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World Cup Prediction Game

Being that the World Cup is coming up in about a week, and this forum has a number of football/soccer fans, and that we all love polls/games, I thought it'd be interesting to start a game for our World Cup predictions.

Here's my proposed scoring system:

1 pt. for each correct team that advances to the knockout stage
1 pt. for predicting the correct place in the group
2 pts. for each correct round of 16 game winner
4 pts. for each quarterfinal winner
8 pts. for each semifinal winner
5 pts. for the third-place game winner
16 pts. for the champions

I don't know how clear I made the scoring for the group stage, so this is what I mean:

Let's say I predict Group A to finish like this:

Mexico
South Africa
France
Uruguay

If I get it completely correct, I get 4 points. If neither Mexico nor South Africa advances, I get 0 pts.
If Mexico wins the group and France comes in second, I get 2 points - 1 for predicting Mexico to advance and 1 for predicting them in first place. The same scenario works for France in first and South Africa in second.
If South Africa wins the group and Mexico comes in second, I get 2 points: 2 for having the right teams but none for having the right order.

The groups are (in case you haven't got them memorized):

Group A
South Africa
Mexico
Uruguay
France

Group B
Argentina
Nigeria
South Korea
Greece

Group C
England
USA
Algeria
Slovenia

Group D
Germany
Australia
Serbia
Ghana

Group E
Netherlands
Denmark
Japan
Cameroon

Group F
Italy
Paraguay
New Zealand
Slovakia

Group G
Brazil
North Korea
Cote d'Ivoire
Portugal

Group H
Spain
Switzerland
Honduras
Chile

And the bracket is as follows:

Round of 16

A1 v B2
C1 v D2
E1 v F2
G1 v H2
B1 v A2
D1 v C2
F1 v E2
H1 v G2

Quarterfinals

A1/B2 v C1/D2
E1/F2 v G1/H2
B1/A2 v D1/C2
F1/E2 v H1/G2

Semifinals

First quarterfinal winner vs. second quarterfinal winner
Third quarterfinal winner vs. fourth quarterfinal winner

Third-place

Semifinal losers

Final

Semifinal winners

For the knockout rounds, each team must be in the proper position. For example, let's say I predict Argentina to win its group and beat the A2 team to reach the quarterfinals. I do not earn points if Argentina finishes second in Group B and defeats the A1 team to make the quarterfinals.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

My ballot:

Round of 16

A1 Mexico over B2 Nigeria
C1 England over D2 Serbia
E1 Netherlands over F2 Paraguay
G1 Brazil over H2 Chile
B1 Argentina over A2 South Africa
D1 Germany over C2 USA
E2 Cameroon over F1 Italy
H1 Spain over G2 Portugal

Quarterfinals

England over Mexico
Brazil over Netherlands
Germany over Argentina
Spain over Cameroon

Semifinals

Brazil over England
Spain over Germany

Third-place

England over Germany

Final

Brazil over Spain

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Great idea Alex, I was going to do something similar over the weekend but it looks like you beat me to the punch.

I have no problem with the scoring, but it might be an idea to just have people submit their group stage winners and runners up now and the get people to submit their knockout stage result predictions when all the last 16 teams are known.

As for me, I,m gonna hold of submitting my predictions until later in the week. You never know who might get injured between now and Friday.

Also, is it ok if I include comments to justify my choices? I promise not to go on to much of a rant for group A

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

group A & D hypotheses still provide me with severe avalanches of gambl-o-headaches. as soon as those have passed, I'll gladly join in...
oh, and yeah, that socceroos defeat by the US didn't help in any way

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Beans

I have no problem with the scoring, but it might be an idea to just have people submit their group stage winners and runners up now and the get people to submit their knockout stage result predictions when all the last 16 teams are known.


My main concern with that is that the group stage ends on June 25 and the knockout round starts the next day. I don't know if there will be enough time for people to fill out their ballots.

Beans
Also, is it ok if I include comments to justify my choices? I promise not to go on to much of a rant for group A


Please do!

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Group A :
Mexico
France
Uruguay
South Africa

The only thing I'm sure here is that South Africa will end last !

Group B :
Argentina
South-Korea
Greece
Nigeria

South Korea or Greece ? I have not followed their recent matches so I can not really choose, but the way the Greek team plays is rather boring while the Korean are great to watch, so here I go for those I'd rather see on 16-round. Nigeria is far from what it used to be, so no chance for them to my mind.

Group C :
England
USA
Slovenia
Algeria

Group D :
Germany
Ghana
Australia
Serbia

Go Aussies and Ghana, 2 teams I would like to see performing well. But Old Germany has far too many experience to lose that soon.

Group E :
Holland
Japan
Cameroon
Denmark

Group F :
Italy
Slovaquia
Paraguay
New-Zealand

Go New-Zealand too ! (Yeah, don't know while but I love Australia and NZ... I want to work there next year).

Group G :
Brazil
Ivory Coast
Portugal
North Korea

I really, really want to see Portugal fall in that round... but it will be very tough for Ivory Coast for sure.

Group H :
Spain
Honduras
Chile
Switzerland

I have no clue here to be honest...

16-round :
Mexico beats South Korea
England beats Ghana
Holland beats Slovaquia
Brazil beats Honduras
Argentina beats France
Germany beats USA
Italy beats Japan (after penalties)
Spain beats Ivory Coast

Quarterfinals :
England beats Mexico
Holland beats Brazil
Argentina beats Germany
Spain beats italy

Semifinals :
Holland beats England
Spain beats Argentina

3rd place match : England beats Argentina

Final :
Spain beats Holland
Group D :

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Great idea Alex !!

Few surprises in my predictions. THis is a sort of dream World Cup

Reality might be different

I'll start with group A, probably the most open of the 8.

