World Cup Discussion Thread

RichTea

Degag wrote: »

I thought Van Der Vaart is (or possibly was) their captain?

Van Bronckhorst has been the man with the armband recently.

Degag

RichTea wrote: »

Van Bronckhorst has been the man with the armband recently.

Ah ok, probably Football Manager i'm thinking of or something.:rolleyes:

projectmayhem

JPA wrote: »

Rene Adler out of the World Cup with injury.

Looks like Neuer will go in as number one, and a possibility of Butt to be called up as a sub.

RichTea

projectmayhem wrote: »

f Butt to be called up as a sub.

Excellent. Now they'll have another penalty specialist.

patmac

The Dutch always seem to implode in the WC, they are too opinionated for a long tournament. The Germans and Brazilians do well, because it means so much to them, England are always gallant losers, Spain decimated by injury is a disaster as is Maradona. France have a fool of a manager and Italy don't seem to be strong enough, although that hasn't stopped them before, I remember the abuse they got in 82 before and during that campaign yet still went on to win it.
For me it could be dour enough but hard to look beyond Brazil and Germany.

leninbenjamin

Vokes wrote: »

I guess we'll probably see V.Persie in for Elia. Can't see Van der Vaart getting into their WC first XI since van Marwijk seems to like having his 2 midfield enforcers plus Sneijder.

To play Kuyt ahead of RVP in central strikers position is madness, when fit RVP is as good a striker as anyone in the world but is fairly limited on the wings. Here's how I'd line them up:

---

Stekelberg

---

Van Der Wiel - Heitinga - Mathijsen -Van Bronckhorst

---

De Jong

---

van Bommel

---

Robben

---

van der Vaart

---

Sneijder ----

---

Van Persie

---

Sneijder is out of position on the left I know, but he can cut inside and do damage on his right like Robben will do on the right. He's played the wings for Holland before anyway and still managed to be effective and Van Bronckhorst usually has a decent enough engine to offer width on the left.

Dutch have a good midfield and excellent attack as usual, pity about the defence. Never liked Ooijer too much myself, and I'd hate to see him start as he's been past it for the past few years anyway but then I'm not to keen on the alternatives either. The last few tournaments the egos haven't done as much damage as usual, so if they organise their defence well they'd be in with a good shout for the semis imo.

FatherTed

Hmmm..... Totti back?

But there is media speculation in Italy that the Roma frontman may return to the national team set-up as Lippi's team prepares to defend its World Cup title in South Africa.
"Will Totti be the only surprise on my list?" Lippi said. "I will give the list of the provisional squad on May 11.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup-2010/teams/italy/7680858/World-Cup-2010-Francesco-Totti-in-frame-for-Italy-return-says-Marcello-Lippi.html

Catenaccio!

It'd be great to see him at the tourney although I'm not sure what his teammates would think of that. Then again, it would be Lippi's decision.

RichTea

Catenaccio! wrote: »

It'd be great to see him at the tourney although I'm not sure what his teammates would think of that. Then again, it would be Lippi's decision.

He's a pretty popular guy within the Italian camp apparently. He'd be handy to have, even in a substitutes role. His form over the last couple of weeks has been very good.

dfx-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8544985.stm

Never mind the formations, who leads the queue for the bungee jump..

Some stadium :cool:

peabutler

Germany's 27 man squad

Germany's provisional 27-man World Cup squad:

Goalkeepers: Hans-Jorg Butt (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)

Defenders: Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Hamburg), Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Dennis Aogo (Hamburg).

Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Chelsea/ENG), Sami Khedira (Stuggart), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Christian Trasch (Stuttgart), Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen).

Forwards: Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Cacau (Stuttgart), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich).

