World Cup Discussion Thread

peabutler

Sorry if there is one of these already.

Seeing as its coming close to squad selection time etc I thought i'd put up a World Cup Discussion thread. Was just looking at odds on Paddy Power and like the look of Argentina at 15/2 and Holland 13/1. Fancy these two teasm to go far and do well, especially Argentina.

D'Agger

peabutler wrote: »

Sorry if there is one of these already.

Seeing as its coming close to squad selection time etc I thought i'd put up a World Cup Discussion thread. Was just looking at odds on Paddy Power and like the look of Argentina at 15/2 and Holland 13/1. Fancy these two teasm to go far and do well, especially Argentina.

Germany always go seem to go far despite posessing a team of poor quality when compared to the Argentinas/Brazils etc. I like Holland so would like to see them do well but really hope Spain win it tbh

peabutler

PaulieC wrote: »

Germany always go seem to go far despite posessing a team of poor quality when compared to the Argentinas/Brazils etc. I like Holland so would like to see them do well but really hope Spain win it tbh

Like Spain ut don't fancy them at all, an unfit Iniesta, Torres and Fabregas, two defensively inept wing backs and Casillas have a stuttering season I think they will struggle.

D'Agger

peabutler wrote: »

Casillas have a stuttering season I think they will struggle.

If he wasn't captain Reina'd be in like a shot which is very annoying being a Liverpool fan!

Regarding the full backs - same could be said for Brazilian teams which have won before, They have too much in midfield and up front for most teams imo and even if some players are misfiring their squad is quite strong.

Would like to see Spain vs. Holland in the final if it's atall possible - total football ftw

peabutler

PaulieC wrote: »

If he wasn't captain Reina'd be in like a shot which is very annoying being a Liverpool fan!

Regarding the full backs - same could be said for Brazilian teams which have won before, They have too much in midfield and up front for most teams imo and even if some players are misfiring their squad is quite strong.

Would like to see Spain vs. Holland in the final if it's atall possible - total football ftw

Agree with the final would be great. Don't agree on Brazil, thye have two sitting Midfielders now days which allows the Wing Backs to bomb forward and still have four/ three men comfortably back. I think if any of Spain/ Netherlands/ Argentina play as good as they can Brazil won't win but if the big teams don't get going or if its a "poor" world cup Brazil will pick it up.

keane2097

peabutler wrote: »

Agree with the final would be great. Don't agree on Brazil, thye have two sitting Midfielders now days which allows the Wing Backs to bomb forward and still have four/ three men comfortably back. I think if any of Spain/ Netherlands/ Argentina play as good as they can Brazil won't win but if the big teams don't get going or if its a "poor" world cup Brazil will pick it up.

The point he was making is that teams have one in the past with defensively poor full backs.

everdead.ie

Mexico to be the surprise package thev have been excellent since Sven was fired Dos Santos to be the stand out player for them.

Headshot

I personally cant wait for the WC

ill be following

Mexico
England
Serbia

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Messi Top Scorer and Spain to win at 66/1 is the bet of the tournament, imo.

That_Guy

baz2009 wrote: »

Messi Top Scorer and Spain to win at 66/1 is the bet of the tournament, imo.

I'll have a piece of that.

landsleaving

Me too. Great odds. On my bet list now with serbia to win at 66/1

Anywhere I can get odds on New Zealand and North Korea not scoring at all, must be good odds on that but I can't find a site that lets me find out

UpTheSlashers

When will the squads be announced?

That_Guy

UpTheSlashers wrote: »

When will the squads be announced?

I think it differs from country to country. I know England are announcing theirs in a couple of weeks.

carlop

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8656893.stm

Massive blow if true.

RichTea

UpTheSlashers wrote: »

When will the squads be announced?

That_Guy wrote: »

I think it differs from country to country. I know England are announcing theirs in a couple of weeks.

