OT - World Cup Storylines/Things to watch for a nooblet
Whatever you do, make sure you clear your calendar on June 12th for USA/England. You won't have a very enjoyable WC experience if you miss that.
Watch for the ball to get in the goal area, then scream at the top of your lungs "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLL". Better yet, get a Hispanic friend to do it, or just watch the broadcast in Spanish. Nothing beats the Spanish commentators.
Also, if you're looking for a couple stories in non-USA countries, it'll be interesting to see how germany does without michael Ballack, who's been anchoring their midfield for years. Also, Michael Essien is out for Ghana, which really hurts their chances of finding success.
What's up with these Michael midfielders getting hurt?
Really, the whole Group D is the one to watch. First off that's the one that the US will be paired with if we make it through to the round of 16, and second it's definitely the Group of Death IMO with Germany, Serbia, Australia, and Ghana.
I feel like Ghana's loss is so much more than Germany's, though. Thoughts?
For sure. Germany is far deeper.
Essien is a far better player at this point in their respective careers.
Germany and Ghana will struggle without their captains.
IME, the group with Brazil, Portugal, and the Ivory Coast is the Group of Death. Especially considering that the one weak team, North Korea, is gonna get mauled in every one of its matches.
I think having North Korea makes it less death-y though, because when I think "Group of Death," I think of a group that's so tough and/or even that definitely 1 and usually 2 very good teams (i.e. would move on to the knockout rounds were they in most other groups) get eliminated in group play.
Tim - I agree that North Korea lessens the Group of Death aspect of it.
However, when you consider the geopolitical aspect of that country, well, maybe they in fact enhance it.......
I'm pretty sure Kim Jong-Il's panthers will play a prominent role in South Africa.
I'll be at the Portugal/NK game in Cape Town; I've been on the search for a Kim Jong-Il mask for months.
North Korea is paying Chinese people to go cheer for them.
Goal differential could very well be the difference when a group has 3 strong teams, too, no one is going to take it easy on N Korea. It took maybe 2 weeks after the groups were chosen before N Korea announced they will not be broadcasting their World Cup games
The last time they didn't make the quarterfinals? 1950.
That means winning the group is crucial if we want to make a deeper run than the second round. Even minus Ballack, I don't see us getting by Germany. Nobody in that group is <i>that</i> much more talented than us (Germany definitely is, but not by a huge margin), but Germany is the Wisconsin of the World Cup: never a favorite, yet they're always in there at the end.
(Of course, if Germany somehow ends up second in their group then we end up playing them if we win the group.)
which is fine, to each their own. I have to disagree iwth the group of death being D though. In fact, I don't think there is a group of death this year. Most times that tag is dragged out it is because three legitimate title contenders find their way into the same group, this year there doesn't seem to be a group that fits that criteria. If I had to pick one to call the group of death though, I would say G. It has Brazil, Portugal and the Ivory Coast (Drogba can win a game on his own when he is on form).
Other than that group I don't see any that could be called a group of death, but that is just my opinion, which shouldn't be considered anymore credible than yours. I am just glad there are some soccer fans on this site!
I thought about that, and I guess we'll see when Cote d'Ivoire plays Portugal in the opener, but IMHE Cote d'Ivoire won't really be able to handle Brazil or Portugal. I think there's a very clear top two in that group. Contrast that to Group D where someone who made the round of 16 in 2006 isn't going to make it this time out, and the only team there that didn't is Serbia, which won their qualification group. Tough, tough group because the teams are so evenly matched, unlike G where there are two powerhouses, one team capable of maybe pulling off an upset if everything goes well, and one punching bag.
I like your rationale and think that if there were to be a group of death it would be between the two. I guess only time will tell which is tougher. I am pumped for this to get underway!