Dont be at yourself

Forgot Germany had Cacau. Looked quite handy in the Champions League.

pickarooney

peabutler wrote: »

Germany's 27 man squad

Germany's provisional 27-man World Cup squad:

Goalkeepers: Hans-Jorg Butt (Bayern Munich), Manuel Neuer (Schalke 04), Tim Wiese (Werder Bremen)

Defenders: Per Mertesacker (Werder Bremen), Heiko Westermann (Schalke 04), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich), Jerome Boateng (Hamburg), Andreas Beck (Hoffenheim), Arne Friedrich (Hertha Berlin), Serdar Tasci (Stuttgart), Marcell Jansen (Hamburg), Holger Badstuber (Bayern Munich), Dennis Aogo (Hamburg).

Midfielders: Michael Ballack (Chelsea/ENG), Sami Khedira (Stuggart), Piotr Trochowski (Hamburg), Marko Marin (Werder Bremen), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich), Christian Trasch (Stuttgart), Mesut Ozil (Werder Bremen), Toni Kroos (Bayer Leverkusen).

Forwards: Lukas Podolski (Cologne), Miroslav Klose (Bayern Munich), Stefan Kiessling (Bayer Leverkusen), Cacau (Stuttgart), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Mario Gomez (Bayern Munich).

Only Ballack plays outside of Germany. I'm not sure if that's a sign of a weak German side or a strong Bundesliga or neither.

leninbenjamin

So Loew snubbed Kuranyi after all. Have to say, that German squad doesn't seem too threatening. Anyone know what's Loew favoured lineup these days?

The Volt

Don't know if it's been posted here but this is a pretty cool link. Has how each team qualfied. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010

Boskowski

I think it's the best german squad since 1990. Few last minute additions I'm very pleased with. Namely Boateng, Aogo, Kroos - who is a right handful.

German players don't play away much. Hitzlsberger didn't get the call. He's the only player of name in the vicinity of the Nationalmannschaft who's playing in a foreign league (except Ballack of course).

It's neither a sign of weakness nor of strength of the Bundesliga. It's always been like that. In general the Bundesliga has been badmouthed a lot by the likes of Dunphy and is probably underrated a bit. What makes the EPL stronger than the Bundesliga is the strength of the big four IMHO. Bundesliga only has one. I fancy each of the respective second level teams (outside the big four/one) to be pretty much on a par. Meaning there wouldn't be a world of a difference between City, Spurs, Villa even Pool and the likes of Schalke, Stuttgart, Bremen, Dortmund, Leverkusen, Hamburg.

3hn2givr7mx1sc

Mexico look a decent side. Fairly dominated Ecuador all over the pitch last night, they just need to get that cutting edge in front of goal, which will come with game-time.

Jordan Berbatov

Just placed my €5 bet @ 66/1 on Suarez to finish top goalscorer, stranger things have happened.

RichTea

Jordan Berbatov wrote: »

Just placed my €5 bet @ 66/1 on Suarez to finish top goalscorer, stranger things have happened.

Where's that? Considering his proficiency for Ajax you'd think his odds would be a bit shorter than 66.

Vokes

They're probably taking two other factors into account:

- Uruguay not likely to go beyond the Group stage
- Forlan is the main man upfront with Suarez the support striker

Frisbee

baz2009 wrote: »

Mexico look a decent side. Fairly dominated Ecuador all over the pitch last night, they just need to get that cutting edge in front of goal, which will come with game-time.

The Mexican Pelé will take care of that.

leninbenjamin

Vokes wrote: »

They're probably taking two other factors into account:

- Uruguay not likely to go beyond the Group stage
- Forlan is the main man upfront with Suarez the support striker

I dunno, Vickery has talked them up from time to time and how there's a bit of a resurgence in Uruguayan football of late. I haven't seen them play, but they've got some very good technical players and most of them play in Europe too. I think they are a pretty good bet to get out of the group stages.

