May 31, 200619 yr I dreamt last night that England got to the Round of 16 and lost 3-1 vs. Germany. :(
May 31, 200619 yr If they face Germany in the second round I bet it'll got to penalties :( And we know what happens then -_- England out...
May 31, 200619 yr Time for my in-depth analysis then. Well I've gone with the Argentinians to win it. They've got a fresh squad and have one hell of a strike force with Crespe, Tevez, Saviola and Messi all able to play in the attacking roles. They have some great talents in the squad that are clearly gonna use the WC as an status-elevating stage. Riquelme should shine massively in this tournament and Messi should show his REAL (-_-) talent this time around. The group stage will be quite a struggle though. Holland are pretty much playing on home ground and the Ivory Coast and Serbia & Montenegro are huge forces to be reckoned with thesedays. England DO look strong but they're too dependant on key players. This has been highlighted by the Rooney fiasco. We have pretty much noone who can hold that position in such a successful role as Rooney. If Joe Cole were to get injured then we'd be pretty much fúcked down the left side of midfield. This is a concern as they'll constantly be trying to avoid injury. But that isn't a MAJOR problem. Many teams such as Portugal have weak positions yet still manage to be successful in these tournaments. If England can manage to keep the likes of Joe Cole, Lampard and Gerrard injury-free then I can't see any reason why we can't go far. They're looking better then they have done for AGES but I still can't see them going all out and bringing the trophy back to England. Brazil are the odds on favourites. Ronaldinho, Kaka, Ronaldo, etc. are all vital to ANY team that they play for as they all have that presence that allows them to completely change the face of a game. Robinho is dubbed as the 'new Pele' and could well become a huge name if he's given the chance this summer. Also, they're backed with a successful defence and goalkeeper this time round. Something which has been niggling away at them for the past decade or so. It all looks great on paper but they DO have their faults. Sure the defence has improved but Argentina still managed to get 3 past them in the qualifiers and other teams with specifically strong attacekers could well catch them out. Teams like Italy and France could excel against this Brazilian squad. It's little things like this that I feel will lead to their downfall this summer. Germany are the hosts of the Cup and therefore have the advantage of crowd support, favourable climate and any other bonus that comes with playing on home turf. However, the squad is far too inexperienced and the manager isn't too well-known for his management skills. They'll be heavily relying on Podolski to become a German hero when really they should be looking at other players such as the midfield veterans like Frings and Ballack and try to base their gameplay around that. Can't see them getting much further than the Quarters personally. Spain and Mexico will probably be overlooked again. Spain, along with Holland, have the dubious title of 'best team never to win the World Cup' and I can't see it changing this year. Spain have a stable and consistent squad but, let's face it, we've seen it ALL before. They play well but just can't cut it when it comes to facing the likes of Italy and Brazil. Mexico have a pretty much veteran squad. Gerrado Torrado and Pavel Pardo could be the holding players that send their team up to some quality wins this WC but they don't have the quality nor the players to win it. Italy look good. They have a strong squad with a lovely mix of old, tried-and-tested players that work extremely well with the newer and fresher material that they have in their 23. The strikers should get them a good few goals and midfielf is looking as consistent as ever. Defence and goalkeeping shouldn't be a problem either. The only problem I can see is the whole Juventus/match-fixing sage that's currently doing the rounds in football news. This will be a huge blemish on their reputation and certainly could be a confidence-blower to some Italians. France aren't looking too healthy thesedays. They're far too dependable on veteran players who've well reached the pinacle of their careers and need something special to win it this time. The likes of Portuagl and Czech Republic would do well. They've certainly got the talent and consistency and as long as they don't get any major injuries or exceptionally hard draws then both could be make it to the Quarter Finals at least. USA could well suprise a few this year as well. Shockingly high world ranking and a good manager could see them pulling off a few upsets. And I think that's about it :) No doubt I'll have missed some vital team or World Cup favourite out of it.
May 31, 200619 yr Author And I think that's about it :) No doubt I'll have missed some vital team or World Cup favourite out of it. Holland ? :D
June 3, 200619 yr Come on you lot,England have no chance.They'll be out in the quarters or semis as soon as we meet a quality team like Brazil,Argentina or Italy.
