The FIFA 2010 Football World Cup thread

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Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 8:52 pm

Under a week to go until the start of the World Cup on June 11th. Please use
this thread to discuss all things related to the competition. Below are a few
thoughts on the competing nations and predictions for the group stages.

I would be interested in peoples thoughts and opinions on the tournament and
who you think will win.

Apart from normal Eater rules which apply, i would like to impose one addtional one,
which is that the word "soccer" in banned from this thread,
this is afterall the FOOTBALL world cup.

I would love to see England win but i think they will fall short, my tip to win the
competition (often known as the kiss of death) is Holland, with Serbia as an
outsider to do well.

Group A: South Africa, France, Mexico, Uruguay.
Hosts South Africa are possibly the weakest hosts in recent tournaments and
will struggle to get through this Group as they lack big game players and experience.
France are not the team they were but they have experience, some quality and
should go through. But it’s a hard Group to call as Mexico are technically good and
have a good World Cup tradition. Second place in this group could depend on
the result when Uruguay and Mexico meet.
Group odds: Evens France, 10/3 Uruguay, 16/5 Mexico, 13/2 S.Africa.
Teams to qualify: France and Mexico.

Group B: Argentina, Greece, Nigeria, South Korea.
Argentina have quality players, especially with Messi who quite rightly is regarded
by many as the best player in the world as the moment, Diego Maradona could be
a liability as manager and could have an effect on their team spirit with his unproven
credentials as a manager at this level. Greece limped over the line in qualification,
South Korea are a bit of an unknown quantity and even though Nigeria have been
stronger in the past the appointment of Lars Lagerback as coach shows a desire
to introduce European discipline to their African flair.
Group odds: 2/5 Argentina, 9/2 Nigeria, 8/1 Greece, 9/1 S.Korea.
Teams to qualify: Argentina and Nigeria

Group C: Algeria, England, Slovenia, U.S.A.
Algeria are possibly the weakest of the African qualifiers and on field discipline
could have an adverse effect on their chances, similarly although with a better
temperament Slovenia are possibly the weakest of Europe's qualifiers. The Americans
have a good team spirit and can be a threat, but it should be England all the way
despite the loss of the captain Rio Ferdinand in what is the weakest of the Groups.
Group odds: 1/3 England, 4/1 U.S.A., 10/1 Slovenia, 14/1 Algeria.
Teams to quality: England, U.S.A.

Group D: Australia, Germany, Ghana, Serbia.
This is a tough group to call, The Australians are born winners and this mentality
may help, they will be well drilled and will cause teams problems. Germany are the
ultimate tournament team. They lack top quality, especially now they are without
captain Michael Ballack through injury. Serbia are dangerous and Ghana will be
weakened by Michael Essien not recovering from injury in time for the finals.
Group odds: 10/11 Germany, 11/4 Serbia, 4/1 Ghana, 7/1 Australia.
Teams to qualify: Australia, Serbia.

Group E: Cameroon, Denmark, Holland, Japan.
Holland were one of the first teams to qualify and have some wonderful technical
players in Robin van Persie, Arjen Robben and Wesley Sneijder. Denmark have had
better teams in the past but they were also strong in qualifying. Cameroon have
gone backwards and there are reports of unrest within the squad with their talisman
striker Samuel Eto'o threatening to walk out of the squad, while Japan appear to
be a little lightweight at this level despite a good showing in the recent friendly
with England.
Group odds: 4/7 Holland, 4/1 Cameroon, 9/2 Denmark, 11/1 Japan.
Teams to qualify: Holland, Denmark

Group F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
Italy should walk this Group even though, traditionally, they are slow starters and
struggle to get going they have too much quality for the other teams. Paraguay have
some quality - particularly up front with Roque Santa Cruz and Oscar Cardozo - and
can score goals which will see them finish ahead of Slovakia. The New Zealanders
will struggle as the ball is the wrong shape for them and are quoted as the bookies
rank outsiders at 40/1 to win this group and 2000/1 to win the tournament.
Group odds: 1/2 Italy, 5/2 Paraguay, 7/1 Slovakia, 40/1 New Zealand.
Teams to qualify: Italy, Paraguay.