1. France : well, that's hope, given our poor friendly games (loss to CHINA !!!). Can't wait till Blanc takes over.
2. Uruguay : they could be one of the big surprises of the tournament
3. South Africa
4. Mexico

Group B

Nb 1 is easy, and then it’s very tough

1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. South Korea
4. Greece

Group C

1. England
2. USA
3. Slovenia
4. Algeria

Group D
IMO, a tough fight between Australia and Serbia for ticket 2

1. Germany
2. Australia
3. Serbia
4. Ghana

Group E

1. Holland
2. Cameroun
3. Denmark
4. Japan

Group F

1. Paraguay
2. Italy
3. Slovakia
4. New Zealand


Group G

1. Brazil
2. Portugal
3. Cote d’Ivoire
4. North Korea

Group H

1. Spain
2. Chile
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras


Round of 16

France defeats Nigeria
England defeats Australia
Argentina beats Uruguay
USA beats Germany
Holland beats Paraguay
Brazil beats Chile
Italy beats Cameroun
Spain beats Portugal

Quarter

England defeats France
Argentina def Germany
Brazil beats Holland
Spain beats Italy

Semi
Brazil def England
Spain def Argentina


3rd place
England beats Argentina

Final

Spain beats Brazil

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Groups:

Group A
1. Uruguay
2. France
3. Mexico
4. South Africa

Group B
1. Argentina
2. Greece
3. Nigeria
4. South Korea

Group C
1. England
2. USA
3. Algeria
4. Slovenia

Group D
1. Germany
2. Australia
3. Serbia
4. Ghana

Group E
1. Netherlands
2. Denmark
3. Japan
4. Cameroon

Group F
1. Italy
2. Paraguay
3. Slovakia
4. New Zealand

Group G
1. Portugal
2. Brazil
3. North Korea
4. Cote d'Ivoire

Group H
1. Spain
2. Switzerland
3. Chile
4. Honduras


Round of 16:

Uruguay v Greece
England v Australia
Netherlands v Paraguay
Portugal v Switzerland
Argentina v France
Germany v USA
Italy v Denmark
Spain v Brazil


Quarter finals:

Uruguay v England
Netherlands v Portugal
Argentina v Germany
Italy v Brazil


Semifinals:

England v Portugal
Germany v Brazil


Third-place:

England v Germany
Germany wins

Final:

Portugal v Brazil
Brazil wins

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Some big surprises in my prediction.

Group A
1. France
2. Mexico
3. Uruguay
4. South Africa

Group B
1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. South Korea
4. Greece

Group C
1. England
2. Slovenia
3. USA
4. Algeria

Group D
1. Germany
2. Ghana
3. Serbia
4. Australia

Group E
1. Netherlands
2. Cameroon
3. Denmark
4. Japan

Group F
1. Slovakia
2. Italy
3. Paraguay
4. New Zealand

Group G
1. Cote d'Ivoire
2. Brazil
3. Portugal
4. North Korea
Three world champion candidates in same group. No doubt the toughest group.

Group H
1. Spain
2. Switzerland
3. Chile
4. Honduras

the winner in bold.
16 teams left
France - Nigeria
Argentina - Mexico
England - Ghana
Germany - Slovenia
Netherlands - Italy
Slovakia - Cameroon
Cote d'Ivoire - Switzerland
Spain - Brazil

8 teams left
France - Ghana
Holland - Ivory Coast
Germany - Argentina
Slovakia - Spain

4 teams left
Argentina - Slovakia
Holland - Ghana

3rd place
Slovakia - Ghana

Final
Holland - Argentina

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Group A
Mexico
South Africa
France
Uruguay

Group B
Argentina
South Korea
Greece
Nigeria

Group C
England
USA
Slovenia
Algeria

Group D
Germany
Ghana
Australia
Serbia

Group E
Netherlands
Cameroon
Denmark
Japan

Group F
Italy
Paraguay
Slovakia
New Zealand

Group G
Brazil
Portugal
Ivory Coast
North Korea

Group H
Spain
Chile
Switzerland
Honduras

Round of 16:
Mexico beats South Korea
England beats Ghana
Netherlands beats Paraguay
Brazil beats Chile
Argentina beats South Africa
Germany beats USA
Italy beats Cameroon
Spain beats Portugal

Quarterfinals:
England beats Mexico
Brazil beats Netherlands
Germany beats Argentina
Spain beats Italy

Semifinals::
Brazil beats England
Spain beats Germany

Third-place:
Germany beats England

Final:
Brazil beats Spain

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Hay, Stephan, you mentionned Mexico twice in the 1/8 finals and forgot about France

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

nicolas

Group E

1. Holland
2. Cameroun
3. Denmark
4. Japan

Group F

1. Paraguay
2. Italy
3. Slovakia
4. New Zealand


Round of 16

France defeats Nigeria
England defeats Australia
Argentina beats Uruguay
USA beats Germany
Holland beats Paraguay
Brazil beats Chile
Italy beats Cameroun
Spain beats Portugal

Quarter

England defeats France
Argentina def Germany
Brazil beats Holland
Spain beats Italy


You made a few mistakes nicolas:

- From the way groups E and F finish, it should be Holland against Italy and Paraguay against Cameroon in the round of 16. Perhaps you meant to put Italy ahead of Paraguay in Group F?

- You said USA would beat Germany in the round of 16, but you have Argentina defeating Germany in the quarterfinals. You'll have to fix one.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Also, a few notes:

- After every game I will try to post a current update of who is in the lead instead of waiting until the tournament is over to see who is in the lead. It's more exciting that way.

- If you want to talk about the matches as they're going on, feel free!

- It's going to be a very exciting tournament if Petri wins. I think the best way to describe his predictions is bold

- Everyone says that Group G is the group of death but I think it's pretty certain that Brazil and Portugal will go through, and the poor Ivorians will go home early because of a bad draw (again). Group D is the real challenge: All 4 teams are good and though Germany are the favorites I could see any of the 4 teams going through.

- Group A is really, really hard: there are four mediocre teams. But I think Mexico will win (experience) and the home crowd will boost South Africa (it happened at the Confederations Cup last year). Domenech is terrible and France is not only in a funk but doesn't follow up success well. (Remember 2002?)

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

I won't go as far as Petri to put Ghana in 1/2 final, but I'm surprised that so many people put them last of their group ; they probably are the best african team right now.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

I've looked into it, and you do make a good point Nassim. I'm gonna have them play Argentina in the 16.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Stephan
I've looked into it, and you do make a good point Nassim. I'm gonna have them play Argentina in the 16.


Er, could you clarify please?

