Choose wisely World Cup thread

Question

Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon

The hosts qualified automatically & played friendlies in which they didn't impress but kept on winning. Scolari has the needed experience in this type of tournament & Neymar is scoring cca .60 g/g which is on par with the best of all time. They managed to win yesterday with big help from the refs, but that is more or less expected for a host nation weather they need it or not(Brazil were borderline here IMO).

It's not exactly a typical Brasilian team of years past & "the people" aren't exactly happy with some of his choices, but he's heard it all before & the he won the WC.

Between the home support & the refs help they are without a doubt at top of the list to win it all.

BritBull · Answer

Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon

The hosts qualified automatically & played friendlies in which they didn't impress but kept on winning. Scolari has the needed experience in this type of tournament & Neymar is scoring cca .60 g/g which is on par with the best of all time. They managed to win yesterday with big help from the refs, but that is more or less expected for a host nation weather they need it or not(Brazil were borderline here IMO).

It's not exactly a typical Brasilian team of years past & "the people" aren't exactly happy with some of his choices, but he's heard it all before & the he won the WC.

Between the home support & the refs help they are without a doubt at top of the list to win it all.

BritBull · Answer

Croatia have been struggling to find their form in their q group, but after they changed the coach things were looking better. Croatia haven't done much in the WC since their 3rd place finish in '98, but they were lacking some luck needed to turn things round which was also evident in yesterdays loss. Neymar hit the post with a lucky shot & the ball went in & Petikosa had both hands on the penalty but the ball again went in.

They will have Mandjukic back for the other 2 games which will make a huge difference in their heads, since it was clear that Olic/Jelavic weren't working well together.

Kovac still looks a bit naive, but he is the youngest coach there & hopefully he'll learn from the fist game or this team could get fubar-ed despite having possibly the most creative midfield of all the teams.

BritBull · Answer

Mexico q round was their worst in ages, but they later easily disposed of New Zealand in the play-off round. Like the Croats they also recently changed the coach & they are coming into this tournament playing in a new formation & with a lot of players from their domestic league.

Another similarity with the Croats is their problem with injuries, but on the other hand they are only one of three teams that has manged to go through the group stage at the last 5 WC tournaments.

BIGfnPOO · Answer

ok, DRAW  in mex/cameroon gm.   great writeup!

BritBull · Answer

Cameroon are the biggest question mark in this group, maybe even in the whole tournament.After qualifying with ease more or less, their preparation for the WC was more a fight with their national federation regarding money more than anything else.

They have had a series of German coaches in recent history & the current coach, Finke, is no exception. Although being with them for over a year it seems he still hasn't found his perfect formation and the results have been all over the place.

Cameroon have had a mixed success in the past tournaments. On one hand they have played in the QF which they will have a very hard time repeating this time round, but they can't do any worse than their 0(yes zero) points performance in 2010.

BritBull · Answer

Group B: Spain, Holland, Chile, Australia

Everybody knows everything about Spain. They are the reigning World & European champions. Theys play a Barca style game although their formation is different. They qualified with ease as expected from group that included a win & a draw vs the French. They are considered by many to be the biggest fav to win the tournament with Brazil. The largest change for them comes in form of Diego Costa, who although injured recently is back to full fitness.

Their first game with Holland should decide who will win the group & miss the hosts in the next round.

BritBull · Answer

Holland are almost a new team here. Although they have some familiar faces & one of the best attacking duos in Robben/Van Persie, they won't be playing their famous 4-3-3 for the first time since '70s. Van Gaal has them playing a 5-3-2(3-5-2) & in this they are building their hopes for success.

After their *hitty performace in 2010 EC they are hungry, but the lack of experience will be a problem sooner rather than later & the missing of Strootmann could be too big for them to make it any further than the first knock-out round, although with Van Gaal as their coach some optimism isn't out of the question as he will have a few cards up his sleeves.

Juveboy · Answer

Let&#39;s have a money bull day

BritBull · Answer

Chile under Bielsa was a juggernaut in 2010 & this team bears a resemblance. Chile have a nice quick & technically gifted squad, they came in as 3rd in their SA group & they could've been one of the dark horses of the tournament if they had a better draw. Their unusual style of play is their greatest strength & biggest weakness, although they are a much more balanced team these days.

Vidal had surgery earlier but is expected to be involved in all group of the games, although he could be spared for the first one to give him some extra rest.

It's hard seeing both of the EU teams slipping up, which would leave a best case scenario for Chile to finish 2nd & play Brasil next. A shame really as the hosts will be given a free ride to the semis one way or another.