Jordan Berbatov

RichTea wrote: »

Where's that? Considering his proficiency for Ajax you'd think his odds would be a bit shorter than 66.

paddy power, yeah I suppose people dont think much of the Dutch Leauge these days, thought it was worth a punt

Jordan Berbatov

Vokes wrote: »

They're probably taking two other factors into account:

- Uruguay not likely to go beyond the Group stage
- Forlan is the main man upfront with Suarez the support striker

Uruguay play France first and I think/hope they will beat France, leaving them to get a couple of points against Mexico and South Africa, then if they get through they either play an Argentina team which they will know well and depending on what Maradona does could be vulnerable, or they will play Greece, Nigeria or South Korea, so they could be a dark horse.

Headshot

Uruguay should get out of the group stages. I expect Uruguay and mexico to get out of the group

just dont rate the French

Vokes

I don't think Uruguay have the necessary quality in key areas (centre-mid / fullback) to compete with France. There's also the fact that they barely scraped through qualifying plus the narrow playoff win over Costa Rica. Historically, they also have a poor record against Mexico.

SA are normally weak as well - no doubt about it - but home support as we know is a massive factor, and they have every chance of winning the Opening game.

I fully expect France to progress (yes, despite their manager) - Toulalan and Diarra will dominate those other teams. And then one of Mexico or SA to follow them through. And Uruguay to come last.

Headshot

they had home support in the confederations cup and they were still awful, ill predict they wont wont get any points in the group

regarding Uruguay i reckon they'll surprise a few people

peabutler

I expect a few provisional squads in the next few days know that the domestic scene in europe is tying up.

Ush1

Vokes wrote: »

I don't think Uruguay have the necessary quality in key areas (centre-mid / fullback) to compete with France. There's also the fact that they barely scraped through qualifying plus the narrow playoff win over Costa Rica. Historically, they also have a poor record against Mexico.

SA are normally weak as well - no doubt about it - but home support as we know is a massive factor, and they have every chance of winning the Opening game.

I fully expect France to progress (yes, despite their manager) - Toulalan and Diarra will dominate those other teams. And then one of Mexico or SA to follow them through. And Uruguay to come last.

I see what you're saying but France don't play like they should. Depending on Uruguays attitude I could see them easily beating France.

I think Mexico and Uruguay will go through that group.

Warper

Despite their obvious frailties I think France will just sneak out of the Group along with Mexico. Mexico are a decent team and despite Uruguays great frontmen I just dont fancy them. Any team with Caceres in it is too dodgy for me.

Ush1

Portugals provisional 23 man squad:

Eduardo Sporting de Braga

Daniel Fernandes
Iraklis

Beto FC Porto

Defenders -
Miguel Valencia
Ricardo Costa
Lille
Paulo Ferreira
Chelsea
Ricardo Carvalho
Chelsea
Bruno Alves
FC Porto

Rolando FC Porto
Ze Castro
Deportivo

Pepe Real Madrid

Midfielders -
Fabio Coentrao
SL Benfica

Duda
Malaga
Pedro Mendes Sporting CP

Tiago Juventus
Deco Chelsea
Raul Meireles FC Porto

Miguel Veloso Sporting CP

Simao Sabrosa Atletico Madrid

Danny Zenit
Nani
Manchester United
Forwards -

Cristiano Ronaldo Real Madrid

Liedson
Sporting CP

Hugo Almeida Werder Bremen



No Quaresma. Fine mess he has made of his career since Porto.

Dont be at yourself

That's a pretty handy squad. A lot rests on Ronaldo though.

Warper

Who do people think has the best defense?

For me it has to be Brazil, 3 of Inter's backline in Maicon, Julio Cesar and Lucio. Then they have Juan of Roma to partner Lucio as CB and I really dont know who they will play left-back. Will it be Bastos of Lyon? If so they have 2 brilliant attacking full-backs and a great trio in the centre. Their defense looks extremly strong.

Ush1

Warper wrote: »

Who do people think has the best defense?

For me it has to be Brazil, 3 of Inter's backline in Maicon, Julio Cesar and Lucio. Then they have Juan of Roma to partner Lucio as CB and I really dont know who they will play left-back. Will it be Bastos of Lyon? If so they have 2 brilliant attacking full-backs and a great trio in the centre. Their defense looks extremly strong.

