-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Official FIFA World Cup 2006
- Thread starter speedpop
- Start date
- Status
TerryLee81
Member
Ryck said:My picks
...
GROUP G
France
Korea Republic
Togo
Switzerland
...
Switzerland FTW!
Everyone underestimates Switzerland, that's a bonus. Like France for example. They were never able to beat us in the qualifying. Not once!
Our best man:
Rooney 'making perfect recovery'
I'd rather the Man Utd doctors were saying this, seeing as they're the ones actually treating him but it's good news right?
Guess we'll just have to wait until Thursday to know for sure.
I'd rather the Man Utd doctors were saying this, seeing as they're the ones actually treating him but it's good news right?
Guess we'll just have to wait until Thursday to know for sure.
Afro Thunder
Member
Brazil for the win. 6th star is coming soon...
Edit: Mama Smurf is the best soccer poster on NGAF. Awesome.
Edit: Mama Smurf is the best soccer poster on NGAF. Awesome.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Afro Thunder said:Brazil for the win. 6th star is coming soon...
Edit: Mama Smurf is the best soccer poster on NGAF. Awesome.
Hey thanks, shame I don't want Brazil to win at all eh!
Not that I have much against them (though it'd be nice if more fans would admit that in some part their dominance is down to having a population over double that of the next "big" footballing nation, Germany), they've just got to the final the last 3 times and it'd be nice to see something different.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
You'll probably be less optimistic when you find out Frankowski hasn't been selected in the squad.
Which is now.
Which is now.
Afro Thunder
Member
What? Are you saying that Brazil is a better team than Germany because the size of its population? What about USA, China, India, Russia? They got bigger population than Brazil and aren't any good in soccer. My respect for you is going down...:lolMama Smurf said:
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
I phrased that very carefully, I said "in some part" and "big" footballing nation. You can hardly deny that if you're in a country mad about football and traditionally and recently good at football (unlike the four countires with a bigger population than you, where it's either just catching on, fading away, or not big at all), having a much bigger population is a huge advantage.
It's not that alone of course, it's not necessarily even the major factor, but it's just tiring to read articles on what's made Brazil so good over the years without the words "oh and they have at least 100 million more people to choose from then their big rivals".
Holland are surely the most impressive, with a relatively tiny population of 16.5 million. Brazil have like 170 million more people, yet if they meet in the world cup I wouldn't like to call it.
It's not that alone of course, it's not necessarily even the major factor, but it's just tiring to read articles on what's made Brazil so good over the years without the words "oh and they have at least 100 million more people to choose from then their big rivals".
Holland are surely the most impressive, with a relatively tiny population of 16.5 million. Brazil have like 170 million more people, yet if they meet in the world cup I wouldn't like to call it.
MrPing1000
Member
I'll make it easier. Brazil is good at football because theres nothing better to do.
psycho_snake
I went to WAGs boutique and all I got was a sniff
I still think that on paper England have the best team, yes even better than Brazil. The only advantage Brazil have over us is their attacking force which consists of Ronaldo, Robinho, Ronaldinho, kaka and Adriano. Although Rooney and owen are two world class players, crouch and Walcott arent even close. The players we have in midfield are world class. Joe Cole, Beckham, Gerrard and lampard are all superb players. Its not that difficult to beat brazils defence, they've never been a strong defensive country.
I dont know what formation brazil plan to play, id expect them to push Ronaldinho wide and allow kaka to play just behind the strikers. i dont know how they plan to play in midfield. they've got Emerson and Gilberto Silva but they play quite similar positions, so im not sure if they can put both on at the same time or ifd they'll just play one of them.
Ofcourse it doesnt matter if a team is better on paper, it wont mean antyhing if you cant win the world cup. Although England are the best team on paper, Brazil are by far the better team when they play together.
I dont know what formation brazil plan to play, id expect them to push Ronaldinho wide and allow kaka to play just behind the strikers. i dont know how they plan to play in midfield. they've got Emerson and Gilberto Silva but they play quite similar positions, so im not sure if they can put both on at the same time or ifd they'll just play one of them.
Ofcourse it doesnt matter if a team is better on paper, it wont mean antyhing if you cant win the world cup. Although England are the best team on paper, Brazil are by far the better team when they play together.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Alucard said:
It appears to be very controversial in Poland, along with Dudek not making it.
Here's a Poland link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/poland/default.stm
although it's might not get updated all that often. Combined with the FIFA site you shouldn't miss too much though:
http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/w/team/overview.html?team=pol
Well I haven't seen them play in a while, someone else will probably be able to answer better, but I'd be surprised if they strayed away from their traditional style. Two wing backs bombing down the wings, and everyone else right down the middle.
