World Cup Draw
 

Discussion.

Would have been pretty rediculous if USA was a No. 1 seed

For those of us watching in the USA, I liked DeMarcus Beasley. He didn't give the bullshit responses. Instead of "no limits", he said "if we don't get to the quarterfinals we will be upset" and he admitted that he doesn't want to face certain teams (Germany, Brazil, etc) in the first round. It's nice to see realistic views on US soccer once in a while.

It's hard to tell how good the US really are outside of actual World Cups. They seem to have a good track record qualifying in recent years though.

WORLD CUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

Both Eric Wynalda and Marcelo Balboa agreed on the following:
Brazil: Contender
Germany: Pretender
England: Contender
France: Pretender
USA: Contender :|

LOL @ Baggio

Baggio!

They're gonna play with thier balls together

I just don't want to play the Czechs

As long as the Czechs get a good draw, I don't care what happens

Come on Mexico, Angola and Trinidad

HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Roger Milla, christ, he was like one of the first footballers I remember

Lol at Coby Jones, he goes right along with Pele.

oh god.

Ivory Coast/Argentina

That is an impressive set

Pssh, Mexico gets Angola, come on

phewww

The Aussies get the Brazilians

Hey Hey

LOL AUSSIES

For some reason I've got a feeling we get a really hard draw

Germany/Poland :cool:

"They met in 74"

And......39 :shifty:

Who is the other guy with dreads, next to Coby?

Sweden again

HAHAHAHAHA

Argentina vs Holland

What a fucking game

Maybe I do care, some of these games are a bit tasty

Whats the word on the Ivory Coast? Are they supposed to be good? If so, C looks like the tough group right now

shit, I wanted the rematch with Portugal

Italy and Czech Republic!

Italy/Czechs :y:

I didn't!

Hurry US, I need to go!

Well in 1990 Argentina got beaten by Cameroon in their first appearance in the tournament, and Ivory Coast are similar to how Cameroon were then. They've got Drogba and Toure, and aren't bad at all.

FUCK the Czechs got Italy and the cunt's side

only cause I have friends from Portugal.

I'm calling Togo in the second round right now

well here it is

phewwww

didn't want Germany again

Damnit hurry!

Italy, Ghana, Czech Republic then? Fuck

Well shit

HOLY FUCK. NOOOO.

Shit, thats the group of death

Ghana, Italy, Czech Republic and USA

WTF

So my family is from Czech. In NY where I'm from, everyone is Italian and the US is playing both. wow

Group A

Germany
Costa Rica
Poland
Ecuador

Group B

England
Paraguay
Trinidad & Tobago
Sweden

Group C

Argentina
Ivory Coast
Serbia & Montenegro
Holland

Group D

Mexico
Iran
Angola
Portugal

Group E

Italy
Ghana
USA
Czech Republic

Group F

Brazil
Croatia
Australia
Japan

Group G

France
Switzerland
South Korea
Togo

Group H

Spain
Ukraine
Tunisia
Saudi Arabia

Christian Karembeu, ex-France international. Married to Adriana Sklenarikova, fyi.

There is going to be some serious shit going down in Australia when they play Croatia. My God.

C is definitely the Group of Death. E comes close though. F should be a lot of fun to watch - Australia actually have a half-decent chance of qualifying, I'd say :eek: Germany and France got ridiculously easy draws - makes a conspiracy theory I read that the draw would be taped until they both got easy groups then broadcast as live seems a little less far-fetched :shifty:

*Books tickets for Angola - Iran* :cool:

Some real tasty games

Thank fuck the Italians are playing the Czech's last, if the Czechs beat the Yanks, the should be fine

HERE WE GO HERE WE GO HERE WE GOOOOO
HERE WE GO HERE WE GO HERE WE GOOOOO
HERE WE GO HERE WE GO HERE WE GOO-O
HERE WE GO-O
HERE WE GO
[/blind optimism]

I could have dealt with France's group :'(. Maybe they went easy on them so you know, they could score a goal this time round.

But come on, a rare chance to play Brazil, this is the best thing ever for the sport in Australia. And plus, we have the chance to pull a Senegal, and even if we get crushed 5-0 there was never any expectations on us anyway so it's all good :D

That being said, I would have really rathered the yanks to the nips, just so we could shove Bruce Arena's words right up his arse. I saw him on ESPN last night 'clarifying' what he said, ie completely contradicting himself.

The list I posted above IS in game order now. 1 plays 2 and 3 plays 4, then 1 plays 3 and 2 plays 4, then 1 plays 4 and 2 plays 3.

Also, :shudder: at the thought of Australia v Croatia. There are Croatians EVERYWHERE in this country.

I might end up pulling for Croatia in that game just so we don't see a fucking riot. But then again, there's a riot whenever Croatians get together so it really doesn't matter :D

What did Bruce Arena say

Arena, whose team has achieved a FIFA world ranking of eight due largely to a system widely regarded as flawed, told Sports Illustrated's website: "The last time around [in the World Cup], the easy games were China and Saudi Arabia. This time around you'd probably say Australia and Trinidad & Tobago are the weak ones."
Arena seemed to grudgingly concede Australia and Trinidad & Tobago had some claims to being there, adding: "But Australia has basically all of its players in Europe, and Trinidad have a guy [in Yorke] who was arguably the top striker in soccer."

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world-cup...829597323.html

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Kid Robb texted me the group just before...Croatia Brazil and Japan WE ARE FUCKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

Honestly, someone handicap USA & Italy's chances for me.

