with a day of draws in the books, we can only hope tomorrow will be more exciting. should be with 3 good looking games. here is a tidy write up for groups c and d.
Group C
With quality all over the pitch and enviable depth in every position, England should dominate this relatively weak group. Their star striker, Rooney, is back from injury and is one of the favorites to win the golden boot for good reason. He has improved his heading ability drastically this season and now has become arguably the most complete striker in the world. However, the key for this squad to progress to the finals is the return of top form of Gerrard. Either deployed in central midfield with Lampard or in the “free” role on the left side of midfield, Gerrard has the opportunity to be the catalyst on this squad. If he returns to the fantastic form he was showing the last couple seasons, England, with their solid defense, is as good as any squad in the world. The question mark remains in how their goalkeeping will fare and whether they will ever win a penalty shootout if it comes down to that. USA, on the other hand, has question marks everywhere except for goalkeeping. If Davies was playing, and Gooch was 100%, as they were during the Confederations Cup, they have the potential to beat any side in the world. However, they are not which makes them vulnerable to not making it out of the group stages. They key to the squad is the two star wingers, Dempsey and Donovan, to not only produce goal scoring opportunities for their teammates, but also score goals themselves.
Slovenia come into the tournament as somewhat of a surprise team, but because they play well together as a team and are extremely well organized, they have as good as a chance as USA in progressing to the knockout round. Their best player is their goalkeeper, Handanovic, and with a solid back four, should be extremely difficult to score against. They play a similar 4-4-2 system as the USA with the striker system being the classic big, Novakovic, feeding balls to the small, Dedic. The key player to their squad is the left-footed right midfielder Birsa, who is a dangerous free kick taker. In order for Slovenia to advance, they must take advantage of their size and convert free kick opportunities.
Algeria is one of the worst squads in the tournament. They are known more for their red cards recently then their goals. Additionally, their best player, Meghni, is injured for the tournament and will not play. The key to there is their dodgy keeper, Chaouchi, because he must perform miracles for them to advance from this group. However, I do not seeing this happening as I predict they end the tournament with zero points to show. Essentially, this group should come down to who wins from the USA Slovenia match on the 22nd.
England, USA
Group D
Germany comes into this tournament the same as they usually do. They seem to lack imagination, don’t have any superstar quality like the other top teams, and do not seem that threatening to do much in this tournament. However, this is Germany, and they always seem to exceed expectations in the big tournaments. Arguably their best olayer, Ballack, is out for the tournament with ankle ligament damage. Their top striker, and reigning golden boot winner, Klose, couldn’t even crack the starting lineup on his club team. They do possess quality depth in attack and midfield to make up for the loss of Ballack and the lack of form of Klose. The dangerous player on their squad is attacking fullback and captain, Lahm, but the key to their squad is whether Podolski can play the way he plays for his nation and not his club team. If he can score crackers with his cannon of a left foot, they have the ability to make a deep run. However, I do not see that happening this time around.
Serbia is the best team no one talks about. They have quality in attack, with the vastly underrated Krasic able to score from anywhere. Combine that with one of the strongest defenses in the world, including stars Vidic and Ivanovic, and they potentially go deep into the tournament. The key to their squad is whether erratic goalkeeper Stojkovic can stop allowing weak goals past him.
Ghana is arguably the most complete African side in the tournament. Even though their superstar, Essien, is out of the tournament, they still possess one of the top midfields in the world. Normally with their gifted midfield, I would have them making a strong run in the tournament. But with Essien out, Muntari hobbled, and the weak form of Appiah, their midfield drastically weakens, and I cannot picture them progressing from this “group of depth.”
Australia is easily the “best worst” team in the tournament. By that I mean out of the weakest teams in each group, they are the best of the bunch. With any team featuring Cahill, they are very dangerous on corner kicks and should be able to score the ugly goals as well as anyone. The key to them progressing is whether Cahill can score goals, because they do lack firepower up front. Any one of these teams can progress, but with every team dangerous in the air, scoring goals off corner kicks may be the key.
Germany, Serbia
Friday, June 11, 2010
deyan's A&B take
World Cup 2010 Predictions
This World Cup is the hardest to predict for many reasons. The tournament is being held in Africa for the first time ever. Because Africa is in the southern hemisphere, the WC will be played during the winter time which will mean chilly conditions throughout. Additionally, no European squad has ever won the WC outside of Europe ever, and with most of the best squads European, this makes predicting the knockout rounds even trickier. With my WC predictions, I have thrown WC history and popularity of the players completely out of the window. What matters most is the form of the players on the squads, injuries, and that the tournament is being played in S. Africa.