Property of Jumpship
Banned
USA looked like shit in the friendly with Morocco yesterday. Weak passing and not able to build on what little momentum then established in the 84th minute. Giving up that weak goal at the end really hurts my expectations of what Team USA can accomplish. Donovan had some nice shots on goal, but the rest of the team looked slow. Not a good sign. Still, I cannot wait to watch their games. (Well, USA and England).
Can someone tell me why Keller is in goal?
Can someone tell me why Keller is in goal?
Property of Jumpship said:
You should be worried about Reyna's injury. It looked pretty bad
I think you're going a bit too much credit to the English players here.psycho_snake said:
Brasil, Argentina, Italy, Spain and France give the English team a run for their money when comparing players on paper. England has the potential to have the best midfield with Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard (the most important axis IMO) - But without Rooney or a fit Owen...
Brasil are the favourites. When have equal or better players at virtually any position when compared to any team competing in the cup. If Parreira manages to make then function as a team, no one will be able to stop them, that's a fact. Our only hope is that THAT doesn't happen, or that a ref may decide something against them for once (hell would be freezing over at that point).
Nevermind the speculation though, Euro < 21 has begun. In 1,5 hour, Ukraine vs. Holland
Afro Thunder
Member
Yes, like the USA basketball national teamMrPing1000 said:
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Hooker said:
You think they have equal defenders and goalkeepers when compared to the other big sides?
Oh come on, you know that's not true. Last time round the favourites were France and Argentina, both of whom crashed out first round. Brazil and Germany were labelled as their weakest sides in years and they'd do alright but they weren't going to win it...then they made it to the final. Time before that Brazil were the favourites, but France won it. Even the European Championship was won by Greece, the Champions League went to the favoutires this year but in recent times some seemingly second rate team has taken it. Cup competitions just can't be called that certainly, not in a cup with so many good sides.
This is definitely the strongest World Cup I've ever seen, possibly the strongest ever. If Brazil come up against Argentina, Holland, England, Portugal, France, Italy...maybe Spain and the Czech Republic too...I think they're just as likely to go out as go through, whether they're playing together as a team or not.
Brazil have a relatively easy group as these things go, but they have a far from easy progress after that. We don't know where the upsets are going to be, obviously, but if we go on the most likely winners of games Brazil's route to the final looks like this:
2nd round - Italy/Czech Republic
Q-F - Spain
S-F - England/Argentina/Holland/Portugal
F - Argentina/Holland/Italy/Czech Republic/France
Some teams are repeated because I can't decide which of the two will top their groups, which changes which side of the draw they come through.
That would be incredibly difficult. Last time round Brazil had possibly an even easier group, then Belgium, England, Turkey, Germany. They couldn't have realistically hoped for an easier route to the World Cup.
psycho_snake
I went to WAGs boutique and all I got was a sniff
I'm going to agree with hooker. If parreira makes a strong midfield and a solid defence then its going to be incredibly difficult for anyone to stop them. Their stikeforce cant be made much better, it is the best in the world. Sure other countries have world class strikers, but Brazil have 5 world class forward players. Any team would love to have just one player out of Ronaldinho, kaka, Adrioano, Robinho and Ronaldo. Its a dream strikeforce.Mama Smurf said:
Brazil are vunerable though. The situation now is like it was in 1982. Brazils 1982 team was labelled the best team to never have on the world cup. Anyone who was alive back then will tell you that its unbelieveable that Brazil didnt win that year. Their attack was untouchable, but unfortunately for them they were not that strong in other areas and they were very vunerable in denfence and that cost them. This year brazils attack looks unstoppable, but the rest of the team looks like they can be broken down by some of the big nations. I can see Englands defence dominating Brazils and we are not the only side who can stop brazil from playing. Brazil have always been an attacking minded team, but as i mentioned, if parreira can create a solid defence that doesnt leak goals and a dtrong midfield that can deliver balls to the strikers then Brazil could be fatal. If they dont and they just rely on their attack, then they could be like France and be going back home after the group stages.
Afro Thunder
Member
No, they haven't. But Brazil have what it counts: a good team where the weakness is equilibrated with the very good (attacking) players' skills. Here in Brazil, we don't expect that Lucio or Dida or any other defense man bring us the trophy. We expect that they does their Jjob. However, we expect Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaka to exceed. Mainly Ronaldo that doesn't plays well for Madrid, but in a World Cup he is like Bruce Banner to Hulk change.Mama Smurf said:
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
You can honestly say that if Brazil work as a team no one can stop them? All it takes is one off game. Or just bad luck, some opposition goalkeeper in amazing form, they keep hitting the post, they go to penalties and crash out.
