The Official 2006 FIFA World Cup thread. (2 Viewers)

[copious]

A few England fans it seems, I must admit I will go for them if Aussies dont make it very far.

On that note, any bolters for the england squad? There has been talk of Nigel Reo Coker(DM/CM), Anton Ferdinand(CB), Dean Ashton(FC), Marlon Harewood(FC), Paul Konchesky(LWB) (Ok enough of my West Ham bias ). Among others, Aaron Lennon has been on fire lately and has pace and can cross. SWP is inhis position but he hasnt played alot lately. Carrack perhaps as well, but he's played a few times for england I think?

 

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well, i don't know if any of the midfielders would make it, given the depth of quality midfielder england currently has..maybe Dean Ashton would make the cut given that he is your typical English forward(none currently plays like one)...
Konchesky might make it if Ashley Cole could not get his fitness back..but Erikisson might perfer Carragher there instead..

I reckon Carrick should be in the team..given his form + attribute, he can easily replace Gerrard in those one off games...

 

[LMF^^]

England have enough centre backz, SWP will definitely make the cut even though hez been warmin the bench all season. Carrick would be a good option, however after watchin Lennon on the weekend I think that kid may have a chance too.

So much England talk, should focuz on other nationz too. Player to watch out fo: Klas Jan Huntelaar, he'll rip it up at the World Cup. Play him alongside Ruud and see the resultz.

 

[AcStyle*]

So much England talk, should focuz on other nationz too. Player to watch out fo: Klas Jan Huntelaar, he'll rip it up at the World Cup. Play him alongside Ruud and see the resultz.

Huntelaar has scored a glut of goals this season...there was even no room for Makaay in van Basten's preliminary squad.

Apart from the Aussies, ill b supporting the Asian countires (well Japan and Korea neway) and a random, yet undecided country...hopefully there will be a surprise packet similar to Senegal 2002.

 

[DRAGONZ]

Well, I'm half-Serbian, half-Croatian.

At one point in the draw, Australia were with Croatia and Brazil, and Serbia & Montenegro were up for selection (they were in that separate bowl), and there was a VERY real chance that they were going to be in Group F.

However, it wasn't to be .. instead, they formed the Group of Death.

I'll definitely be supporting Australia, but if they don't make it with Brazil from Group F, then Croatia probably will. In which case I'll go for them.

And I'll also support Serbia in Group C .. Argentina and The Netherlands provide very strong competition, and I reckon Ivory Coast are the best team in Africa right now. Every single game in Group C will be AMAZING.

So yes .. I am supporting Australia, Serbia, and Croatia this World Cup. I've always had a soft spot for Portugal, because they are like my St George Illawarra Dragons - they always have the potential, but don't deliver in the important matches.

The teams I would LEAST like to see win .. Germany and Paraguay. And also USA .. because they would never stop ramming it down the world's throat for the rest of human existence.

 

[king_of_boredom]

The teams I would LEAST like to see win .. Germany and Paraguay. And also USA .. because they would never stop ramming it down the world's throat for the rest of human existence.

bahahaha....so very true. don't get me wrong, i've got nothing against the americans, i just don't want them to win the world cup

to be realistic, how far do you think australia can go? i think we'll be pushing to get past the group stage. but hopefully i'm wrong.

 

[DRAGONZ]

bahahaha....so very true. don't get me wrong, i've got nothing against the americans, i just don't want them to win the world cup

to be realistic, how far do you think australia can go? i think we'll be pushing to get past the group stage. but hopefully i'm wrong.

If they make it into the Round of 16, I think they'll surpass expectations.

IMO, they will have done well enough to get a draw out of Japan and Croatia. If Brazil drop any points, it will be a huge disappointment to them.

I think the Group F table will look something like:

Brazil ------ 9
Croatia ---- 2
Japan ------ 2
Australia -- 2

I reckon Croatia and Japan are evenly matched, with Australia fighting for a draw.

However, a first up win to the Aussies against the Japs would give them a HUGE amount of confidence, and could set them up .. all they would then need, in probability, is a draw against Croatia and a narrow defeat against Brazil to advance.

But yeah, I think Brazil and Croatia will probably advance, looking at it from a neutral perspective.

 

[acmilan]

I cant go past Italy Heavily biased, and despite the fact they've broken my heart since the first world cup i remember watching (1990), i think they're a revamped team this time and they're not really in the spotlight that much this time around in terms of being contenders - might be better for them this way.

 

[acmilan]

Well their defence isnt as flash hot as it used to be. If they rely on that, they're goners anyways.

 

[Komit]

US team is nothing special individually (bar Freddy Adu) but as a team, they are technically very strong. They will do well, not win because Bruce Arena is a smelly cunt.

Never underestimate the Dutch. It's about time they stepped up. They have the best overall talent and depth in the world which is, dare I say it, better than what Brazil has. However, they consistently choke when it comes down to the crunch.

DRAGONZ - The Serbs are very strong. Awesome defence and will be difficult to break down. How I wish Yugoslavia never broke up. We would have had the strongest football team in the world until today - not even Brazil would have matched it.

