***Official 2014 World Cup Thread*** (2 Viewers)

[Area51Inhabitant]

Reality TV Show Idea:

Take 50 college athletes from basketball/football/maybe baseball. Guys that didn't go on to play pro ball.

Put that group of 50 through training/tryouts to cut down to a soccer team.

Have that team play a friendly against an MLS team as the season finale.

They would get crushed.

The NBA players would get the bad acting down quick though.

 

[guru_007]

Donovan and DMB go back to the Portugal/Germany games in 2002. (DMB did not play against Germany, Landon played in both)

Is there anyone on either Germany or Portugal that tie back to those games?

Klose.

dont think Klose was on 2002 German WC team

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

So am I culturally biased towards nutty, somewhat-random draws like this, as opposed to seeding on merit the way the NCAA tournament does? Is it an American thing? Am I not enough of an existentialist? Am I just sour after today/bitter towards Mexico?

Do you want FIFA seeding on merit? Imagine a BCS where teams from the Big 10 and the SEC only played each other in competitive games every four years.

 

[CBusAlex]

Reality TV Show Idea:

Take 50 college athletes from basketball/football/maybe baseball. Guys that didn't go on to play pro ball.

Put that group of 50 through training/tryouts to cut down to a soccer team.

Have that team play a friendly against an MLS team as the season finale.

They would get crushed.

Yeah. Chad Johnson (who did play pro ball) tried out for KC that one time. He was awful. Hard to imagine guys with no soccer skill and less athleticism doing any better.

 

[QuizGuy66]

I know we'd like to get friendlies against teams that mirror Germany, Portugal, and Ghana.

I'd like to ask the reverse question: What countries are we considered similar to that would make us an attractive friendly opponent?

-QG

 

[AAABatteries]

Brazil is a pretty big country. And soccer is absurdly popular there. But tall rangy guys who can jump out of the gym play basketball or volleyball in Brazil. Because those are sports that fit their skill set. The Brazilian team has a lot of very athletic players, but their best player is a guy who looks like he should be on the Bad News Bears, not the Chicago Bears.

I don't want to hijack the thread on WC draw day too much but to me it would come down to how much of what Neymar does was learned versus how much was he born with? I could very well be wrong and it's mostly the latter but with all the great athletes we produce it seems unlikely to me that we couldn't find at least a few world class players somewhere in there. And it would only take a few for us to move from a good team to a very good team.

 

[Area51Inhabitant]

Donovan and DMB go back to the Portugal/Germany games in 2002. (DMB did not play against Germany, Landon played in both)

Is there anyone on either Germany or Portugal that tie back to those games?

Klose.

dont think Klose was on 2002 German WC team

Klose scored 5 goals for that team. 2nd place in the Golden Boot standings to Ronaldo.

 

[guru_007]

Donovan and DMB go back to the Portugal/Germany games in 2002. (DMB did not play against Germany, Landon played in both)

Is there anyone on either Germany or Portugal that tie back to those games?

Klose is playing in his last WC.

Klose needs what, 1 or 2 goals to set the all time tourney record?

I don't think Klose will get there. He was in great form last year, but has really not be great this year. He'll be what 35-36 by the time the WC comes around? Any time he gets would probably just be a courtesy to him. He's one of my favorite players ever for Germany, but time has passed him by.

 

[guru_007]

Donovan and DMB go back to the Portugal/Germany games in 2002. (DMB did not play against Germany, Landon played in both)

Is there anyone on either Germany or Portugal that tie back to those games?

Klose.

dont think Klose was on 2002 German WC team

Klose scored 5 goals for that team. 2nd place in the Golden Boot standings to Ronaldo.

right, I was mistaken - was looking up something else when I posted.

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

I know we'd like to get friendlies against teams that mirror Germany, Portugal, and Ghana.

I'd like to ask the reverse question: What countries are we considered similar to that would make us an attractive friendly opponent?