Overrated- Germany, Italy, Brazil
Underrated- Chile, Serbia, S Korea
Group A
This is easily the toughest group to predict. The best squad on paper by far, France, has a clueless coach who uses zodiac signs to choose his squad and is unable to determine the shape he wants to play. One day it is a 4-2-3-1, another it’s a 4-3-3. The squad, while talented everywhere on the pitch, do not play together well as a unit and don’t seem to want to play for each other. The perfect example was the two legged playoff tie with Ireland, also known as the Henry hand ball game. What people seem to forget though, is that Ireland thoroughly outplayed them in the two games and it was actually Lloris’s goalkeeping that saved them from crashing out of the tie. The key to their squad is the form of Gallas, because if he is 100% and on form, their defense can be extremely difficult to score on. Uruguay comes in with a very aggressive style of play, and a different system teams are used to playing against. With a 3-5-2 formation, the wing backs play an important role pushing the tempo up field and tracking back defensively. With Suarez and Forlan up top, they do hold firepower up top and could beat any side in the world. With Forlan dropping back between the opposition’s midfield and defense, Suarez essentially plays up top by himself. This makes Suarez the key to the squad. If he takes his chances they will progress into the knockout stages, if not they wont. Mexico, like Uruguay, play an extremely unusual formation, a 3-4-3 if one had to call it, where their star defender, Marquez, plays CDM to block out supporting strikers such as Forlan. Mexico features a good mixture of young studs and intelligent veterans with a good amount of depth in every position. The question lies who is going to start, Guardado or Vela, on the left-wing? Personally, I would choose Guardado, due to his form throughout the year was far superior to Vela, but we will have to wait and see. They key to their squad lies in Dos Santos, the fiery and elusive right winger who one game can seem like one the best young players in the world, and another he looks like the player Barcelona so quickly got rid of. The worst squad in the group, South Africa, of course, has home field advantage. No home team has ever gotten knocked out in the first round. With only one star player, Pienaar, on their squad, most experts believe this year will be the first the home team doesn’t advance to the knockout stages. They key to their squad is not the reliable Pienaar, but rather, and sadly, the referees. If the referees allow the home support to get to their head (think S. Korea) and the home country gets some vital calls go their way, they may advance out of this extremely tricky group. With a group this even, I forecast some 1-1 draws.
Advance- Uruguay, France??
Group B
This is another tricky group. With a coach like Maradona leading the headlines, what else would people expect. Argentina has more star forward options to choose from then LOST has storylines they never explained. This still pales in comparison to the number of different formations and players Maradona has used since he became manager two years ago. But what matters most is who he uses when the WC starts. Besides inexplicably not including Zanetti and Cambiasso in his squad, I believe he got his lineup correct. With underrated Jonas hugging the right touchline and using three center defenders, this allows freedom roles for Tevez and Messi, which is when they are at their best, and Higuan up top alone. With the best player in the champions league, Milito, and Aguero, able to come off the bench they should be unstoppable on offense. The key to their squad is whether the best player in the planet, Messi, can play like the best player in the planet. If he does, then good luck to everyone else. Nigeria has speed all over the pitch. If the coach is smart enough to keep old man Kanu on the bench and use the speed they possess up top in Martins, Obinna, and Odemwingie, combined w the poacher mentality of Yakubu, they will score goals. With a strong defense anchored by Yobo and Shittu, the real questions lie in their weak midfield. The midfield’s ability to protect their defense and create half chances for their speedy forwards will determine if they advance or not. The key player to watch is Fulham’s Etuhu, and whether he can control the center of the pitch will little to no help. South Korea work together as a team better then any squad in the tournament. Their endurance and able to pressure teams into errors makes them a hard team to beat. Their problem is their size, or lack of, which makes them extremely vulnerable to set piece goals. And while they have way more creativity in midfield then Nigeria or Greece, with JS Park on the left and CY Lee on the right, they lack firepower up front. The key player is their main striker is CY Park, who must put his chances away for S. Korea to advance. Greece pulled off the biggest sports surprise in my lifetime by winning Euro 2004. That is about all there is to say about Greece. They play a boring brand of football where not conceding is all that matters. The problem is that their defense isn’t as good as it was, and their only true offensive threat, Gekas, only recently scores on weak opposition. However, with underrated Karagounis picking up the creativity, they may cause a few surprises. He is the key to their squad, because without him on top form, their offense will create no sizzle.
advance - Nigeria, Argentina?