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Alex you're right, excuse me

So my predictions are

1. France : well, that's hope, given our poor friendly games (loss to CHINA !!!). Can't wait till Blanc takes over.
2. Uruguay : they could be one of the big surprises of the tournament
3. South Africa
4. Mexico

Group B

Nb 1 is easy, and then it’s very tough

1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. South Korea
4. Greece

Group C

1. England
2. USA
3. Slovenia
4. Algeria

Group D
IMO, a tough fight between Australia and Serbia for ticket 2

1. Germany
2. Australia
3. Serbia
4. Ghana

Group E

1. Holland
2. Cameroun
3. Denmark
4. Japan

Group F

1. Paraguay
2. Italy
3. Slovakia
4. New Zealand


Group G

1. Brazil
2. Portugal
3. Cote d’Ivoire
4. North Korea

Group H

1. Spain
2. Chile
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras


Round of 16

France defeats Nigeria
England defeats Australia
Argentina beats Uruguay
USA beats Germany
Netherlands beats Italy
Brazil beats Chile
Cameroun beats Paraguay
Spain beats Portugal

Quarter

England defeats France
Argentina def USA
Brazil beats Netherlands
Spain beats Cameroun

Semi
Brazil def England
Spain def Argentina


3rd place
Argentina beats England

Final

Spain beats Brazil


I think it's OK now

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Alex D
Stephan
I've looked into it, and you do make a good point Nassim. I'm gonna have them play Argentina in the 16.
Er, could you clarify please?
I changed my prediction to make Ghana #2 in their poule.. that's ok as long as we change it before the WC starts, right?

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

I know we don’t have to predict scores, points, etc. but I just thought it would be interesting to predict each individual match as well, and this is what I came out with:

Group A

1) Mexico – 6pts
2) France – 5pts
3) South Africa – 2pts
4) Uruguay – 2pts

Group B

1) Argentina – 9pts
2) Greece – 4pts
3) Nigeria – 2pts
4) South Korea – 1pt

Group C

1) England – 7pts
2) USA – 5pts
3) Slovenia – 4pts
4) Algeria – 0pts

Group D

1) Serbia – 7pts
2) Ghana – 4pts
3) Australia – 2pts
4) Germany – 2pts

Group E

1) Netherlands – 9pts
2) Cameroon – 4pts
3) Denmark – 3pts
4) Japan – 1pt

Group F

1) Italy – 6pts
2) Paraguay – 6pts
3) Slovakia – 6pts
4) New Zealand – 0pts

Group G

1) Brazil – 9pts
2) Portugal – 6pts
3) Cote d’Ivoire – 3pts
4) North Korea – 0pts

Group H

1) Spain – 7pts
2) Chile – 7pts
3) Switzerland – 3pts
4) Honduras – 0pts

Round of 16:

Mexico 3-1 Greece
Argentina 2-1 France
England 2-2 Ghana – England wins on penalties (this is probably a little far-fetched)
Serbia 2-1 USA
Netherlands 1-0 Paraguay
Italy 2-1 Cameroon – After extra time
Brazil 4-2 Chile
Spain 3-1 Portugal

Quarter Finals:

Mexico 0-1 England
Argentina 1-1 Serbia – Serbia wins on penalties
Netherlands 3-1 Brazil
Italy 0-1 Spain

Semi Finals:

England 0-2 Netherlands
Serbia 0-1 Spain – After extra time

Third/Fourth Place Play-off

England 1-0 Serbia

Final

Netherlands 2-0 Spain – After extra time

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Ok, here we go.

Group A
1. France
2. Uruguay
3. Mexico
4. South Africa

I have to go with France here. If it was us instead of them I would fancy us to top the group. I had Mexico in second place, but I'm reliably informed that their defence is dodgy. Uruguay, with Forlan leading the line should be good enough for second. I really hope that the hosts can rise to the occasion for the sake of the tournament, but I just can't see it.

Group B
1. Argentina
2. South Korea
3. Nigeria
4. Greece

They may have a lunatic at the helm, but Argentina still have too much for the rest. I think they'll be very hard to score against (Full backs wont push forward, Mascherano and Veron just sitting in front of them) and up front their striking options are frightening. Still can't believe he left Cambiaso and Zanetti at home. I rooting for the Koreans to take second; they have a great attitude. Nigeria not the force they once were. Greece are coma inducing.

Group C.

1. England
2. USA
3. Slovenia
4. Algeria

The hype surrounding our close neighbours is much less than usual, which is a refreshing change. It makes it far easier for me to want them to do well. They need Rooney to hit form, and if he does they could go a very long way before the inevitable penealty shootout exit. I fancy the States for a draw on Saturday and I think they have enough in them to take the second spot. Slovenia did well to qualify; second in a tough group and then overcoming the playoffs seeding fix and the Russians, so I wish them well. Algeria are rubbish, and how they qualified at the expensive of the best team in Africa is a mistery to me.


Group D

1. Germany
2. Serbia
3. Australia
4. Ghana

What a tough group to call. I wanted to be brave an predict upsets here but in the end I chickened out. So it's the old reliables to top the group and a dog fight for second. Serbs have some very good players and should just, just have enough to pip the Aussies (that game will be a cracker). Ghana really deserve better. They are a good team, and in most other groups, I could see them qualifying even without
Essien.

Group E

1. Holland
2. Cameroon
3. Japan
4. Denmark

I think this will be a tight group, with very little between all the teams. The Dutch sailed through qualification from a really weak group. good going forward, but maybe a bit weak at the back. After that it's all up in the air. I'm going for Cameroon to take the second spot because I've been a bit hard on the African teams so far. Here's hoping the memories of Milla and Co. can inspire them to reach the heady heights of 1990 (7 minutes from a semifinal, and then Lineker fell over.. TWICE).

Group F

1. Italy
2. Paraguay
3. Slovakia
4. New Zealand

this is a pritty uninspiring group. Italy to top it and thats about all I have to say here.

Group G

1. Brazil
2. Portugal
3. Ivory Coast
4. North Korea

Got to go with the Brazilians here for obvious reasons. After that I'm going for Portugal over the Ivory Coast simply because they will play more as a team. The Ivorians are an extremely talented bunch of Individuals but they do not play as a unit. I remember watching them in the African Cup of Nations against either Algeria or Egypt and they simply gave up in extra time. If they could but their egos aside for 5 minutes they could to very well. I can't wait to see North Korea, apparently they're quite well organised.

Group H
1. Spain
2. Chile
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras

It's Spain all the way here. Their squad is frightening. Chile finished second, a point behind Brazil in qualification, so they should be good enough to take second. The Swiss are what you take if Greece don't put you to sleep first. Best of luck to Honduras (I know absolutely nothing about them).

Alex, is it ok if I post my knock out stage predictions over the weekend? Or maybe tomorrow.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Stephan
Alex D
Stephan
I've looked into it, and you do make a good point Nassim. I'm gonna have them play Argentina in the 16.
Er, could you clarify please?
I changed my prediction to make Ghana #2 in their poule.. that's ok as long as we change it before the WC starts, right?


