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drew
The US apparently got a tough bracket.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051209.wbrazil9/BNStory
I can't say I follow soccer closely so I don't know which teams are good aside from the teams that are always good. Nonetheless I will be watching.
Discuss... :)
World Cup
December 09, 2005 at 11:32PM View formatted
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Well, the draw is out so now it is time for Americans to really show how little they care about the world's most popular sport.
The US apparently got a tough bracket.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051209.wbrazil9/BNStory
I can't say I follow soccer closely so I don't know which teams are good aside from the teams that are always good. Nonetheless I will be watching.
Discuss... :)
Cubsfan13
Group A is probably the crappiest group, in my opinion. Germany may not have even gotten to the World Cup if they didn't get the automatic home bid, and nobody else is that good. Costa Rica and Germany probably should advance, but it seems like kind of a crapshoot. Group B isn't that great outside of England. Sweden probably should be the other team to advance. Group C is the best in my opinion, with Argentina, Serbia & Montenegro, Netherlands, and then poor Ivory Coast. Argentina may have a difficult time advancing, like they did last time. Mexico and Portugal should advance easily in Group D. Brazil and Croatia should advance in Group F, unless Croatia chokes against Japan. I guess France and South Korea should advance in Group G, but Switzerland isn't bad either. France and Switzerland were in the same group in qualifying and they tied both matches. Spain and Ukraine should advance in Group H, but Tunisia usually is decent.
I have no idea who is good out of Africa. Usually there is at least one African team who is pretty good or at least pulls big upsets, but this time none of the usual African teams are in it. I guess if I were to pick one of them to advance, I would pick Tunisia.
If I had to pick who would win the whole thing I'd take...Brazil. Yea, that would be a real upset.
[Edited on 12-9-2005 by Cubsfan13]
December 09, 2005 at 11:56PM View BBCode
I was just about to post about this. Anyway, the US could easily get anywhere from 1 to 7 points. The best they could hope for against Italy is probably a tie, they could possibly beat the Czechs but it will definately be difficult, and they should be able to beat Ghana but you never know what could happen. The group reminds me of their group in '98, with an established power (Germany/Italy), another very good European team (Yugoslavia/Czech Republic), and another team which isn't that good (Iran/Ghana). This US team is obviously much better than that '98 team, so they do have a shot at advancing and certainly shouldn't embarass themselves like they did in '98. If the US were to get second and advance, they would most likely face Brazil in the round of 16, so it is unlikely that they will advance as far as they did in 2002.Group A is probably the crappiest group, in my opinion. Germany may not have even gotten to the World Cup if they didn't get the automatic home bid, and nobody else is that good. Costa Rica and Germany probably should advance, but it seems like kind of a crapshoot. Group B isn't that great outside of England. Sweden probably should be the other team to advance. Group C is the best in my opinion, with Argentina, Serbia & Montenegro, Netherlands, and then poor Ivory Coast. Argentina may have a difficult time advancing, like they did last time. Mexico and Portugal should advance easily in Group D. Brazil and Croatia should advance in Group F, unless Croatia chokes against Japan. I guess France and South Korea should advance in Group G, but Switzerland isn't bad either. France and Switzerland were in the same group in qualifying and they tied both matches. Spain and Ukraine should advance in Group H, but Tunisia usually is decent.
I have no idea who is good out of Africa. Usually there is at least one African team who is pretty good or at least pulls big upsets, but this time none of the usual African teams are in it. I guess if I were to pick one of them to advance, I would pick Tunisia.
If I had to pick who would win the whole thing I'd take...Brazil. Yea, that would be a real upset.
[Edited on 12-9-2005 by Cubsfan13]
drew
And Benne gets points for such a surprising post. Somebody posted a "yawn pick" on the SImD boards in a thread about soccer?... I never would have thunk it!
December 10, 2005 at 12:14AM View BBCode
You know much more about this than I do. I will get to know the teams better as time comes but for now I just know I will be rooting for Argentina and the US.And Benne gets points for such a surprising post. Somebody posted a "yawn pick" on the SImD boards in a thread about soccer?... I never would have thunk it!
