:::[Official]World Cup South Africa 2010 Thread:::

So far all of my predictions have made it through
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even though people doubted me about S.Korea and Japan
 
I'm shocked that Japan came out of this group. I thought they'd be a distant fourth. It looked before the tournament that Australia would be Asia's only hope at advancing, but Korea and Japan stepped up.
 
Denmark and Serbia are both very surprising to me. I picked them as my sleepers and I expected them to do well in large part to what seemed like sturdy defences. Denmark allowed more goals in 3 WC matches than they did in 10 WCQ matches.
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Serbia flat out choked, I dont think they should be taken seriously again in the near future.

Japan have a damn good team...this may be the first time in recent years that Japan have a better team than their rivals the South Koreans. Countries like Japan and the US are reaping the rewards of their rapidly developing domestic leagues.

For competition's sake, I hope that Spain finish 2nd tomorrow so that they end up on the first side of the bracket with 2 other heavyweights - Netherlands and Brazil.

If Spain finish 1st then we're gonna end up with Argentina, Germany, England, Spain and Portugal on one side and just Netherlands and Brazil on the other side
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Originally Posted by PersiaFly

I'm shocked that Japan came out of this group. I thought they'd be a distant fourth. It looked before the tournament that Australia would be Asia's only hope at advancing, but Korea and Japan stepped up.
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But they played as expected...well my expectations.
Can't wait for that USA vs. SKorea game later on  (imo)
 
Originally Posted by babam11218719

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

Originally Posted by Halftime718

Originally Posted by RetroBaller

Giuseppe Rossi hows that world cup going for you?
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I don't understand the point of this, you're mad because he didn't choose to play for team USA while admitting that it would be easier to make the USA squad than the Italy squad.
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don't forget neven subotic, who also could have played with the US
  
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If I recall correctly, Subotic wasn't offered a spot on the US squad at some point in his teenage years, and he left in part because of that. No?

And with Rossi, I think it's sad when people try to act like he's some sort of traitor. Are Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon traitors? Freddy Adu? It's not like Rossi was totally unconnected to Italy and bounced out of spite, his parents were Italian immigrants and he played for his family's country. Not sure how you criticize that or clown him for it.
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Why wouldn't we criticize.  We are proud Americans and would want an American born and bred player to play for America.  Why would we not be upset.  Do I understand why he did it?  Yes.  Would I still like to laugh at him since we are in the Round of 16 and he never even caught a flight to SA?  Yes.  Subotic is a different situation.  If he made the U20 team he would probably have played for America so I don't blame him.
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You'd want him to play for a country he doesn't care for  just to advance  I think he's okay with playing for Italy next time and making a run with a country he feels  closer to.
 
Australia got screwed over by Cahill's red card IMO. Asia could've easily had 3 representatives in the 2nd round. Cahill getting sent off meant that Australia lacked punch up front against Ghana and ironically enough, Cahill's replacement (Kewell) got sent off as well.
 
Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by trey ohh five

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

If Spain finishes second in their group, it's quite likely that Spain, Brazil and Holland will all be in one quarter of the bracket, while Argentina, Germany and England are already in another. Then there's a quarter that features Uruguay, Korea, US and Ghana, and another that will likely feature Portugal, Chile, Paraguay and Denmark. I think most objective fans of the game would have preferred the bracket to be more evenly balanced, making for a stronger semi-finals. This might end up being like 2002 when two teams that probably don't belong in the semis (Korea and Turkey in 2002) end up there.
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There's a big difference though, the minnows that make it to semi-finals out of the weak sides of the bracket will have deserved it this World Cup, in 2002 Korea made it to semi-finals with significant help from the refs, that World Cup was downright atrocious, this one has been exciting to watch.
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Turkey beat Japan and Senegal to get to the semifinals in 2002. They deserved it, of course, in the sense that they did what they had to do and beat the teams that were in front of them, but I think there's a notable difference as a soccer fan. Portugal beat Holland and England to get there in 2006. France beat Spain and Brazil. When you compare that to Uruguay's potential path this year through Korea and the US, it just doesn't seem right.
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Well that's just the way things turned out to be. I'm sure it was originally planned for England and France to meet in quarterfinals in that quarter of the bracket but we all know how the French performed this Cup and England failed to impress and qualified second in that group, as punishment they now face possible elimination in Germany. Instead we now have United States and Uruguay in that quarter of the bracket and if you judge their performances they deserve it much more than the heavyweights that were expected to be in their positions. You bring the 2006 World Cup as an example of how things should ideally be but if I'm not mistaken Italy's path to semifinals was by first beating Australia and then beating Ukraine, and that wasn't very demanding at all so it's all relative.
 
True dat, Italy strolled to the semi-finals.

I hope Spain finishes first though. That way we could still have Argentina, Brazil and Spain in the semis, I think. That's what I want to see.
 