Yes, that's fine...but it seems you already had Ghana in the round of 16 against England. Your Argentina comment through me for a loop...

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Beans

Alex, is it ok if I post my knock out stage predictions over the weekend? Or maybe tomorrow.


Well, I would prefer you posted them as soon as possible, reason being that I don't want anyone to gain an unfair advantage from watching the first few matches first and then altering their predictions accordingly.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Great idea making this game!


Group A - the most balanced group. Go with France for the tradition, and cause they've already deceptioned in 2002, it won't happen again. Also, I don't even know when was the last time the home-team didn't go on, even Japan did it, so I put my bet for Bafana-Bafana as well.

South Africa
France
Mexico
Uruguay

Group B - Is it my impression or Nigeria always falls in Argentina's group?

Argentina
Nigeria
Greece
South Korea

Group C - Easy guess

England
USA
Slovenia
Algeria

Group D - Great matches here, but the balcanics will suffer again for fallling in a tough group. Ghana may be an upset due both to Germany's incredible series of lesions and to the fact that the African teams will became stronger playing "home".

Ghana
Germany
Serbia
Australia

Group E - Eto O', Geremi and company can bring the lions back to the 2nd level!

Netherlands
Cameroon
Denmark
Japan

Group F - The Squadra Azurra's not the same anymore, but in a group with only one relevant adversary, it won't be so hard for them to top the bracket.

Italy
Paraguay
Slovakia
New Zealand

Group G - Oh, there it comes, the group of death! I think we had never gotten such a bad group in the history of world cups. Even with Drogba hurt, I see Cote d'Ivore as the best African representative this time, and it can make Portugal revive the early elimination of 2002.

Brazil - Yes, I still have hope. Even without some crucial players, and with what's being considered one of our most mediocre selections ever, Dunga's family has been getting good results in these years. And in the last decades we use to go better when not the favorites (94, 02) then in the contrary (82, 98, 06)!
Cote d'Ivoire
Portugal
North Korea



Group H - Chile may stop the bureaucratic Switch football and repeat 98's second round match with Brazil.

Spain
Chile
Switzerland
Honduras

And the bracket is as follows:

Round of 16

South Africa v Nigeria
England v Germany - the germans always win this kind of matches
Netherlands v Paraguay
Brazil v Chile
Argentina v France
Ghana v USA
Italy v Cameroon
Spain v Cote D'Ivore

Quarterfinals

South Africa v Germany
Netherlands v Brazil
Argentina v Ghana
Italy v Cote D'Ivore


Semifinals

Germany vs. Netherlands
Argentina vs. Cote D'Ivore - There's always a surprise team in the semi-finals


Third-place

Germany beats Cote D'Ivore

Final

Argentina vs. Netherlands

Winner: Netherlands

I bet finally the dutch will achieve the prize they sould have got since so many world cups! Of course for this I guessed in many upsets (as we always see in every cup), like England and Spain precocius elimination. Oh, and it was so hard to cut Brazil's name!

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

We ought to do like a betting system where everyone starts with say $100 any they bet money on "home win", "draw" "away win", we could use odds on them and everything! I don't want to tread on your shoes Alex,I'm sure we could all do 2 world cup games! With your permission, I'd be happy to set up another thread.

Anyway -

1. France - Really bad team, but just enough to scrape past mexico.
2. Mexico - strong second.
3.South Africa
4.Uruguay

B.

1. Argentina - Remember they were the favourites for 2006? They have such potential, but with Maradona as a manager they aren't gonna reach it.
2.South Korea
3.Nigeria
4.Greece

Group C

1. England (YES!)
2. USA
3. Slovenia
4. Algeria

Group D.

1. Germany - awful football, but great results.
2. Serbia
3. Australia
4. Ghana - No essien, no chance.

E.

1. Netherlands - easily my favourite team.
2. Denmark
3.Cameroon - v. unlucky
4. Japan

F.

1.Italy
2. Slovakia
3. NZ
4. Paraguay

G.
1. Portugal - portugal/brazil will be a draw so i think they'll be ahead on goal difference
2. Brazil - not looking too good atm
3. Ivory Coast - SO unlucky
4. DPRK - no chance

H. (what an awful group)
1. Spain
2. switzerland
3. chile
4. Honduras


France beat South Korea
England beat Serbia
Netherlands beat Slovakia
Spain beat Brazil (nuts huh?)
Argentina beat Mexico
Germany beat USA
Italy beat Denmark
Portugal beat Switzerland

England beat France
Netherlands beat Spain
Germany beat Argentina
Italy beat Portugal

Netherlands beat England
Italy beat Germany

Germany beat England
Netherlands beat Italy.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Zorg
We ought to do like a betting system where everyone starts with say $100 any they bet money on "home win", "draw" "away win", we could use odds on them and everything! I don't want to tread on your shoes Alex,I'm sure we could all do 2 world cup games! With your permission, I'd be happy to set up another thread.


That sounds kind of involved, but if you want to run it I have no problems with it.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

I'm not as enthousiastic as you are about the Netherlands

They have fantastic strikers, but their defense seems a little slow. You don't win a WC without a strong defense. You can say the same about England, especially with Rio Ferdinand out.

Brazil is not as spectacular as it used to be, but their team is impressive. No stars but a strong collective. A little Kaka-dependant, though.

Boys, it's starting today !!! and France plays tonight !! I couldn't wait any longer. Those last days were just terrible. And I'm gonna miss the beginning of the match against Uruguay tonight because it's my daughter's birthday !! I really hope France won't be ridiculous. Everything can happen.

I'm glad to see that there are a good number of us who love football.

Alex (and the others), what do you think, do you wish to open another thread about general comments on the games or do prefer to have predictions AND comments in this one ?

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

Ok Alex, here are the remainder of my predictions. Just 1 game down so far, and I didn't go for either team in group A, so there's no impact on any of my decision making.

Last 16

France over South Korea (Just)
England over Serbia
Netherlands over Paraguay
Brazil over Chile
Argentina over Uruguay
USA over Germany (I need at least 1 upset)
Italy over Cameroon
Spain over Portugal

Quarter Finals
England over France (COME ON ENGLAND)
Brazil over Netherlands
Argentina over USA
Spain over Italy

SemiFinals
Brazil over England
Spain over Aregentina

Final
Spain over Brazil

In a dull, dull game dominated by defences and littered with misplaced passes and flying pigs.

The game no-one wants to be invovled in
Argentina over England

Maradonna starts with Messi, Tevez, Higuain, Milito and Sergio Aguero.