This World Cup is the hardest to predict for many reasons. The tournament is being held in Africa for the first time ever. Because Africa is in the southern hemisphere, the WC will be played during the winter time which will mean chilly conditions throughout. Additionally, no European squad has ever won the WC outside of Europe ever, and with most of the best squads European, this makes predicting the knockout rounds even trickier. With my WC predictions, I have thrown WC history and popularity of the players completely out of the window. What matters most is the form of the players on the squads, injuries, and that the tournament is being played in S. Africa.
Overrated- Germany, Italy, Brazil
Underrated- Chile, Serbia, S Korea
Group A
This is easily the toughest group to predict. The best squad on paper by far, France, has a clueless coach who uses zodiac signs to choose his squad and is unable to determine the shape he wants to play. One day it is a 4-2-3-1, another it’s a 4-3-3. The squad, while talented everywhere on the pitch, do not play together well as a unit and don’t seem to want to play for each other. The perfect example was the two legged playoff tie with Ireland, also known as the Henry hand ball game. What people seem to forget though, is that Ireland thoroughly outplayed them in the two games and it was actually Lloris’s goalkeeping that saved them from crashing out of the tie. The key to their squad is the form of Gallas, because if he is 100% and on form, their defense can be extremely difficult to score on. Uruguay comes in with a very aggressive style of play, and a different system teams are used to playing against. With a 3-5-2 formation, the wing backs play an important role pushing the tempo up field and tracking back defensively. With Suarez and Forlan up top, they do hold firepower up top and could beat any side in the world. With Forlan dropping back between the opposition’s midfield and defense, Suarez essentially plays up top by himself. This makes Suarez the key to the squad. If he takes his chances they will progress into the knockout stages, if not they wont. Mexico, like Uruguay, play an extremely unusual formation, a 3-4-3 if one had to call it, where their star defender, Marquez, plays CDM to block out supporting strikers such as Forlan. Mexico features a good mixture of young studs and intelligent veterans with a good amount of depth in every position. The question lies who is going to start, Guardado or Vela, on the left-wing? Personally, I would choose Guardado, due to his form throughout the year was far superior to Vela, but we will have to wait and see. They key to their squad lies in Dos Santos, the fiery and elusive right winger who one game can seem like one the best young players in the world, and another he looks like the player Barcelona so quickly got rid of. The worst squad in the group, South Africa, of course, has home field advantage. No home team has ever gotten knocked out in the first round. With only one star player, Pienaar, on their squad, most experts believe this year will be the first the home team doesn’t advance to the knockout stages. They key to their squad is not the reliable Pienaar, but rather, and sadly, the referees. If the referees allow the home support to get to their head (think S. Korea) and the home country gets some vital calls go their way, they may advance out of this extremely tricky group. With a group this even, I forecast some 1-1 draws.
Advance- Uruguay, France??
Group B
This is another tricky group. With a coach like Maradona leading the headlines, what else would people expect. Argentina has more star forward options to choose from then LOST has storylines they never explained. This still pales in comparison to the number of different formations and players Maradona has used since he became manager two years ago. But what matters most is who he uses when the WC starts. Besides inexplicably not including Zanetti and Cambiasso in his squad, I believe he got his lineup correct. With underrated Jonas hugging the right touchline and using three center defenders, this allows freedom roles for Tevez and Messi, which is when they are at their best, and Higuan up top alone. With the best player in the champions league, Milito, and Aguero, able to come off the bench they should be unstoppable on offense. The key to their squad is whether the best player in the planet, Messi, can play like the best player in the planet. If he does, then good luck to everyone else. Nigeria has speed all over the pitch. If the coach is smart enough to keep old man Kanu on the bench and use the speed they possess up top in Martins, Obinna, and Odemwingie, combined w the poacher mentality of Yakubu, they will score goals. With a strong defense anchored by Yobo and Shittu, the real questions lie in their weak midfield. The midfield’s ability to protect their defense and create half chances for their speedy forwards will determine if they advance or not. The key player to watch is Fulham’s Etuhu, and whether he can control the center of the pitch will little to no help. South Korea work together as a team better then any squad in the tournament. Their endurance and able to pressure teams into errors makes them a hard team to beat. Their problem is their size, or lack of, which makes them extremely vulnerable to set piece goals. And while they have way more creativity in midfield then Nigeria or Greece, with JS Park on the left and CY Lee on the right, they lack firepower up front. The key player is their main striker is CY Park, who must put his chances away for S. Korea to advance. Greece pulled off the biggest sports surprise in my lifetime by winning Euro 2004. That is about all there is to say about Greece. They play a boring brand of football where not conceding is all that matters. The problem is that their defense isn’t as good as it was, and their only true offensive threat, Gekas, only recently scores on weak opposition. However, with underrated Karagounis picking up the creativity, they may cause a few surprises. He is the key to their squad, because without him on top form, their offense will create no sizzle.
