Soccer World Cup -06

[Chill79]

So who will win??

I'll be betting for Brazil  ...

[freakish777]

I will be cheering for Germany.

I had been making plans to go to see some of the German games this summer (as a graduation gift) but something came up.

[Shock Wave]

Germany will probably go far, seeing as how soccer is almost a total sham. There's far too much money involved in the World Cup in order for it NOT to be corrupt. Based on skill, Brazil should take this one home again.

I love the game of soccer, but with every game I watch, with every World Cup that passes, the corruption becomes increasingly evident and I can't help but feel like a sucker when I watch the games.

[49 Cents]

Now why isn't The Netherlands an option is this poll? We have a good team, and we make serious change. Waaaaay more than Germany, for one case

[Ged]

Croatia is missing from the poll too, however you'll change your mind after the first game when we humiliate Brazil.

True, The Netherlands are one of the favorites, if they manage to overcome their group which is savage. That's the strongest group and there's a possibility that one of the favorites (Arg, Holland) won't go through. Also, there will be one surprise team in quarter/semifinals (think something like Croatia in '98, S. Korea in 2002, or Greece in European cup), and there's always at least one African team that will shine.
Germany is rather weak, but considering what Shock Wave said (playing at home & money) and that they are always better as tournament progresses, they could go far. However, I don't see them on top.

[TheAlpha]

We (the Netherlands) won't make it that far I guess... We always suck at the actual tournaments. I think the proper question is: who is going to beat Brasil? The only fair answer would be Italy imo. Other teams are just too bad and can only beat Brasil if Brasil itself plays awful. So, my money is on Brasil, if they don't win Italy will.

But hey, strange things can happen eh? Look at the European 2004 Championships were Greece won, go random crap teams!!!

[arj]

Well you have to give the coach a lot more credit than you do. Greece might have been a crappy team but their coach was a champ.

I'm predicting Germany will not do very well, they have been strugling lately. I voted for england on the other hand, but it could just as well have been brazil.

[ChemEng]

I have no idea what you guys are talking about...

[sampling_percus]

sort out the Gerrard/Lampard thing and England will be near unstoppable.

[Chill79]

Netherland put up on the poll at request  :lol:

[monSt4r]

Croatia is missing from the poll too, however you'll change your mind after the first game when we humiliate Brazil.

True, The Netherlands are one of the favorites, if they manage to overcome their group which is savage. That's the strongest group and there's a possibility that one of the favorites (Arg, Holland) won't go through. Also, there will be one surprise team in quarter/semifinals (think something like Croatia in '98, S. Korea in 2002, or Greece in European cup), and there's always at least one African team that will shine.
Germany is rather weak, but considering what Shock Wave said (playing at home & money) and that they are always better as tournament progresses, they could go far. However, I don't see them on top.

There are 3 ways to look at it :
Croatia will win (patriotic feeling inside)
Ivory Coast (I don't know if it is correctly spelled on english...but they are n0.1 African country and very strong indeed...arsenal's deffense + chelsea's att aint bad)
Netherlands (from all the favourites this one takes my place FTW)

Maybe England shines again...this world cup would be very hard to predict...i voted england cause i missed the netherland thingie

[Harkius]

C'mon...it's soccer. You absolutely must vote for a Hispanic country if you want to stand a chance. So, it's going to be Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Brazil, or maybe Texas.  :lol:

Harkius

[Nazdakka]

sort out the Gerrard/Lampard thing and England will be near unstoppable.

But we haven't got Rooney until the last 16 at the earliest, Beckham is out of form and Owen is only just coming back from a season-long injury. Gerrard is our form player at the moment (he pretty much won the FA Cup final single-handed), but he's all we really have right now in terms of special players. I predict England will make it to the quarter- or semi-finals, but no further.

From the other European teams, the Italians seem like the stand-out team, so long as they can get over the corruption scandal. The Germans have home advantage, but they don't really have any name players. The Spanish, French and Dutch also probably all have decent chances while the Brazilians are the clear favorites.

[Whatever Works]

The United States is the #3 ranked team in the world, and they dont even get to be part of the pull??? I am rooting for Germany, but come on! They at least deserve to be part of the pull...