Re: World Cup Prediction Game

OK, the first match has ended and entry in the prediction game is now closed.

nicolas, if you want to start a separate thread for comments, it's up to you. I don't have a preference either way. Some people will think it's neater and less cluttered that way but others will want to see the predictions while they make comments, so I don't know that it makes a difference. By the way, did you see the comments I made about your bracket?

Leaderboard - Day 1

After the first day, Group A is all square at one point apiece, so everyone is tied.

If you want to get technical, South Africa and Mexico are ahead on account of goals scored, and the only ones with those two first and second are Stephan and I. It's a very, very, small lead though.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

France were AWFUL. I can't believe domenech waited 70 odd minutes to substitute. Govou was poor, so was anelka.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

This French team is rubbish.

The only good players were Diaby and Toulalan. Ribery was the worst. At least we didn't lose, but we won't go far. Mexico and SA look rather weak, so we mught get to the round of 16, but nothing is sure.

Domenech is as stubborn as a f... mule.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

nicolas
This French team is rubbish.

The only good players were Diaby and Toulalan. Ribery was the worst. At least we didn't lose, but we won't go far. Mexico and SA look rather weak, so we mught get to the round of 16, but nothing is sure.

Domenech is as stubborn as a f... mule.


They played without any heart which is far more frustrating then a team playing poorly. I still think both France and Uruguay will have too much for the other 2 in the group though.

Nicolas, Domenech's decision making must drive you crazy. How he can start the likes of Govou ahead of Florent Malouda is beyond me, and then leave him on for the duration. And to see Djibril Cisse warming the bench ahead of players like Nasri and Benzema is just plain madness.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

And also, playing Henry as an out-and-out striker just doesn't work, since Uruguay had like 3 men on him, and he can't header. You can't play crosses into him.

As Day 2 starts though, it's a lot more promising. England/USA is the big game for me of course (I'm english), but also Argentina/Nigeria would be good since they both play with flair. Then there's Greece/South Korea. How Greece won Euro 2004 is beyond me. They are genuinely quite awful. South Korea if you remember finished 4th in 2002, so it should be quite a good game.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Beans
nicolas
This French team is rubbish.

The only good players were Diaby and Toulalan. Ribery was the worst. At least we didn't lose, but we won't go far. Mexico and SA look rather weak, so we mught get to the round of 16, but nothing is sure.

Domenech is as stubborn as a f... mule.


They played without any heart which is far more frustrating then a team playing poorly. I still think both France and Uruguay will have too much for the other 2 in the group though.

Nicolas, Domenech's decision making must drive you crazy. How he can start the likes of Govou ahead of Florent Malouda is beyond me, and then leave him on for the duration. And to see Djibril Cisse warming the bench ahead of players like Nasri and Benzema is just plain madness.


I completely agree on the Malouda point, but if Nasri and Benzema may have more raw talent than Cissé, he has done a much better year and has proven that he wanted to be on the French team for this World Cup... Benzema and Nasri are talented, but talented assholes (Nasri will change and become a great player... but I'm afraid Benzema might remain a jackass).

Glad to see that Greece have a less defensive way of playing than before. I root for South Korea anyway, but Greece might be more bearable to watch than on 2004.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

yesterday I only saw the second half of uruguay-France, and when I turned on my TV and saw Diaby I said "cool" but then, wait a minute, who didn't satart ? It was Malouda and I was mad.
Malouda is just the best French player these days, and he deserves to play on the left wing. But Domenech won't have the balls to move Ribery, who thinks he's a kind of Zorro, and who believes he can be a sort of savior just by himself.

Like Nassim said, Benzema and Nasri are another matter. They acted bad in 2008 and Dom never forgives.
I think that Domenech has no authority on his players.
He prefers gentle guys like Gourcuff and rejects those who open their mouth to criticize him especially when they do so in the press(like Malouda).

Ray D is obsessed with his stupid war against the press and now there's a big divorce between the people and the French team. The federation, who didn't fire him in 2008, are responsible and their PR are a disaster.

I won't be able to see Argentina this afternoon, but I'll watch England/USA with pleasure (if my wife doesn't ask for divorce )

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

nicolas

I won't be able to see Argentina this afternoon, but I'll watch England/USA with pleasure (if my wife doesn't ask for divorce )


Argentina were a little disappointing. Messi was class, but some of their players were anonymous; Di Maria in particular. And for some reason he had a right winger who can't defend playing at right back.

I'm really looking forward to the England game too. Most Irish people like to see them do well but not too well if that makes any sense. They have some players I really like such as the wonderful Wayne Rooney, and some real ***holes, oh and a donkey that can't hit a barn door.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Beans
oh and a donkey that can't hit a barn door.


Is that Heskey ?

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

...and Peter Crouch. Sigh.
More importantly Gerrard and Lampard can't play together.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

(after the American goal)

or Green ?

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

*groan*
That was awful. If Capello didn't want him to commit suicide, he'd take him off now.

Nicolas, use the IRC!

Leaderboard - Day 2

After the second day of matches and a very lucky break for us Yanks, this is how the leaderboard looks (hypothetically, if the knockout round started today):

Stephan - 6 pts.
Nassim - 5 pts.
Zorg - 5 pts.
Alex D - 5 pts.
nicolas - 4 pts.
Guy - 4 pts.
Beans - 4 pts.
Toni - 4 pts.
Gillingham - 3 pts.
Petri - 3 pts.

(Since the top two teams of Groups A and C are exactly tied I gave no points for positioning.)

Of course, we'll have to wait for quite a few more matches to see who actually earns the points. But for now, this is who's looking good, with Stephan jumping out to an early lead.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 2

Hey Alex, don't you get 6 points if you get the group entirely right? 4 points for getting each position right and then 2 for getting those who qualify correct?

Re: Leaderboard - Day 2

Zorg
Hey Alex, don't you get 6 points if you get the group entirely right? 4 points for getting each position right and then 2 for getting those who qualify correct?


No, you can only get points for predicting the top two teams in the group correctly (2 pts) and in the right position (2 pts) for a total of 4 pts. Just about everyone filled out positions for all four teams in each group, but getting the top two right is all that counts. I hope there wasn't any confusion there.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 2

I'm on the IRC now
let's meet there at every match hour

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

nicolas
Beans
oh and a donkey that can't hit a barn door.


Is that Heskey ?