advance - Nigeria, Argentina?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
espn blog
they had some good stats over at espn about teams who lose their first game being in some trouble.
i was only half joking about blanco still being in the mexico side, i didnt realize that he still is.
anyway, tomorrow, im going to be busting my ass to get down to the pub by 4, i get off at 330.
in what might be the most open group for the taking, i'll be looking for a score draw in the first game, and for france to lay a 1-0 stinker to the uruguayans. domenech might be clinically insane, and all the ingredients look to be there for another disaster for the french this tournament just like in euro2008. and yet somehow i still want to root for them, just to silence their critics, their own critics...
i was only half joking about blanco still being in the mexico side, i didnt realize that he still is.
anyway, tomorrow, im going to be busting my ass to get down to the pub by 4, i get off at 330.
in what might be the most open group for the taking, i'll be looking for a score draw in the first game, and for france to lay a 1-0 stinker to the uruguayans. domenech might be clinically insane, and all the ingredients look to be there for another disaster for the french this tournament just like in euro2008. and yet somehow i still want to root for them, just to silence their critics, their own critics...
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
the 16 advancers
group a - uruguay, mexico
the french team is in shambles, they were lucky to qualify, they have their best striker watching at home, a mad scientist of a manager who somehow still has his job, what else could go wrong.
group b - argentina, south korea
i dont know, i think people tend to look past the asian teams, and not without reason, but the koreans are solid all around, it will be interesting to see if argentina has problems with anyone in this group, nigeria are decent, but i like the koreans to advance. and i'll give the greeks 1:1 odds of scoring. this tournament.
group c - england, usa
i keep saying write of slovenia at your own peril, but check out the highlights of algeria v egypt..yikes
group d - germany, ghana
i hope to god that it doesnt happen, but i get the feeling that germany might be poised to make a deep run into this thing again. ballack out, expectations are low, you know how it goes...
group e - holland, denmark
i'm just not impressed with cameroon at all, and japan are god-awful. probably the worst group.
group f - italy, paraguay
how is it that italy is under the radar? they're the f-ing holders. slovakia has as decent a chance as paraguay i guess, just less experience. actually, perhaps this is the worst group.
group g - brazil, portugal
the ivory coast might be the most overrated team on the east side of the mississippi. gervinho certainly has the highest hairline on that side of the equator. north korea could be just terrible, but they could steal a draw somewhere couldn't they?
group h - spain, switzerland
its tough to predict which one of the south american teams is going to do it, but you know someone's gonna make it to the quarters at least. it probably won't be chile though.
the french team is in shambles, they were lucky to qualify, they have their best striker watching at home, a mad scientist of a manager who somehow still has his job, what else could go wrong.
group b - argentina, south korea
i dont know, i think people tend to look past the asian teams, and not without reason, but the koreans are solid all around, it will be interesting to see if argentina has problems with anyone in this group, nigeria are decent, but i like the koreans to advance. and i'll give the greeks 1:1 odds of scoring. this tournament.
group c - england, usa
i keep saying write of slovenia at your own peril, but check out the highlights of algeria v egypt..yikes
group d - germany, ghana
i hope to god that it doesnt happen, but i get the feeling that germany might be poised to make a deep run into this thing again. ballack out, expectations are low, you know how it goes...
group e - holland, denmark
i'm just not impressed with cameroon at all, and japan are god-awful. probably the worst group.
group f - italy, paraguay
how is it that italy is under the radar? they're the f-ing holders. slovakia has as decent a chance as paraguay i guess, just less experience. actually, perhaps this is the worst group.
group g - brazil, portugal
the ivory coast might be the most overrated team on the east side of the mississippi. gervinho certainly has the highest hairline on that side of the equator. north korea could be just terrible, but they could steal a draw somewhere couldn't they?
group h - spain, switzerland
its tough to predict which one of the south american teams is going to do it, but you know someone's gonna make it to the quarters at least. it probably won't be chile though.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Group D Closeup
I thought it would be a good idea to look a little bit closer at Group D, seeing as that's the group we'll play in the knockout round in the case that we progress. This is the real group of death if you ask me, and we all know what the Germans are capable of, so I dont really want to talk about them. I'll say that the absence of Ballack might actually help them, although he is a good player, that's just not the kind of character I want strapping on my captain's armband. Sorry.