 

[Trippendicular]

I think I'm going to go for Spain, after Australia of course. And then England as well

 

[maniche]

Ok, heres the teams to watch out for:

Brazil: RONALDINHO, Robinho, Adriano, Kaka' Cicinio....list goes on
Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo, Carvahlo (chealsea defender-best in world), Deco, Simao'
Argentina: MESSI, Riquelme, Sorren, Pablo Aimar
England: Rooney, Beckham (but they will never win the world cup-they never connect as a team)

i was gogin to say Italy, but, if they were more concerned with the game rather than thier hair-styles i woul have.

 

[LMF^^]

The general consensus is pretty true - England do seem pretty strong at the moment - despite their woeful qualification

WTF...? Undefeated throughout qualification iz woeful...? They topped their qualifyin group and even Poland got direct qualification fo bein one of the best 2nd ranked teamz in qualifyin.

Carvahlo (chealsea defender-best in world)

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

 

[Numero Uno]

mate england will win it

or argentina after last wc performance

 

[DRAGONZ]

DRAGONZ - The Serbs are very strong. Awesome defence and will be difficult to break down. How I wish Yugoslavia never broke up. We would have had the strongest football team in the world until today - not even Brazil would have matched it.

I was arguing a similar point on here when the Groups were drawn.

Most on here saw Group C (Argentina, Ivory Coast, Serbia, Holland) as the Group of Death, but then quickly said Argentina and Holland will progress anyway.

Personally, I think that Serbia & Montenegro are almost a shoe-in for one of the top two spots.

In qualifying, they only conceded ONE goal in TEN games, and that was against Spain in Spain. After going down a goal early, they showed a lot of heart and clawed their way back into the match, with Kezman scoring a cracker to equalise. Their group included Spain, obviously, but also Bosnia (everyone knows how crazy those matches were) and Belgium. They looked to be just about the most impressive team in European qualifying.

They have an all-round strong squad, with absolute world class players in Kezman and Stankovic.

And you are definitely correct .. the former Yugoslavia were the Brazilians of Europe, and even above their South American counterparts.

The only thing which held back Yugoslavia (and still holds back the separate countries now) was attitude and discipline. Too often they didn't treat opposition with the respect they deserved, and too often they would get mixed up with in-fighting and stupid plays on the field.

 

[king_of_boredom]

If they make it into the Round of 16, I think they'll surpass expectations.

IMO, they will have done well enough to get a draw out of Japan and Croatia. If Brazil drop any points, it will be a huge disappointment to them.

I think the Group F table will look something like:

Brazil ------ 9
Croatia ---- 2
Japan ------ 2
Australia -- 2

I reckon Croatia and Japan are evenly matched, with Australia fighting for a draw.

However, a first up win to the Aussies against the Japs would give them a HUGE amount of confidence, and could set them up .. all they would then need, in probability, is a draw against Croatia and a narrow defeat against Brazil to advance.

But yeah, I think Brazil and Croatia will probably advance, looking at it from a neutral perspective.

i agree. if we manage to win our first match against japan (or at the very least draw) we'd have a pretty good confidence boost to carry through to the following matches.

but outside our own group, i'd still like to see the other top teams advance to make for great competition, ie england, italy, france, germany, etc.

 

[Constip8edSkunk]

These are the players that were in the team in their 4-1 win over Germany last month. I dare say the players in bold are pretty much certain to be picked.

Gianluigi Buffon
Cristian Zaccardo
Fabio Grosso
Daniele De Rossi
Fabio Cannavaro
Luca Toni
Marco Materazzi
Manuel Pasqual
Simone Barone
Simone Perrotta
Vincenzo Iaquinta
Marco Amelia
Alessandro Nesta
Mauro German Camoranesi
Andrea Pirlo
Alessandro Del Piero
Alberto Gilardino
Massimo Oddo
Andrea Barzagli
Aimo Diana
Christian Vieri
Morgan De Sanctis

there are also players not there who will be certainties, zambrotta and gattuso comes to mind. they have a better chance with lippi at the helm this time round.

Carvahlo (chealsea defender-best in world)

absolutely most definitely.

no, really.

*nods*

 

[DRAGONZ]

They have world class players. But they don't have the experience that established teams like Brazil, Italy and England have. There are alot of ifs - but I dont think Serbia can top Netherlands, Argentina or Ivory Coast - who are the best team in Africa.

Why can't they get up over these squads if they managed to finish on top of Spain?

They coped with the pressure well in the away match against Spain, and both Bosnian matches ..

We'll see what happens, I guess.

 

[Komit]

The Dutch find it very difficult to break down a stubborn defence. During qualifying, they dropped their only points to Macedonia (who basically threw 9 players behind the ball and could not be broken down. The Serbs play very similarly, although they are much, much better with greater attacking prowess. Pretty much all ex-Yugo teams play a very similar style (bar Slovenia) which is why Croatia and Serbia should not be underestimated.

Ivory Coast are nothing special. They are just another flamboyant African team with mad jerseys.

BUT, then again, this is the World Cup and all history goes out the window. It's about which team steps up on the day.

 

[maniche]

absolutely most definitely.

no, really.

*nods*

then who is better? if he isnt the best, he is probably one of the best defenders in the world, come on, you have to be pretty good to be picked by that prick Murinho.