World cup 2002

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

anyone else here follow soccer?

im surprised there isnt already a thread, as the world cup is like the biggest sporting event in existence, with the possible exception of the summer olympics.

 

who are you predicting to win?

im not sure myself, but look for england to choke again!

[Guest Anorak]

England have a big problem if Dyer and Gerrard don't make it as the squad doesn't have the same strength in depth that some of the more fancied teams do. Neville being out is also a big blow because whether you like him or not he was central to the teams balance on the right flank, he had a good understanding with Beckham which has been influential for both Man Utd and England over the years. The draw was awful for us of course and looks daunting but England could just as easily finish top as not qualify at all, the Sweden game is a must win. People should not dismiss Nigeria either, they are going through somewhat of a transition period but they have a lot of talented young players who will look to the World Cup as an opportunity to showcase their talents to the big European clubs.

 

Predictions:

 

Argentina are an excellent team but they really are considered false favourites by a lot of people because nobody can be said to have overtaken France since 98. Italy are better at grinding out results (but not penalty shoot outs) than Argentina as well and although Brazil are not being touted as much as usual it will take an awfully good team to stop them. No doubt one team will be a surprise as Sweden, Bulgaria and Croatia have been in recent World Cups. Ireland should qualify from their group as they have nobody to fear in Germany, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia. I'll be boring and go for France to retain but it's reletively open.

 

I see the following players as being key to their teams progress:

 

Group A

France: Viera / Henry / Zidane / Desailly

Senegal: El Hadji Diouf

Uruguay: Recoba

Denmark: Jorgenson / Tomasson / Gronkjaer

 

Group B

Spain: Raul / Valeron

Slovenia: Zahovic

Paraguay: Santa Cruz / Acuna

South Africa: McCarthy

 

Group C

Brazil: Rivaldo / Ronaldo / Ronaldinho / Denilson

Turkey: Hakan Suker / Basturk

China: Ono

Costa Rica: Wanchope

 

Group D

South Korea: ???

Poland: Dudek / Olisadebe

USA: Donovan

Portugal: Figo / Rui Costa / Conceicao / Joao Pinto / Pauleta

 

Group E

Germany: Ballack

Saudi Arabia: ???

Cameroon: M'boma / Lauren / E'too / Foe

Republic Of Ireland: Roy Keane / Duff / Robbie Keane

 

 

Group F

Argentina: Veron / Aimar / Samuel / Crespo

Sweden: Ljundberg / Larsson

Nigeria: Okacha

England: Beckham / Owen / Joe Cole (give him a chance!)

 

Group G

Italy: Vieri / Del Piero / Totti

Ecuador: Delgado

Croatia: Tudor / Boksic

Mexico: ???

 

Group H

Japan: Nakata / Inamoto

Belgium: Verheyen / Goor

Russia: Titov / Karpin / Mostovoi

Tunisia: ???

 

Some totally different players may make an impact but those players are all quite established stars for their teams. Can't wait for it to begin, it's probably the most anticipated event in the sporting world. I'm glad the duller European teams didn't qualify such as Scotland(ha!), Norway and Austria. Unfortunately we are missing out on seeing some great players such as Shevchenko (Ukraine), Nedved/Rossicky(Czech Republic) and of course so many of the Dutch squad.

 

Sorry about the length of the post but this folder is normally just an American sports folder and i wasn't passing up a chance to do a total anorak style post on the subject. Maybe this could be an official thread for the duration of the competition.

[Guest Mystery Eskimo]

Argentina will win.

 

Look for England to struggle to even get past the group stages.

 

USA actually have a damn good chance to make it to the next round. Portugal are too good for them but Poland are beatable.

[Guest muzanisa]

France or Argentina to win.

I will be supporting Ireland and whoever England are playing.

[Guest Dr. Wrestlingphysics]

I think Ireland have a good chance of going far in this World Cup. They came out of the group undefeated ( a group which included Portugal and Holland) and have only lost one game in something like two years. They're not pretty to watch at times, but Mick McCarthy has done a good job making them difficult to beat.

England have a hard group, and injuries haven't been kind, so I'm not expecting too much from them.

My tips to win: France, Argentina, Italy.

