Thought I'd move on to a new thread in order to "sub archive" all the old posts.

I'm working on my picks. Highlights: Cameroon to the semi's, I think; and Portugal to win it all. I haven't quite worked out the specifics, though ... I think that's already an evident contradiction in terms.

Anyone else got any suggestions? Portugal looks like a good bet right now. Ladbrokes has them at 13 to 1 (!!) to win the biggie, and even though I consider them a bit of a long shot, I think their predictive power (about 7 to 2) is certainly NOT as weak as those odds would indicate. As always, the smart move in betting is to find NOT the situation where your predictions are paid well; but rather, the situation where the reward is misrepresentatively high for an underestimated prediction that you have higher faith in. In other words, it's not about the gross benefit, it's about the disparity between your hunch and the oddsmakers' hunch. Subtle (but interesting) distinction.

I don't think Portugal will win it all, It is a very fluid team though, and its no coincidence that their soccer emulates Brazil. While Figo will be better physically at the WC he will not be the 100 percent he needs to be if Portugal is win it all.

I think physical conditioning will be a key factor in this World Cup. England brought their team to Dubai for workouts (90-105 F temp there) and to acclamize in the heat.

Although quality of the teams and their play will wi out in the end, I see more than a couple of highly talented teams bowing out relatively early due to a lack of overall team conditions.

In a recent Gazetta della Sport in the 1994 WC Baggio admitted that his and the entire Italian team legs were dead by the time they took the penalty kicks.He felt that the team wasn't properly conditioned. It showd too and Italy lost the Cup after 2 overtimes and 95 F heat.

I predict that more than a few games in the knockout stage will go to Golden Goal and Penalty kick phases, and the fitter, but not necessarily better, team will win.

I really feel that its Argentina's year. I think all the African team will be gone after the quarters.I think it will be Argentina, Brazil, Spain, Italy and even Germany despite all their recent defections from the team will be among the final four.

Outside shots are Paraguay,Sweden,and Turkey and Portugal..

I do believe one of the Concacaf teams will defeat a powerhouse, and the US will get out of the first round...barely.

O yeah, Sepp Baltter will win re-election, Johansen will resign, more fiscal controls will be instigated, Blatter will clean house and as UEFA has feared (and the only reason this shit is going on) they will lose a "lot" of influence in FIFA, meaning more WC slots will be taken from UEFA and given to Africa, Asia and N,South and Central America.

Just my .02 worth.

OG

let's not forget the host country teams (Japan, South Korea) and even China.

why? because they're on their own turf and used to the weather and will have millions of their countrymen behind them.

True, they have no soccer history to speak of but in the history of the World Cup no host country has ever failed to make it past the first round and both S. Korea and Japan are seeded in accessible groups.

My favorite to win it all is Argentina....too bad the likes of Brasil, England, Argentina, France will have to eliminate each other before the final.

On the other bracket the favorites are Italy, Spain and Germany......

Also, I hope all 3 teams from Concacaf make it past the first round...........got to keep our Tica girlfriends happy next month ;-)

Although I'd love to see all 3 CONCACAF teams advance, I'm afraid it's going to be a long shot for any one of them. As far as I can tell, Mexico has forgotten which way to kick the ball, they're so far down from where they could be. Costa Rica's in too tough a group. USA could squeak by, depending more on the capacity of individual teams in group D to solve the problems presented by their opponents, than on overall quality of any given team relative to the others.

And when UEFA loses even MORE spots at WC, it will mean the end of WC as we know it. Already, too few "good" (subjectively speaking) teams get to the final 32, in favor of teams from developing markets (markets for football-sponsored products) regardless of how poorly they play. You pick ... Holland versus Senegal; Czech Republic versus Saudi Arabia; even Honduras (a land that is small, underdeveloped, but already has soccer fever and so gets no special extra spots from its continent) versus Tunisia. It's clear to me, that the teams left out because of being geographically surrounded by soccer-mad nations, are generally subjectively better than the teams included because of being geographically isolated from soccer fever. Unfortunate, not good for the game ... it's political correctness, essentially -- more moving toward a situation where the "neediest" (least currently interested in soccer) get more "attention" (greater opportunity to win, or participate in, tournaments) than the "worthiest" (best teams).