Most likely be Luisao ahead of Juan. They are a very strong defense.

Warper

Ush1 wrote: »

Most likely be Luisao ahead of Juan. They are a very strong defense.

Juan and Lucio are the first-choice CB's. If either was injured Luisao would be cover. Juan and Lucio played for Bayer Leverkusen for a number of years before they left Germany and get on very well together as a partnership.

Dunga is naming his 30 man squad today and all eyes will be on if Ronaldinho or this new wonder-kid Ganso have made the squad.

Ush1

Warper wrote: »

Juan and Lucio are the first-choice CB's. If either was injured Luisao would be cover. Juan and Lucio played for Bayer Leverkusen for a number of years before they left Germany and get on very well together as a partnership.

Dunga is naming his 30 man squad today and all eyes will be on if Ronaldinho or this new wonder-kid Ganso have made the squad.

Luisao and Lucio started every game after the groups at the Confederations Cup. Maybe due to an injury to Juan.

Seriously doubt Ronaldinho will be in the squad.

Warper

Ush1 wrote: »

Luisao and Lucio started every game after the groups at the Confederations Cup. Maybe due to an injury to Juan.

Seriously doubt Ronaldinho will be in the squad.

Ya Juan got injured. I hope Ronaldinho doesnt make the squad though it would prove a popular decision if he did. Should be announced shortly.

Pepe LeFrits

van Persie will start centrally for the Dutch, I'd wager.

... but will Robben and Sneijder pass to him? :pac:

peabutler

Pepe LeFrits wrote: »

van Persie will start centrally for the Dutch, I'd wager.

... but will Robben and Sneijder pass to him? :pac:

Squads coming in quick and fast now, two Newcastle players for Argentina but missing two key Inter players who are in the CL Final. No Ronnie for Brazil (no suprise) and No Ruud for Holland.

peabutler

So Blanc is to take over France after the WC, any chance of Domnech going out with a bang.

D2D

Irish start time's for group stages:

Group A
11/06 15:00 South Africa vs. Mexico
11/06 19:30 Uruguay vs. France
16/06 19:30 South Africa vs. Uruguay
17/06 19:30 France vs. Mexico
22/06 15:00 Mexico vs. Uruguay
22/06 15:00 France vs. South Africa

Group B
12/06 15:00 Argentina vs. Nigeria
12/06 12:30 Korea Republic vs. Greece
17/06 15:00 Greece vs. Nigeria
17/06 12:30 Argentina vs. Korea Republic
22/06 19:30 Nigeria vs. Korea Republic
22/06 19:30 Greece vs. Argentina

Group C
12/06 19:30 England vs. USA
13/06 12:30 Algeria vs. Slovenia
18/06 15:00 Slovenia vs. USA
18/06 19:30 England vs. Algeria
23/06 15:00 Slovenia vs. England
23/06 15:00 USA vs. Algeria

Group D
13/06 19:30 Germany vs. Australia
13/06 15:00 Serbia vs. Ghana
18/06 12:30 Germany vs. Serbia
19/06 15:00 Ghana vs. Australia
23/06 19:30 Ghana vs. Germany
23/06 19:30 Australia vs. Serbia

Group E
14/06 12:30 Netherlands vs. Denmark
14/06 15:00 Japan vs. Cameroon
19/06 12:30 Netherlands vs. Japan
19/06 19:30 Cameroon vs. Denmark
24/06 19:30 Denmark vs. Japan
24/06 19:30 Cameroon vs. Netherlands

Group F
14/06 19:30 Italy vs. Paraguay
15/06 12:30 New Zealand vs. Slovakia
20/06 12:30 Slovakia vs. Paraguay
20/06 15:00 Italy vs. New Zealand
24/06 15:00 Slovakia vs. Italy
24/06 15:00 Paraguay vs. New Zealand