I've actually been leaning the other way; I think Portugal will be odd man out in G. They looked awful in qualifying, and if the refs aren't buying their dives their talent doesn't count for anything. Remember the '06 3rd-place game? They would have had at least three more high-quality scoring chances if they hadn't acted like they were gunned down by snipers the instant they stepped into the box. With Drogba highly questionable, I don't think Ivory Coast is favored to escape that group anymore, but Portugal isn't going far beyond that (if for no other reason than that Spain awaits the second-place team, and there's no way in hell they are beating Brazil out for first).
is Brazil, Ivory Coast and Portugal. North Korea is irrelevant. All three of them have the potential to make a deep run in the World Cup. It's going to be very interesting to see who comes out to the group play smelling roses.
My guess would be Ivory Coast and Brazil. Ivory Coast is probably the best team in the group even though they're not seeded and they have one of the best player in the world, Dider Drobga.
Become familiar with your mute button. The vuvzela is a cheap untuned plastic horn played incessantly by every damn person in a South African stadium.
The sound: http://www.boogieblast.co.za/sound/PICT0114.WAV
An article: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jun/28/world/fg-soccer-trumpet28
Which is great mostly because it contains the line:
The vuvuzela ranges in length from 2 to 3 feet. The longer it is, the harder it is to blow.
OK, yeah, I'll bite: TWSS.
I thought they are only going to be allowed for the matches in which South Africa are involved in.
It's the stupidest, most annoying sound ever, and it bears no relation to reality since it's blown constantly without regard to what's happening on the field. And it limits the viewing pleasure of watching soccer, since so much of it is listening to fan songs and such.
I don't know, I think if it is a South African thing it should be allowed. After all, whether the noise is annoying is a matter of opinion. I know you mostly object to it being incessant, though. I guess I can understand that.
A few things;
(1) The best group is probably that of Portugal, Ivory Coast, Brazil and North Korea. The first three teams all have megastars in Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba and Kaka (yes). The last team is historically bad. All matches between the first three teams are toss-ups. Each of those teams could beat North Korea by 5-7 goals.
(2) The form team is Spain. Their midfield is the best in the world with Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, and their strikeforce of Torres and Villa is deadly. They are the current European Champions.
(3) The form players are CR (Portugal), Drogba (Ivory Coast), Xavi, and Lionel Messi (argentina). IF Messi were to win this World Cup and play a starring role, his career achievements, at age 22, will already overshadow those of Argentina's coach, Diego Maradona.
(4) Teams that will be affected by injuries include Germany, who lost their captain Michael Ballack, and Ghana, who lost their captain Michael Essien (both they and Drogba play for club side Chelsea in England).
(5) You're going to hear noise that sounds like a hornet's nest at every game. Those are the vuvuzelas, a horn popular in South Africa. Don't complain about it or you're be called culturally insensitive.
(6) The last time a non-host team made the world cup final that was NOT a previous winner was 1978 (the Netherlands). The WC is normally a closed shop - however;
(7) It's winter in South Africa, which means, cooler temperatures than prior world cups, which might mean more attacking football. even from the Italians.
(8) with number six in mind, look for two of Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, Spain and the Netherlands to play for the trophy in July.
Germany's winning the whole thing. The only way I won't cheer for them is if they're playing the US. In that case I'll go Two-Face on them and go half German colors, half US. That'd be a sight to see..
Germany is not going to win it all...too hobbled with injuries. Too bad.
I hate to ask this, but what's a "form" player?
Superstar, basically.
But a little more in depth:
Soccer is so much about conditioning and being in the right level of fitness. So I consider "form" to be both the most talented and most physically fit for play. Local example: USA's Oguchi Oneyewu is quite possibly our best defender and most important defender. He provides size that is unmatched anywhere on the roster and can be a force in the box. However, he has not played due to injury very much in the past few weeks/months. 80% is not nearly good enough in soccer, especially late in games when 80% becomes 60% and the opposing team has subbed in a fresh forward that will test that back line.
God I hope I'm wrong and Gooch can go.
To be "in form' as the English press like to use the term has mostly to do with how you are playing at the moment. Any player can be on form at any moment, it means playing at the top end of your potential.