Group G: Brazil, Ivory Coast, Portugal, North Korea.
Brazil have the attacking flair and the defensively discipline to match. If Brazil can
find their rhythm early then they will take some stopping because they have such
great ability with players like Kaka and Luis Fabiano. Portugal may rely too much
on Christiano Ronaldo. With Sven Goran Eriksson now in charge the Ivory Coast are
possibly the strongest of Africa's teams and Eriksson's experience and know-how
should see them through, although the potential loss of Didier Drogba will be a
massive blow to them. North Korea are an unknown quantity and the lowest
ranked team in the competition, will probably rely on ultra-defensive tactics to
try and stifle their opponents and hope to surprise them on the counter attack
and will do well to score a goal let alone register any points, although its quiet
likely that it will be reported on July 11th in Pyongyang, that North Korea have
actually won the World Cup.
Group odds: 8/13 Brazil, 11/4 Portugal, 4/1 Ivory Coast. 66/1 N.Korea.
Teams to qualify: Brazil, Ivory Coast

Group H: Chile, Honduras, Spain, Switzerland.
Spain are most people’s favourites, althought they have injury concerns regarding
Torres, Fabregas and Iniesta they have strength and quality in depth with the likes
of Villa, Xavi, Puyol, Pique and goalkeepers Casillas and Reina. They are a terrific
team, great going forward and so creative. They should cruise through this group.
However, don’t dismiss Chile too lightly, they should also go through as they looked
good in qualifying and any team which qualifies from the South American section
deserves respect.
Group odds: 1/4 Spain, 9/2 Chile, 11/1 Switzerland, 25/1 Honduras.
Teams to qualify: Spain, Chile

Link to O/S, with full schedule
http://www.fifa.com/index.html

Outright winner odds:
7/2 Spain 66/1 Uruguay
9/2 Brazil 80/1 Mexico
7/1 England 80/1 S.Africa
7/1 Argentina 100/1 Denmark
11/1 Holland 100/1 Nigeria
16/1 Germany 125/1 Australia
16/1 Italy 125/1 S.Korea
20/1 France 200/1 Greece
22/1 Portugal 200/1 Switzerland
33/1 Ivory Coast 250/1 Japan
50/1 Paraguay 250/1 Slovakia
50/1 Chile 250/1 Slovenia
50/1 Serbia 500/1 Algeria
66/1 Cameroon 500/1 Honduras
66/1 U.S.A. 1000/1 North Korea
66/1 Ghana 2000/1 New Zealand

***Odds as quoted by a leading U.K. bookmaker on 4 June, 2010***

Baiting Guru Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 2163

I have uploaded my official football avatar for this thread. (thanks to NN)

We are in Group E so it "should" be easy to qualify

Also did you notice how North Korea cleverly tried to sneak in a 3rd forward into the tournament Laughing

*** BANNED *** Joined: 18 Jul 2004 Posts: 2049

Scentless Apprentice wrote:

Under a week to go until . . .

Well done SA . . . that's a lot of work . . . very helpful. We don't get much coverage in Canada as the f*cking hockey playoffs are still going on. But don't get me started. Laughing

What is confusing is that Klaasvaak assured me that FC Twente would be representing the tulip munchers this year. Wink

Posted: Fri Jun 04, 2010 11:03 pm

Klaasvaak wrote:

Also did you notice how North Korea cleverly tried to sneak in a 3rd forward into the tournament Laughing

They were trying to be clever and bend the rules but it
appears to have totally backfired on them Laughing

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jun/03/north-korea-world-cup-goalkeeper-gamble

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 8:59 am

^^^ also what is being put out about the new football, moving in the air, should blow the odds wide open, as any player on any side could score the winning goal.

As they are playing at altitude and we know England have been training in Austria, but what other teams, involved have been doing similar training.

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 2:10 pm

Fo'andles wrote:

as any player on any side could score the winning goal.

Watch a lot of football do ya? This happens, regardless of the make of ball, and as I remember my playing days, the ball was likely to move in the air too... Very Happy

Posted: Sat Jun 05, 2010 4:08 pm

Fo'andles wrote:

^^^ also what is being put out about the new football, moving in the air,
As they are playing at altitude and we know England have been training in Austria, but what other teams, involved have been doing similar training.

Most teams, if not all, will have done some altitude training to prepare
themselves, they would be stupid not too. As the competition is being
played during the South African winter, i don't think the altitude factor
will have such a bearing on the players as it would if they where playing
in high temperatures like were found at the Mexican hosted world cup
in 1986, although the thin air will have an effect on the lightweight ball
that will be used making life difficult for goalkeepers with its movement
in the air.

It would appear from this article that goalies hate the new ball, whilst
outfield players are more than happy with it.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2010/jun/03/world-cup-2010-jabulani

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 05 Jun 2010 Posts: 3

I fancy Argentina to defy the odds. With their manager behaving like a certifiable lunatic, the players will have nothing to lose. And what an achievement it would be for Maradona to win the World Cup as team manager! Write them off at your peril.

England might make it to the semi-final, before finally collapsing under the weight of their own hype.

Baiting Guru Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 2163

Oh no Robben's injured Crying or Very sad

Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 4:59 pm

Some fans had photocopies of tickets, another lad cashing in. Laughing

Fans injured in SA stadium crush

Twelve people have been injured and one policeman seriously hurt after a crush outside a South African ground hosting a World Cup warm-up game.