There is a FIFA deadline of June 1st for the final 23 man squads. Some teams like South Africa and Mexico have announced preliminary teams so far.

neil_18_

I'll be watching Mexico to have a look at Javier Hernandez

RichTea

neil_18_ wrote: »

I'll be watching Mexico to have a look at Javier Hernandez

Yep, very good player. He should start as well, four goals in four games for the national side isn't bad at all.

http://worldcupdaily.wordpress.com/2010/05/02/26-man-mexico-squad-named/

peabutler

So Spain will have an unfit Fabregas, Xavi, Iniesta and Torres by the looks.

I think Mexico's matches will be sheer entertainment as they can't really defend but have some good attacking players. I'd say France Mexico could be a cracker as should Argentina vs Nigeria (They reckon Nigeria will have second biggest crowds)

stovelid

I'll be supporting England, followed by the Oranje.

Also I usually always support an underdog and, to be honest, derive a perverse pleasure from seeing a bunch of unfancied cloggers put out one of the big boys.

RichTea

Won't be supporting anybody. It will be great to just enjoy it all. I think that Nigeria will actually do quite well, and may qualify from their group alongside Argentina.

peabutler

Just looking at the Brazil,Portugal, Cote D'Ivoire group and if Cote D'Ivoire play any way well what a blooming group that will be.

I like Netherlands but IMO they have a fairly average defence. Just hoping for some class games and I'll probably pick a team closer to the start.

RichTea

peabutler wrote: »

Just looking at the Brazil,Portugal, Cote D'Ivoire group and if Cote D'Ivoire play any way well what a blooming group that will be.

I was gutted for Cote d'Ivoire when I saw their group. I just get a horrible feeling that they won't start well and get eliminated early, which would be a terrible shame considering the squad they have at their disposal. Cameroon and Nigeria might end up being Africa's best chance for a late competitor, they have severely underrated players and have been quite good recently. Ghana might do something but they have a young squad, Essien might be out and to top it off they've been given an awkward group.

Dont be at yourself

I'm gonna stick a few quid on Germany to win it at 13/1 (150/1 for Klose to be top scorer too - not bad, considering his record in the tournament). Uraguay at 100/1 is way too long odds, so I might have a nibble on them as well!

peabutler

RichTea wrote: »

I was gutted for Cote d'Ivoire when I saw their group. I just get a horrible feeling that they won't start well and get eliminated early, which would be a terrible shame considering the squad they have at their disposal. Cameroon and Nigeria might end up being Africa's best chance for a late competitor, they have severely underrated players and have been quite good recently. Ghana might do something but they have a young squad, Essien might be out and to top it off they've been given an awkward group.

Agree with you on that, hope that they can start strong and battle hard in the groups not like 2006. Have a feeling the Africans could be let down by their keepers.

RichTea

NekkidBibleMan wrote: »

I'm gonna stick a few quid on Germany to win it at 13/1 (150/1 for Klose to be top scorer too - not bad, considering his record in the tournament). Uraguay at 100/1 is way too long odds, so I might have a nibble on them as well!

Good odds I have to say. Klose is a useless plank at the moment but we all know his record. France at 19/1 on betfair is good value too.

landsleaving

France with Henry top scorer at 200/1 isn't bad either, I'd say they'll be good, they've a lot to prove after 2006 and after only scraping by us, especially Henry.

everdead.ie

landsleaving wrote: »

France with Henry top scorer at 200/1 isn't bad either, I'd say they'll be good, they've a lot to prove after 2006 and after only scraping by us, especially Henry.

France will be lucky to get out of there group with Dominique in charge

peabutler

everdead.ie wrote: »

France will be lucky to get out of there group with Dominique in charge

The same Domnech who was manager at the last world cup.