-QG

I would think that Colombia might find us an interesting dress rehearsal for the Ivory Coast. Altidore would be a decent Drogba/Bony clone. We have a pretty athletic CM.

 

[AAABatteries]

I know we'd like to get friendlies against teams that mirror Germany, Portugal, and Ghana.

I'd like to ask the reverse question: What countries are we considered similar to that would make us an attractive friendly opponent?

-QG

Switzerland?

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Reality TV Show Idea:

Take 50 college athletes from basketball/football/maybe baseball. Guys that didn't go on to play pro ball.

Put that group of 50 through training/tryouts to cut down to a soccer team.

Have that team play a friendly against an MLS team as the season finale.

They would get crushed.

Yeah. Chad Johnson (who did play pro ball) tried out for KC that one time. He was awful. Hard to imagine guys with no soccer skill and less athleticism doing any better.

How awesome would the show be though? I'd watch.

Undrafted guys from CFB like Cierre Wood and Alec Lemon and Tom Wort. Undrafted Hoopers like Myck Kabongo and BJ Young. They're not doing anything, right?

 

[Sammy3469]

I have this weird feeling that Spain is going to crash out early.

Spanish Federation needs to tell Barca to blow up early in Champions league so they can rest a bit

That's applies to Bayern too

 

[QuizGuy66]

I know we'd like to get friendlies against teams that mirror Germany, Portugal, and Ghana.

I'd like to ask the reverse question: What countries are we considered similar to that would make us an attractive friendly opponent?

-QG

I would think that Colombia might find us an interesting dress rehearsal for the Ivory Coast. Altidore would be a decent Drogba/Bony clone. We have a pretty athletic CM.

Does that really benefit us though? I don't think Colombia is likely all that similar to our 3 opponents. Actually Ivory Coast would be a stern but good test for us as a friendly - or maybe Nigeria. Greece is in that group too and I suppose it would be a Euro friendly which is desirable but they are a better proxy for the Swiss as they bunker.

-QG

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Reality TV Show Idea:

Take 50 college athletes from basketball/football/maybe baseball. Guys that didn't go on to play pro ball.

Put that group of 50 through training/tryouts to cut down to a soccer team.

Have that team play a friendly against an MLS team as the season finale.

They would get crushed.

Yeah. Chad Johnson (who did play pro ball) tried out for KC that one time. He was awful. Hard to imagine guys with no soccer skill and less athleticism doing any better.

How awesome would the show be though? I'd watch.

Undrafted guys from CFB like Cierre Wood and Alec Lemon and Tom Wort. Undrafted Hoopers like Myck Kabongo and BJ Young. They're not doing anything, right?

FYI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtIb-HK7NcA

 

[T Bell]

I think his examples weren't especially good. Maybe Allen Iverson? But the better examples might be guys we don't know who would have been really good at soccer but instead grew up playing basketball, but they weren't tall enough to make it to the NBA.

Most likely, those guys just came to mind. With LeBron's speed, strength and quickness it's hard for me to believe that he wouldn't be a good CB if he played soccer his entire life.

I'm just imagining Sean Taylor as a center back.

 

[AAABatteries]

Donovan and DMB go back to the Portugal/Germany games in 2002. (DMB did not play against Germany, Landon played in both)

Is there anyone on either Germany or Portugal that tie back to those games?

Klose is playing in his last WC.

Klose needs what, 1 or 2 goals to set the all time tourney record?

I don't think Klose will get there. He was in great form last year, but has really not be great this year. He'll be what 35-36 by the time the WC comes around? Any time he gets would probably just be a courtesy to him. He's one of my favorite players ever for Germany, but time has passed him by.

In particular having a tough group where it doesn't look like they will have a blowout. I'd love to see him get the record but I agree that I think it's unlikely.

 

[QuizGuy66]

I know we'd like to get friendlies against teams that mirror Germany, Portugal, and Ghana.

I'd like to ask the reverse question: What countries are we considered similar to that would make us an attractive friendly opponent?