So let's start with the Ghanaians. I was really impressed with them in the cup of nations, and just recently in their friendly with the Dutch. Don't be fooled by that scoreline, nobody would stay with the Dutch right now. (let's just hope for their sake they aren't peaking too early like in Euro 2008). Ghana have a handy uncharacteristic ability that most African teams lack, they keep their shape, and are comfortable defending, something that goes a long way in tournaments. It has to be mentioned that they will be playing without their talisman Michael Essien, who is one of the best players in the world in his own right.
I actually like them to progress, home field advantage of sorts can't really hurt them.
Now, on to the Serbs, impeccable qualifying and shit show under the limelight last WC. I'm actually expecting a similar unfortunate showing. I don't care what the pundits say, this is the real group of death for me. And Serbia just lack that certain spunk, or whatever you want to call it to come out of this group for me. I know thats shit for analysis, but Marco Pantelic isn't getting the job done for me at the end of the day. Maybe if they get the Serbian Peter Crouch Zigic involved then they could get some results, but despite them being the chalk here to advance, I don't see it happening for them. I'd actually like to play them from an American perspective.
And finally the Aussies. Heartbreak last world cup, they were jobbed out of the tournament against the Italians in what was probably the most forgotten game of the tournament, overshadowed by Zidane's headbutt. The Italians really could/should have been out. But this time around, they'd be lucky to find themselves in the same position, and although I'm glad they're not in our group, I dont see them getting out of Group D either.
So let's start with the Ghanaians. I was really impressed with them in the cup of nations, and just recently in their friendly with the Dutch. Don't be fooled by that scoreline, nobody would stay with the Dutch right now. (let's just hope for their sake they aren't peaking too early like in Euro 2008). Ghana have a handy uncharacteristic ability that most African teams lack, they keep their shape, and are comfortable defending, something that goes a long way in tournaments. It has to be mentioned that they will be playing without their talisman Michael Essien, who is one of the best players in the world in his own right.
I actually like them to progress, home field advantage of sorts can't really hurt them.
Now, on to the Serbs, impeccable qualifying and shit show under the limelight last WC. I'm actually expecting a similar unfortunate showing. I don't care what the pundits say, this is the real group of death for me. And Serbia just lack that certain spunk, or whatever you want to call it to come out of this group for me. I know thats shit for analysis, but Marco Pantelic isn't getting the job done for me at the end of the day. Maybe if they get the Serbian Peter Crouch Zigic involved then they could get some results, but despite them being the chalk here to advance, I don't see it happening for them. I'd actually like to play them from an American perspective.
And finally the Aussies. Heartbreak last world cup, they were jobbed out of the tournament against the Italians in what was probably the most forgotten game of the tournament, overshadowed by Zidane's headbutt. The Italians really could/should have been out. But this time around, they'd be lucky to find themselves in the same position, and although I'm glad they're not in our group, I dont see them getting out of Group D either.
blood doping anyone?
with the recent floyd landis escapade coming out, and my lifelong fascination with blood doping, i thought i could connect them with the world cup via the one big issue that nobody's talking about. No, not the jubilani. Even Skip Bayless is throwing in his two cents on the ball. (which I can't see how it can be worse than the 2006 ball, the most badass ball i've ever touched & or played with).
No, lets talk about the altitude. I've got a Scottish colleague who's been telling me for literally months now that England won't be able to handle the altitude. The Washington Post did a good article on some of the teams preparations, and it could be a real issue. There isn't that much time to recover from games, especially in the group stage, so we'll see how good of shape Cuathemoc Blanco is really in. (oh, he's not still Mexcio's best player?)
I always have to chuckle at professionals who start to cramp up, because they are too stupid to keep themselves hydrated. I'm sure somebody will be feeling a little tight in the 80th minute in some match. Anyway, just a little something to keep an eye on.
No, lets talk about the altitude. I've got a Scottish colleague who's been telling me for literally months now that England won't be able to handle the altitude. The Washington Post did a good article on some of the teams preparations, and it could be a real issue. There isn't that much time to recover from games, especially in the group stage, so we'll see how good of shape Cuathemoc Blanco is really in. (oh, he's not still Mexcio's best player?)
I always have to chuckle at professionals who start to cramp up, because they are too stupid to keep themselves hydrated. I'm sure somebody will be feeling a little tight in the 80th minute in some match. Anyway, just a little something to keep an eye on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)