My prediction: if even LESS European and/or New World teams go to WC2006, 2010, or 2014, then only the CONMEBOL and UEFA continental championships will have decent games. And the CONMEBOL one is organized remarkably poorly. So, sooner or later, Euro20XX will eclipse all other international tournaments, at least in terms of quality of play, accomplishing exactly what the other continental representatives claim to be misguidedly trying to avoid.

Someone mentioned the English team training in Dubai. apparently their bar bill for 4 days was over 50,000 pounds. We'll see what shape they are in.
FIFA is a Mafia run by corrupt Europeans, just like the IOC is. Hopefully in the not too distant future, CONCACAF will merge with CONMEBOL, and the American federation can then play a championship series with UEFA, which will eclipse the world cup.

This is a weird bracket with one half pointing towards Italy in a breeze to the finals.
Portugal has no chance with an avg Figo.
Germany is not bad but too feeble.
Spain always finds a way to lose.
So best bet to win it all is Italy.

Other bracket is just too tough, France, Argentina, Brazil, England, Nigeria, Denmark.

USA has to find a way to advance.

Argentinos look confident.
France just lost to Belgium without Zidane so excellent bet to win their group.

Powerslave, I like your concept about the CONCACAF + CONMEBOL merger (heck, we've already got the time zones working in our favor!), and the eventual play against UEFA. Then the "real" teams would be involved in the "real" competitions, again.

I love the World Cup -- its history, the spirit that pervades the games and the fans (generally ... the English seem to miss this point, regularly -- just read "Among the Thugs" by Buford, highly recommended!), the great childhood memories. The money I've made off my predictions. I also love the Euro Championship for similar reasons. Too bad the CONMEBOL and CONCACAF continental national-team championships aren't as high-class. And too bad FIFA is ruining the World Cup, one developing market at a time.

Well, I should keep my mind open. It's possible that the powerhouse clash between Japan and Tunisia will provide us with two hours of stunning entertainment, thrills and spills to last a lifetime. Likewise when Slovenia meets South Africa, or Senegal when they come out of the gates running and teach the French how to play. LOL. Anything's POSSIBLE ...

Athos: excellent points about the "weird brackets". One side has everyone, the other side has Italy. It's hard to notice, since there's some side-switching in the charts -- diagonal lines goin' everywhere on FIFA's graphs. Other things that are interesting in the long-term view of the brackets: USA vs Mexico is a strong possibility in early knock-out; and Spain vs Portugal. Two strong rivalries in which the winners can't really be guessed today.

Regarding Figo, Portugal's chances, etc.: You're right, this is the Physical Fitness World Cup, isn't it? All those missing Germans; all those Frenchmen, and other Europeans, injured from late-season multiple-competition too-many-games play. He who has the deepest line-up with the most long-distance runners, is the coach sitting prettiest. But ... I don't think Figo is as injured as all that. Or several others. I think they're just playing it VEEERRRY conservative. We'll see, come first game play. After every team has had its first game (day 3 or so) we'll talk again.

And Ireland's dead now that Keane has pouted his way home. I put Cameroon to CONQUER that group now that they only have one opponent to plan for, and consequently to SAIL to the semi-finals. Except for ... that niggling ITALY in the mix. Hmm.

Predictions due May 30th, that gives me six days to worry.