-QG

Switzerland?

I think you're right. After all they patterned their win over Spain on our match against them in the Confed Cup ahead of 2010, albeit that was with Bradley. A friendly against France would be pretty good for us, I think even though they are pretty familiar with the Swiss already. Given that they have Honduras in their group too that's probably a bonu in their prep.

-QG

 

[T Bell]

Brazil is a pretty big country. And soccer is absurdly popular there. But tall rangy guys who can jump out of the gym play basketball or volleyball in Brazil. Because those are sports that fit their skill set. The Brazilian team has a lot of very athletic players, but their best player is a guy who looks like he should be on the Bad News Bears, not the Chicago Bears.

I don't want to hijack the thread on WC draw day too much but to me it would come down to how much of what Neymar does was learned versus how much was he born with? I could very well be wrong and it's mostly the latter but with all the great athletes we produce it seems unlikely to me that we couldn't find at least a few world class players somewhere in there. And it would only take a few for us to move from a good team to a very good team.

It's both. He won the genetic soccer lottery, but he also benefits from thousands of hours of practicing in a soccer crazy country, and from better and better instruction as he progressed.

 

[AAABatteries]

I've been trying for 15 minutes to figure out who that chick was at the draw earlier but not having any luck. I keep getting pics of Charlize Theron - which isn't bad. Anyone have any idea who she is?

https://www.google.com/search?q=Fernanda+Lima&client=firefox-a&hs=wAO&rls=org.mozilla:en-USfficial&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=1zGiUvSwIszokQel_IHABQ&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=680

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Brazil is a pretty big country. And soccer is absurdly popular there. But tall rangy guys who can jump out of the gym play basketball or volleyball in Brazil. Because those are sports that fit their skill set. The Brazilian team has a lot of very athletic players, but their best player is a guy who looks like he should be on the Bad News Bears, not the Chicago Bears.

I don't want to hijack the thread on WC draw day too much but to me it would come down to how much of what Neymar does was learned versus how much was he born with? I could very well be wrong and it's mostly the latter but with all the great athletes we produce it seems unlikely to me that we couldn't find at least a few world class players somewhere in there. And it would only take a few for us to move from a good team to a very good team.

The World Cup is six months away. There are no hijacks.

I'm sure it comes down to what Neymar learned at an early age. But the US does not lack soccer players who have played from an early age. We have plenty of them. And we're certainly no lacking in athleticism. Neymar went out as a kid with nothing but a ball and some other kids and just screwed around. By the time he was being "coached" things like controlling the ball were second nature to him.

I would bet the same is true of many of our best basketball players. They didn't become great ball handlers or shooters through AAU teams. They did by long hours by themselves with a basketball. But no matter how many hours Neymar put in, the things he does with the ball would have become much harder if he grew to be 6'4". Because 9 out of 10 players who are explosive off the dribble have a low center of gravity. Ronaldo is uncommonly tall for such a great dribbler. There's a reason why most world class midfielders are generally between 5'7" and 5'11" or so, and it's not because tall guys don't like soccer.

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Reality TV Show Idea:

Take 50 college athletes from basketball/football/maybe baseball. Guys that didn't go on to play pro ball.

Put that group of 50 through training/tryouts to cut down to a soccer team.

Have that team play a friendly against an MLS team as the season finale.

They would get crushed.

Yeah. Chad Johnson (who did play pro ball) tried out for KC that one time. He was awful. Hard to imagine guys with no soccer skill and less athleticism doing any better.

How awesome would the show be though? I'd watch.

Undrafted guys from CFB like Cierre Wood and Alec Lemon and Tom Wort. Undrafted Hoopers like Myck Kabongo and BJ Young. They're not doing anything, right?

FYI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtIb-HK7NcA

This is awesome.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Brazil is a pretty big country. And soccer is absurdly popular there. But tall rangy guys who can jump out of the gym play basketball or volleyball in Brazil. Because those are sports that fit their skill set. The Brazilian team has a lot of very athletic players, but their best player is a guy who looks like he should be on the Bad News Bears, not the Chicago Bears.