Dark horses: Ireland and possibly USA.

[Guest easye46]

Group A

France

Senegal

Uruguay

Denmark

 

I expect the French and the Danes to go through here.

 

Group B

Spain

Slovenia

Paraguay

South Africa

 

Spain and Paraguay to Advance

 

Group C

Brazil

Turkey

China

Costa Rica

 

Brazil and the Turks should go through

 

Group D

South Korea

Poland

USA

Portugal

 

Portugal and Poland to go through here

 

Group E

Germany

Saudi Arabia

Cameroon

Republic Of Ireland

 

I'll go with the Germans and Irish here.

 

Group F

Argentina

Sweden

Nigeria

England

 

Gosh, I'll go with the Argentines and Sweden to go through

 

Group G

Italy

Ecuador

Croatia

Mexico

 

Italians and Croations.

 

Group H

Japan

Belgium

Russia

Tunisia  

 

Japanese and the Russians

 

I'll pick France to win it all again, but as far as other

teams go.. I'll expect the Italians, Argentines and

Portugese and safe bets to go a ways.

[Guest pearljamfan]

Im supporting England but if I can think real for a minute here I think Argentina will win it all. Also I will be pulling for whoever is playing Italy and Brazil. I fucking hate both of those teams

[Guest dreamer420]

As much as I don't want them too I believe the French will win this year.

[Guest redbaron51]

Group A

France

Senegal

Uruguay

Denmark

 

France and Senegal.

 

Group B

Spain

Slovenia

Paraguay

South Africa

 

Spain and Paraguay

 

Group C

Brazil

Turkey

China

Costa Rica

 

Brazil and China

 

Group D

South Korea

Poland

USA

Portugal

 

South Korea and Portugal

 

Group E

Germany

Saudi Arabia

Cameroon

Republic Of Ireland

 

Cameroon and Saudi Arabia

 

Group F

Argentina

Sweden

Nigeria

England

 

Nigeria and Argentina

 

Group G

Italy

Ecuador

Croatia

Mexico

 

Italians and Croations.

 

Group H

Japan

Belgium

Russia

Tunisia  

 

Japan and Belgium

[Guest ultimo the great]

england haven't got a chance in hell, they'll be out at the group stage they will then lose to argentina, they draw with sweden and nigeria. btw beckham is the most overated player theres ever been and i should know i get to see him play 50 times a season. as for the stars of the world cup(btw it is bigger than the olympics)  ARGENTINA if they play look out for pablo aimar(valencia) & javier saviola(barcelona) but there star is sebre veron - BELGIUM  bart goor(hertha berlin) & emile mpenza(schalke 04) - BRAZIL ronaldo is back and is a huge plus also look out for lucio & ze roberto of (leverkusen) - CAMEROON samuel eto'o(mallorca) & pius n'diefi(sedan) - CHINA qi hong - COSTA RICA rolando fonseca (la piedad) & ronald gomez (ofi crete) - CROATIA alen boksic(middlesbrough) - DENMARK jesper gronkjaer(chelsea) & christian poulsen(schalke 04) - ECUADOR agustin delgardo(southamton), ulises de la cruz(hibernian) & walter ayovi(emelec) -ENGLAND wes brown(manutd), ashley cole(arsenal) & michael owen (liverpool)  i'll do the rest tomorrow

[Guest Anorak]

Saviola will probably be left out of the Argentinian squad, i want him to go but apparantly its doubtful from what people are saying. Batistuta has been awful for Roma this season and i always think its a good idea to give one youngster the chance to make an impact.

 

Emile Mpenza is injured and will not be in the Belgian squad or else i would have mentoned him in my earlier post.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

Group A

France

Senegal

Uruguay

Denmark

 

France and Uruguay (but only cos they beat australia )

 

Group B

Spain

Slovenia

Paraguay

South Africa

 

Spain and Paraguay

 

Group C

Brazil

Turkey

China

Costa Rica

 

Brazil and Turkey

 

Group D

South Korea

Poland

USA

Portugal

 

South Korea and Portugal

 

Group E

Germany

Saudi Arabia

Cameroon

Republic Of Ireland

 

Cameroon and Ireland

 

Group F

Argentina

Sweden

Nigeria

England

 

England and Argentina

 

Group G

Italy

Ecuador

Croatia

Mexico

 

Italians and Croatians.

