OT: World Cup 2010

[Raellus]

So, am I the only one here excited for the World Cup

I'm going to be pulling for the U.S.A. and Uruguay (I lived there for a few years as a teenager), of course, but I also love watching Brazil, Argentina, Spain, and Holland. Of those, I think Spain has the best chance to win it this year. Brazil is less creative and more defensive oriented than they normally are which is not necessarily a bad thing but they're not quite as fun to watch as they've been in years past. Argentina has tons of talent but a buffoon (Maradonna) at the helm. The U.S. and Uruguay just aren't deep enough to go all the way. If the U.S. loses Donovan or Dempsey, it's over for them.

If I had to pick a winner today, I might go out on a limb and pick Holland as my darkhorse. They have tons of firepower. Three of their midfielders were starters in the recent Champions League final and their fowards are no slouches when it comes to scoring goals. If their defense was better, they'd be my front runner. Otherwise, Spain is the safe bet.

Who's your pick and why What teams or games are you most looking forward to watching

[Mahatatain]

Now how come you didn't mention England

According to the British newspapers (or rather the English versions of them) England are one of the potential favourites. In reality the newspapers in this country always talk up England's chances and we have an outside chance at best - if we make it to the semi finals we'll be doing well!

I'll be cheering them along but, like many England fans, I'll be expecting disappointment at some point!

[Raellus]

Now how come you didn't mention England

According to the British newspapers (or rather the English versions of them) England are one of the potential favourites. In reality the newspapers in this country always talk up England's chances and we have an outside chance at best - if we make it to the semi finals we'll be doing well!

I'll be cheering them along but, like many England fans, I'll be expecting disappointment at some point!

Well, I like England too. I watch the EPL all the time so I know their players quite well and I wouldn't mind a bit if they won it. They're good, but they have some weaknesses that I think will prevent them from going all the way. For example, there's not a lot of variety in midfield. Gerrard and Lampard both play very similar roles on their club teams. They haven't worked well together when they're on the pitch at the same time. They both like to attack, leaving a big hole in the middle. Lampard really shines for Chelsea but doesn't do much for the national side. England doesn't have the best defensive midfielders to cover for them either, IMHO. And Garreth Barry might be done, too.

Up front, Rooney is one of the best in the world, but he doesn't have the best strike partners. I mean Crouch, DeFoe, and Bent are all good but none have really gelled with Rooney and Heskey is too slow.

I don't know. I wish them the best of luck.

[cavtroop]

Soccer (football to most people ) isn't too big here in the USA. I'm excited for the world cup, but I have to admit I couldn't name a single player that's playing.

I'll catch a few games, especially if the US does well though. I like soccer, it just doesn't get much exposure here.

[Targan]

I just hope Italy does poorly. Cheating bastards.

[Mahatatain]

Well, I like England too. I watch the EPL all the time so I know their players quite well and I wouldn't mind a bit if they won it. They're good, but they have some weaknesses that I think will prevent them from going all the way. For example, there's not a lot of variety in midfield. Gerrard and Lampard both play very similar roles on their club teams. They haven't worked well together when they're on the pitch at the same time. They both like to attack, leaving a big hole in the middle. Lampard really shines for Chelsea but doesn't do much for the national side. England doesn't have the best defensive midfielders to cover for them either, IMHO. And Garreth Barry might be done, too.

Up front, Rooney is one of the best in the world, but he doesn't have the best strike partners. I mean Crouch, DeFoe, and Bent are all good but none have really gelled with Rooney and Heskey is too slow.

I don't know. I wish them the best of luck.

Well Crouch is an interesting one - he's actually scored 21 goals in 38 appearances for England.

One of the suggestions is actually to play Gerrard up front with Rooney and to have Lampard in the centre of midflield behind them. That relies on Barry being fit and a defensive midfield player instead of Barry could turn out to be England's biggest weakness.

I'll be watching all of the England games and quite a few other matches but in the end football is the wrong shaped ball for me - my favourite sport is rugby union!

[Fusilier]

Soccer (football to most people ) isn't too big here in the USA.

...to illustrate further.

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=noOHdTQd6H8

[cavtroop]

...to illustrate further.

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=noOHdTQd6H8

LOL, hadn't seen that, good one

The part with the american announcer becoming bored, while the foreign one gets excited about the action was dead on

[Rainbow Six]

I'm looking forward to it, even although yet again Scotland failed to qualify.

I do think Spain are the favourites, although they could potentially come up against Ivory Coast or Portugal early on (assuming both Spain and Brazil win their groups), which could be quite an interesting match up.

The USA should manage to get past the group stages OK, but assuming they finish second in their group (behind England) they'd then expect to play Germany in the next round, and Germany would be the big favourites in that one, so realistically the last 16 is as far as I'd expect the US to go this time round.

Rae, I'd agree with you about England - whilst they have a number of talented individuals, in my opinion they sometimes seem to struggle to play well together as a team. That said I do think that they have a good draw, and this year is probably their best chance of actually winning the World Cup since 1990 (and as a Scotsman it pained me to type that.... Mind you, looking at it the Dutch also have a good draw.

It will be interesting to see how the South Africans do as well...historically the hosts have usually done quite well, e.g. South Korea getting to the Semi Finals in 2002

Anyways, not long to go now...bring it on...

[Mahatatain]

Rae, I'd agree with you about England - whilst they have a number of talented individuals, in my opinion they sometimes seem to struggle to play well together as a team. That said I do think that they have a good draw, and this year is probably their best chance of actually winning the World Cup since 1990 (and as a Scotsman it pained me to type that.... Mind you, looking at it the Dutch also have a good draw.

As an Englishman (well three quarters English and one quarter Irish) I won't mention 1990, Scotland and Costa Rica.....

I'd say that England's biggest problem is an over reliance on a couple of star players and it is almost inevitable that one of them will get injured or sent off in a crucial game....

[Rainbow Six]

As an Englishman (well three quarters English and one quarter Irish) I won't mention 1990, Scotland and Costa Rica.....

LOL...the list of Scottish World Cup disasters is endless...Iran in 1978...Morocco in 1998...Russia in 1982 (sheer class...two of our own players running into one another...)...

[Raellus]

I just hope Italy does poorly. Cheating bastards.

Don't worry, Targ, I don't think they'll get far this year. They're old and lack the firepower.

@Mahahatain: I like Crouch. He needs to bring back his robot dance. At 6'7", he makes me look graceful on the pitch (I'm a skinny 6'4"). I think he and Rooney would work well together. He could play target man and let Rooney play a little deeper or drift around.

@Rainbow: I like how this U.S. team matches up against this year's German team. I think we could take them (if we stay healthy).

[Raellus]

For those of you who haven't seen it, check out this commercial. It's pretty funny. It won't make much sense to you, though, if you don't know soccer.

http://www.youtube.com/watchv=J19-ROSfwY8

[Caradhras]

Here in England it is pretty intense already, all over the media...one of my local pubs has painted it's whole frontage as a giant England flag :P

I will be cheering for England ofc, but inevitably we seem to slip up somewhere (things like penalties and/or Germany), we do have a decent chance though.

Many teams have the potential to win it, Spain being probably the best team in the World atm however in these competitions anything can happen - Holland/Germany/Brazil/Argentina/Portugal and even aging Italy all have a shout.

I saw South Africa play ina a couple of their warm-up games and they were pretty poor, but as has been said, hosts always seem to get that bit further than they should.

Worth watching for the non-football/soccar fans imo, if only a team you follow.

Cmon England!

[Rainbow Six]

I just hope Italy does poorly. Cheating bastards.

So Targan, did you enjoy the New Zealand - Italy game