Cubsfan13
What is the time difference between here and Germany? 8 hours or something, right? I hope that makes it so the games are at more reasonable times than in 2002. I got very little sleep during the World Cup because all the games were between 1 and 7 am.
[Edited on 12-10-2005 by Cubsfan13]
December 10, 2005 at 12:26AM View BBCode
Yea, I get really into the World Cup because there isn't that much soccer on most of the time, and when there is it is usually a MLS game which isn't that good or a crappy Mexican League game. A European Champions' League game a week on ESPN 2 and the World Cup/World Cup Qualifying is really the only good soccer that is on here. I need to get the Fox Soccer Channel or something.What is the time difference between here and Germany? 8 hours or something, right? I hope that makes it so the games are at more reasonable times than in 2002. I got very little sleep during the World Cup because all the games were between 1 and 7 am.
[Edited on 12-10-2005 by Cubsfan13]
FuriousGiorge
December 10, 2005 at 12:29AM View BBCode
Holy crap cubsfan knows a lot about soccer. Didn't see that one coming.
rkinslow19
December 10, 2005 at 02:29AM View BBCode
Soccer = poor foreigners kicking crap around, because they've got nothing better to do
barterer2002
December 10, 2005 at 02:32AM View BBCode
I don't know (or really care) that much about soccer but come on there, The Ugly American bit went out in the eighties.
Smocko
Yes, I went completly nocturnal for that month in 2002. I don't know much about the teams but I'll be following the tourament and watching as many games as possible.
[Edited on 12-10-2005 by Smocko]
December 10, 2005 at 02:58AM View BBCode
He lives on in your avatar!Yes, I went completly nocturnal for that month in 2002. I don't know much about the teams but I'll be following the tourament and watching as many games as possible.
[Edited on 12-10-2005 by Smocko]
barterer2002
December 10, 2005 at 03:00AM View BBCode
that schmidty pic actually is vintage seventies.
Benne
Foreign announcer: "(meaningless mumbling in foreign language, picking up speed) GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
December 10, 2005 at 03:42AM View BBCode
The best part of watching soccer on TV.Foreign announcer: "(meaningless mumbling in foreign language, picking up speed) GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Colonel_Frank_Fitts
Good job boy.
December 10, 2005 at 04:16AM View BBCode
Originally posted by ME
I'll add the obligatory "soccer is gay."
Good job boy.
Jedi_Pimp
Oh and i like the chances of the US to advance to the next round. Bruce has the team getting better and better every cup so far. Cant say i really expect much after reaching the final 16.
December 10, 2005 at 05:36AM View BBCode
Yeah you should just get fox sports west and fox sports 2. They show a lot of the english premier games. Not bad play but has been going down hill for a couple years now.Oh and i like the chances of the US to advance to the next round. Bruce has the team getting better and better every cup so far. Cant say i really expect much after reaching the final 16.
DougB
December 10, 2005 at 01:33PM View BBCode
Czechs are probably better than Italy. So if USA advances they may have to beat Italy to do it.
drew
December 10, 2005 at 04:00PM View BBCode
The FIFA rankings (which are not too reliable I hear) have the Czechs as #2 in the world, so yeah...
Jedi_Pimp
December 10, 2005 at 06:31PM View BBCode
If people actually believe the cubs are gonna win it all, i can believe the US is going to advance. I am thinking they beat ghana, and tie italy and czech. Then hope for ghana to pull the upset on one of them. you never really know in the cup, senegal was a sleeper last time.
yankeekid
December 11, 2005 at 12:07AM View BBCode
Why is it that soccer is so uncared about in America? You see plenty of kids playing it. You would think there would be plenty of talent. Why is there so little interest?