 

Group H

Japan

Belgium

Russia

Tunisia  

 

Japan and Belgium

[Guest Choken One]

I know shit about soccer but I'm good at tournament predictions

 

 

Group A

France (w)

Senegal

Uruguay (w)

Denmark

 

I've been to France and I've once heard of Uruguay.

 

Group B

Spain (w)

Slovenia

Paraguay (w)

South Africa

 

Spain runs with fucking bulls and Paraguay reminds me of butter.

 

 

Group C

Brazil (w)

Turkey (w)

China

Costa Rica

 

Isn't Brazil the Yankees of Soccer? and I did a project on Turkey and got a B-.

 

 

Group D

South Korea

Poland

USA (w)

Portugal (w)

 

I have to pick my home team and Portugal is portugal.

 

 

 

Group E

Germany

Saudi Arabia (w)

Cameroon

Republic Of Ireland (w)

 

I like U2 and I also did a project on Saudi Arabia and got a C+.

 

Group F

Argentina (w)

Sweden

Nigeria

England (w)

 

England used to own america and Argentina is exotic sounding.

 

Group G

Italy (w)

Ecuador

Croatia

Mexico  (w)

 

Italian and Mexican are kick ass foods.

 

Group H

Japan (w)

Belgium

Russia

Tunisia (w)

 

Japan makes wicked cars and shit and Tunisa sounds like a sexual postition.

[Guest Anorak]

I thought i'd keep this thread alive to stop it from dissapearing before the world cup even starts. What does everybody make of the build up so far? It seems that some daft story is breaking every day or if your'e an England fan make that 'daft injury stories'. The Roy Keane thing is absolutely unbelievable and a real blow for Ireland's chances. Unfortunately the whole thing just confirms what i've always thought about Keane. For me he has always fallen short of being a true great because his attitude has always let him down at crucial moments. Truly great players have a mental toughness that can transcend the petty and destructive events people like Keane always fall victim to. Would an experienced player who is supposedly as responsible, mentally tough and 'professional' really act so foolishly? I think Keane comes up painfully short in these aspects personally, a good captain should respect those around him and lead by example on a consistant basis, for any of the numerous occasions he reflects a model pro there is an unexplicable example of immature childishness which has let him or his teammates down. This vital flaw has never been ironed out throughout his career and now it has come back to haunt him in an honestly sad and pathetic manner when a stronger allround character would be embarking on the crowning moments of thier career. His reputation of being a model pro is as phony as his 'hard man' reputation ( more like a stereotyped version of a cowardly South American who kicks somebody only when their back is turned) as truly great players manage to be class acts on and off the pitch (Maradona had more respect for his teamates seemingly). Mick McCarthy should be applauded for his actions, i'm sure he didn't take the descision lightly and if people want someone to blame they should look just at Keane.

[Guest The Son of Sting]

I have to aggree with everything you said about Keane. I think Man-U would be better of selling Keane and keeping Veron.

[Guest caboose]

England are shit outta luck this time.

Even if we make it through the group stage, in all likelihood we are gonna finish second and get France in the second round.

I don't think England should play 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 like Sven wants to.

For me 3-5-2 is England's best formation.

David Seaman in goal,

Rio Ferdinand, Sol Campbell and Wes Brown as the three centrebacks,

Kieron Dyer(if fit) right wing back,

Ashley Cole left wing back,

David Beckham(if fit), Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves in midfield,

Michael Owen and Emile Heskey up front.

 

I expect one of France, Argentina, Brazil(don't count them out yet) and Italy to take the World Cup home.

[Guest muzanisa]

France and England are taking stupid gambles with Zidane and Beckham. Most times when someone is struggling to recover from injury they make it back in only to reinjure themselves straight away.

Makes me wonder if there isn't external pressure from the sponsers to have them in. This was put forward as the reason Ronaldo played in the last finals after suffering a fit.