Group G
15/06 15:00 Côte d'Ivoire Background Portugal
15/06 19:30 Brazil vs. North Korea
20/06 19:30 Brazil vs. Côte d'Ivoire
21/06 12:30 Portugal vs. North Korea
25/06 15:00 Portugal vs. Brazil
25/06 15:00 North Korea vs. Côte d'Ivoire

Group H
16/06 12:30 Honduras vs. Chile
16/06 15:00 Spain vs. Switzerland
21/06 15:00 Chile vs. Switzerland
21/06 19:30 Spain vs. Honduras
25/06 19:30 Chile vs. Spain
25/06 19:30 Switzerland vs. Honduras

peabutler

P.C = Potential Cracker
P.U= Potential Upset

Dare_2_defy wrote: »

Irish start time's for group stages:

Group A
11/06 15:00 South Africa vs. Mexico
11/06 19:30 Uruguay vs. France P.C
16/06 19:30 South Africa vs. Uruguay
17/06 19:30 France vs. Mexico P.C
22/06 15:00 Mexico vs. Uruguay p.c
22/06 15:00 France vs. South Africa p.u

Group B
12/06 15:00 Argentina vs. Nigeria p.c
12/06 12:30 Korea Republic vs. Greece
17/06 15:00 Greece vs. Nigeria
17/06 12:30 Argentina vs. Korea Republic
22/06 19:30 Nigeria vs. Korea Republic
22/06 19:30 Greece vs. Argentina

Group C
12/06 19:30 England vs. USA p.u
13/06 12:30 Algeria vs. Slovenia
18/06 15:00 Slovenia vs. USA
18/06 19:30 England vs. Algeria
23/06 15:00 Slovenia vs. England
23/06 15:00 USA vs. Algeria

Group D
13/06 19:30 Germany vs. Australia
13/06 15:00 Serbia vs. Ghana pc
18/06 12:30 Germany vs. Serbia PU
19/06 15:00 Ghana vs. Australia
23/06 19:30 Ghana vs. Germany PC
23/06 19:30 Australia vs. Serbia

Group E
14/06 12:30 Netherlands vs. Denmark pc
14/06 15:00 Japan vs. Cameroon
19/06 12:30 Netherlands vs. Japan
19/06 19:30 Cameroon vs. Denmark
24/06 19:30 Denmark vs. Japan
24/06 19:30 Cameroon vs. Netherlands pc

Group F
14/06 19:30 Italy vs. Paraguay pu
15/06 12:30 New Zealand vs. Slovakia
20/06 12:30 Slovakia vs. Paraguay
20/06 15:00 Italy vs. New Zealand
24/06 15:00 Slovakia vs. Italy
24/06 15:00 Paraguay vs. New Zealand

Group G
15/06 15:00 Côte d'Ivoire Background Portugal pc
15/06 19:30 Brazil vs. North Korea
20/06 19:30 Brazil vs. Côte d'Ivoire
21/06 12:30 Portugal vs. North Korea
25/06 15:00 Portugal vs. Brazil PC
25/06 15:00 North Korea vs. Côte d'Ivoire PU

Group H
16/06 12:30 Honduras vs. Chile
16/06 15:00 Spain vs. Switzerland
21/06 15:00 Chile vs. Switzerland
21/06 19:30 Spain vs. Honduras
25/06 19:30 Chile vs. Spain PU +PC
25/06 19:30 Switzerland vs. Honduras

peabutler

France needed a second-half equalizer from Arsenal defender William Gallas to earn a 1-1 draw against Tunisia in a World Cup warm-up match on Sunday.

Slack French defending allowed Tunisia striker Issam Jomaa space to tap home in the fifth minute, but Gallas scored in the 62nd when he met Yoann Gourcuff's free kick to head past goalkeeper Hamdi Kasraoui.

Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic was forced to appeal to Serbia fans for calm as they rioted during his side's embarrassing 1-0 friendly defeat by New Zealand in Klagenfurt.

During the second half of the World Cup warm-up in Austria, fans began throwing flares and missiles on to the turf while a number of fans ran on to the pitch before being captured by stewards.