And they probably would be definite winners if they could create a strong midfield and solid defence, but how are they going to do that? Persuade FIFA to allow some England and Italy players to play for them?
We can talk about how strong their attack is all we want, but no one's ever doubted that. What happens when they come up against the best defences in the world? Well it'll be a close thing and we'll have to look at the rest of the team. I don't think Brazil's defence is terrible or anything, just not as good as it could be, but when I look at England's attack...I think the only way it could be better is if we had Ronaldinho. If we can put out Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Rooney and Owen (big if given Rooney's situation), then I think only Brazil can top it (others might be able to equal it). And I would say the difference in strength between Brazil's attack and England is smaller than the difference between the defences.
And they probably would be definite winners if they could create a strong midfield and solid defence, but how are they going to do that? Persuade FIFA to allow some England and Italy players to play for them?
We can talk about how strong their attack is all we want, but no one's ever doubted that. What happens when they come up against the best defences in the world? Well it'll be a close thing and we'll have to look at the rest of the team. I don't think Brazil's defence is terrible or anything, just not as good as it could be, but when I look at England's attack...I think the only way it could be better is if we had Ronaldinho. If we can put out Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Beckham, Rooney and Owen (big if given Rooney's situation), then I think only Brazil can top it (others might be able to equal it). And I would say the difference in strength between Brazil's attack and England is smaller than the difference between the defences.
Mama Smurf
My penis is still intact.
Afro Thunder said:No, they haven't. But Brazil have what it counts: a good team where the weakness is equilibrated with the very good (attacking) players' skills. Here in Brazil, we don't expect that Lucio or Dida or any other defense man bring us the trophy. We expect that they does their Jjob. However, we expect Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Kaka to exceed. Mainly Ronaldo that doesn't plays well for Madrid, but in a World Cup he is like Bruce Banner to Hulk change.
Oh I don't disagree, I just thought it was a strange thing for someone to say.
Afro Thunder
Member
You win
Well, either Poland is screwed this tournament, or the coach comes out looking like a genius. No Dudek, no Frankowski, and Gorawski failed a physical the day before leaving for Germany. It's all on Zurawski now. Well, there's the rest of the team but the striking power is going to be on his shoulders.
Yeah, I guess I got a little too excited about Brasil. Lucio and Dida have been pretty crappy this season. It's just that their striker line is just not fair. Kaka & Ronaldinho giving balls to Ronaldo & Adriano... Fuck!!
I mean, our offensive line isn't that bad either. Robben - van Nistelrooy - Kuyt/van Persie with Van der Vaart & Sneijder close behind but it just falls into nothingness compared to that!!
Argentina isn't that bad either btw. Crespo, Tevez, Messi, Riquelme > Ouch!!
One thing we Dutch do have over the South American giants is that our front-line will help out at the back (except for Robben maybe). Going all the way back to Total Football, showcased to the world in '74 Man, I can't fucking wait. Everytime I post in this thread I get all giddy and shit hehe
I mean, our offensive line isn't that bad either. Robben - van Nistelrooy - Kuyt/van Persie with Van der Vaart & Sneijder close behind but it just falls into nothingness compared to that!!
Argentina isn't that bad either btw. Crespo, Tevez, Messi, Riquelme > Ouch!!
One thing we Dutch do have over the South American giants is that our front-line will help out at the back (except for Robben maybe). Going all the way back to Total Football, showcased to the world in '74
Man, I can't fucking wait. Everytime I post in this thread I get all giddy and shit hehepsycho_snake
I went to WAGs boutique and all I got was a sniff
Well you agree with me that brazil will probably win the tournament if they improve their defence and the midfield, but its going to be very difficult to do that. You dont need new players in a team to make it better. If the manager is good and can make them play togheter then they'll be fine with the players they have, but parreiera is oing to find it very difficult, if not impossible to make sure that Brazil'smidfield and defence can match up to those of England, Holland, Spain, Italy etc...Mama Smurf said:
I do have so much confidence in Ebgland and what they can achieve. i dont think England have ever had a squad this strong, even back in 1966 when we won it. If our whole squad is fit then we can play 11 world class players, but my only concern is gerrard and lampard. They're both amazing players, but Im just worried that they get in each others way. the best solution is to probably let lampard pklay a more attacking midfield role and make Gerrard play in midfield, which means not making him play as a holding player but not too attacking either. Gerreard is a better attacking player than lampard IMO, but he's also more suited to playing in a midfield role. Lampard just excels at being an attacking midfielder. They're most likely to swap roles during matches so they'll both be playing attacking and holding.