[Guest Anorak]

I've got my fingers crossed about Beckham, its a big gamble for sure but maybe his immense influence on the team is arguably worth the risk. Dyer i maybe wouldn't have taken a risk with as the injury he sustained was more recent and supposedly more serious than Beckham's. When Beckham got injured the consensus was that it would be possible for him to recover in time but Dyer had apparantly no chance at all of making it, his recovery just seems a bit too good to be true.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

well, beckham apparently easily passed a fitness test easily last night, so fingers crossed he starts dominating against sweden.  i disagree on the roy keane thing though.  i havent heard the full story, but from what i have heard, keane was pissed because their preparation is taking place on an island without a fucking soccer pitch! i mean seriously, it is incompetence and foolishness on behalf of mick mcarthy and totally bush league.  they are professional athletes, and drinking sessions and joke practice sessions are no way to prepare for the world's largest tournament.  kudos to roy keane for taking this action, though i agree on the large part that keane is a colossal dick.

 

to the guy who said keep veron and sell keane, sell em both.  veron is no good for english football, he holds the ball too long, and is skilled but just shit.  keane will hopefully disappear soon, as i cant imagine sir alex will keep him long once his abilities start to fade.

[Guest Anorak]

Veron's game isn't especially suited to the English game, the slower and more methodical pace of Italy or Spain is far more ideal for him. His signing disrupted the balance of Man Utd's tried and tested formation and style of play, they simply couldn't accomodate Veron into the team.

 

I agree Keane maybe had a point in his complaints but he went about expressing them in a totally unacceptable way which exposed his own shortcomings. There's obviously a bit more to this whole situation than we have heard but overall i just feel sorry for the Irish fans.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

yeah, the fans are the real losers, though i heard a rumour yesterday that  keane may be flying back east for the cup anyway? more swerves than the wwf here!

[Guest Anorak]

I heard today that a phonecall and apology to McCarthy from Keane would have paved the way for him to go back and join the squad but that option was snubbed by him.

[Guest muzanisa]

Apparently the squad wanted him back, but it was either him or McCarthy and the squad backed McCarthy. Quinn said in the Guardian that the senior players hadn't had a go at him and that loads of people had been working flat out to get him back.

It's not as if we were going to win it but it's a massive blow.

 

I must say that Beckham is totally overrated, a good crosser of the ball and excellent on set pieces but if he does play I think he'll be shown up as a rather ordainary player when the touraments over.

[Guest Anorak]

Beckham is a very good player, he's not world class but he's not an ordinary player either.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

beckham is good in a specialised role, free kicks/crossing, and hell, id take him over anybody else for that position.

 

first game is tonight, france v senegal, im tipping france.

[Guest What?!]

Senegal 1 France 0

 

What?!?! I know Senegal isn't a pushover, but still, that's a bit of a shocker even if Zidane didn't play. Well, I think he didn't play. I just read the score.

 

Anyways, I'm going for Brazil to win. I don't think Ronaldo is going to get any convulsions this year.

[Guest redbaron51]

and I won thirty dollars today because of this game . Senegal is going far...

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

france played terribly badly.  they sttod over the ball for far too long when it was apparent that on every play senegal would rush the ball carrier with 3 defenders or so.  still, kudos to senegal, although i expect france to bounce back in a big way in their next game.

[Guest The Vanilla Midget]

tonight's games:

Ireland v Cameroon

Uruguay v Denmark

Germany v Saudi Arabia

 

Ireland-cameroon should be a pretty good match, germany should beat the saudis, and i hope the danes kill uruguay (the bastards elimated the socceroos, DAMN THEM!!!)

[Guest Anorak]

Ireland vs Cameroon was a good match, the Irish recovered well in the second half and could easily have won in the end.

 

Denmark looked as well organised and strong as i expected against Uruguay but i wasn't expecting them to look quite as decent up front. The use of wingers was very effective and with Jorgensen maybe properly fit they have a decent amount of creativity to go with the traditional scandivavian solidity. Uruguay looked quite mediocre to me and i would back France to beat them. With the Danes emerging with full points the pressure is really on the French to win their next game.

 

Germany is currently thrashing the Saudi's and are being made to look quite good in the process, typical of them to get the easy start. Looks like Saudi Arabia will be an easy three points for Cameroon and Ireland as well so the Germans are still really waiting for the proper make or break games to come.