whos gunna win the world cup??
world cup
- Thread starter leewannabehench
- Start date
england ! 
already a thread on this in sports
but England have no hope - keep reading the Sun and believing their tripe - but England aren't good enough - sorry but its true.
but England have no hope - keep reading the Sun and believing their tripe - but England aren't good enough - sorry but its true.
Brazil have historically struggled in Europe. However, i think this is generally a weak tournament.
Germany, Holland, Argentina and France are all not quite the teams they were or should be, whilst the Spanish and Italians never quite get it together and are in a mess. Mexico, Czech Republic and Portugal are good outside bets as they have decent routes to the final and have teams that play good basic football. Portugal would be a lot stronger with Andrade fit and playing but still have a midfield that will win matches. Mexico are largely an unknown quantity but are strong and have goals in them. The Czechs always overachieve but play quality football and have a good midfield and defence.
Englands chances are not over hyped. I have big a big England critic since Venables left but we have never had such a talented, focused squad that are all peaking in there careers at the right time. We have the best midlfield in the tournament when fit, a solid defense with cover in all positions, one striker that is hitting great form and another that will score goals no matter how fit he is. Beckham has been Reals best player this season and our set pieces will do well against International defences, we have tall, powerful players in the box (except Crouch) and putting Walcott and more importantly Lennon in the squad gives us exceptional pace with players that have everything to prove and nothing to lose.
Biggest disappointment for me is the lack of threat from the African sides. Ivory Coast aside none of the other 4 will do anything whatsoever. The tournament would be more exciting with an on form Senegal or Nigeria in it.
Germany, Holland, Argentina and France are all not quite the teams they were or should be, whilst the Spanish and Italians never quite get it together and are in a mess. Mexico, Czech Republic and Portugal are good outside bets as they have decent routes to the final and have teams that play good basic football. Portugal would be a lot stronger with Andrade fit and playing but still have a midfield that will win matches. Mexico are largely an unknown quantity but are strong and have goals in them. The Czechs always overachieve but play quality football and have a good midfield and defence.
Englands chances are not over hyped. I have big a big England critic since Venables left but we have never had such a talented, focused squad that are all peaking in there careers at the right time. We have the best midlfield in the tournament when fit, a solid defense with cover in all positions, one striker that is hitting great form and another that will score goals no matter how fit he is. Beckham has been Reals best player this season and our set pieces will do well against International defences, we have tall, powerful players in the box (except Crouch) and putting Walcott and more importantly Lennon in the squad gives us exceptional pace with players that have everything to prove and nothing to lose.
Biggest disappointment for me is the lack of threat from the African sides. Ivory Coast aside none of the other 4 will do anything whatsoever. The tournament would be more exciting with an on form Senegal or Nigeria in it.
Australia - you know it's our turn!
chrissmith921 said:
And you are qualified to make this judgement because.....?
England ARE good enough. The problem is, they're only good enough when they play at their best and that rarely happens. They are one of the most inconsistent teams I have ever seen. If they play well (which I hope they do) they have a very real chance of winning.
Unfortunately, what I think will happen is that they will struggle through the first round and then get knocked out, probably on penalties
benelson101 said:
I disagree with this. Correct me if I'm wrong but they've never made it past the round of 16..Mexico sufferes from 'big fish in a small pond' syndrome. They fare well in Concacaf but not abroad, (although they did surprise last summer as invites in the Euro Tourney) and as the rest of Concacaf slowly catches up they will be more evened out play wise.
benelson101 said:
Agreed. Even if Senegal reaching the quarter finals last WC may have been a fluke (?), Africa will still miss the threat of Nigeria and Cameroon who have proven to be tough contenders.
ChrisJG said:
In my opinion that's a major key element to being a serious contender:consistancy, otherwise most teams in it would be 'good enough' on their good days...
ChrisJG said:
Possibly, if they win their grouping they may face Poland...they struggled against them during qualifiers...
has anyone seen that new commercial with im gonna guess its the brazillian or argentinian team, not quite sure, either way they do all these crazy tricks with the soccer ball, its really amazing the control they have over it, i can watch that commercial all the time.
tryin2bafitmoma said:
Are they wearing yellow or Blue/white? Soccer commercials are the best, especially the European/Latin American ones...