Several fans fell under a rush of people outside the Makhulong Stadium in the Johannesburg suburb of Tembisa.

Entry to the friendly game between Nigeria and North Korea was free and many more than the 10,000 capacity turned up for the match.

"The crowd overpowered me and I went down," said one fan, Japhta Mombelo.

"I fell down and people just fell over me."

The first crowd surge came when the stadium gates were opened to allow fans entry.

Police soon closed the gates, but when they were re-opened, a second rush occurred, with more people falling over.

The incidents have provided the wrong sort of build-up to the World Cup that the South African authorities would have wanted
BBC Sport's Piers Edwards
The policeman, who has been taken to hospital, was reported to have been crushed against one of the gates.

The crowd was mainly made up of local South African and travelling Nigerian fans.

Police said that hundreds of them were also holding photocopies of tickets and tried to break down the gates after the match had started and police had closed them.

In a separate incident the game was then stopped for five minutes in the second half when a railing collapsed inside the stadium.

The incidents have provided the wrong sort of build-up to the World Cup that the South African authorities would have wanted, the BBC's Piers Edwards, outside the stadium, says.

The venue is not a World Cup venue, but the incident is likely to heighten security even further ahead of the World Cup opener between South Africa and Mexico at Soccer City on Friday, our correspondent says.

The game itself finished 3-1 to Nigeria, with Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Victor Obinna Nsofor and Obafemi Martins scoring for the Super Eagles, while Jong Hyok Cha was on target for North Korea.

Posted: Sun Jun 06, 2010 8:03 pm

I hate the game!
Full of overpaid actors!

And; Lads watch it so I can't get any replies ( & it's only the warm up) even when I say I'm going to pay!

Ban footy! Evil or Very Mad

Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2010 12:19 am

^^^The scammer emails will likely slow down until Nigeria is eliminated in the opening round.

Fo'andles wrote:

Twelve people have been injured and one policeman seriously hurt after a crush outside a South African ground hosting a World Cup warm-up game.

Why are we reading this? I always thought that casualties at a soccer (ok, football) disruption need to in triple figures before it is considered news.

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:54 am

Excellent website with full schedule. Times given are
local South African time so please adjust your watches accordingly.

http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/mundial/sudafrica-2010/calendario-english.html

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 9:33 am

Fowan Nyne wrote:

And; Lads watch it so I can't get any replies ( & it's only the warm up) even when I say I'm going to pay!

I understand how you feel but also some real victims may save their monies. Very Happy

I think it's obvious which one is my favourite team. This is what all Pyongyangites would love to wear these days:

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 1:43 pm

Quote:

Apart from normal Eater rules which apply, i would like to impose one addtional one, which is that the word "soccer" in banned from this thread, this is afterall the FOOTBALL world cup.

Can we also please ban the word "footie"

Baiting Guru Joined: 11 May 2004 Posts: 2163

can we also please ban the germans?

runs

Posted: Tue Jun 08, 2010 3:41 pm

Alas, I'm in South America and in our HSEC meeting yesterday someone actually came up with the line "What is the company doing with respect to putting up a TV in the office so we can watch the games." Rolling Eyes

This in a country that came LAST in their qualifying round. Damn s***** fans! Laughing

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 4:26 am

IT BEGINS TOMORROW. I'M SO EXCITED Very Happy

I'm cheering for the USA to make it out of the group.

I'm cheering for Greece to score a goal.

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 9:07 am

My lot are playing the USA while I'm stuck on a train back from London. AFIK, the commentary is only on AM and digital in the UK, unless someone knows different, so I dont think I'll be able to listen on my mobile's headphones, it only does FM.

No disrespect, but if we cant beat the USA (who don't understand round balls and no padding) we should pack up and go home. Meanwhile, our best defender and (now ex) captain has saved time by breaking himself before we have even played a match.

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:24 pm

Awe Roy, you have your own ball. Cool

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 12:56 pm

/\/\ And not just any old ball, but Nosferatu is modelling a perfect MS Paint replica of the official 2010 World Cup Final ball, as well as an Engerland team shirt.

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:50 pm

Just about to kick off. A whole month of the beautiful game.

I hate Vuvuzelas already.

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:51 pm

For those who don't watch the Cup: remember to call your West African lads and send them to MG etc. during the Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon and Côte d'Ivoire games. Smile

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 2:08 pm

That noise is annoying. Like billions of screaming bees. Confused

Posted: Fri Jun 11, 2010 3:07 pm

They have very similar horns here in MLS (America's domestic soccer league) but it's usually one or two stupid kids blowing them...not 94,000 people!

South Africa lucky to go into the break 0-0. I hope they can get a result.

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