Of course, when you are a talented player, you are more likely to hit form. Leo Messi's worst day is better than 99% of the players at the wOrld Cup. But, anyone can do it. If Cherundulo hits form, it means he's defending well and maybe scores the odd goal. If Altidore hits form, he'll have multiple goals in the tournament.
As an avid Premier League watcher and someone who's always had an affection for England, I would love to see them go far and win, though anything beyond the quarters is unlikely in my view. I won't be unhappy even when they beat us on the 12th, although I will root for us.
On another note, how many of the football followers here think the U.S. can get out of the group?
They damn well better get out of this group. Even if they finish runner-up to England - nothing wrong with that - losing to either of the other teams in the group would be pretty disastrous.
Of course, if we do get out of our group, we might not have enough players left for the next game after Algeria's done with us. I don't know if that's just because they were playing Egypt and don't like Egypt or what but holy hell. #3 got himself a yellow card in the very first minute and proceeded to earn a few more that didn't actually get called.
The US got a pretty favorable draw. Slovenia was a Pot E team going into European qualifying (essentially picked to finish fifth in their group) but lucked into poor performances and overall team decline from the Czech Republic, Poland, and Northern Ireland. They then upset Russia in the playoffs, but only advanced on the away goals tiebreaker. They don't really have any great players that stand out either.
Algeria is another team that qualified via upset (they beat Egypt in a qualification tiebreaker). They have few if any offensive weapons and pretty much zero star power.
Even England is a pretty nice draw when compared with the other top teams (Holland, Spain, Argentina, Brazil, etc.).
If the US doesn't qualify, it would be a huge disappointment in my eyes considering the group they are in and the current strength of the squad.
I'd put the US at 50-60 percent to get out of the group. With Slovenia the next most likely. The US defense scares me, especially since Slovenia is in the WC from being very organized defensively and then hitting teams on the counter. I think they'll concede possession to the US and try to hit us when we get too many defenders forward. Breaking down an organized defense is not a US team strength (to be sure, it's one of the harder things to do in the sport). But I could see the US enjoying a lot of possession but losing to a couple of jail-break counters like we saw in the Turkey match.
I would include Milito as being on form as well for Argentina.
Those are great sites that I read almost daily. Here are few more sites that have USMNT news and analysis.
Also the writer for matchfitusa has a weekly podcast called American Soccer Show. It is a good listen.
...has a great World Cup resource they're calling the World Cup Explorer. Definitely worth a visit.
A let-off for the Americans this morning. Theo Walcott is not in England's final 23-man squad.
That dude was the fastest guy on their team and would have singed our fullbacks. We are lucky Capello's leaving him at home.
I was dumbfounded when I heard that. Capello is a definite step up from their previous manager, but I have some serious reservations as to his ability to put the best players on the pitch.
Taking that pygmy Shaun Wright Phillips and the king of the useless step-over Joe Cole instead of Walcott is baffling. Hopefully it works out as well as Sven's "we don't need no stinkin' strikers" strategy from 2006.
Aaron Lennon's almost as fast and has far better close control. He's always been the one we had to worry about the most. Lennon and Ashley Cole running at our outside backs are likely to be the most dangerous problem the US faces in the England game, well, that and Rooney vs. our very shaky central defense.
He's unstoppable.
Only 3 things to know about the World Cup:
1. The Dutch
2. The Dutch
3. The Dutch
You mean the question of what form their spectacular flameout is going to take this time around?
I like the Oranje, and among teams with a realistic chance of winning it they'd probably be my preference. But they have a history of underperforming on the big stage.
Netherlands winger Arjen Robben limped off the field with a left hamstring injury Saturday in the team's 6-1 rout of Hungary in a friendly, casting his World Cup participation into doubt and delaying his departure for South Africa.
The extent of Robben's injury was not clear, but coach Bert Van Marwijk said he feared the worst.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/5255477/ce/us/netherl…
EDIT: He should be alright.