It is the wonderful for both club and country Emile Heskey.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

I've been watching the games. It's fun getting involved in soccer once every four years. But I guess I'm very American in that I prefer higher scoring sports.

You know if they wanted to get America interested in soccer all they'd have to do is the same thing they did to hockey and basketball. Change the rules to inflate the scoring. Only, that'd really piss off Europe.

Does anyone else wish they'd do something about those noise makers in the crowd? Hearing that buzzing all day gives me a headache.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Absolutely, those vuvuzelas are ruining this world cup. There is no emotion in the public like this; no dancing or singing, no shouts when something exciting is going on, there is only the monotonous baritone of boredom. Seriously awful. And their claim that it's tradition and that therefore they cannot ban it is bollocks; they started using these things at matches in 2000/2001.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

So far i find this WC a bit disappointing. Not many goals (BillAdama, sometimes there are more goals in football games.
I think (hope) that groups D to H, with more attacking teams, will be richer in goals
Teams are more and more cautious, all they want is not to lose especially for the first match.
In the second and third matches in the group stage teams usually take more risks

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Heskey had a good game, certainly better than Rooney & Lampard. When Crouch came on, England lost all momentum.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Looks like we'll have to do with the Germans (once again)

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

That was frighteningly good, it seemed like the front three were all on the same wavelength. Oezil just controlled everything and could have had a couple of goals himself. Putting Ghana last in my group was a complete hash, they were excellent, fun game. Algeria/Slovenia on the other hand, SNORE.

Tomorrow will be good, except I have to miss the first two games because of exams

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Zorg
That was frighteningly good, it seemed like the front three were all on the same wavelength. Oezil just controlled everything and could have had a couple of goals himself. Putting Ghana last in my group was a complete hash, they were excellent, fun game. Algeria/Slovenia on the other hand, SNORE.

Tomorrow will be good, except I have to miss the first two games because of exams


Not taking anything away from the Germans who were excellent, but wow that was a terrible offside trap the Aussies employed. I was wrong about Ghana too. I know that they are good side and I'm pleased that they look like they might advance.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Stephan
Absolutely, those vuvuzelas are ruining this world cup. There is no emotion in the public like this; no dancing or singing, no shouts when something exciting is going on, there is only the monotonous baritone of boredom. Seriously awful. And their claim that it's tradition and that therefore they cannot ban it is bollocks; they started using these things at matches in 2000/2001.


That's very interesting. I was led to believe that they were some sort of tradition attached to them as well which is most definitely not true.

The good new is the tournament organisers are considering a ban. I think the level of complaints from around the world have been so great that action will hopefully be taken. They are ruining the atmosphere

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

According to the Wikipedia article on Vuvuzelas, Patrice Evra blamed France's poor performance against Uruguay on the bloody things

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Screw tradition anyway. Wimbledon is better with a roof over center court, admit it England!

Re: Leaderboard - Day 1

Apparently Messi played worse because of the vuvuzelas. Shudder to think how he'd be with them gone.

Leaderboard - Day 3

Today provided for some interesting matches...an exciting end to Ghana-Serbia and Germany kicking the snot out of Australia (didn't see that one coming, in truth). Here's how the preliminary leaders shape up:

Stephan - 9 pts.
Nassim - 8 pts.
Petri - 8 pts.
Alex D - 6 pts.
Zorg - 6 pts.
Guy - 5 pts.
Beans - 5 pts.
Toni - 5 pts.
nicolas - 4 pts.
Gillingham - 4 pts.

Stephan retains the lead, but he has Nassim and Petri close behind as the group stage goes on. Tomorrow's matches appear pretty predictable, but anything can happen...

Leaderboard - Day 4

Today the Dutch got the better of the Danes (and Daniel Agger's back), Japan scored an upset and Paraguay nearly did too. Through 4 days the leaderboard is:

Nassim - 13 pts.
Stephan - 13 pts.
Alex D - 10 pts.
Petri - 10 pts.
Beans - 9 pts.
Guy - 9 pts.
Toni - 9 pts.
Zorg - 9 pts.
Gillingham - 8 pts.
nicolas - 8 pts.

Of course, it could all very well change, the group of death starts tomorrow!

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

This world cup is incredibly disappointing. Every game is tentative, defensively minded and, well, I just don't want to see draws. I can't imagine how much people paid to see people like Ronaldo, Simao, Drogba, Toures etc £30 million players have a complete lark.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

Zorg
This world cup is incredibly disappointing. Every game is tentative, defensively minded and, well, I just don't want to see draws. I can't imagine how much people paid to see people like Ronaldo, Simao, Drogba, Toures etc £30 million players have a complete lark.


My hope is that once the first round of games is over, things will open up a bit. Teams needing a win will have to show a greater sense of urgency.

Leaderboard - Day 5

After today's thrilling Slovakia-New Zealand and Brazil-North Korea matches, along with the less-than-thrilling Ivory Coast-Portugal match, the tentative standings are as follows:

Nassim - 15 pts.
Stephan - 14 pts.
Alex D - 11 pts.
Petri - 11 pts.
Guy - 10 pts.
Beans - 10 pts.
Toni - 10 pts.
Zorg - 10 pts.
nicolas - 9 pts.
Gillingham - 8 pts.

(Note for Group F, everyone gets exactly one point - it's just a placeholder until more matches are played because all 4 teams are exactly tied.)

Euro champs Spain are in action tomorrow along with the hosts.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

Now that was some game. They don't deserve it but 've got some newfound respect for North Korea. The sheer passion with which they played (remember the guy crying during the national anthem), doggedness, and a very well taken goal at the death was for me the most exciting part of this World Cup so far. This is really now a proper group of death - no easy games - the attack of Portugal (Since they don't have an out and out striker) is really going to suffer. I assure you that if england played this north korea side, it'd be a drab 0-0.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

The North Koreans played with passion and a refreshing honesty; I just hope they don't pick up any bad habits when they come up against Drogba and Ronaldo.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

Yes, it was more dinamic than many other games. I still can't accepted Brazil let that goal almost in the end of the match! No one was expecting that.
At least the team got better at the 2nd half. After the goal, Kaka started playing a little. I think he can recover his ability still before stage 2!
Unfortunately I couldn't watch Portugal x Cote D'Ivore, but it looks like it will be very, very hard for us to play against both them.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

The thing about soccer is, the way it's set up the defense has the advantage. So you'd expect, similar to chess, the higher the level of competition, the more ties you get.