One of the oddities for this WC is that it will be played in the middle of the night. Even Worse, some of the best games will be held after all the bars close. Getting together "wi' yer 'mates" for a pint is not an option. For a lot of people it will be at home with a minimum amount of yelling so as not to wake spouses/roommates/novias/dogs..cats,etc.,etc

Unless you are near enough to the Border and can get down to MX where the bars WILL NOT close at least when Mexico is playing, (this is what I heard from a Nogie bartender) and will stay open late enough for a lot of/most the WC games.

I plan to get down to Nogie do some late night mongering and early morning futbol watching.

OG

... "bars WILL NOT close at least when Mexico is playing" ...

When is that? It certainly hasn't been during any or their GAMES lately ...

I didn't mean 'playing soccer' LOL.

I think the bars will have to be open, few will want to watch them sober.

On the other hand, if Mexico does play lousy, I probably would not want to be in Mexico with a bunch of liquored-up futbol holligans!!. By the way, is there a term for Mexican soccer hooligans?? futbolista's??

Still you will not get the atmosphere in the US, thet you'll get in Mexico.

OG

I'm planning on heading to my pal's cervezeria over in the Dominican section of Tampa ... if I can get up that early ...

Call me overcautious, but I really think it is foolish for a team to schedule friendly's so close to the WC. France may pay a big price if ZZ doesn't heal quickly. Portugal has lost one midfielder for the US game (yeah), but it probably can fill the spot without much trouble.

Some of these teams schedules matches after arriving within 72 hours. The body needs time to adjust and pushing it after a lengthy flight is foolhardy.

The US has dodged that trap, but has scheduled some closed-door scrimmages against some local teams and Uraguay, I hope after the tough Uraguay match, both teams come to an understanding over tackling, etc.

I think many of the coaches are nervous about their best players not having enough practice and compettion time together. When FIFA gave these dates of compettion about 3 years ago, most of the European leagues, supported by UEFA and Johanssen, refused to end their season any earlier to accomodate the WC.I guess this was a portend of things to come. Caught in the bind are the coaches and players who are boxed into a narrow time frame for preparation for such a big event. This has the biggest negative impact I think, on the European players, who have virtually no time together. Its a good thing that so many of these palyers are so gifted as to overcome these problems.

I think that after the WC this year and in lieu of many avoidable injuries to key players, many federations will evaluate their pre-world cup preparations. If that includes requiring European and other national legues to accomodate their seasons to fit the WC, so be it.

I want to see the best players at the top of their form in the most elite tournament in the world.

I don't want to miss these players or see thm hobbling around because the owners need a few more games to get the extra pounds/pesos/lira for their clubs.

OG

I agree with you OG, as some fans back in Europe were rooting for teams to lose early in Euro competition so best players could rest.
Am a bit worried now for my team as without ZZ, no chance but he is day to day after the opener. He would not be needed until after first round but big loss for world cup viewers.
I expect good games as level of players is pretty high and most important competitive games.
I am picking South Korea and Portugal to come out of USA group now. Koreans dominated French team last sat, more importantly physically and tempo. This does not bode well for americans.

Biggest loss to any one team? Mpenza from Belgium. He's their Maradonna -- a one-man wrecking crew; and they hardly have anyone else to fill his shoes. Unlike the many midfielders that France can call up to (almost) replace Zidane. (Hey, "ZZ" can stand for Zlatko Zahovic of Slovenia, ya know!) So the loss of the real ZZ is more to the viewers, than to the team.

Again, FIFA casts its lot with watching losers play other losers so markets can be developed. We are not amused ...

I agree that S.Korea will be a handful, they are physical and quick. The US is the only team to face then twice this year and beat them twice.This does have an effect psychologicaly for Korea and the for the US.

S. Korea is also terribly prone to mistakes. which the US and France both capitalized on. Facing S. Korea at home will be a daunting task nonetheless but I still think if the US plays IT"S Game, then they'll win.

I still think Portugal can be beat. None of its current players have been in a WC game, the US has about a dozen. This experience does count for something., and It may get a good result for the US. If Portugal does have a weakness it may be its defense, which in qualifying was kind of leaky. Fortunatly for Portugal it is an offensive powerhouse. If the US can clamp down on the Portugese offense, good thing can happen.