June 3, 200619 yr Come on you lot,England have no chance.They'll be out in the quarters or semis as soon as we meet a quality team like Brazil,Argentina or Italy. How can you say that. Sure Brazil, Arentina, Holland etc have quality teams but so do England. I think every team in the world wouldn't mind one of our starting 11 in the their team. We beat Argentina in a friendly not so long ago and Sven always seems to do better against bigger teams and so do the players.
June 4, 200619 yr How can you say that. Sure Brazil, Arentina, Holland etc have quality teams but so do England. I think every team in the world wouldn't mind one of our starting 11 in the their team. We beat Argentina in a friendly not so long ago and Sven always seems to do better against bigger teams and so do the players. The problem is, in the last few months we haven't played any big sides. Uruguay, Hungary, Belarus and Jamaica is hardly a task for us is it? Well, Belarus obviously was for the B team. The whole country goes into a frenzy of Wayne Rooney's foot. How many other countries do you think would get like this over one player? If we are good enough to win it then we should be able to win it without him. In world cups and Euros, we always go out against a big team. [West] Germany in 1990 and 1996, Argentina in 1998, in Euro 2000 we were pushed aside by Portugal and Romania, Brazil in 2002 and Portugal again in 2004. All are big sides, bar Romania perhaps and we always go out to them. Won't change this year I don't think. :(
June 4, 200619 yr The problem is, in the last few months we haven't played any big sides. Uruguay, Hungary, Belarus and Jamaica is hardly a task for us is it? Well, Belarus obviously was for the B team. The whole country goes into a frenzy of Wayne Rooney's foot. How many other countries do you think would get like this over one player? If we are good enough to win it then we should be able to win it without him. In world cups and Euros, we always go out against a big team. [West] Germany in 1990 and 1996, Argentina in 1998, in Euro 2000 we were pushed aside by Portugal and Romania, Brazil in 2002 and Portugal again in 2004. All are big sides, bar Romania perhaps and we always go out to them. Won't change this year I don't think. :( Yeah you do have a point there, I mean most of the nation are in a panic over Rooney's injury but it has been over hyped by the media though, but I still guess that any other team could have the same situation with us like Brazil losing Ronaldinhio or Germany losing Ballack although I doubt the media would focus as much attention over it. We do seem to always go out to big teams but its always been England's fault why we were knocked out against them like Seaman missing the Ronaldinhio free kick, thats why I think the only team that can beat England is England and as long as there minds are in the right place then I think we will be able to over come the big sides.
June 4, 200619 yr To be fair to England, if we're ever gonna win it it's gonna be this year. Most big name sides have one problem or another and if England can take advantage of it then I can see us winning. I mean, Argentina haven't won anything since 1993 and looked totally unconvincing in the Confederations Cup against Brazil when they got hammered 4-1. The fans don't even support them any more because the fair majority of the players don't even play in Argentina making it difficult for them to cheer them on. Italy have the whole Juventus/match-fixing scandal going on which Buffon, arguebly their most influential player, is right on the centre of. This could have such a major impact on them. Holland are taking strikers like Van Nistelrooy who have played few games this season and many of their squad is young and un-tested. England, with a full squad, could easily beat them at the moment. Germany have the home advantage but are too far out of their depth at the moment. Teams like Brazil and Argentina could crush them at the minute. They shouldn't be a threat to England. The only REAL threat in my eyes are Brazil but if Crouch plays against them then I think we could have real chance of winning.
June 4, 200619 yr I forgot all about the whole match-fixing thing but that is really gonna be on the mind of some of the Italians although they do have Luca Toni who is a real class act and could be a mjor threat to defenders in Germany. I think this one of the worst German teams ever to around and this is from their own fans, so thats gonna give tem a whole load of confidence. Even if we did play Brazil though I think we could beat them although it would be extremley close. The Becham's, Owen's, Ferdinand's will surely want revenge from what happened in Japan / Korea and I think that could spur is on, and as long as we mark Ronaldinhio out of the game which i'm sure Terry would gladly do then I think we could beat Brazil if we both get that far.
June 5, 200619 yr My feelings of england doing well in the World cup are getting stronger. I really think we can go all the way,as long as the players stay fit and we have a bit of luck we can do it.The only real threat for us is Brazil (which we nearly beat in 2002) with a weaker squad.
June 5, 200619 yr My predicted last 4 England Brazil Germany Ivory Coast England will beat Germany Brazil will beat Ivory Coast England will beat Brazil 2-0 in the final
Create an account or sign in to comment