Regardless... Its Brazil's world Cup to lose since they have by far the best team in the world cup... However, you never know what can happen when you have a bunch of frenchmen and italians running around kicking a little ball... Good thing for France courage isnt a requirment for soccer...

[Chill79]

The United States is the #3 ranked team in the world, and they don't even get to be part of the pull???

From FIFA's Ranking:
1    Brazil   
2    Czech Republic
3    Netherlands
4    Mexico
5    USA
5    Spain
7    Portugal
8    France
9    Argentina
10    England

Czech's are ranked at second and i did't take them in poll becouse they are not going to win the cup ...

[Shock Wave]

The United States is the #3 ranked team in the world, and they dont even get to be part of the pull??? I am rooting for Germany, but come on! They at least deserve to be part of the pull...

Regardless... Its Brazil's world Cup to lose since they have by far the best team in the world cup... However, you never know what can happen when you have a bunch of frenchmen and italians running around kicking a little ball... Good thing for France courage isnt a requirment for soccer...

The US will lose to any European or South American superpower. How they achieved such a high ranking is mind boggling to soccer fans, seeing as how they've hardly any wins against credible opponents. I wouldn't look to the FIFA rankings for an indication of who the top teams are, for they are very misleading.

[Whatever Works]

Your right. The rankings are very misleading, but I thought there might be a LITTLE bit of love for the home country of the majority of TMD members?

[Shock Wave]

Your right. The rankings are very misleading, but I thought there might be a LITTLE bit of love for the home country of the majority of TMD members?

Well, not surprisingly, it seems as though very few TMD members are soccer fans. Soccer doesn't get very much love in the US.

[Cross]

USA! USA!

[Moxlotus]

Where's the "I'm an American...I don't care" option?

Anyways, I suspect Brazil because that's what my soccer playing roommate told me.

[freakish777]

The Germans have home advantage, but they don't really have any name players.

That's only because Kahn is getting old...  ::sighs::

Anyways, the US will not win a World Cup in my lifetime (Mens Soccer), they suck at soccer.

[MoxMonkey]

Brazil will win. 

[monSt4r]

come on! They at least deserve to be part of the pull...

No, they don't deserve it

@freakish777 : kahn ? I don't think he is a half good golman as lehman is now...

[BigMac]

Here is my analisys.

The Brazilians will not win because in history only once a team that was of another continent won, so a European team will win.

The Germans will not win because their team is sheer crap, the Germanss themselves don't even believe they will win. They will however survive the groupstage as they have the worst group ever.

The Italians are favorites. They will not win it because their team historically do not play attacking, and they only need to have 1 goalless draw to go out with penalties.

The French will not win because they are a team of hasbeens. The only player that really stands out anymore is Henry, and a striker can make goals only if his team provides him with chances and that will not happen.

The Czecks are a very good team but lack experience. As are the Croats.

The Argentinian players are good but they will be missing some keyplayers due to injuries as far as i know. If they survive the groupstage they will get far though.

The English have a very dangerous team but i think the loss of Rooney will proove to great for them to handle.

That leaves the Dutch. If they survive the groupstage (which i really think) they will take it all the way.

GO HOLLAND GO, DON'T LEAVE THE LION IN ITS UNDERWEAR, GO HOLLAND GO

AANVALLUH (ATTACK)

[monSt4r]

Here is my analisys.

The Brazilians will not win because in history only once a team that was of another continent won, so a European team will win.

The Germans will not win because their team is sheer crap, the Germanss themselves don't even believe they will win. They will however survive the groupstage as they have the worst group ever.

The Italians are favorites. They will not win it because their team historically do not play attacking, and they only need to have 1 goalless draw to go out with penalties.

The French will not win because they are a team of hasbeens. The only player that really stands out anymore is Henry, and a striker can make goals only if his team provides him with chances and that will not happen.

The Czecks are a very good team but lack experience. As are the Croats.

The Argentinian players are good but they will be missing some keyplayers due to injuries as far as i know. If they survive the groupstage they will get far though.

The English have a very dangerous team but i think the loss of Rooney will proove to great for them to handle.

That leaves the Dutch. If they survive the groupstage (which i really think) they will take it all the way.