If soccer was invented in the US like basketball or American football they'd make a lot of rules specifically around crippling the defense to shift the advantage to the offense. None of those breakaway-killing offside calls. No, we'd get 'The defense isn't allowed to interfere with an offensive play' rules.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

BillAdama
The thing about soccer is, the way it's set up the defense has the advantage. So you'd expect, similar to chess, the higher the level of competition, the more ties you get.

If soccer was invented in the US like basketball or American football they'd make a lot of rules specifically around crippling the defense to shift the advantage to the offense. None of those breakaway-killing offside calls. No, we'd get 'The defense isn't allowed to interfere with an offensive play' rules.


The great attacking teams will find a way to break down even the tightest defences, be it by using width or crisp, incisive passing (check out the Spanish tomorrow for some of the later).

I don't think the low scoring so far is down to overly stingy defenses, but rather the overly cautious approaches of teams so far. Hopefully that will all change.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

Yes, I hope it will change, because so far the games were more tactical than beautiful (but the Maicon goal was great), so they were less pleasant to see especially for newcomers and countries (USA, Australia) that are more used to high-scoring sports. It is not the Lakers against the Celtics.

But the beauty of modern football is that a match is a patient game, a little like chess, except that it is far less exact. You can be better than the other team and loose, you can shoot 20 times and miss, hit the posts 3 times, and the other team can have one shot and score.

Once a French intellectual asked Michel Platini about the beauty of football and he answered : it's beautiful because there is no thruth in football. It's just like life.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 4

Oh man. Spain had so much possession. If spain can't pull the trigger, who the hell can?

Leaderboard - Day 6

It's a great day to be Swiss, Uruguayan or Chilean as all three of those sides won today. Standings:

Nassim - 15 pts.
Stephan - 14 pts.
Petri - 13 pts.
Beans - 12 pts.
Zorg - 12 pts.
Alex D - 11 pts.
nicolas - 11 pts.
Gillingham - 11 pts.
Guy - 11 pts.
Toni - 10 pts.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

Alex, shouldn't I have gotten one point for having put Chile in the top 2 at it's group?

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

Looks like goals are back in this second round of matches

3 for Uruguay yesterday, and already 3 at half time for Argentina-South Korea !

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

who would've thought? a Greece match among the most intense so far..

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

PS: @those who're still fond of the WC killer bees: acclaimedvuvuzelas.net

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

Ha ha, nice one nj. Now I can have them in my ears all day, just in case it wasn't enough in matchtime.

Also, commiserations Nicolas.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN, COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

To be honest, I think Ireland would have given it a lot better effort than France have.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

Toni
Alex, shouldn't I have gotten one point for having put Chile in the top 2 at it's group?


As of yesterday's standings, you would have gained a point for having Chile in the top 2 but lost one as South Africa fell out of the top two by losing to Uruguay.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

Still a small chance for france(though they don't deserve it). This is because mexico will be playing to win, because if it's a draw, then mexico will be second and have to face argentina in the next round...at the very least france must whoop south africa, which seems unlikely.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

I don't envy Laurent Blanc. He will be inheriting a right mess, and how he's going to go about restoring some pride in the jersey is beyond me.

Leaderboard - Day 7

Goals abounded today in Argentina's 4-1 defeat of Korea, Greece's 2-1 win over Nigeria and Mexico's victory over France by two goals to nil. Updated standings:

Nassim - 17 pts. (has groups B, D and E perfect so far)
Stephan - 16 pts.
Petri - 14 pts.
Beans - 14 pts.
Zorg - 14 pts.
Alex D - 12 pts.
nicolas - 12 pts.
Gillingham - 12 pts.
Guy - 12 pts.
Toni - 11 pts.

Yanks, Brits and Krauts (no offense nj) take the field tomorrow.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

I think he was a (small) part of the problem, in that Domenech said that he would leave well before the team set off to South Africa. It made him a lame duck. Albeit a very bad lame duck.

EDIT: I'm in third! Big mistakes so far:

Overestimating France (put them 1st)
Underestimating Ghana (put them last)
Overestimating Spain (though I'm sure this is temporary)
Highly underestimating Uruguay (put them last)
Underestimating Japan
Highly overestimating Portugal (put them first)

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

, good joke, nj! I was in the end of Bjork's Hyperballad right while clicking at the link, so suddenly that familiar sound appeared over the soft violins, and me thinking:"where the fuck is coming this noise from?".

Well, I won't say Mexico's winning was a surprise, but surely it will become a huge conquest in their world cup history. That said, I don't think it was a fair result. Both teams played almost equally, sometimes one being better, sometimes the other.
And that penalty didn't exist!

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

We didn't have the level to play that World Cup
Yesterday the strikers never were dangerous and the defense caught fire.
I hope that we'll win against SA, but our fate doesn't depend on us now.
Sad and disgusting
Starting with Anelka (who never seems to care for anything) and Govuzela was nonsense.
Domenech will be the most wanted man in France.


He'd better coach the Vanuatu or the Fidji next year to be as far away from France as possible.

And thumbs up to Mexico who played well

French players' ranking (out of 10) :

Lloris 5
Sagna 4
Gallas 2 : old
Abidal 2 : old
Evra 3
Toulalan 5
Diaby 4
Govou 3
Ribery 3
Malouda 6 : the only one
Anelka 2

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

And I think that if next tuesday we're out everybody at this F... federation board who voted for Domenech in 2008 should resign.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

Ditto with england. Shocking performance.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

'Twas another weird and wild day of football/soccer with Serbia winning over Germany, my fellow Americans snatching a draw (and win, in my book) against the Slovenes and Algeria drawing level with England. Standings are the same as yesterday, as the tables in Groups C and D remain unchanged. Ghana-Australia, Netherlands-Japan and Cameroon-Denmark tomorrow.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

..so let me quote fellow Dan Loney from BigSoccer.com:

"The Ballad of Johannesburg

Now hear the mindless folly
Of Koman Coulibaly
The refereee from Mali
Who stole our win today.

Edu should have been "invictus"
But unless the replay tricked us
He really ********ing dicked us
We should have won today.

What a free kick! What a goal!
What a cheer from heart and soul!
But that stupid f****** a*******
Stole our points today.

Hey, ref, you ********ing ********!
******** you! ******** your whole family!
******** ******** ******** ******** God-damned ******** ********
********-eating ******** ********!
Screw you, jerk!
Bite me!
******** you and ******** your seeing-eye dog, too, you ********ing ********!"

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

It's seeming like this will be the round when all the favorites will fall from their pedestals... Well, except for our rival Argentines (haha, just kidding!).