*I used to crap all over soccer for a long time, even though I played when I was a kid. Now after going to see AC Milan play here in Chicago this past summer & checking out the Fox Soccer Channel (along with a bunch of games in the Italian Leagues on an Italian sports station that I pick up on cable), I'm really looking forward to watching the World Cup next year.

I've changed my ways.

Bring it Ecuador

Mexico has a pretty easy group :cool:

So how do the 2nd round games get determined? Is it 2a-1b and 2b-1a and so on? Just to see who Brazil will beat up on this year.

Italy should make the last 8 at least. USA will be lucky to get out of their group.

I've got a Czech vs Brazil final down

Argentina vs Holland 3rd/4th place

Czechs and Brazil can't play in the final

-edit- nm they can, just about. Don't see it happening though.

Well, I've got the Czechs down to win that group on Goal Difference, which should give them whoever finishes second in Brazil's group, which is gonna be Australia or Japan, and then they'll probably have to play France, who they could beat, and then either England or Holland in the Semis, who they could also beat

Its a possibility, just like any of the other top nations

Rooney odds look allright maybe

I was hoping the U.S would do a another good appearance. Tough group though, even if they barely make it as the 2, they will get trashed by Brazil anyhow.

The yanks should be gutted with the group, the only hope they've got is that Italy cock things up as they do every other tournament (which means they'll probably be good this time) or if Cunt Face does his usual fair of trying to break players legs in the Ghana games, he'll probably try and snap Nedved's leg in 2 at some point.

I think you guys are forgetting that Marcelo Balboa thinks the US will contend for the championship.

Yeah, the same way England will contend for the championship, aka making the quarter finals then crashing out with a gutting 2-1 defeat.

i sure hope england win the world cup championship

I sure hope they don't.

Why, do you keep that trophy even when you lose, just like the Ashes?

When does Clemens pitch?

Wrong world cup, shital pertruder.

Ok....

Will there be flares involved?

Croatia's gonna be there.

so yeah

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/2...tled5di.th.png

:$

MY frenchmen are gonna stomp their group

Going to put a bet on Iran getting to the second round. Not being stupid but all 3 sides are beatable.

Mexico - depends on which side comes out to play
Portugal - same as above but the sides getting old
Angola - Already beat them in a friendly

Alot of our main players play in the German Bundesliga

Mehdi Mahdavikia is a regular for Hamburg
Ali Karimi is one of Bayern Munich's main players
Vahid Hashemian is a former top scorer in the Bundesliga and is now a regular at Hannover
Zandi is a regular at Kaiserlauten
Ali Daei is a former Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin player

Playing in Germany is a second home for the Iranian National side. Seriously watch them cause an upset.

Angola 4, Iran 0

I'm sure Italy and the Czechs are shitting themselves just as much as we are. Not to sound like an American, but no one wanted the US in their pool.

The Czechs are gonna go through from that group

The truth is, the Americans have a good side, but not a truly world class one, it'll struggle against the Czechs because they have a world class team, they may only have a few great players, but I strongly believe that they work better together than any other team in the world. As for the Italians, it just depends which side turns up, if its the Italians who have a strong defence and powerful/skillful strikers, then the US has no chance.

For some reason I have a feeling that the Czechs will be the dissapointment this year.

But in the big picture, the only group that would have been "easy" for the US to get out of is the one with Mexico as the No. 1 seed, but that couldn't happen anyway. It's an uphill battle no matter what.

I personally think the Czechs are gonna be right up there challenging for it, they rise to the big occasions and haven't been in the World Cup since the split, they have the advantage of playing Italy last as well.

If England doesn't win at least one of their matches 5-0 they shouldn't be allowed to advance.

Paraguay wont be a walkover, but if Scotland can dick Trinidad, then England should be able to beat them heavily

England shouldn't be allowed in the tournament anyway, just for being a bunch of overpaid wankers

Czech Republic and Italy will do well simply because they have great goalkeepers. Great goalkeepers always help a team go a long way in World Cups. In the last one, Kahn basically got Germany to the final on his own, and in his one bad game (the final) they ended up losing.

yea, Kahn was the man in that WC. Sports guys here are hyping Brazils goalkeeper. Not sure how good he is.

But The Czechs will go very far if they can keep there top guys healthy. I know Koller has been out with a serious injury, but he should be back by the Cup. Dunno if in full form. Like mentioned before they have great team chemistry and work well together. And if Baros explodes again like in the Euro, they will be tough.

Dida is a good keeper. He used to be a bit rubbish, but he's improved a lot over the years at Milan.

Brazil's team is probably the most talented international side in years.

I don't know if an Italy vs. Brazil final is possible, but that's what I'd go for, by the way.

Italy are tournament performers and they're due a big one. Their defence and goalkeeper are excellent, and they've unearthed a couple of good goalscorers in Gilardino and Luca Toni. Pirlo, Gattuso and Totti in midfield is a frightening combination, too, if Totti can keep his head.

Totti rocks. I'll probably catch some games in Ottawa's Little Italy with friends which is always a blast. Looks like France got a good draw. England should win their group.

Totti is an arsehole. Never does it for Italy.

I can't stand Totti. I like Vieri the best, but is he still even with the team? I know Del Piero was left off.

He's a talented arsehole, but didn't live up to the hype in 2002. The Italians sure love him though.

Vieri is my guy. There is no way he can't be on the team.

Hopefully the Italians will open it up this year. Their defensive style in 2002 was their downfall in my opinion.

Vieri won't be in the side if he continues being absolutely horrible for Milan. He's past it.

The Italians call Totti "Bimbo" because he is famously stupid.

Still cannot believe England got such an easy group. Ah well can't wait till they screw up.