Vidic was standing in as Serbia captain in Dejan Stankovic's absence and had to speak over the tannoy to placate fans with New Zealand apparently ready to abandon the game.

For New Zealand, though, the result has been described as "the best we've ever had in the history game," by coach Ricki Herbert.

The New Zealanders shocked Serbia hanks to Shane Smeltz's goal to provide a huge boost ahead of their first appearance at a World Cup in 28 years.

England's Wayne Rooney has said he would pick Argentina's Lionel Messi over Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.

"Ronaldo is world class and rightly won world player of the year but this year Messi has taken the game to another level," Rooney told Rio Ferdinand's #5 Magazine.

Spain's Iker Casillas has joined the list of goalkeepers expressing anger at the design of the ball to be used at the World Cup, with the Real Madrid player calling it "appalling."

After Spain's 3-2 friendly win over Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Casillas said: "It's sad that that such an important competition like the World Cup has such an important element like this ball of appalling condition."

Netherlands winger Arjen Robben trained on his own on Saturday as a precautionary measure after a minor hip problem had prematurely ended his training session on Friday.

Slovakia midfielder Miroslav Karhan will miss the World Cup after suffering an Achilles' tendon injury.

Karhan and team physician Ladislav Pavlovic said at least three weeks are needed to recover, making it impossible for him to be fit in time for the tournament.

German defender Heiko Westermann is another who will miss out in South Africa after suffering a foot injury in Germany's 3-0 win over Hungary in Budapest on Saturday.

A statistician who modelled the outcomes of 100,000 possible World Cup tournaments has predicted the overall winner - Spain.

Dr Ian McHale, a senior lecturer in statistics at the University of Salford, agreed with most bookmakers' predictions, but gave odds on Spain winning at around 9-1 while bookies are offering only 4-1.

The model - which includes inputs such as world ranking, form and the distance teams must travel to the games - also predicted England will lose to France in the quarter-finals, giving their overall probability of winning as slightly better than 20-1.

Lukman Haruna scored a second-half equalizer as Nigeria salvaged a 1-1 draw with Colombia in Milton Keynes.

Carlos Valdes gave Colombia a 12th-minute lead in Nigeria's penultimate World Cup warm-up, but Monaco midfielder Haruna leveled in the 69th minute.

Honduras faced problems swapping shirts at the end of their penultimate warm-up match against Belarus in Austria on Thursday because the Central American side are travelling with minimal equipment.

Team general manager Osman Madrid said the request to exchange kit was initially denied, and then granted so as not to seem arrogant.

Madrid said more shirts would be available when Honduras face Azerbaijan on Wednesday. Honduras will play in Group H of the World Cup with Spain, Chile and Switzerland.

Kev_ps3

France needed a second-half equalizer from Arsenal defender William Gallas to earn a 1-1 draw against Tunisia in a World Cup warm-up match on Sunday.

wow there goes my france to win the world cup bet anyway:pac:

Peyton Manning

peabutler wrote: »

P.C = Potential Cracker
P.U= Potential Upset

Group H
25/06 19:30 Chile vs. Spain PU +PC

I cannot wait for this game. It's likely that both teams will have already qualified, so it'll be a case of playing to avoid Brazil. Should be a cracker.

peabutler

Yeah if Chile show up come the World Cup they could produce some real exciting matches, ala Fiji in the Rugby. Attack wth Tempo and Flair and defend like u-12's.

gimmick

Does anyone have a world cup excel sheet planner dealy?

eZe^

Paraguay > Uraguay.

keane2097

peabutler wrote: »

Yeah if Chile show up come the World Cup they could produce some real exciting matches, ala Fiji in the Rugby. Attack wth Tempo and Flair and defend like u-12's.

lol

steelcityblues

Archimedes wrote: »

I cannot wait for this game. It's likely that both teams will have already qualified, so it'll be a case of playing to avoid Brazil. Should be a cracker.

Don't rule out the dour Swiss going through instead! I would prefer it to be Chile though.