GO HOLLAND GO, DON'T LEAVE THE LION IN ITS UNDERWEAR, GO HOLLAND GO

AANVALLUH (ATTACK)

That's a really nice analysis...and you mentioned Croats gosu
Yeah, it would be really nice to see dutch as number one...they make the best decks 2, so why not let them win in this ^^

Btw, drain+ritual FTW

[Dozer]

I disagree on Brazil. Brazil will be in the finals of this World Cup and by rights take the trophy. Ronaldo and Ronaldinho alone can take out any minor team in the field, like Angola or Ecuador. The Brazilians have been -- once again -- showing magic football, and this Cup won't be any different. No team has as much individual talent and as much fun on the field as the Selecao do.

Concerning the group round, here's my rough prediction:
A -- Germany (if they thrive on the atmosphere and are not hurt by injuries), Costa Rica
B -- England (despite Rooney missing, and if they are lucky with injuries), probably Sweden
C -- Netherlands, Argentina and the Ivory Coast are all candidates. Looking at the Confed Cup 2005, Argentina should make it and Holland and Coté d' Ivore have to battle it out. I'm not as sold on Oranje as BigMac is... but we'll see.
D -- totally unsure. I don't know if the Portugese recovered properly from the last Euros, and Angola could prove to be the surprise team here.
E -- Italy for sure, and I'd go for the Czechs over the US.
F -- Brazil sweeps, but the other three are all potentials to advance. If the socceroos apply some rugby skills, they'll make it. Plus, big sympathy bonus for these guys.
E -- France, I guess, out of tradition, and Korea. Those guys are in an up-surge right now. France might stumble in this group, because it's unclear if they have recovered enough after the 2002 debacle.
H -- No idea. The "joker" group.

Germany's biggest problem is the lack of real quality players. There's the two goalies Lehmann and Kahn, the Schweinsteiger/ Podolski duo has shown what they are capable of during the Confed Cup 2002, and there's Ballack. The home advantage might carry this team into the quarters, maybe even the semis or the finals. The team is not very deep, though. A critical player injured might stop the whole flow that the German team is currently trying to build up in their training camp. Only 11 days to go!

[BigMac]

Quote from Dozer

C -- Netherlands, Argentina and the Ivory Coast are all candidates. Looking at the Confed Cup 2005, Argentina should make it and Holland and Coté d' Ivore have to battle it out. I'm not as sold on Oranje as BigMac is... but we'll see.

As i said, when the Dutch survive the group the make a great chance. Remember that during the competition leading up to the WC Holland only had three goals against in the whole campaign. And our ddefenseis considered the worst line of the team.

About the German team. It is hard to say where they stand right now. I know the Germans always compete well but the games leading up to the WC (all friendly except the confederations cup) were tearbringing mostly. The biggest lack the German team has is the possibilities to make goals. Their forwards are probably the worst of the whole tournament except for perhaps trinidad and Tobago.

About BBrazil i agree that that team has the biggest stars and the best players around. The biggest question is if they are a team. In the end stardom will not always mean good teamplay or dealing with the pressure well. I do however rrecognizethat the individual quality of some players very well can decide a few games, but not the whole championship. As for minor fields, not to many teams nowadays are considered small countries. BBrazilhas one of the easiest groups there is and will not have had to play up to their full potential uuntilthat time. This could be an advantage but also a disadvantage. An advantage as their games perhaps take less energy. A disadvantage as they may not have had a real game and this could work against them. If a player can decide a game alone, this is not good for teambuilding as players tend to get selfish. (Ronaldinho perhaps is an exception to this rule though)

My prediction for the final btw is BBrazilagainst Holland.

[CrashTest]

BigMac, stardom may not mean good teamplay, but often it is enough to make a difference. Brazil will almost definitely be in the finals, and most likely win barring any upsets. They have the best team out there, and have a strong track record.

[chrissss]

go brazil!!!

my country lost against them 4 years ago, so they must win.

[UR]

GO HOLLAND GO, DON'T LEAVE THE LION IN ITS UNDERWEAR, GO HOLLAND GO

QFT, GO LIONUNDERWEARO!!! MAUW!!!

Edit; Ofcourse you all understand that this was to show the effect this tournament has on a society that derives it's identity from consuming products...