FIFA World Cup 2010 - Predictions/Discussions/Updates

[PlagueBearer]

I hope for some african teams to do it well - Cameroon had a hard quali, but they are with us :D

[_____V_____]

If you ask me, I have a feeling that the team which plays the best as a team this time will take the trophy. Its a big plus that many big names of all the fancied sides are either retired or left out.

England have announced their final squad. For all the UK residents of HDC, here it is -

Goalkeepers:

Robert Green (West Ham United),
Joe Hart (Manchester City),
David James (Portsmouth).

Defenders:

Jamie Carragher (Liverpool),
Ashley Cole (Chelsea),
Rio Ferdinand (Manchester United),
Glen Johnson (Liverpool),
Ledley King (Tottenham Hotspur),
John Terry (Chelsea),
Matthew Upson (West Ham United),
Stephen Warnock (Aston Villa).

Midfielders:

Gareth Barry (Manchester City),
Michael Carrick (Manchester United),
Joe Cole (Chelsea),
Steven Gerrard (Liverpool),
Frank Lampard (Chelsea),
Aaron Lennon (Tottenham Hotspur),
James Milner (Aston Villa),
Shaun Wright-Phillips (Manchester City).

Forwards:

Peter Crouch (Tottenham Hotspur),
Jermain Defoe (Tottenham Hotspur),
Emile Heskey (Aston Villa),
Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).

[zwoti]

Originally Posted by ferretchucker

BOOO! HISS! Football is for sissys. Rugby is a man's sport.

oh yes, a sport where the hooker is a big hairy man :eek:

[_____V_____]

Originally Posted by zwoti

oh yes, a sport where the hooker is a big hairy man :eek:

rofl...

ZWOTIIIIIII!!!

[Angra]

Originally Posted by ferretchucker

BOOO! HISS! Football is for sissys. Rugby is a man's sport.

Shut up, boy. You're a disgrace for your country.


:D

[zwoti]

Originally Posted by _____V_____

Some of the players to watch out for -

Thierry HENRY (France) - Arguably the fastest Forward in the world for quite some time, and one of my most favorite footballers. Age is catching up with him though.

Lionel MESSI (Argentina) - In the same league as Henry. One of the most dazzling footballers you ll ever see in your life.

KAKA (Brazil) - The third name in the must-watch list.

Diego FORLAN (Uruguay)

Frank LAMPARD (England)

Miroslav KLOSE (Germany)

Arjen ROBBEN (Netherlands)

Shunsuke NAKAMURA (Japan)

Samuel ETO'O (Cameroon)

Gianluigi BUFFON (Italy)

Roque SANTA CRUZ (Paraguay)

Didier DROGBA (Ivory Coast)

Cristiano RONALDO (Portugal)

Fernando TORRES (Spain)

henry - passed it. ribery has been playing well for bayern so he might have a good tournament. france will probably be undermined by their manager domenech again.

kaka - not been playing well, absent from the real team recently. but brazil have so many good players that they should progress.

forlan - not expectin anything from him, not expecting anything from uruguay.

lampard - how many deflections and penalties can 1 man get. rooney is the main man for england.

klose - does he play anymore, can't get into the bayern team anymore, like gomes.

robben - been playing very well, holland if they click will do well.

japan, paraguay, cameroon - not expecting anything.

drogba - class player (pains me to say this).

ronaldo - very good player, but the rest of the team not enough to progress far.

italy - too old

spain - the team to beat, class players.

argentina - brilliant individuals, but a team? i'd say no, and maradona doesn't help any.

[roshiq]

Originally Posted by zwoti

drogba - class player (pains me to say this).

ronaldo - very good player, but the rest of the team not enough to progress far.

italy - too old

Yep...Drogba is one of finest strikers I have seen in years who alone can be great threat for his opponents. I don't have any idea about the rest of squad of Ivory Coast but they need to have 2 good play maker from the mid field to support him & making some upset in the group stage.

I think C. Ronaldo is still more on his showmanship & often goes for some unnecessary tricks & turns but of course he's a gifted footballer.

Pirlo is a great play maker from Italy who shown some class football last time. Not care for their being 'old' issue, they are the defending champions...in 2006 they surprised me with their attacking attitude in the field and I can even only support them for their cool jersey. :D

[TheWickerFan]

Originally Posted by zwoti

oh yes, a sport where the hooker is a big hairy man :eek:

Don't know what the hookers do, but I learned what the wingers do.

[Zero]

i predict england won't even get out of their group

[DP McCoy]

Of course England will win ...

If they can sort out the following,

#1 The back four.

Defensively England have looked vulnerable lately,Johnson,Ferdinand,Terry and Cole are quality players but have not played together enough in the run up to the World Cup,if as a unit there is any lack of cohesiveness then we will concede goals too easily.

#2 Gareth Barry's fitness.

Since becoming the first choice holding midfielder Barry has brought an assured presence to the middle of the park,not having him there would be a serious weakness.

#3 Wayne Rooney.

Getting the best out of Rooney is key.Giving him the right strike partner is crucial,I believe playing him with Defoe is not an option,Heskey works well with him but has been woefully out of form and lacking fitness.My choice would be Crouch,he holds the ball up well and will provide Rooney with plenty of knockdowns/layoffs to run onto.

#4 Penalties.

Penalties are to be avoided at all costs.


Putting loyalty to one side,Spain are the logical choice as tournament winners,they have been the outstanding side in World football for several years,they have been drawn in an easy group and are worthy favourites.

I would agree with Zwoti that Holland could go well,and for that reason I would pick Van Persie for the Golden Boot.

Serbia would be my pick of an outside team that could surprise.


Bring it on !