I like the one with the kids 'choosing' who they want on their team, the go through the usual names: Zidan, Bekham, Raul. As their names are called out you see the players come out from around the corner.
Then the one kid says Bekenbauer (sp) and the more bullish looking kid laughs; then Bekenbauer comes out and he is still in his prime...then you see a sign: Jose +10 and the game begins...it's pretty funny...
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Moonbeam3 said:
I partly agree and partly disagree. I don't think most teams would be good enough on their good days but, I do think that consistency is a major factor (as it is in most sports). If England have a good run and their confidence levels are raised at the start, they have a chance (whereas Jamaica for example, do not).
Also, much as I hate to jump on the Rooney bandwagon but, it looks like he'll be fit for the knockout stages, I think that could also be a major factor. Lets just hope he can live up to the expectations of 50million supporters!!
tryin2bafitmoma said:
It probably took several days filming to get those tricks on film. They may even have used a computerised ball and superimposed it onto the footage of the players.....like the commercial with the England squad playing on a pitch of girders suspended in mid air.....suspension of disbelief is a wonderful thing
ChrisJG said:I partly agree and partly disagree. I don't think most teams would be good enough on their good days but, I do think that consistency is a major factor (as it is in most sports). If England have a good run and their confidence levels are raised at the start, they have a chance (whereas Jamaica for example, do not).
Also, much as I hate to jump on the Rooney bandwagon but, it looks like he'll be fit for the knockout stages, I think that could also be a major factor. Lets just hope he can live up to the expectations of 50million supporters!!
They have the talent, no doubt about it. I kept hearing things about Crouch, Crouch this and Crouch that and I thought a guy that tall cannot be coordinated enough to be that good. But I guess he is LOL. I've seen little pieces here and there, mainly highlights, he seems to play well.
I'm guessing you're English, or at least a fan. I always enjoy watching them play and I watch the EPL games on TV. But I have to admit when they play Argentina, I'm most likely to lean towards the South Americans
Can you believe they start tomorrow? I'm guessing there may be another upset in the first game. I think Costa Rica will give Germany a run for their money. My dad thinks they could tie...
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You guessed it, I'm English and I'm proud
I must admit, I was a bit suspicious of Crouch to begin with for the same reasons but, he has been proving me wrong lately. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time and has a much better final touch than I gave him credit for.
Hey, if you want to root for the losing side, you go right ahead
I must admit, I was a bit suspicious of Crouch to begin with for the same reasons but, he has been proving me wrong lately. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time and has a much better final touch than I gave him credit for.
Moonbeam3 said:I'm guessing you're English, or at least a fan. I always enjoy watching them play and I watch the EPL games on TV. But I have to admit when they play Argentina, I'm most likely to lean towards the South Americans
Hey, if you want to root for the losing side, you go right ahead
LMAO! I'm just closer to them than I am you! But I have to admit when it comes to Maradona and the 'incident' I think: 'that was just wrong' LOL. It's too bad too because he was one of the greatest...
I actually have money on you guys, so I hope you come through...I need England to win their group...send the word out to Sven for me will ya?...
But I have to admit when it comes to Maradona and the 'incident' I think: 'that was just wrong' LOL. It's too bad too because he was one of the greatest...I actually have money on you guys, so I hope you come through...I need England to win their group...send the word out to Sven for me will ya?...
ChrisJG said:And you are qualified to make this judgement because.....?
England ARE good enough. The problem is, they're only good enough when they play at their best and that rarely happens. They are one of the most inconsistent teams I have ever seen. If they play well (which I hope they do) they have a very real chance of winning.
Unfortunately, what I think will happen is that they will struggle through the first round and then get knocked out, probably on penalties
I've played against 10 of the 11 who will start against Paraguay - I know my football, I've played and coached it at a very high level.
England play 4-4-2 - which offers NO natural passing angles. Its also very flat and inflexible - meaning foreign sides who use the creative 10 - "in the hole" - can pick this apart.
England also lack any ability to keep the ball for more than 7-8 passes. Watching even Ecuador tonight - they can keep the ball better, which, in tournaments of so many games in such short space of time, over the back end of a tough season, fitness is vital and teams now can beat England just by shifting the ball and killing them on their feet.