BG, I agree. Belgium cannot afford that loss, Its worse for Belgium than ZZ for France.

According to some sources Figo's injury. while much improved is not fully healed and does not allow him to train as long as the Portugese coaches would like. He played limited minutes in the last freindly and while he moved well on and off the ball, he did tire after 15 minutes.
This may be a fitness issue as I discussed earlier.

OG

Figo is not the same player he was two years ago.
Portugal has no chance to win wc, I think South Korea can win the group with heat and home crowd. Europeans arrived too late to be acclimated.
I expect Africans to do well.
Any team that takes the lead will win game as most teams will hit wall at 70 min mark.

Just read the weather is good in South Korea, low humidity and heat. Same weather as in Europe this time of year. Maybe break for the players.

All the games are shown live on Univision.
Games shown on espn2 are all live but ABC weekend games shown on tape delay.
Brazil government employees will start work at noon to allow them to watch games in the morning.
In England, companies will let people take long lunch break to watch games.
In CA, heck I will be coming late every morning.

For all English-language coverage: ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNClassic, and ABC. Complete schedule, including numerous replays (and a few tape-delays that ABC LIES about and says "all games available live") here:

http://worldcup.espnsoccernet.com/story?id=210727&lang=us

For ALL games live, you must abandon US networks (gee what a surprise) and instead listen to Spanish commentary on Univision.

If it weren't for Major League Soccer, we wouldn't be getting all games in any form. After it became clear that ESPN/ABC were profoundly miffed by the cost and were planning on dropping the ball, MLS bought the rights and GAVE the games to the US networks in the name of "for the good of the game" and promoting market interest.

Harrumph. We live in a backwater, at least as far as footie goes.

hey guys, sorry for the lack of world geography knowledge, but where in the hell are Senagal, Slovenia, and Tunisia??? The last WC I followed was Espana'82 where Italia won the title and defender Gentile(ITA) molested, mugged, stripped, and beat up Maradona. Dico was the man for Brazil and Paulo Rossi(ITA) won the most goal score....damn, that was 20yrs ago.

SB
All right man you know your soccer. 1982 lives in infamy for me as Germany crushed my heart and was I happy when Tardelli scored that second goal in the final.
Senegal is in western Africa, all their players play professionally in France so it is France vs France in the opener.
Slovenia is part of old Tchecoslovakia, Tunisia shit man that's north africa next to Morocco.
OK now since you'll be in Brazil and BA during world cup say after me:
Argentina players: Veron, Crespo, Batistuta, Ortega.
Brazilian players: Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo, Roberto Carlos.
Whatever it takes to get to a woman's heart...

Thanks Athos. Ronaldo is extra cool in that Nike caged soccer commercial. Gotta admit, Nike got some kick ass short flicks. I think I saw Crespo most of the time on ESPN in BA. They ran his "ESPN perfiles" (profile) only about 2 times/day.

I'm not gonna remember all those names so I figure it would be much easier to say..."I got a boatload of Jackson and Franklin, and a truckload of Johnny Walker Black Label in my roooooom...so VAI CON TU PAPAI, VOCE E UN CASHOHA GOSTAZA..."

BTW, can I use your Pimsleur tapes for a month? You can have my Spanish interactive CDs and the book.

SB
Nao fais mal.

Slovenia is not part of former Czechoslovakia. Slovenia was the first nation to break off from former Yugoslavia. It's the corner part of Yugoslavia bordering Austria and Italy, up at the top of the Adriatic. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana (... isn't that Portugese for "BBBJ"? ...). You were thinking SLOVAKIA, Athos. The Slovenian nation was rather sane and sensible in its break-off bid, and so experienced relatively less bloodshed.