Predictions for tomorrow:

Korea 0 - 1 Ivory Coast

Portugal 1 - 2 Brazil

Chile 1 - 2 Spain

Switzerland 0 - 1 Honduras
 
Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

Originally Posted by babam11218719

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

Originally Posted by Halftime718

Originally Posted by RetroBaller

Giuseppe Rossi hows that world cup going for you?
Click to expand...

I don't understand the point of this, you're mad because he didn't choose to play for team USA while admitting that it would be easier to make the USA squad than the Italy squad.
Click to expand...

don't forget neven subotic, who also could have played with the US
  
Click to expand...
If I recall correctly, Subotic wasn't offered a spot on the US squad at some point in his teenage years, and he left in part because of that. No?

And with Rossi, I think it's sad when people try to act like he's some sort of traitor. Are Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon traitors? Freddy Adu? It's not like Rossi was totally unconnected to Italy and bounced out of spite, his parents were Italian immigrants and he played for his family's country. Not sure how you criticize that or clown him for it.
Click to expand...
Why wouldn't we criticize.  We are proud Americans and would want an American born and bred player to play for America.  Why would we not be upset.  Do I understand why he did it?  Yes.  Would I still like to laugh at him since we are in the Round of 16 and he never even caught a flight to SA?  Yes.  Subotic is a different situation.  If he made the U20 team he would probably have played for America so I don't blame him.
Click to expand...

You'd want him to play for a country he doesn't care for  just to advance  I think he's okay with playing for Italy next time and making a run with a country he feels  closer to.
Click to expand...
Did I say that?  No I don't want him playing for a country he doesn't care for.  I just wish he cared more for the country he was born in and lived in and still calls home.  I said that I should have the right to laugh or clown him for not caring for this country.  I plainly said that I understand why he did it but I think I have the right to clown him a bit since he is sitting at home and we are in the next round. 
 
10 AM ET - Brasil vs Portugal
                    Ivory Coast vs North Korea

2: 30 PM ET - Honduras vs Switzerland
                       Chile vs Spain

My Predictions :

Brasil 1 Portugal 1
Ivory Coast 3 North Korea 0
Switzerland 3 Honduras 1
Chile 2 Spain 2
 
Spain BETTER win tomorrow. Curious to see how it's gonna end up with Groups G and H. Spain (hopefully they're through) either playing Portugal or Brazil.

I wonder who's gonna be the starting XI. Hopefully Iniesta is fit so he can start instead of Navas. I hope Torres can have a breakout game for his confidence.
 
Originally Posted by Trelvis Tha Thrilla

Owe it to yourself to watch this video if you are American
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Anyone who says that Americans don't care about soccer is flat out desperate to make it look like this is 30+ years ago when soccer was tiny in America compared to today. There are plenty of people in America who care for soccer, it's just that there are also plenty of Americans who have an irrational hate for soccer and will try to convince you that 99% of Americans don't give a damn about soccer. Can't help but laugh at some of their desperate youtube and yahoo comments.

Congratulations to Japan, looks like they finally have a legit star in Honda, unlike Nakata. This guy is really too good for CSKA Moscow and needs to be signed by a top club.
 
Originally Posted by babam11218719

Originally Posted by ShaunHillFTW49

Originally Posted by babam11218719

Originally Posted by PersiaFly

Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

Originally Posted by Halftime718

Originally Posted by RetroBaller

Giuseppe Rossi hows that world cup going for you?
Click to expand...

I don't understand the point of this, you're mad because he didn't choose to play for team USA while admitting that it would be easier to make the USA squad than the Italy squad.
Click to expand...

don't forget neven subotic, who also could have played with the US
  
Click to expand...
If I recall correctly, Subotic wasn't offered a spot on the US squad at some point in his teenage years, and he left in part because of that. No?

And with Rossi, I think it's sad when people try to act like he's some sort of traitor. Are Tim Duncan and Hakeem Olajuwon traitors? Freddy Adu? It's not like Rossi was totally unconnected to Italy and bounced out of spite, his parents were Italian immigrants and he played for his family's country. Not sure how you criticize that or clown him for it.
Click to expand...
Why wouldn't we criticize.  We are proud Americans and would want an American born and bred player to play for America.  Why would we not be upset.  Do I understand why he did it?  Yes.  Would I still like to laugh at him since we are in the Round of 16 and he never even caught a flight to SA?  Yes.  Subotic is a different situation.  If he made the U20 team he would probably have played for America so I don't blame him.
Click to expand...

You'd want him to play for a country he doesn't care for  just to advance  I think he's okay with playing for Italy next time and making a run with a country he feels  closer to.
Click to expand...
Did I say that?  No I don't want him playing for a country he doesn't care for.  I just wish he cared more for the country he was born in and lived in and still calls home.  I said that I should have the right to laugh or clown him for not caring for this country.  I plainly said that I understand why he did it but I think I have the right to clown him a bit since he is sitting at home and we are in the next round. 
Click to expand...
and you're not sitting at home too?  fanatics like to think they actually PLAY and contribute to teams nowadays.  haha.
 
That USA video is
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.

This Brazil/Portugal game is one I do not mind waking up early for.
 
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