BritBull · Answer

Australia are one of the worst teams in the tournament. Although they qualified more or less without any problems in their Asian group, their best days are in the past. The old boys in Cahill, Bresaciano, etc are (way) past their prime and the new guys aren't playing to the same standard.

This team is rightfully thought of as cannon fodder in this group & it's hard to see them being a threat to anyone. They will try to play defensively against all teams here but 0 points & a -6 goal difference looms over their heads.

BritBull · Answer

BOL my friend.

BritBull · Answer

If anyone thinks they have something useful to add, feel free. Those of you who have followed my threads before know I don&#x27;t mind. As usual, the only rule is no *itching.

e_nygma · Answer

Great job yesterday BB, keep it up.

BritBull · Answer

Group C: Ivory Coast, Japan, Columbia, Greece

IC went through their African group pretty much with ease & then beat Senegal in the play-off round. Lamouchi has been leading them for the last 2 years & doing a pretty good job too. The core players are well known faces of the soccer world & although they aren't getting any younger( Droghba 36, Yaya 31, Kolo 33, Zokora 33, even Kalou & Gervino are in their late '20s), but this is the last chance for this team to make an impact in the WC after failing to make it through the group stage both in 2006.(Argentina, Holland, Serbia) & 2010.(Brasil, Portugal, North Korea).

It wouldn't be the first time in the WC finals we see an old African guy play a great tournament( Milla's Cameroon comes to mind here) & although their back line looks a little thin to mount a serious challenge, the weakish group provides more than enough opportunity for them while to old guys are still fresh.

They haven't been playing particularly well coming into the tournament (1-1-1 5-5 in their friendlies), but the much needed experience at this level is there.

BritBull · Answer

Columbia made it through the SA qualifications as the 2nd ranked team, just 2 points behind Argentina. Pekerman has done a great job after taking over less than 2 years ago & Colombia have made to top of the FIFA rankings recently and says it all about this team. They own a 12-6-2 39-13 record in little under two years which shows they both good offensively & defensively.

Falcao is of course their biggest name, but even without him they are no mugs & should still pose a danger to all the other teams in their group. With him gone, Jackson Martinez is expected to step up and lead the team.

Before Falcao got injured they were the no1 favs to top this group and even make some "upsets" in the later rounds, despite their pretty bad record in the past & not even making it to the finals for years after the "Valderrama generation" in the 90s.

BritBull · Answer

Greece have been a team noone wants to play against since the Rehagl era. Their ultra defensive mentality is a pain for the eyes, but it has brought them pretty consistent results over the past decade or so, including a European championship in 2004. Santos took over in 2010, after the debacle at the WC & just continued playing the style this team was accustomed to & more importantly, which continued to bring them success. They never win pretty & have a tendency to struggle against the better teams, but they shouldn't be overlooked, even with their aging squad.

Mitroglu has become the new hart of the team, but as Falcao he's out from today's game, old guys like Gekkas & Salpi will have to once again show they can still do it.

It's also worth noting Greece has one of the worst records of all time at the WC finals(1-5-0 2-15).

BritBull · Answer

Japan were the first tea to officially secure a place in the WC finals under the leadership of Zacceroni, who took over in 2010 after the WC. They aren't new face at the WC finals as this will be their 5th consecutive appearance & over the years they went from total outsiders to a team capable of going through to the knock-out stages.

They will have to make something happen with their defense to make it there though, as they are far from a top side in that part of the pitch. On the other side, they are fast & OK technically up front & could(should) pose a threat to any defense in their group.

They played a few friendlies with IC over the years, winning 2 & losing 1 & they have manged to beat 2 African sides they faced in the previous WC trips.

BritBull · Answer

Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, Italy, England

Uruguay have been the big surprise in the 2010 finals, but they had a tough time qualifying for this WC eventually ending up 5th in the SA & needing a play-off game vs Jordan to make it here. Tabarez is one of the longest serving coaches at this year's finals & this is his 2nd stint with the team. Obviously, their FA trusts him immensely as even a bad run in the qualifiers wasn't enough for a change.

The biggest name is Suarez who is recovering from surgery, but should feature in the WC. Without him Cavani & Forlan will be there to spear the attack.

Their past performances in the finals have been rare since the'70s, with pretty bad results, if you take away the 4th place finish in South Africa. Can this generation once again make it to the fight for the medals? Even if Suarez was healthy, I highly doubt it.

BritBull · Answer

Costa Rica are one of the bigger enigmas for most people following the tournament & it plain to see their direct qualification was first and foremost down to Mexico playing horribly. They are coached by Pinto, who is in his 2nd stint with the team, after coming back in 2011. He has tried several things with his team & it seems, a very defensive 5-4-1 will be their first tactical option. They have been a team of two faces, good at home & bad away.