Tunisia is indeed on the North coast of Africa. It includes the archaeological ruins of Carthage, right near the major city of Tunis, and is pretty much exactly opposite Sicily (the island off the "toe" of Italy).

Senegal is on the West hump of Africa. Its capital, Dakkar, is famous for the vice trade, by the way, and is considered one of the worst postings you can draw if you volunteer for the Peace Corps. The Senegalese are indeed a French-speaking nation, and there's a higher number of the Senegalese national team's players in the French national league (Le Championnat) than there is of the French national team's players.

Other little-known nations at this year's Cup are, Cameroon and Nigeria (next to each other in the Western "crook" of Africa, below the "hump" but above the Congo River) and Croatia (another portion of former Yugoslavia; cap. Zagreb). Until last year, Croatia was abbreviated "HRV" for "Hrvatska" ("Croatia", in Serbo-Croat) by FIFA, but it has been upgraded to the English spelling for this Cup. Their national signature clothing item is the cravat. No lie. Get it? CRAVAT ... krrrvat ... hrvat ... hrvatska.

This geography lesson brought to you by the letters B and J, and the number 69.

book_guy
Thanks for correction about Slovenia.

I have all the opening lines for all the games if anyone interested. I ended doing several parlays.
Locals are not stupid, lots of money has been put on France, to win group and single games.
My first parlay: France over Senegal and Germany over Saudi Arabia
Second parlay: France over Senegal, Germany over Saudis, France over Uruguay
Third parlay: France over Senegal, Germany over Saudis, France over Uruguay, Spain over Paraguay
Fourth parlay: you get the picture, add Cameroun over Saudis.

Book Guy's picks:

A1 France A2 Denmark A going home Uruguay, Senegal
B1 Spain B2 Paraguay B going home Slovenia, South Africa
C1 Turkey C2 Brazil C going home China, Costa Rica
D1 Portugal D2 Korea D going home Poland, USA
E1 Cameroon E2 Germany E going home Ireland, Saudi Arabia
F1 Argentina F2 Nigeria F going home England, Sweden
G1 Italy G2 Croatia G going home Ecuador, Mexico
H1 Belgium H2 Japan H going home Russia, Tunisia

Round of 16
1 E1 B2 Cameroon over Paraguay
2 B1 E2 Spain over Germany
3 G1 D2 Italy over Korea
4 D1 G2 Portugal over Croatia
5 A1 F2 France over Nigeria
6 F1 A2 Argentina over Denmark
7 C1 H2 Turkey over Japan
8 H1 C2 Brazil over Belgium

Quarterfinals
A w1 w3 Italy over Cameroon
B w2 w4 Portugal over Spain
C w5 w7 France over Turkey
D w6 w8 Argentina over Brazil

Semifinals
AB Italy over Portugal
CD France over Argentina

Third Argentina over Portugal

Championship Italy over France

To be modified as necessary ... ...

I agree with you prediction almost exactly except that I think Russia will make it over Japan and Mexico over Croatia.

I think Russia has a good team and Mexico has to find a way to come through. I don't like Paraguay so will pick South Africa as group runner up.

France didn't prepare too well, but I expect them to make at least quarter finals.
My pick is Argentina (leaving world class off the roster like Saviola tells me they have the best squad).
Time to program my VCR!