I don't want to hijack the thread on WC draw day too much but to me it would come down to how much of what Neymar does was learned versus how much was he born with? I could very well be wrong and it's mostly the latter but with all the great athletes we produce it seems unlikely to me that we couldn't find at least a few world class players somewhere in there. And it would only take a few for us to move from a good team to a very good team.

Neymar's been immersed in (and played) soccer since he was a child, having a soccer player for a father and growing up in a country where it's sport A, B, C and D. That level of experience can't be attained by someone coming into the game late, even if he's an elite-level athlete.

 

[Mjolnirs]

I have this weird feeling that Spain is going to crash out early.

Spanish Federation needs to tell Barca to blow up early in Champions league so they can rest a bit

That's applies to Bayern too

I thought this as well when he posted that. The CL final is May 24th, 19 days before the first match kicks off. 20 days before Spain's first match and 23 before Germany's.

 

[Good Posting Judge]

Reality TV Show Idea:

Take 50 college athletes from basketball/football/maybe baseball. Guys that didn't go on to play pro ball.

Put that group of 50 through training/tryouts to cut down to a soccer team.

Have that team play a friendly against an MLS team as the season finale.

They would get crushed.

Yeah. Chad Johnson (who did play pro ball) tried out for KC that one time. He was awful. Hard to imagine guys with no soccer skill and less athleticism doing any better.

How awesome would the show be though? I'd watch.

Undrafted guys from CFB like Cierre Wood and Alec Lemon and Tom Wort. Undrafted Hoopers like Myck Kabongo and BJ Young. They're not doing anything, right?

FYI:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtIb-HK7NcA

This is awesome.

There should be games with random hedges placed around the pitch IMO.

 

[Guster]

Reality TV Show Idea:

Take 50 college athletes from basketball/football/maybe baseball. Guys that didn't go on to play pro ball.

Put that group of 50 through training/tryouts to cut down to a soccer team.

Have that team play a friendly against an MLS team as the season finale.

They would get crushed.

Yeah. Chad Johnson (who did play pro ball) tried out for KC that one time. He was awful. Hard to imagine guys with no soccer skill and less athleticism doing any better.

How awesome would the show be though? I'd watch. Undrafted guys from CFB like Cierre Wood and Alec Lemon and Tom Wort. Undrafted Hoopers like Myck Kabongo and BJ Young. They're not doing anything, right?

FYI:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtIb-HK7NcA

 

[Evilgrin 72]

Shaq in goal would have been pretty sweet. Aside from the space he'd eat up, imagine if you're a striker on a breakaway and you suddenly saw him coming at you at 20 MPH, screaming? I'd just fire the ball into the stands to avoid the collision.

Nah, I would just shoot low. It's tough for somebody that tall to get down to the ground quickly.

All he'd have to do is stick his leg out. He could probably cover all but 2' of each side of the goal without moving his center of gravity.

 

[fatguyinalittlecoat]

Shaq in goal would have been pretty sweet. Aside from the space he'd eat up, imagine if you're a striker on a breakaway and you suddenly saw him coming at you at 20 MPH, screaming? I'd just fire the ball into the stands to avoid the collision.

Nah, I would just shoot low. It's tough for somebody that tall to get down to the ground quickly.

All he'd have to do is stick his leg out. He could probably cover all but 2' of each side of the goal without moving his center of gravity.

Not really that easy, and even if you were right that would create tons of rebound opportunities. 300 pounds moving in one direction is difficult turn back around to stop the next shot.

Didn't Shaq have some reality show where he did different sports?

ETA: wikipedia says shaq didn't do a soccer one. Oh well.

 

[AAABatteries]

Brazil is a pretty big country. And soccer is absurdly popular there. But tall rangy guys who can jump out of the gym play basketball or volleyball in Brazil. Because those are sports that fit their skill set. The Brazilian team has a lot of very athletic players, but their best player is a guy who looks like he should be on the Bad News Bears, not the Chicago Bears.

