South Africa 2010

Argentina's weakest area is definitely at the back, but they've still got some quality defenders. I've always liked watching Walter Samuel play, so I hope his hamstring injury isn't too serious. They'll definitely need his strength and experience in later rounds.

As for the England game tomorrow, I really hope Capello isn't going to be starting Gerrard on the left. I know he's versatile and all that but he's always best as a central midfielder; he showed that against USA. If he really has to play Gareth Barry, then I'd drop Lampard or maybe Heskey and play Gerrard just off Rooney.
 
I'm still not convinced with Argentina's defence, and would be interesting to see whether Samuel recovers in time for the knockout rounds. And Jonas seriously needs to tell Maradona himself that he can't play right-back. Obasi and Lee have already embarrassed him enough and they're not exactly world-class wingers.

EDIT: I seem to have repeated exactly what The Doc said.
 
I can't see England messing up tomorrow, Algeria seem to be in disarray the last few months and they're not the same team who pipped Egypt to qualification. Germany v Serbia looks the pick of tomorrow's games, can Germany deliver another good performance?
 
I see Serbia posing more of a defensive challenge for Germany what with Vidic and Ivanovic prowling around that back line though. In the end, I think Germany take it 2-0. :hmmm:
 
Germany will do just as well before, though I hope they got all of the diving out of their system. Really, that was childish. Why would you dive when you're well enough in the lead?
 
Kelranox said:
Why would you dive when you're well enough in the lead?
Click to expand...

It's soccer.

I'm really not overlooking Slovenia. U.S. is rarely in the position of being the favorite, and it'll be interesting to see how the boys respond. I'm gonna go out on a relatively stable limb and say 2-0 U.S. I expect Germany to manage against Serbia, though they won't go in the tank like Australia did. 2-0 sounds about right to me. I'd be surprised if England has any sort of trouble against Algeria, but you never know. I'll say 3-0 England there.
 
Mexico beating france was sexy. I was surprised though. After theyre past performance i really thought the french would get it together but they jsut didnt seem to give a shit. Now the chances of them qualifying are almost zero. Well done to mexico, they derved it.
Argentina were fantastic today, depsite their goals being a bit on the iffy side they really were fantastic. Messi is just too good.
 
I just don't see a way for France now. First there'll have to be a winner in the Mexico vs. Uruguay game. Then France will have to absolutely destroy South Africa to fix their goal differential problems. South Africa is basically playing for pride. There's no way they'd go down that badly to France in their last game.
 
France are a prime example of what I meant when I said some teams don't seem to care. OK, maybe "not care" but certainly lack the passion and fire to play well. France have some top players but they were so average today and it just goes to show that you need the will to play well... not just technical ability.
That's not to say Mexico weren't great. I thoroughly enjoyed their performance.

Looking forward to the England game tomorrow. You can tell they're nervous so it should be a good game. :tehe:
 
Haha, yeah, Mexico played a hell of a game today. It was fun watching it with actual Mexican supporters (my coworkers and the kids I help tutor) at the high school when Mexico had those great open chances early in the first half. It was really fun.
 
A lot of cursing in Spanish, I'm guessing? "Pinche hue, chingadera," etc. etc.

On the topic of France, why did they even bring Henry to South Africa if they're not going to sub for him while down a goal in a must-draw-if-not-win situation? Seriously, Valbuena before Henry? Has he fallen that far out of favor?
 
I think Henry was there mainly for his leadership. Domenech needs someone that is respected by his squad (someone to replace Zidane in that role), even if he's no longer good (unlike Zidane).

But why Gignac and Valbuena even gets near the squad and poor Samir Nasri is left home is still a mystery. and Evra is not a good captain at all.
 
Bez said:
I think the great myth about Brazil is that they're a free flowing attacking team when they aren't and haven't been for a long time.
Click to expand...