Eire-Dearg

Here I am, pimping again, but I just published the final part to a three part series looking at the top 50 players to watch out for at the World Cup.

http://is.gd/bR6fi

It's far too long to copy and paste into a post, so apologies for that.

landsleaving

everdead.ie wrote: »

France will be lucky to get out of there group with Dominique in charge

I hear the stars have aligned for him this time

everdead.ie

peabutler wrote: »

The same Domnech who was manager at the last world cup.

Ya no Zidane this time it's the same man who took them to the euro's too

peabutler

everdead.ie wrote: »

Ya no Zidane this time it's the same man who took them to the euro's too

Look at the Euro group compaired to this group, if Ribery-Benzema motor I see no reason to write them off. IMO Maradona is a worse manager than Domnech.

everdead.ie

peabutler wrote: »

Look at the Euro group compaired to this group, if Ribery-Benzema motor I see no reason to write them off. IMO Maradona is a worse manager than Domnech.

Ya maybe alright Maradona isn't great

peabutler

Argentina do have enough strong personalities though for a bit of player power. If they play as defensive as they did in Qualification i'd be suprised to see Messi etc go along with it.

ForeverYoung90

BRAZIL TO WIN 5/1 FTW!!!
Shall we break it down.
Spain will be the biggest threat but with Torres injured and Xaxi now a doubt they will be at a big disadvantage(even if Torres makes it how fit will he be:o).The pressure will be on them as their carrying the favourites tag along with the hopes of a nation.We've seen down through the years how they can crack under the pressure so dont be surprised to see the European champs go home early.
England once again are overhyped to the extreme:eek:,it ceases to amaze me how they are so well fancied when they have practically the same team as 4 years ago when they once again crashed out in the q/f stage.Ok they have the mighty Wayne Rooney but one man wont win you a World Cup(unless he goes by the name of Maradonna;)).
Argintina are another people are favouring but going by their qualifying record and their inexperienced and eccentric manager Maradonna I dont see them winning.The on form Messi who is arguably one of the best players to ever play the beautiful game,Tevez,Zanetti and co will give it a good go but I feel a more organised side will overturn them.
Best of the rest Holland,Germany and Italy.
Now onto Brazil the 5 time World Champions.They once again have a super talented squad of players.Physiologically unlike Spain and other teams they will have no problems playing in the biggest sporting event in the world,they thrieve on it.In goal they have a possible Champo league winner Julio Ceaser who is one of the most solid keepers Brazil have had.In defence they have Lucio whos having a cracking season,the brazilians never lack good fullbacks(do the names Cafu and Carlos come to mind) and this time round they have Alves and Maicon.In midfield Melo and Gilberto are sound defensivly while Kaka who has had a very quite season is simply magestic when in full fight.Dont be surprised if the former world player of the year targets this world stage to remind everyone what he is capable of by leading his country to glory.Pato is another classy Brazilian player to burst onto the scene while Fabiano will be given the task of finishing the attacking flowing moves Brazil are known for.The big Sevilla striker could finish top scorer.Robinho,Nilmar,Diego,Baptista,Adriano,Elano,Hulk are all also household names...oh ya I almost forget a man going by the name of Ronaldinho is also still lerking around the squad,not a bad player to bring onto the field with 20 odd minutes to go!If they can get out of their tough group safe and sound then with a bit of momentum and their stars in full song they will be tough to beat.:cool:

Spiritoftheseventies

Fabiano I think will be top scorer. A great forward in every sense of the word

peabutler

ForeverYoung90 wrote: »

