The World Cup Thread *******

alo

Well-known member
Well, it would be wrong not to have one.

I was gonna put this in Thought on the premise that the opinions of Tweedle Dee/Tweedle Dumb double act, Andy Townsend and Ally McCoist (and their pitchside table of truth) add up to a pretty persuasive philosophical discipline?

Also, whats up with Englands' Jaffa Cake consignment?
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Well, it would be wrong not to have one."
Damn right - I can't wait for it to start. Looking forward to the England games and England hopefully doing well of course but I'll also just enjoy the whole spectacle. Four weeks of the best players from all round the world doing battle in the world's greatest sporting competition - I just hope it's a good one with loads of goals and as few games as possible decided on penalties.
 

Freakaholic

not just an addiction
TOGO! TOGO!

But really, National Geographic has a great article on the World Cup.

Id really like to see the World Cup in Africa, but it seems no country yet can afford to have it.

Plus, Im feelin the loss of Turkey. They were always my favorite to watch, in stark contrast to Brazil.

Im sorry, but I cant stand a team full of whining babies.
 

Rambler

Awanturnik
I've been staring at my wallchart on and off all day. I quite fancy South Korea to do well again, with the possibility of a tasty rematch with Italy in the quarters.

Other tasty games - Poland-Germany obviously, and Angola-Portugal. Disappointed the US managed to avoid both Arab teams. And Brazil-Japan should be lots of fun.

I'm gonna miss Turkey too - always good value.
 

alo

Well-known member
Poland-Germany obviously, and Angola-Portugal. Disappointed the US managed to avoid both Arab teams. And Brazil-Japan should be lots of fun.

Some of the predictions have been woefully unimaginative from the pundits and correspondents in the dailies, as they usually are at World Cups. Germany, Italy, England, Brazil, Holland....zzzzz
Everyone forgets the achievements of Cameroon, S.Korea, North Korea, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Romania in major competitions down the years, really, the teams that make a good World Cup a great one when all is said and done.

Also, THE SCAN tommorow...
....The anticipation in the week run-up is unbearable, like 3 christamases in one to a 9 year old child!
 
F

foret

Guest
IdleRich said:
Four weeks of the best players from all round the world doing battle in the world's greatest sporting competition - I just hope it's a good one with loads of goals and as few games as possible decided on penalties.

except samuel eto'o, who might just be my favorite at the moment! (save messi maybe)
 

don_quixote

Trent End
Freakaholic said:
TOGO! TOGO!

But really, National Geographic has a great article on the World Cup.

Id really like to see the World Cup in Africa, but it seems no country yet can afford to have it.

Plus, Im feelin the loss of Turkey. They were always my favorite to watch, in stark contrast to Brazil.

Im sorry, but I cant stand a team full of whining babies.

damn straight

talking of conservative predictions, did anyone hear who elton john thought would be this tournaments dark horse?

um... yeah... argentina
 

benjybars

village elder.
great first day.. Lahm's goal has to be the best opening world cup goal ever!!

Ecuador looked proper tasty aswell..

And there's still a month to go :)
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
alo said:
Some of the predictions have been woefully unimaginative from the pundits and correspondents in the dailies, as they usually are at World Cups. Germany, Italy, England, Brazil, Holland....zzzzz
Everyone forgets the achievements of Cameroon, S.Korea, North Korea, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Romania in major competitions down the years, really, the teams that make a good World Cup a great one when all is said and done.

Um, not beign sarky, but the reason everyone predicts those teams is cos World Cup finals tend to be full of staggeringly predictable teams:

Brazil-Germany; Brazil-France; Brazil-Italy; West Germany- Argentina; Argentina- WG; Italy-WG; Argentina-Holland; Holland-WG; Brazil-Italy; England-WG
So you have to go back to 1962 to find an unfancied team in the final - Czechoslovakia.

And even WITHIN that predictability, England and France only ever reached the final on home soil. So we can pretty much say that Brazil, Germany, Italy and Argentina have been the achievers again and again (Holland bucking the trend by virtue of having a freakishly gifted team in the 70s).

The "achievements" of the teams you mention are either in the European Champs or only consisted of a run to the quarters/semis. And as for 2002, it was quite valid to argue that the 'big' teams wilted due to sheer exhaustion/overplaying. Sorry to say it, but, romance aside, I'd rather watch Brazil any day than South Korea.

But, all that said, I 'm gonna really miss Turkey, who I honestly thought had the quality and nous to become world champions in 2002. they would have hammered Germany in the final, and were one of the most attractive teams I've ever seen. F**king Brazil.

USA were quality too in 2002. Should've been in the semis, and then the final.

Turkey-USA final. Now THAT would qualify as unpredictable.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
If anyone's gonna upset the established order this time, I would (and probably will) put money on it being the Ukraine. Easy group (Spain? chokers extraordinaire),and if they win it, probably Switzerland in hte seocnd round. Bet they'll be quaking.

Then Brazil (I think).
 

alo

Well-known member
Brazil-Germany; Brazil-France; Brazil-Italy; West Germany- Argentina; Argentina- WG; Italy-WG; Argentina-Holland; Holland-WG; Brazil-Italy; England-WG
The "achievements" of the teams you mention are either in the European Champs or only consisted of a run to the quarters/semis.

Yeah, well done.
Football has, however, changed a hell of a lot (probably apart from Brazil) in terms of the differences between those powerbrokers and the rest, it's a shame it hasn't told when it comes to the names on the cup. Germany for instance were only average at best in the last world cup, and only got there because of that ol' world cup magic fairy dust: luck.
While its obviously the ultimate goal, the name on the cup isn't entirely the story of the whole tournament.
..........
The Mexican referee for the England/Paraguay game was fucking awful by any standard. Where do they get them from?
FIFA have apparently said for refs to clamp down on 'lunging' tackles, ball or not. This seems to mean, any sliding tackle has a high risk of of a card.
Well done T&T.
 

IdleRich

IdleRich
"Did England look good or did Paraguay just look bad???????"
Paraguay were shocking and England weren't much better. Luckily Paraguay made a lot of problems for themselves in the first half and in the second they couldn't muster a chance - despite all their possession they never looked like scoring.
What worried me is that Sven seems to have no idea with his substitutions. Lampard was anonymous (apart from a couple of shots) and Cole was our best player yet Cole was shunted around and eventually sidelined for Hargreaves who failed to bolster the midfield.
When Owen went off our attack was non-existent so if Walcott is good enough why didn't he come on? Our best two strikers aren't fully fit and the replacements aren't good enough, our midfield despite its quality didn't get hold of the game so I think a lot is going to depend on our defence throughout the tournament.
Still, after one day we're top of the group and need to beat Trinidad and Tobago to go through so it's not all bad.
 
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