As for Australia, look out for them as their coach Guss Hiddink brought the Dutch to the semis in '98, '00, and brought South Korea to the semis in '02. So expect a something big from the Socceroos as a major upset will not be unexpected. BTW it's their second appearance since 1978 in the WC for anyone wondering. With them eliminating my personal fav. S.A. team Uruguay during qualifiers, there's a reason for Australia for being in the WC.
Predictions: Brazil 1st, sorry FlipMo but I have a feeling Australia is going to snatch that 2nd place from Croatia.
Group G
Well France will prolly finish on top of the group with Zidane, Makalele, and Thuram coming back. Expect a similar team to '98 with the exception of greats such as Djorkaeff, Desailly, Karembeu, Deschamps. In other words, expect France to hit us hard this time around. Switzerland is a very interesting case as they bested Turkey to qualify for the WC. With a very balanced team that also managed to draw against France during the qualifying campaign we will have another reunion.
I don't know why but Korea Republic might be stuck in the middle of nowhere with 3 strong teams all thinking than no less than advancing through the first round. Then, there's Togo who snatch the place from Senegal to get their place in their first ever WC. With the likes of Adebayor who is Africa's top scorer for the qualifiers with 11 goals ahead of Drogba and Dindane. Also Adebayor is said to be somewhat similar to Nigeria's jewel Kanu in height and style of play so expect something big.
Predictions: France 1st, Togo 2nd.
Group G
Finally the last group. Ok so it looks like an easy group for Spain right. Well think again, first they had trouble in qualifying as S&M caused a lot of trouble in their group. Also expect Ukraine to be a mindblowing team with the "Andriy" trio. Yes there is not one but three Andriy in this team. Also don't forget that they were the 1st European team to qualify for the WC with the exception of Germany. Also their group was proved to be one of the most difficult with Turkey, Denmark and Greece. They also had a clean sheet with no loss and an incredible 8 wins, 4 draws. Also during their qualifiers they had won 6 matches in a row without conceding even one goal. How impressive is that my friends? Expect them to bring something new to the table as they will prolly go very far in the tournament.
Then you have Tunisia (my home country), winners of ACN (African Cup of Nations) of 2004, eliminating Senegal, Nigeria, and winning against Morocco. The last match of the group proved that a draw against Morocco was enough to ensure another WC. As the sole survivor of the "five of Africa from last WC" Tunisia has the potential to do something, they only need to produce more goals as its been said by English commentators their the football is very different than any other African team. Brazilian born Clayton is playing his last WC and has proven to be one of key players. There is also Brazilian born Santos; Bouazizi, Badra, Ben Achour and other youngsters that are coming up might prove to shock Spanish veterans. That means we have to make it up against Spain and KSA hopefully because against Ukraine it's going to be a tough one.
Finally Saudi Arabia (KSA) has been in the past three WC but have only produced one goal in all. Realistically, KSA has very slim chances of making it to the next round if the 8-1 loss against Germany last WC happens again.
Predictions: Ukraine 1st, Tunisia 2nd.
All in all, you can all see that this WC will differ from traditional WC as there is no Colombia, Morocco, Nigeria, Cameroun, Senegal, South Africa, Uruguay (the only past WC winner not qualified this time around).
Peace
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