I don't want to hijack the thread on WC draw day too much but to me it would come down to how much of what Neymar does was learned versus how much was he born with? I could very well be wrong and it's mostly the latter but with all the great athletes we produce it seems unlikely to me that we couldn't find at least a few world class players somewhere in there. And it would only take a few for us to move from a good team to a very good team.

Neymar's been immersed in (and played) soccer since he was a child, having a soccer player for a father and growing up in a country where it's sport A, B, C and D. That level of experience can't be attained by someone coming into the game late, even if he's an elite-level athlete.

Right - that was my point. We need our players playing from the time they can walk essentially. Then have some of them who 1. hit the genetic lottery and 2. are playing from the time they are walking turning in to the next elite talent.

 

[Eephus]

Reality TV Show Idea:

Take 50 college athletes from basketball/football/maybe baseball. Guys that didn't go on to play pro ball.

Put that group of 50 through training/tryouts to cut down to a soccer team.

Have that team play a friendly against an MLS team as the season finale.

They would get crushed.

Yeah. Chad Johnson (who did play pro ball) tried out for KC that one time. He was awful. Hard to imagine guys with no soccer skill and less athleticism doing any better.

How awesome would the show be though? I'd watch.

Undrafted guys from CFB like Cierre Wood and Alec Lemon and Tom Wort. Undrafted Hoopers like Myck Kabongo and BJ Young. They're not doing anything, right?

Play the game in Manaus at noon

 

[EBF]

Tough draw for the USA. Need to get some kind of a result against Ghana and Portugal. 4 points out of those two games might be enough. Six points should guarantee advancement. We are capable of beating those teams on our day. Need to play well and get the bounces.

 

[AAABatteries]

Brazil is a pretty big country. And soccer is absurdly popular there. But tall rangy guys who can jump out of the gym play basketball or volleyball in Brazil. Because those are sports that fit their skill set. The Brazilian team has a lot of very athletic players, but their best player is a guy who looks like he should be on the Bad News Bears, not the Chicago Bears.

I don't want to hijack the thread on WC draw day too much but to me it would come down to how much of what Neymar does was learned versus how much was he born with? I could very well be wrong and it's mostly the latter but with all the great athletes we produce it seems unlikely to me that we couldn't find at least a few world class players somewhere in there. And it would only take a few for us to move from a good team to a very good team.

The World Cup is six months away. There are no hijacks.

I'm sure it comes down to what Neymar learned at an early age. But the US does not lack soccer players who have played from an early age. We have plenty of them. And we're certainly no lacking in athleticism. Neymar went out as a kid with nothing but a ball and some other kids and just screwed around. By the time he was being "coached" things like controlling the ball were second nature to him.

I would bet the same is true of many of our best basketball players. They didn't become great ball handlers or shooters through AAU teams. They did by long hours by themselves with a basketball. But no matter how many hours Neymar put in, the things he does with the ball would have become much harder if he grew to be 6'4". Because 9 out of 10 players who are explosive off the dribble have a low center of gravity. Ronaldo is uncommonly tall for such a great dribbler. There's a reason why most world class midfielders are generally between 5'7" and 5'11" or so, and it's not because tall guys don't like soccer.

Yes, I think my examples were poor ones. I guess where I was trying to go with it is that dribbling, passing and positioning can be learned - speed, quickness and jumping can't for the most part.

 

[Slapdash]

In 2006, the WC thread on the FFA had 502 replies and 5,186 views

In 2010, the WC thread on the FFA had 9,544 replies and 109,367 views

We should pass the 2006 numbers in this thread before the turn of the year.

so much for turn of the year.

This thread is already well ahead of the entire WC thread in 2006.

A lot of post padding going on here.

There hasn't been much (or any) douchebaggery so we got that going for us.

I don't know if Christo has found the thread yet.