BRAZIL TO WIN 5/1 FTW!!!
Shall we break it down.
Spain will be the biggest threat but with Torres injured and Xaxi now a doubt they will be at a big disadvantage(even if Torres makes it how fit will he be:o).The pressure will be on them as their carrying the favourites tag along with the hopes of a nation.We've seen down through the years how they can crack under the pressure so dont be surprised to see the European champs go home early.
England once again are overhyped to the extreme:eek:,it ceases to amaze me how they are so well fancied when they have practically the same team as 4 years ago when they once again crashed out in the q/f stage.Ok they have the mighty Wayne Rooney but one man wont win you a World Cup(unless he goes by the name of Maradonna;)).
Argintina are another people are favouring but going by their qualifying record and their inexperienced and eccentric manager Maradonna I dont see them winning.The on form Messi who is arguably one of the best players to ever play the beautiful game,Tevez,Zanetti and co will give it a good go but I feel a more organised side will overturn them.
Best of the rest Holland,Germany and Italy.
Now onto Brazil the 5 time World Champions.They once again have a super talented squad of players.Physiologically unlike Spain and other teams they will have no problems playing in the biggest sporting event in the world,they thrieve on it.In goal they have a possible Champo league winner Julio Ceaser who is one of the most solid keepers Brazil have had.In defence they have Lucio whos having a cracking season,the brazilians never lack good fullbacks(do the names Cafu and Carlos come to mind) and this time round they have Alves and Maicon.In midfield Melo and Gilberto are sound defensivly while Kaka who has had a very quite season is simply magestic when in full fight.Dont be surprised if the former world player of the year targets this world stage to remind everyone what he is capable of by leading his country to glory.Pato is another classy Brazilian player to burst onto the scene while Fabiano will be given the task of finishing the attacking flowing moves Brazil are known for.The big Sevilla striker could finish top scorer.Robinho,Nilmar,Diego,Baptista,Adriano,Elano,Hulk are all also household names...oh ya I almost forget a man going by the name of Ronaldinho is also still lerking around the squad,not a bad player to bring onto the field with 20 odd minutes to go!If they can get out of their tough group safe and sound then with a bit of momentum and their stars in full song they will be tough to beat.:cool:

I'm just going to pull you up on Brazil. You say they have a super talented squad of players? No they simply aren't, they have one good Defender (as in players able to defend) in Lucio and even at that he is erratic. Melo and Gilberto will be decent and nothing more, they provide a bit of cover and thats it.Up the other end of things is Luis Fabiano who is top player, Pato can be but I don't fancy him to be totally ready for this tournament. Robinho is inconsistent and overrated as for the others you've mentioned they are all household names but that does not mean they are good the likes of Elano, Adriano, Baptista and Hulk have all had stinking seasons and Diego has hardly been at his best. As for Ronaldinho there is no indication that he will be in the squad as he isn't the most popular amongst the management. So their Super talented squad boils down to


Kaka
Luis Fabiano
Caesar ?
Lucio ?

Brazil will be good as ever but they won't be any better, I honestly believe that if teams like Netherlands, Spain, Argentina and even England play to their very best that is better than the best Brazil have to offer.

Liam O

are bookies offering each way odds? And if so I assume its semi final?

peabutler

Paddy is outright I think.

landsleaving

Liam O wrote: »

are bookies offering each way odds? And if so I assume its semi final?

From the paddy power site:
Each Way Odds 1/2 places 1,2

kinaldo

Spain midfielder Xavi could miss the World Cup with a muscle injury.
The Barcelona star, 30, scored one goal and set up two in Saturday's 4-1 win at Villarreal but admitted afterwards that he has a 3cm tear above his calf.
"Xavi's playing with an injury that could see him miss the World Cup," said Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.
Xavi, whose side are battling with Real Madrid for the Spanish title, added: "I'm carrying a number of aches but the team has a lot on the line."
Barca are four points clear at the top of La Liga but Real have four games remaining to the Catalans' three.


Xavi has contributed three goals and 13 assists in 32 league appearances for Barca, with whom he won the La Liga, Spanish Cup, Spanish Supercup, Champions League, Uefa Super Cup and Fifa Club World Cup titles last season.
He was also named player of the tournament after helping Spain win the 2008 European Championship.
Spain open their World Cup campaign against Switzerland on 16 June before also facing Honduras and Chile in Group H.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8656893.stm

BOLLOX.