Afro Thunder
Member
So many parties, so many girls. It's a paradise.Shinobi said:
BatiGOOOOOOL
Member
These warm up games before the WC mean little. I remember teams getting beaten regularly in these type of friendlies and then getting into the WC and having great performances. Right now teams are just trying to make all those little adjustments in tactics, etc. that'll have them in top form for the start of the tournament.
Wes said:Anyone able to comment on why Sweden drew to the likes of Finland?
I only know the score and can't find any game reports as of yet.
Still it all sounds good for England
None of the three big ones played (Henik Larsson, Ibrahimovic, Ljungberg) and neither did the regular goalie.
Still they should have won but they just couldn't get the ball into the net despite several good chances.
Property of Jumpship
Banned
BatiGOOOOOOL said:
I agree to a certain extent. This close to the WC I would hope teams are just fine tuning instead of trying to come up with what works. If teams are still trying to get their shit together this late I say it's big time trouble in the first rounds.
Property of Jumpship
Banned
Okay, that was a great goal by Dempsy. The whole series was nice. I cannot wait for the frigging WC!
My only complaint is Nigeria isn't in the world cup. I've been watching team USA's friendly matches, and well they really don't look impresive. I'll be suprised if they beat Czech. I say Czech and Italy come out on top. I'm really looking forward to watching Brazil, France, Argentina, and a couple other teams.
I'll be in England the day England plays their first match...can't wait to see what happens in a pub full of hooligans
Anyways, keep your eyes in both Sweden and Trinidad y Tobago...I have the feeling there are gonna be surprises.
Anyways, it's pretty clear Brazil has the strongest team. Adriano, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Robinho, Juninho, Cafu...too many good players.
Anyways, keep your eyes in both Sweden and Trinidad y Tobago...I have the feeling there are gonna be surprises.
Anyways, it's pretty clear Brazil has the strongest team. Adriano, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Robinho, Juninho, Cafu...too many good players.
BatiGOOOOOOL
Member
Hmm, Germany hammered Luxembourge 7-0 in a friendly today and Ballack wasn't even dressed. @_@ Sure, it's only Luxembourge but 7 goals is 7 goals. I always like Germany in these tournaments but they have a tendency to underwhelm. I hope the home fans give them an advantage and that they go far...while tying or losing to Poland in the group stage. Haha.
DM_Uselink
Member
Mexico lost 1-0...
Yeah was a weird match. Spain couldn't score in their friendly either and the Dutch beat Cameroon 1-0. Australia play Netherlands on June 4th so it'll be a good match after Australia beating Greece and with Hiddink as the coach adding a bit more spice.
Looks like Rooney may be fit to play against Sweden in England's last group match as well, goes in for his second scan on June 14th and their Trinidad & Tobago match is on the 15th but I doubt if he was well enough to play that they'd shove him on - better to have him train for a week or so.. Sweden match is on the 20th. Although this is Eriksson we're talking about :lol
Looks like Rooney may be fit to play against Sweden in England's last group match as well, goes in for his second scan on June 14th and their Trinidad & Tobago match is on the 15th but I doubt if he was well enough to play that they'd shove him on - better to have him train for a week or so.. Sweden match is on the 20th. Although this is Eriksson we're talking about :lol
jamesinclair
Banned
Its a shame Mexico lost, they played better in the 2nd half.
Also, Spain is screwed. They couldnt beat a team that didnt qualify for the world cup?
Sad.
Also, Spain is screwed. They couldnt beat a team that didnt qualify for the world cup?
Sad.
Stevie Gerrard
Member
I don't like Aragones but what was he supposed to do? There simply aren't many good Spanish strikers around, while there are plenty of top class midfielders. As for yesterday's game, surely Albelda, Senna and Fabregas aren't going to be his first choice midfield?
This players will win:
Jens Lehmann from Arsenal London for Germany
Michael Ballack from FC Bayern München (next session Chelsea London) for Germany
Miroslav Klose from Werder Bremen for Germany
Lukas Podolski form 1. FC Köln for Germany
Bastian Schweinsteiger form FC Bayern München for Germany:
Here the complete team of Germany:
Klick for all names: http://www.dfb.de/dfb-team/nationalteam/spieler/index.html
So, Germany will win.
Jens Lehmann from Arsenal London for Germany
Michael Ballack from FC Bayern München (next session Chelsea London) for Germany
Miroslav Klose from Werder Bremen for Germany
Lukas Podolski form 1. FC Köln for Germany
Bastian Schweinsteiger form FC Bayern München for Germany:
Here the complete team of Germany:
Klick for all names: http://www.dfb.de/dfb-team/nationalteam/spieler/index.html
So, Germany will win.
- Status