Don't worry, we will get the "soccer sucks" trolls at some point.

 

[Moe.]

Anyone interested in the whole nature v nurture debate as it pertains to sports should absolutely read The Sports Gene by David Epstein. Pretty quick read and very interesting.

 

[AAABatteries]

Not really going out on a limb here but I quickly went through and started ranking how likely I think it is for each team to advance out of their group. As anticipated it was "easy" at the top and bottom of the list

Confident they will advance:
Argentina
Brazil
Belgium
Colombia
Germany

Kind of confident they will advance:
France
Russia

Not sure if they will advance:
Mexico
Ivory Coast
Japan
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Spain
Ghana
Croatia
Netherlands
England
Nigeria
Portugal
Chile
Italy
Uruguay
Ecuador
Switzerland


Kind of confident they will not advance:
Greece
United States

Confident they won't advance:
Honduras
Algeria
South Korea
Costa Rica
Iran
Cameroon
Australia

 

[NewlyRetired]

Brazil is a pretty big country. And soccer is absurdly popular there. But tall rangy guys who can jump out of the gym play basketball or volleyball in Brazil. Because those are sports that fit their skill set. The Brazilian team has a lot of very athletic players, but their best player is a guy who looks like he should be on the Bad News Bears, not the Chicago Bears.

I don't want to hijack the thread on WC draw day too much but to me it would come down to how much of what Neymar does was learned versus how much was he born with? I could very well be wrong and it's mostly the latter but with all the great athletes we produce it seems unlikely to me that we couldn't find at least a few world class players somewhere in there. And it would only take a few for us to move from a good team to a very good team.

The World Cup is six months away. There are no hijacks.

I'm sure it comes down to what Neymar learned at an early age. But the US does not lack soccer players who have played from an early age. We have plenty of them. And we're certainly no lacking in athleticism. Neymar went out as a kid with nothing but a ball and some other kids and just screwed around. By the time he was being "coached" things like controlling the ball were second nature to him.

I would bet the same is true of many of our best basketball players. They didn't become great ball handlers or shooters through AAU teams. They did by long hours by themselves with a basketball. But no matter how many hours Neymar put in, the things he does with the ball would have become much harder if he grew to be 6'4". Because 9 out of 10 players who are explosive off the dribble have a low center of gravity. Ronaldo is uncommonly tall for such a great dribbler. There's a reason why most world class midfielders are generally between 5'7" and 5'11" or so, and it's not because tall guys don't like soccer.

Yes, I think my examples were poor ones. I guess where I was trying to go with it is that dribbling, passing and positioning can be learned - speed, quickness and jumping can't for the most part.

You have never watched Marvell Wynne play have you?

On a more serious note, you won't find a more physically gifted athlete than Eddie Johnson but it took him more than a decade to develop the soccer IQ needed to be even a half way decent player.

 

[The Gator]

QG, based on your possible draw spreadsheet, exactly how bad did our draw end up? Seems to me to be in the bottom 10% of what we could have gotten but I'm curious what your numbers say.

There were about 2/9 of draw combinations that would've been tougher and about 3/4 of draw combinations that would've been better.

There's about 2.5% of draws that were comparable.

-QG

Imagine Calvin Johnson as a center forward or LeBron as a DM or CB. Kevin Love as keeper. I know it doesn't always translate so some of those guys wouldn't be world class in soccer but ultimately we will never be in the same league as the other top teams until we get more top athletes playing and advancing at the world cup can only help that.

This argument always drives me nuts. What world class footballer looks like any of these guys? Being Drogba or Ibra's size is about as physically imposing as you can get in soccer. Do we really think Maradonna would have been better if he looked Adrian Peterson?

How many of the players who look like them played soccer their entire life?

1.1 Micha Richards

 

[Slapdash]

Kind of confident they will advance:

France

I don't get this one. France is not a very good team. They've got a good draw, but Ecuador and Switzerland can both beat them.

 

[B-Deep]

We got hosed in the draw, right?

