Official World Cup Thread

**d38dm8nw81k1ng** · 06-09-2006

ok, now the world cup's kicked off we need an official thread.
just keep it clean and no hating on any teams (except the germans

)

what did everyone think of the opening matches? i thought germany played really poorly and if they play like that all tournament, they've no chance of winning the world cup. ecuador surprised me tbh. i thought they'd be struggling after seeing poland batter them for 20 minutes, but they snuck the second goal and it was a good goal too. i expect ecuador may be the surprise package this year if they can keep up performances like that. the two centre backs were excellent.

finally, what about england's chances tomorrow? i think that as long as we push forward and play the usual quick attacking football then we've got a good chance.

**Kojak** · 06-09-2006

My opinion to the teams so far:

Costa Rica: Played better than expected, showed that it can be a thorn in the side of any team that does not pay attention for a minute. Will win against Poland imho and finish third in division.

Poland: Simply embarassing. Did they play against their coach? Was there any tactics? How the hell did they manage to qualify for the world cup? The playmaker is out of form since months, the rest does not deliver any creativity, does not move on the field, does not hit the goal (Smolarek was the only one who tried it at least), has apparently no passion for the game, no will to win and: they did not even react when the coach talked to them! I think that the players want to get rid of their coach. There is no other explanation for what they showed against Ecuador. Will finish dead last if they don't improve - which is unlikely to happen.

Ecuador: Very organized, tactical, mature football - thanks to Hurtado. Not pretty to look at but very effective. The goals were not really a surprise. They know that they have only few chances in a game - and they use those chances. Will win the division.

Germany: The defense is bug-ridden, so their only chance to survive is to play offensively and to hope that they will be able to score more goals than the defense allows. Arne Friedrich on the right side is not only a weak spot, but a gaping hole. Offense played okay against Costa Rica. Klose is a proven goal-getter and they played without Ballack, so when Ballack is back, they might perform better. My prediction: Second place in division.

England: England won't get far at the world cup. Their team is overrated imho. They have a handful of skilled players (Gerrard, Owen) but not a great team (Rooney won't be the saviour, Backham is a twit, just like the goalkeepers. Since Seaman and Shilton there is only mediocrity in goal). And: They suck at penalties! :P My tip for tomorrow: England - Paraguay 0 - 0, Sweden - Trinidad & Tobago 3 - 1, Argentina - Ivory Coast 2 -1

**budman7** · 06-10-2006

USA will win it all.
Go USA!!!!!!

**Kojak** · 06-10-2006

I guess, Tonga will win the World Cup before the US will ever have a slight chance to win it. :P

**apoorv_khurasia** · 06-10-2006

The German defense was slack and did not expect that from them (although I feel quite happy abt that

). I kinda feel that Poland shld have played more aggressive. Hats off to Equador though, I haven't seen them better organized than this.

Today's matches are really boring so I have planned to work late till night, hope my boss is reading this thread !!!

**apoorv_khurasia** · 06-10-2006

Originally Posted by budman7

USA will win it all.
Go USA!!!!!!

I bet USA is not going to make it to the finals.

**Kojak** · 06-10-2006

England - Paraguay 1 - 0 only because of lots of luck for England after a free-kick. My prediction wasn't that bad, eh?

**budman7** · 06-10-2006

Originally Posted by aporov_khurasia

Today's matches are really boring so I have planned to work late till night, hope my boss is reading this thread !!!

You missed a really good game between Sweden and Trinidad & Tobago.
Trinidad & Tobago played with just 10 men for almost the entire 2nd half, and ended up getting a 0-0 tie with the heavily favored Sweden.

**AlexK** · 06-11-2006

Kojak, you were on the money about Argentina/Ivory Coast. It was an ok match, Ivory coast just didn't have enough up front to trouble the argentinians much.

The england match was quite good imo, they just over-ran paraguay. But just how well they will do against superior opponents remains to be seen.

It is too early to say, but IMHO argentina could go all the way this time.

**fingal** · 06-11-2006

Originally Posted by AlexK

It is too early to say, but IMHO argentina could go all the way this time.

I hope so ... I entered a sweepstake. If they do well I might make some money.

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