They aren't because the globalisation of football has made every team's style too similar. The vast majority of international players play for an European team and club football has become so incestuous players and teams end up playing the same. Not to mention the Brazil teams of '70 and '82 can't be emulated these days because not only were the individuals of those teams of a much higher standard than those of any other country, but the game has changed entirely. Players need to be in peak condition, the game is played at a much faster pace, etc.

Brazil, even under Dunga, aspire to get forward and control the game. Brazil recorded the most shots, possession and successful passes in the opening round of games this WC. Spain, Iniesta apart, can't dribble. They lack that particular type of incision. If a pass isn't on, they are blunted and the Swiss realised that.

North Korea played a flat backline of 5 and 3 defensive midfielders. They were incredibly fit and well drilled. If they made it out of the group it would not surprise me.

Watch Brazil against Italy in the Confed Cup, against the USA, against England, against Egypt, against anyone really. We always pressed forward and the close control and short passing in our game is still second to none. It's teams that are rightly scared of us who hole themselves in their areas and claim we had a hard time breaking them down, as if that should be any consolation to them.

Bez said:
And on the vuvuzelas, I don't like them. It's not a traditional thing, they're all made in China, and I think they subtract from the atmosphere rather than enhance it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's one long monotone drone throughout the match. It's horrible to listen to game in game out.
 
Kelranox said:
Argentina destroyed South Korea, no big surprise. The important thing to remember is that the -only- way South Korea could score was through the error of Argentina in their own box. As they came back onto the pitch after halftime they not only increased the score, they crushed their spirit by doing so.
Click to expand...
I think 4-1 flattered Argentina a lot. South Korea were the better team for 10 or so minutes after half time and should have made it 2-2.
Nigeria vs Greece was actually quite good in the second half, Greece's win will make it easier for Korea to get through.
 
I was actually surprised Mexico won over France....

Ah well :dave:

USA VS Solvenia tomorrow

Hmm, I haven't seen much of Solvenia but, it should be an interesting game...

I'll watch to see if USA gets its hand handed to them or not.

XD.


United States vs. Slovenia Picks and Predictions:
United States Will Win If: It puts the England tie behind it and realizes that the 1-1 draw with the group favorite will mean nothing if it cannot produce a win against Slovenia. Tim Howard will not have to be great but he just needs to make the saves he should and most importantly Donovan needs to continue to stir the United States attack.
Click to expand...


Slovenia Will Win If: It comes out of the gate with a sense of urgency and brings the fight to the United States. It will not be able to wait until the 79th minute like it did against a 10-man Algeria squad. Slovenia is in first place in the group through one game so they can no longer expect to stay under the radar. Slovenia captain and first game Man of the Match Robert Koren will have to duplicate his performance to keep his squad in this game, which appears to be an uphill climb.
Click to expand...


What do you guysz think?
 
Mexico winning shouldn't have been all that surprising. France have been playing like shit for the better part of a year. According to my friends, this Mexico squad is the best their nation has ever put together. Add two and two together and you get this result. :lew:
 
Hmmm, Well I guess it could be 'cause I don't really watch soccer all that much... I mean possibly xD-- I dunno -shrugs- I did hear that Mexico is really big on soccer I guess i was just hoping France would win-- they didnt x]

Whatever XD.
 
As I said France players don't like their manager, their form is no surprise at all. You can't play well in those circumstances. It should be remembered as well that without Zidane pretty much dragging them to the final in 2006, France would have done very badly in five major tournaments in a row now, they're not the 1998/2000 vintage in recent years.
 
:rage:
That ref in the game USA VS Slovenia :ffs:


He was calling bullshit throughtout the whole entire game.


It was clear that he didnt want USA to win especially when he called a 'offsides' when there wasn't!!! :rage:


it's horseshit.

How can you take away a fair goal like that?

USA shoulda won.

But, we came back when we were down 2-0.


Guess we can't do much about it.

On other news, I hear England isn't starting Green.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top