Algeria surprised me a lot, with that clear football and some talented players at the front. I remember putting them almost in the last position of that "rank the 32 teams" topic, only for thinking they would show the most wishy-washy performances of the whole cup.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

Alex D
'Twas another weird and wild day of football/soccer with Serbia winning over Germany, my fellow Americans snatching a draw (and win, in my book) against the Slovenes and Algeria drawing level with England. Standings are the same as yesterday, as the tables in Groups C and D remain unchanged. Ghana-Australia, Netherlands-Japan and Cameroon-Denmark tomorrow.


I lied (unintentionally, of course). The US officially took second place ahead of the English on account of goals scored, so the new standings are:

Nassim - 18 pts.
Stephan - 17 pts.
Beans - 15 pts.
Zorg - 15 pts.
Petri - 14 pts.
Alex D - 13 pts.
Gillingham - 13 pts.
Toni - 12 pts.
Guy - 13 pts.
nicolas - 13 pts.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

nj

Hey, ref, you ********ing ********!
******** you! ******** your whole family!
******** ******** ******** ******** God-damned ******** ********
********-eating ******** ********!
Screw you, jerk!
Bite me!
******** you and ******** your seeing-eye dog, too, you ********ing ********!"


More or less what Anelka said to Domenech at half-time!

Re: Leaderboard - Day 6

Yeah, really, Europeans need to calm down about football.

My NBA team got whistle-raped by the refs in the fourth quarter of a close championship deciding game, and I'm already over it.

Leaderboard - Day 9

Ghana took top spot in Group D, the Dutch held group E and the Danes rallied to eliminate the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon. Standings:

Nassim - 16 pts.
Stephan - 15 pts.
Beans - 14 pts.
Toni - 14 pts.
Zorg - 14 pts.
Gillingham - 12 pts.
Alex D - 12 pts.
Petri - 12 pts.
nicolas - 12 pts.
Guy - 12 pts.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 9

Regarding the French: I'm hearing words like mutiny, refuse to train, someone's resigned? It's just so childish. Luckily Englands nowhere near that situation, but it's just frightening to think that one man could rub an entire team the wrong way.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 9

To BillAdama : Hey man, I'm seriously tired of your lessons to the Europeans. Who are you to judge us

An i'm devastated by what's happening with the French team
it's a shame for our country. What do we look like now ?

It's the consequence of Domenech and the federation's paranoia against the press.

I don't even want them to win next tuesday

I want them to go home.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 9

nicolas


An i'm devastated by what's happening with the French team
it's a shame for our country. What do we look like now ?


The French situation is bizarre and unfortunate, but the English are not far behind. John Terry's press conference today was extraordinary and hinted at serious problems there as well; the game with Slovenia will be interesting.

I don't think the rise of player power is a good thing. The manager needs to be in control. While I'm not surprised in the case of Domenech, I thought Capello had a much tighter grip on things. The whole topic nearly caused a shouting match between 2 punits on Irish TV after the Brazil game and certainly made for some fascinating viewing.

And just on the topic of the Brazil game, some really disgraceful performances from both players and officials. The referee saw Luis Fabiano handle the ball and did nothing, clearly didn't see Kaka not elbow Keita or Keita hit the floor like he had been shot but still sent him off, while 2 x-rated leg breaker tackles from the Ivorians resulted in no red cards. Crazy stuff.

And in the words of the legendry Liverpool manager Bill Shankley, "Football is not a matter of life and death... it's more important than that".

Re: Leaderboard - Day 9

Bill, you've got to realise just how important the world cup is to europeans. In America, you have 4 big sports (basketball, ice hockey, baseball, american football)which kind of dilute the impact, whereas the single biggest sport in all of Europe is football.
Also in those 4 sports there is undoubtedly only one nation vying for a world ranking. America. I can't imagine a world cup for american football, simply because it would be one sided. In football, great nations come from everywhere, be it Africa, South America, Europe, or even countries (like we saw today) like New Zealand. So if we seem a little obsessive, you gotta realise that it's only once every 4 years that the best players from Man U and the best players for Chelsea unite to represent their country. This isn't a rant, I hope it serves as an explanation as to why we're all so football mad

Regarding the Brazil game, it was shocking that last ten minutes. It was literally foul-fake an injury-altercation-yellow card-foul-fake an injury etc. Looking forward to seeing my new favourite team North Korea in action against the diving arseholes that are Portugal .

Oh yeah, regarding England, if Capello doesn't get England through to the group stages he's gotta resign. If I were him, I wouldn't even play Rooney, he seems uninspired and even overweight. I would start with Defoe and Heskey with Gerrard right behind, hopefully kickstart some energy into the team.

Leaderboard - Day 10

They're shocked in Auckland (and elsewhere) as the Kiwis earlier today drew against the previous world champions Italy, while Paraguay beat Slovakia and Brazil defeated Ivory Coast in one of this tournament's more unfortunate matches. Leaders are:

Stephan - 17 pts.
Beans - 16 pts.
nicolas - 15 pts.
Nassim - 15 pts.
Alex D - 14 pts.
Toni - 14 pts.
Zorg - 14 pts.
Guy - 14 pts.
Gillingham - 12 pts.
Petri - 11 pts.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 9

Yes, what a lamentable ending for such an exciting match! It was almost unbelievable that the referee only stood quiet all the time while the Ivorians gone almost breaking the legs of Brazilians. And right now that Kaká was beginning to recover we lose him again... (it was very evident that the team needs good performances both from Luis Fabiano and Kaká, much more than Robinho to say, in order to score goals).
Well, all that said, now this was indeed a great acting from Brazil, after all that so-so games this year. Can't wait for the match against Portugal!

Re: Leaderboard - Day 9

Oh, and I'm really happy with the good performances of all the 5 South American teams this time! I'm rooting for all them to pass to the 2nd stage, and it's very likely to happen!

Re: Leaderboard - Day 9

Toni
Oh, and I'm really happy with the good performances of all the 5 South American teams this time! I'm rooting for all them to pass to the 2nd stage, and it's very likely to happen!


Looks very likely, and all 5 teams look very solid. Contrast that with the African teams who could all crash out in the group stages. Regarding the Kaka sending off, it means he misses a match of no great importance and goes into the knockout stages without a yellow card hanging over his head, so perhaps the Ivorians did you guys a small favour.

Re: Leaderboard - Day 9

Zorg
the diving arseholes that are Portugal



You left out "Winking".

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