World Cup Time!!! (Vol. XIII)
"I haven't felt this good since Archie Gemmill scored against Holland in 1978!"
It's almost World Cup time, and with the biggest sporting event in the world coming up, here's my picks:
Group A (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany, Poland): Until this weekend, I had a good feeling this would be all Germany, with Costa Rica second. Poland's most recent result, a weekend win over the Croats, during which they utilized a new, 4-5-1 formation was impressive, and I'm starting to think playing close to home will be a big factor. Ditto for the actual home side. Ticos fall short, and Ecuador can't win at elevations below a mile....
GERMANY 1, POLAND 2, COSTA RICA 3, ECUADOR 4
Group B (England, Paraguay, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago): No country has the kind of pressure on them that England does, and certainly no German crowd will be pro-Poms. That said, I love the talent they have, I can't see Paraguay being the team they have been in years past, but the Swedes are still solid. I like Sweden to at least draw with Sven. On the whole, my European bias will continue, although there's no doubt I'm cheering for the Soca Warriors....
SWEDEN 1, ENGLAND 2, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 3, PARAGUAY 4
Group C (Argentina, Côte D'Ivoire, Holland, Serbia & Montenegro): Wow, to think this will be the last time a united Serbia & Montenegro play together... seriously, this is such a dangerous group, and a worthy team is going to miss out. I love the Argentine talent, Holland is banged up (partly due to the 'Roos in the weekend's 1-1 draw), Serbia is a good team with no stars, and the Ivory Coast is the most talented African team in the tourney. That said, I like Premiership-hardened Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure and the rest of the Elephants to advance....
ARGENTINA 1, CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2, HOLLAND T-3, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO T-3
Group D (Angola, Iran, Mexico, Portugal): Portugal will be back with a vengance after '02's disappointment. Mexico figures to have a let-down as per usual in Europe. This is the swan song for Ali Daei, the top international goalscorer in history with 103 to his count. The Iranians come with more European experience than ever (many players in the Bundesliga), and it will show. Angola is a basketball country, sorry...
PORTUGAL 1, IRAN T-2 (advances), MEXICO T-2, ANGOLA 4
Group E (Czech Republic, Ghana, Italy, United States): The USA has never played two solid World Cups in a row, they've never won or drawn a game on European soil, and Bruce Arena isn't as smart as he thinks he is. Who am I to make waves? Italy is loaded and finally playing attack-oriented soccer (Luca, Luca, LUCA TONI!). The Czechs have qualified for the first time since they were tethered to the Slovaks for all those years, and Jan Koller, Petr Cech, et al. will look to hang around a while. Ghana is also a quality side, bringing young talent like Chelsea's Michael Essien to join the core of their U-23 championship teams in the '90s. Sorry Yanks...
ITALY 1, CZECH REPUBLIC 2, GHANA 3, UNITED STATES 4
Group F (Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Japan): As much as I'd love to be totally biased toward the homeland, I can't see Brazil losing--of course, that's what makes the World Cup great, they could play a draw in the knockout rounds, lose on penalties and be headed home. For the group phase, they win. Japan is "in shambles" according to Hidetoshi Nakata, meaning we come down to the 'Roos and the Croats. Australia 1, Holland 1 and qualifying over Uruguay vs. Croatia 0, Poland 1 and Croatia 2, Iran 2. Because I refuse to be unbiased, and this is Australia's last chance to represent Oceania... ok, who cares about that....
BRAZIL T-1 (wins group), AUSTRALIA T-1, CROATIA T-3, JAPAN T-3
Group G (France, South Korea, Switzerland, Togo): If not for the Soca Warriors, Togo might be the feel-good story of '06. They won't be feeling as good once the Koreans get a hold of them, followed by Les Bleus and Les Neutrales. The Hawks don't figure in, and this is a last hurrah for France's golden generation of Zidane, Barthez and Desailly (Where have you gone Stéphane Guivarc'h?). I like the Koreans to break up my Euro-friendly party, not sure why, but I think they pip the Swiss to the knockout phase.... finishing alphabetically...
FRANCE 1, SOUTH KOREA 2, SWITZERLAND 3, TOGO 4
Group H (Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, Ukraine): Signs point to Spain winning... frightening from the most notorious choke-artists in World Cup history. The choke comes later... and Andriy Shevchenko leads Ukraine in what will be a very tight group. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia are World Cup vets, and will perform up to their talents... but those talents are limited, and three 1-2 teams seems possible. I'm going with the first-timers, despite their injury worries.
SPAIN 1, UKRAINE T-2 (advances), TUNISIA T-2, SAUDI ARABIA T-2
So there you have it... my picks for the World Cup group stages. That's all for now, enjoy Ricky Martin (hopefully singing France '98 theme "The Cup of Life"). More World Cup stuff to follow....
