PresIke wrote:italy is in a strange place. they may be relying on too many older players, i think, and kept off some guys from the roster that could have been helpful.
they don't have a great striker to score goals, yet they do have some sick defenders and, of course, buffon.
paraguay did well in qualifying. it could be a good match, but i do expect italy to win the match.
it will be interesting to see how brasil does given their group. yes, they have one of the best teams, but they also have a pretty challenging road to get out with portugal and ivory coast.
for those less aware, ronaldinho is also not on brasil...and probably didn't deserve to make it either...he seems to have cashed in his work rate and ambition after his move from barcelona to milan...
i'm most curious to see how drogba does for côte d'voire.
Ivory Coast is somewhat overrated. They don't seem to have the people to get the ball to Drogba - at least hat was the case in the last world cup. Drogba himself is phenomenal and in top form but he is more of a scorer than a creator.
i hear you. i am curious to watch gervinho's performance...i could see him causing problems for teams and perhaps being a creator...he's young though...i don't think ivory coast is that great, but they have some very good players.
jusnice@ 6/14/2010 4:18 PM
huge draw for PAR if this holds...
loweyecue@ 6/14/2010 4:42 PM
Narrow escape, but this is how Italy usually starts their WC campaigns.
dodger78@ 6/14/2010 4:44 PM
I really got to say I am very disappointed to this point with the general quality of the matches!!! This might be the worst World Cup (qualitywise) that Ive seen for years to this point...
TMS@ 6/14/2010 6:13 PM
loweyecue wrote:Cameroon, what a disappointment. TMS >> Brazil didn't win the last world cup (2006), Italy did. Korea didn't finish fourth either. I think you were referring to the one before that(2002).
yes, correct, i was referring to 2002... sorry about that.
loweyecue@ 6/14/2010 7:04 PM
dodger78 wrote:I really got to say I am very disappointed to this point with the general quality of the matches!!! This might be the worst World Cup (qualitywise) that Ive seen for years to this point...
The first round has never been very high quality. This time though the "powerhouse" teams haven't delivered except Germany. Argentina showed some promise, England, France were letdowns. Italy always starts slow. The Dutch got a win, but were not very impressive that late substitute was pretty good though. Overall it may be indicative of the balance of power shifting and a general decline in quality across the board.
Silverfuel@ 6/15/2010 9:27 AM
i have a fucking meeting at 10:30 so I get to miss IVC v POR the best game in group play!!!
PresIke@ 6/15/2010 9:37 AM
exciting goal in stoppage time for new zealand!
was predicting a 1-0 loss for them too...
firefly@ 6/15/2010 12:22 PM
The more games go by, the happier Im becoming with Englands perfomance. Compared to some of the percieved heavyweights, we played tremendously well. And so did the US.
List of teams I no longer fear after watching their opening games
Italy France Portugal Argentina Ivory Coast Cameroon
I guess its just first game nerves, but it hasnt been pretty so far. Germany are the only outstanding team of the tournament at this point.
PresIke@ 6/15/2010 1:08 PM
so far play by several top teams has been somewhat tepid.
maybe it's due to feeling things out and playing things safe in the first match, but we'll see.
brasil and spain still to play though...
Solace@ 6/15/2010 1:22 PM
So, what are the opinions on Spain? I don't really follow, but I'm curious.
firefly@ 6/15/2010 2:00 PM
Spain are the EuropeN champions and the best form team in the world at the moment. Lost one game in 24 and are so strong in the middle of the park that Fabregas can't get a game. Torres, Xavi, Iniesta and IMO the most lethal striker around today, David Villa. But, they have a mental blockage. Never won the World Cup and always seem to underperform on the biggest stage.
Need to be convincing in group play or people will start jumping off the bandwagon in droves
jimimou@ 6/15/2010 3:14 PM
Silverfuel wrote:i have a fucking meeting at 10:30 so I get to miss IVC v POR the best game in group play!!!
you didnt miss much - portugal was very underwhelming on the offensive end and looked happy to just be there rather than going all in for the win. good to se drogba getsome action for CIV but the game itself wasnt on par w the hype
TMS@ 6/15/2010 3:40 PM
surprising play by the North Koreans so far... would have thought Brazil would be dominating them but hasn't been the case so far.
loweyecue@ 6/15/2010 3:58 PM
That second goal was sick. That's what Brazilian football is supposed to look like.
loweyecue@ 6/15/2010 4:27 PM
Great effort by the North Koreans to get back in it.
Childs2Dudley@ 6/15/2010 4:32 PM
Props to North Korea for going all out. Clearly lack the talent but made up for it in heart. They gave the best team in the world a run for their money.
loweyecue@ 6/15/2010 8:57 PM
Childs2Dudley wrote:Props to North Korea for going all out. Clearly lack the talent but made up for it in heart. They gave the best team in the world a run for their money.
It's not just about talent though. What you witnessed was a bunch of third tier scrubs come to within one lucky shot of breaking even with the best in the world. There is much to be said for DISCIPLINE. Italy, Argentina, England etc should pay attention here. The entire French team should be exiled to North Korea for a year.
firefly@ 6/16/2010 5:13 AM
This has been voted on BBC 5Live the highlight of the World Cup so far. Truly brilliant!!
firefly@ 6/16/2010 10:10 AM
Here come Spain. Interesting stat. David Villa has scored 10 more international goals then the ENTIRE Swiss team put together.
PresIke@ 6/16/2010 10:44 AM
am i the only one starting to think the altitude + the ball are making so many balls fly over the crossbar? nerves too...but i keep thinking about coors field...
