The Official World Cup Thread (no.1)

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Ryan Nelson surely isn't your best player? Must have some better than him.

What's the score now?

 

To goals for Brazil There's still way to go for to more goals

Edit: Now its four-nil. Next time it must be a draw or a won game for New Zealand

[ June 04, 2006, 19:57: Message edited by: Shaitan ]

 

And what did I predict? Remind me?

One day, you must all bow to my ultimate sports knowledge, I'll show you enlightenment

 

But did you make any bets??

 

I have my bets placed for the WC, and I'm not divulging them .

Not gone mad this year - mainly because I'm pretty broke at the moment .

 

4-0! Wow, what a result. Our goalie, Moss had a pretty good game, but I'm surprised they didn't beat us by more.

Ryan Nelsen would easily be our best current player. He's easily the most successful, having a reasonable record with Blackburn. Hardly any of our other players are good enough to play in the Premiership.

 

Mate, you lost 4-0, lol.

Got to aim higher than that! Even if football is the 3rd most popular sport in Kiwiland .

Look at the Aussies, they're not a bad little side these days!

 

3rd? Try 5th or 6th. Come on, that was BRAZIL! One of the best sports teams in the world (for any sport). They are ranked number one and we are ranked about number 100. Our players are virtually amateurs. I'd expect us to lose a match against a 3rd division Premiership team.

 

A 3rd division Premiership team? Come on, at least make sense!

What would you class at the 4 sports ahead of football? Rudby union/league, cricket, then what?

 

I like to place my bets on WC, it tends to give my a little plus

 

Can't beat a little bet to make things more interesting .

 

da'da da daaa
da'da da da da
da'da da daaa
da'da da da da da
daa
da'da'da
da'da'da
da da da da da daaaaaa

it's the final countdown!

 

I wonder if the NZ goalkeeper will get picked up by any semi-kindof-half decent clubs (well, at least ones that pay their players actual money) after his useful man of the match performance against Brazil.

 

Ok, I'll make some predictions for the opening group games. I think I've got them all!

Group A
Germany vs Costa Rica
Normally I might be tempted to predict an upset for the curtain raiser, but this is the Germans. Efficient to last. Germany'll put tricky customers these away 2-0.

Group A
Poland vs Ecuador
Poland to be the best team here, but still be forced to work for a 2-1 victory.

Group B
England vs Paraguay
After a period of anxiousness, England settle down and take a 2-0 lead without ever really having to come out of 2nd gear. Then concede a sloppy goal late on to make the final score 2-1.

Group B
Trinidad and Tobago vs Sweden
Proper mauling on the cards here. 4-0 to Sweden, if not more.

Group C
Argentina vs Ivory Coast
The daygo's will struggle against a hard working Ivory Coast team, maybe underestimate them a little. This'll be a shock to the system for the Argies, I predict a 2-2 draw.

Group C
Serbia & Montenegro vs Holland
Another tight affair. The Dutch could be upset by Serbia, no mistake. I think they will have just a bit too much for them though and will nick the only goal of the game to win 1-0.

Group D
Mexico vs Iran
No problems for Mexico here. 3-0 to the Mexi's

Group D
Angola vs Portugal
Portugal to give these guys a thrashing, 3-0 Portu.

Group F
Australia vs Japan
Australia produce a tidy little performance to get their campaign off to a promising start, only to concede their 1-0 lead late on. 1-1 final score.

Group E
USA vs Czech Rep
The US will push the Czechs all the way in a tight affair that isn't really reflected in the scoreline. The Czech combo of Rosicky, Koller, Baros and Nedved is just too much for a dodgy US defence though as they concede a few sloppy goals. 3-0 final score, but the US feel they might have gotten more out of it.

Group E
Italy vs Ghana
Italy to stroll in, shoulders wagging, brushing their hair and correcting their make-up, but soon realise that they are actually have to work for this one. A very tight affair ends in a 1-0 Italy victory.

Group G
Korean Republic vs Togo
Meh. Korea I guess. I can't name one Togo player, so it has to be Korea, although they are minnows as well.

Group G
France vs Switzerland
France to take this one in 2nd gear. The Swiss work hard, but a few classy French moments take a 2-1 victory.

Group F
Brazil vs Croatia
Brazil don't really get the chance to turn on the style against a gritty, young, and determined, Croatian side. A 2-0 Brazil isn't totally convincing.

Group H
Spain vs Ukraine
Intruiging. Spain will have to roll up the sleeves and get stuck in to get maximum points here. Can they do it? I'm not sure. They have the better squad though, so I'll plump for a 3-2 win. Plenty of goals here.

Group H
Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia
Tunisia have too much for Saudi. 2-0 Tunisia.

 

Those picks seem fairly reasonable, except for the fact that there is always a completely shocking upset (but, by definition, it's impossible to pick which one that will be!)

Some of those minor games could go either way. It will be interesting to see how well Japan and Korea do this time around with all that home advantage they had last time.

 

Some disagreements here, Barmy:

Ecuador has shown that the team can be an unconvenient opponent, as the Dutch can tell. 1-1 or 0-0.

You remember that the Paraquayos have a strong defense? Another tie here. 0-0

Japan is not that weak. If the Aussies don't push them over (literally), they will win this one 2-0 or 3-0.

I don't know. In the qualification rounds, both matches ended in a tie. I think it will happen again. 1-1.

The Ukraine will win, by pure determination. 2-1 or 2-0.


Also, I was convinced that Serbia-Montenegro would win against the Netherlands. After Montenegro declared independet recently, there could be a schism within the team. But I hope not.

 

do you realize how much is on the stake for Germany? how important is opening match for them?

1 - new coach, Klinsmann. If they lose this first match, everything is gone, including his position. i like Klinsmann, it would be something if he could lift the trophy as coach. Remember euro cup '96? Germany lose every player and they had to give goal keeper field player jersey. and klinsmann suffer a sudden injury during the final. and Sammer had to tackle every tackle possible including those are not possible to be tackled.

2 - no old players. Klinsmann as player, gone. Matthaus, gone. Ziege, gone. Babbel, gone. Even Hamann, gone gone gone. yes, you have Khan, but he is wouldn't be playing, and if he is playing, they are close to losing.

 

Lehmann is 38, and we also have Nowotny, who is 32 years old, and Schneider, who 30 or 31.

But the team is rather young, though I think it is wiser to look forward to 2010. I fear the team is not yet ready to win this one. Especially as chances are high that we will have to play versus Argentina in the quarter finals.

 

Dear Everyone,

please do not post any world cup match result as title (for example, Spain 152 - Barzil 0) because i will be watch recorded match most of the time.

sincerely,
teekc