My absolute faith in Spain winning the World Cup is now faltering a bit with this news added to the current injuries of Iniesta, Fabregas and Torres.

Even if they all make it they're gonna be rusty.

kinaldo

Also if Spain resemble Barca then for Brazil read Inter...

Spiritoftheseventies

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

Here I am, pimping again, but I just published the final part to a three part series looking at the top 50 players to watch out for at the World Cup.

http://is.gd/bR6fi

It's far too long to copy and paste into a post, so apologies for that.

Good list ED but move Gerrard down the list and Fabiano up a few notches.

Kingdom

Never bother with the overall winner. Had a look at some of the progression bets with PP's. Denmark to make the last 16 is 12/5 and thats worth a fair bit of green. Also Serbia are 33/1 to make the quarters, and thats something I'd fancy too. Both teams cruised through qualifying, are compact and functional.

landsleaving

I see Serbia as the Russia circa Euro 08 of this tournament. I think they'll be a lot better than expected. All the big teams have serious flaws/injuries, makes things a bit more even.

eclectichoney

Kingdom wrote: »

Never bother with the overall winner. Had a look at some of the progression bets with PP's. Denmark to make the last 16 is 12/5 and thats worth a fair bit of green. Also Serbia are 33/1 to make the quarters, and thats something I'd fancy too. Both teams cruised through qualifying, are compact and functional.

That's a great price for Denmark - I think they are 11/10 with PP

Spiritoftheseventies

Good to see Denmark back in the big time again. Laudrup was a fantastic player for them

projectmayhem

peabutler wrote: »

they have one good Defender (as in players able to defend) in Lucio and even at that he is erratic.

Lucio is an awful defender who's been made to work hard and do good at Inter. He was absolutely terrible at Bayern and his time there has me absolutely in the belief that he's muck, and just having a good spell at the minute.

For me, I want to see Germany do well as they always end up as the only team in the WC that look like a club team. The Bayern players they're taking with them will be on a high after winning the Bundesliga, possible the Pokal and maybe even the champions league. Their camp will be looking for big things...

The other team I fancy is Holland. Going in with Sneijder, Robben, van Bommel and so on gives them some class players on there. If they can play with the style expected of them they could easily out-shine anyone else in the competition. I don't think they'll win it as they're often not a good squad that works together - but that's up to how the manager handles it.

speedboatchase

Very excited for the WC - set up a great tournament with my mates where we put in a fiver and randomly get a team to support. €5 each to join, €160 in the pot - winner gets €100, runner ups get €40, third gets €15 and a fiver for the team in group stages with worst points and then goal difference Did the draw last friday, whiteboard and all, and set up a facebook page for banter and fixture list - encourage people to do the same with their mates

As for the draw.. I got Paraguay, could've been worse - Cardozo and Santa Cruz up front ftw

ps. If you're getting in the WC spirit I recommend the EA game that was released on friday. You get to play ISS-style "scenarios" from qualifying and are dropped in with 10-15 mins left to change the outcome, they have the Ireland/France playoff and Andy Townsend's indignation in the commentary is classic

D'Agger

projectmayhem wrote: »

The other team I fancy is Holland. Going in with Sneijder, Robben, van Bommel and so on gives them some class players on there. If they can play with the style expected of them they could easily out-shine anyone else in the competition. I don't think they'll win it as they're often not a good squad that works together - but that's up to how the manager handles it.

I think their problem at this tournament will be up front - Van Persie has missed out an alot of football this season, Huntelaar has regressed since leaving Ajax but is still decent, Kuyts not really a striker anymore, Bring back Roy Makaay I say - banged in a few today iirc, some man

Seaneh

Eire-Dearg wrote: »

Here I am, pimping again, but I just published the final part to a three part series looking at the top 50 players to watch out for at the World Cup.

http://is.gd/bR6fi

It's far too long to copy and paste into a post, so apologies for that..

Gourcuff plays for Bordeaux, quick, ninja edit!