 

[NewlyRetired]

QG, based on your possible draw spreadsheet, exactly how bad did our draw end up? Seems to me to be in the bottom 10% of what we could have gotten but I'm curious what your numbers say.

There were about 2/9 of draw combinations that would've been tougher and about 3/4 of draw combinations that would've been better.

There's about 2.5% of draws that were comparable.

-QG

Imagine Calvin Johnson as a center forward or LeBron as a DM or CB. Kevin Love as keeper. I know it doesn't always translate so some of those guys wouldn't be world class in soccer but ultimately we will never be in the same league as the other top teams until we get more top athletes playing and advancing at the world cup can only help that.

This argument always drives me nuts. What world class footballer looks like any of these guys? Being Drogba or Ibra's size is about as physically imposing as you can get in soccer. Do we really think Maradonna would have been better if he looked Adrian Peterson?

How many of the players who look like them played soccer their entire life?

1.1 Micha Richards

There are not a lot of sporting options in much of Africa. I am sure all sizes and shapes play there but their teams hardly lineup with a bunch of 6'5" players across the board.

Isn't Germany typically one of the taller sides?

 

[QuizGuy66]

Kind of confident they will advance:

France

I don't get this one. France is not a very good team. They've got a good draw, but Ecuador and Switzerland can both beat them.

Ecuador is not very good away from home - though being in a familiar place might help them.

What is the climate for the games Honduras is playing in? I think they really can be a wild card in this group and a surprise package.

-QG

 

[NewlyRetired]

We got hosed in the draw, right?

Not really. Very tough group but this is one of the deepest WC's ever in terms of talent and if you ran any sims before the toyrnament, hard groups for the US were a dime a dozen.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Question: What are the provisions for moving/rescheduling games in the event of torrential rains during a World Cup? I know that frequently Premier League games and the like get postponed if there's a water-logged pitch. Seems like it's a very real possibility for at least 2 of the U.S. games.

-QG

 

[Scoresman]

We got hosed in the draw, right?

when you're not a very good team to begin with, this is the most likely case scenario.

 

[B-Deep]

man

i really enjoy world cup soccer

i just wish we were good at it

gonna have to adopt a team

 

[NewlyRetired]

Not really going out on a limb here but I quickly went through and started ranking how likely I think it is for each team to advance out of their group. As anticipated it was "easy" at the top and bottom of the list

Confident they will advance:

Argentina

Brazil

Belgium

Colombia

GermanyKind of confident they will advance:

France

RussiaNot sure if they will advance:

Mexico

Ivory Coast

Japan

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Spain

Ghana

Croatia

Netherlands

England

Nigeria

Portugal

Chile

Italy

Uruguay

Ecuador

Switzerland

Kind of confident they will not advance:

Greece

United States Confident they won't advance:

Honduras

Algeria

South Korea

Costa Rica

Iran

Cameroon

Australia

I agree with most of this but I think Ecuador and Honduras are closer than most are thinking. Ecuador is a very very basic side away from home and the odds say not every SA team will advance.

 

[guru_007]

Kind of confident they will advance:

France

I don't get this one. France is not a very good team. They've got a good draw, but Ecuador and Switzerland can both beat them.

Totally disagree

France went through a bumpy stretch a year or so back, but France may have one of the deepest and most talented teams in the tournament. Would not surprise me at all to see them make the final 8. Call them my dark horse team if you will.

 

[QuizGuy66]

Hopefully we do better than the last time we played a World Cup game in Recife. We lost that year 5-2 to Chile.

-QG

 

[Native]

I think it helps that weve played all three of these teams recently. Takes away some of the shock factor given how fast they play with the ball at their feet. Going up big on Germany earlier this year has to be a big motivational factor for the team.

 

[CBusAlex]

We got hosed in the draw, right?

Meh. There are five groups we could have been drawn into that would be easier, and two that would be harder. It wasn't the draw we would have hoped for, but it's still a winnable situation.