Cubsfan13
December 11, 2005 at 12:51AM View BBCode
The Fifa rankings are pretty shitty. The seeds are probably more reliable, and Italy was the 8th seed (and last 1st seed). I guess I'd expect them and the Czech Republic tie, but I think if one of them were to win it would be Italy. I think the advancing teams in this group will probably be determined by goal differential, which kind of sucks. I guess that could be an advantage for the US, because they play their last game against Ghana and could potentially just keep pushing and trying to score if they had to.
Cubsfan13
GK: Kasey Keller, Tim Howard, Marcus Hanneman
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Eddie Pope, Oguchi Onyewu, Chris Albright*, Cory Gibbs, Jimmy Conrad, Eddie Lewis
Midfielders: Claudio Reyna, Landon Donovan, Ben Olsen, John O'Brien, Pablo Mastroeni, Clint Dempsey, Bobby Convey, DeMarcus Beasley
Forwards: Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson, Josh Wolff, Brian McBride
*-Albright is replacing Freddie Hejduk, who learned he had torn his ACL a day after being named to the squad.
The biggest mistake to me was Ching over Taylor Twellman. Twellman is one of the best young American players, you'd think they'd want to get him experience for 2010. And he's better than Ching. I was glad to see him get a goal early today against LA. Hopefully he ends up on the team somehow. Anyway, here's the lineup I'd use:
GK-Kasey Keller (relatively obvious)
Defenders- Steve Cherundolo, Eddie Pope, Oguchi Onyewu, Eddie Lewis
Midfield- Pablo Mastroeni, Claudio Reyna, DeMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan (technically his position)
Forward- Eddie Johnson, Brian McBride
[Edited on 5-7-2006 by Cubsfan13]
May 06, 2006 at 11:41PM View BBCode
On Tuesday the US announced their 23 for the World Cup (first US game in 1 month and 6 days). The 23:GK: Kasey Keller, Tim Howard, Marcus Hanneman
Defenders: Carlos Bocanegra, Steve Cherundolo, Eddie Pope, Oguchi Onyewu, Chris Albright*, Cory Gibbs, Jimmy Conrad, Eddie Lewis
Midfielders: Claudio Reyna, Landon Donovan, Ben Olsen, John O'Brien, Pablo Mastroeni, Clint Dempsey, Bobby Convey, DeMarcus Beasley
Forwards: Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson, Josh Wolff, Brian McBride
*-Albright is replacing Freddie Hejduk, who learned he had torn his ACL a day after being named to the squad.
The biggest mistake to me was Ching over Taylor Twellman. Twellman is one of the best young American players, you'd think they'd want to get him experience for 2010. And he's better than Ching. I was glad to see him get a goal early today against LA. Hopefully he ends up on the team somehow. Anyway, here's the lineup I'd use:
GK-Kasey Keller (relatively obvious)
Defenders- Steve Cherundolo, Eddie Pope, Oguchi Onyewu, Eddie Lewis
Midfield- Pablo Mastroeni, Claudio Reyna, DeMarcus Beasley, Landon Donovan (technically his position)
Forward- Eddie Johnson, Brian McBride
[Edited on 5-7-2006 by Cubsfan13]
barterer2002
May 06, 2006 at 11:55PM View BBCode
I have to say that I have no idea who any of those players are. Maybe I'll know more in three weeks although I can probably count on one hand the number of US soccer players I can name (Alexis Lalis (sp?), Freddy Adu, Rudy Meoli, OK I can count on three fingers-although I'd probably recogize others)
Cubsfan13
May 07, 2006 at 12:13AM View BBCode
You may have heard of Eric Wynalda. He's the alltime leading American goalscorer (will be passed by Donovan in the next few years).
barterer2002
May 07, 2006 at 12:36AM View BBCode
Yeah I've heard of him. I think he played in the 94 cup?
rkinslow19
Pretty sweet
May 07, 2006 at 04:22AM View BBCode
I'm a big Donovan fan. I went to the San Jose Earthquakes championship down here a few years back to cheer for the hometown team, and he scored a hat-trick to secure the title.Pretty sweet