The last time they made it to the finals in 2006, 0 points & a -6 goal difference was the best they managed to do & they face a similar destiny this time round too

composite · Answer

Good to see you back. Mexico looked better vs Cameroon than the 1-0 score reflected. In fact, they've been much, much better since they changed coaches and I thought he picked half the players from the local Club Leon team or something. Either way, since their loss to Costa Rica they smashed New Zealand but have done well in friendlies too.

Brazil looked worse than the 3-1 score reflected. The Croat goalie looked very shaky.

Does Mexico have a shot against Brazil? The Brazilians didn't get that many scoring chances vs Croatia and the Croatian goalie was awful. Plus there's was the horrible penalty kick given. There's no pressure on Mexico since they're expected to lose. Everything really boils down to the Croatia/Mexico match anyway.

BritBull · Answer

England have been fighting Ukraine for the top spot in their q group, managing to come out on top eventually. They are led by Hogdson, the first English speaking boss in years & he decided to bring in a lot of new faces. Yes, Lampard & Gerrard are there with 200+ appearances for their NT between them, but they will see veeeery little playing time. This leaves Rooney practically the only guy with some real experience on the pitch, Hart/Johnson/Milner making (close to) 50 appearances. And what's else is there??? Well, nothing. 13 out of their 23 man squad have less than 20 national caps & although guys like Wilshire or Sturrage are a proven quality at the club level & far from being anonymous, there are huge question marks how this will play out on the biggest of stages.

In 2010. England barely made it through the group with 2 draws & and a 1-0 win vs Slovenia, getting smashed by Germany in the next round. The expectations for the English are always high, which could be too much for this young team.

Recent form has been far from great & the best thing they got going for themselves is that Buffon is probably out for Italy.

BritBull · Answer

And then there is Italy. As far as I can remember this team comes into the big championships with (huge) problems and except the debacle in the last WC, they usually make pretty good results too. Prandelli took over at the helm of Italy after the debacle and led them to the EC finals two years later and through a q group they easily went through.

They aren't playing well, Pirlo is old, Buffon is out( and not their only injury problem) and the public is writing them off. Seems like the perfect setting for them to scrape through the group somehow & then make it to the semis again.

BritBull · Answer

[Quote: Originally Posted by composite]  Good to see you back.  Mexico looked better vs Cameroon than the 1-0 score reflected.  In fact, they&#x27;ve been much, much better since they changed coaches and I thought he picked half the players from the local Club Leon team or something.  Either way, since their loss to Costa Rica they smashed New Zealand but have done well in friendlies too.&#xD;&#xA;Brazil looked worse than the 3-1 score reflected. The Croat goalie looked very shaky.&#xD;&#xA;Does Mexico have a shot against Brazil?   The Brazilians didn&#x27;t get that many scoring chances vs Croatia and the Croatian goalie was awful. Plus  there&#x27;s was the horrible penalty kick given. There&#x27;s no pressure on Mexico since they&#x27;re expected to lose.  Everything really boils down to the Croatia/Mexico match anyway.    [/Quote]Cheers mate,Mexico would be easy value @&#x2B;1000 if the home team didn&#x27;t have refs on their side &amp; I think Brasil wins in the end one way or another, which makes the -1.5 asian line pretty much a coin flip.

BritBull · Answer

Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras

The Swiss have quietly been putting together a nice generation who have qualified as the group winners under the leadership of Hitzfeld. (he's been there since the disappointment of 08 EC). Although without any big stars this team is 12-5-1 in their last 18 behind a 4-2-3-1 formation that fits this team perfectly. Of course a lot of younger players means thy lack some experience, but this isn't nearly as big of an issue as in the England(for comparison).

Although they are only 5-4-11 in their previous trips to the WC finals, most of the losses are ancient history & they have only 1 loss over the course of 90 minutres in their 7 games played in '06 & '10 championships. European teans have show very little so far & expect this to change here. IMO this team is looking good enough to reach the knock-out phase.

BritBull · Answer

Ecuador came in as 4th in the SA group because of better goal difference than Uruguay, but their main advantage is their home ground where they took 22 of possible 24 points, while they managed only 3 points in their away games. Although they are perceived to be a home team, that didn't stop them from beating Poland & Costa Rica in '06(their last finals appearance) in their group games while losing to Germany and getting kicked out of the tournament by England in the next round in a close game.

It's hard to see a team with only 2 wins in their last 14 doing much, but the way European teams have been performing so far the knock-out phase isn't out of their reach.

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