It's almost World Cup time, and with the biggest sporting event in the world coming up, here's my picks:
Group A (Costa Rica, Ecuador, Germany, Poland): Until this weekend, I had a good feeling this would be all Germany, with Costa Rica second. Poland's most recent result, a weekend win over the Croats, during which they utilized a new, 4-5-1 formation was impressive, and I'm starting to think playing close to home will be a big factor. Ditto for the actual home side. Ticos fall short, and Ecuador can't win at elevations below a mile....
GERMANY 1, POLAND 2, COSTA RICA 3, ECUADOR 4
Group B (England, Paraguay, Sweden, Trinidad & Tobago): No country has the kind of pressure on them that England does, and certainly no German crowd will be pro-Poms. That said, I love the talent they have, I can't see Paraguay being the team they have been in years past, but the Swedes are still solid. I like Sweden to at least draw with Sven. On the whole, my European bias will continue, although there's no doubt I'm cheering for the Soca Warriors....
SWEDEN 1, ENGLAND 2, TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 3, PARAGUAY 4
Group C (Argentina, Côte D'Ivoire, Holland, Serbia & Montenegro): Wow, to think this will be the last time a united Serbia & Montenegro play together... seriously, this is such a dangerous group, and a worthy team is going to miss out. I love the Argentine talent, Holland is banged up (partly due to the 'Roos in the weekend's 1-1 draw), Serbia is a good team with no stars, and the Ivory Coast is the most talented African team in the tourney. That said, I like Premiership-hardened Didier Drogba, Kolo Toure and the rest of the Elephants to advance....
ARGENTINA 1, CÔTE D'IVOIRE 2, HOLLAND T-3, SERBIA & MONTENEGRO T-3
Group D (Angola, Iran, Mexico, Portugal): Portugal will be back with a vengance after '02's disappointment. Mexico figures to have a let-down as per usual in Europe. This is the swan song for Ali Daei, the top international goalscorer in history with 103 to his count. The Iranians come with more European experience than ever (many players in the Bundesliga), and it will show. Angola is a basketball country, sorry...
PORTUGAL 1, IRAN T-2 (advances), MEXICO T-2, ANGOLA 4
Group E (Czech Republic, Ghana, Italy, United States): The USA has never played two solid World Cups in a row, they've never won or drawn a game on European soil, and Bruce Arena isn't as smart as he thinks he is. Who am I to make waves? Italy is loaded and finally playing attack-oriented soccer (Luca, Luca, LUCA TONI!). The Czechs have qualified for the first time since they were tethered to the Slovaks for all those years, and Jan Koller, Petr Cech, et al. will look to hang around a while. Ghana is also a quality side, bringing young talent like Chelsea's Michael Essien to join the core of their U-23 championship teams in the '90s. Sorry Yanks...
ITALY 1, CZECH REPUBLIC 2, GHANA 3, UNITED STATES 4
Group F (Australia, Brazil, Croatia, Japan): As much as I'd love to be totally biased toward the homeland, I can't see Brazil losing--of course, that's what makes the World Cup great, they could play a draw in the knockout rounds, lose on penalties and be headed home. For the group phase, they win. Japan is "in shambles" according to Hidetoshi Nakata, meaning we come down to the 'Roos and the Croats. Australia 1, Holland 1 and qualifying over Uruguay vs. Croatia 0, Poland 1 and Croatia 2, Iran 2. Because I refuse to be unbiased, and this is Australia's last chance to represent Oceania... ok, who cares about that....
BRAZIL T-1 (wins group), AUSTRALIA T-1, CROATIA T-3, JAPAN T-3
Group G (France, South Korea, Switzerland, Togo): If not for the Soca Warriors, Togo might be the feel-good story of '06. They won't be feeling as good once the Koreans get a hold of them, followed by Les Bleus and Les Neutrales. The Hawks don't figure in, and this is a last hurrah for France's golden generation of Zidane, Barthez and Desailly (Where have you gone Stéphane Guivarc'h?). I like the Koreans to break up my Euro-friendly party, not sure why, but I think they pip the Swiss to the knockout phase.... finishing alphabetically...
FRANCE 1, SOUTH KOREA 2, SWITZERLAND 3, TOGO 4
Group H (Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, Ukraine): Signs point to Spain winning... frightening from the most notorious choke-artists in World Cup history. The choke comes later... and Andriy Shevchenko leads Ukraine in what will be a very tight group. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia are World Cup vets, and will perform up to their talents... but those talents are limited, and three 1-2 teams seems possible. I'm going with the first-timers, despite their injury worries.
SPAIN 1, UKRAINE T-2 (advances), TUNISIA T-2, SAUDI ARABIA T-2
So there you have it... my picks for the World Cup group stages. That's all for now, enjoy Ricky Martin (hopefully singing France '98 theme "The Cup of Life"). More World Cup stuff to follow....
posted by Grubba | 10:34 PM
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