Jarocho

Book Guy eats his words ...
munch munch munch

Thursday, August 30, 2001 - 03:03 am:
Oooooh, can't wait can't wait! My prediction ... best team to not win the Cup, Portugal. Worst team to win the Cup, France.
Saturday, December 01, 2001 - 07:37 am:
I think France is in the easiest group of the lot. The official kick-off game, France-Senegal, pits the world-#1 and reigning champions against the lowest-ranked team to qualify -- a real mismatch.
Sunday, December 02, 2001 - 09:49 am:
Senegal will (I'm not going out on a limb to predict this) not win a game.
Friday, May 24, 2002 - 01:06 pm:
Well, I should keep my mind open. It's possible that the powerhouse clash between Japan and Tunisia will provide us with two hours of stunning entertainment, thrills and spills to last a lifetime. Likewise when Slovenia meets South Africa, or Senegal when they come out of the gates running and teach the French how to play. LOL. Anything's POSSIBLE ...
Tuesday, May 28, 2002 - 02:54 pm:
Biggest loss to any one team? Mpenza from Belgium. He's their Maradonna -- a one-man wrecking crew; and they hardly have anyone else to fill his shoes. Unlike the many midfielders that France can call up to (almost) replace Zidane. (Hey, "ZZ" can stand for Zlatko Zahovic of Slovenia, ya know!) So the loss of the real ZZ is more to the viewers, than to the team.

Good for Senegal. An uninspired but very athletic game, tailor-made to take the French on at their weakest and get a result. I love seeing them develop. If only El Salvador or Honduras had gotten the "developing market" freebies (money, more continental spots at tournaments, etc.) their soccer federation has received from FIFA. But NOOO ... anyway, it's finally under weigh. Wahooooo ...

I am in a state of shock and $350 lighter, and whole Africa is celebrating. One player from Senegal grew up in my hometown so probably played in my soccer club.
Deep down I knew having Leboeuf was a big mistake, Djorkaeff was a big mistake. I'd rather lose with good players than over the hill nobodies. I did not understand having 2 center forwards, Trezeguet is enough as Henry needs the ball at his feet to be useful. $125M payroll gets you 0 goal.
I thought the field was in excellent condition, the referee was superb. Univision despite studio commnetators much better than espn2 bad image with down bar, espn2 had in studio commentators as well, second rate tv shows.

As I thought, France is not the same team without ZZ and their HORRIBLE preparation showed. They had a complete lack of energy and looked lethargic in the second half.

I think France, while a good team has been horribly overated. Winning the WC at home is awesome, and the Euro is good too. BUT... we are playing overseas, far from home, way too many timezones differences to count and without arguably your best player with a team that has admitted their preparationss are not as good as the last WC.

I look to a few more upsets in the next few days.

The second and third games when played after only two or three days rest will definatly take a toll on those team who have injuries to key players or who are not fit or adequatley rested. That is why S. Korea is so dangerous to the US and Portugal.

France now has to play a Uraguay team that is getting healthy and has no doubt watched the French loss with some joy and trepidation. Uraguay becomes a must win for les Blues, but France can be beaten.

I can feel that this WC will be one of many upsets, but I still feel that the favorites will be in final four. I think Brazil looks better to me now, as it is a team that "travels well". Since the last WC, Brazil has played in more countries than any other WC bound team. This is a great advantage to other teams who rarely play outside their own country or even continent. But Argentina continues to be my favorite. I am curious to see how well the Euro contries play though. Is France an abberation??

One note about the Blatter/FIFA election.

This was an attempted power grab by Europe and UEFA, who feel that their power base has eroded under Blatter. (It has). It tried and failed to pin the blame of outside business failures on Blatter. It tried to bring in a "puppet" from Africa, and try to win some third-world votes. and when all these transparent schemes didn't grab the attention or votes of FIFA members, it tried to accuse his office of corruption, taking a page out of our last US election, thinking scandal will subvert votes. It didn't.

Thank goodness it failed. I think we will see a shakeup of the number of Qualifying spots Europe will get in 2006, even if the finals are in Germany. Blatter has been a good ally of the developing soccer countries including the US. It has paid off in his reelection. I can see only good thing for US futbol as a result.

All-in-all. I think the big loser, after this WC is over, will be Europe. It will continue to dictates a lot in the football world, but I see its role and influence diminishing somewhat. Frances loss is only the beginning.

OG
.

Sorry about your losses Athos, there goes 2 trips to Centaurus or 4 trips to Solarium. The way Senegal played reminding me of Camaroon, quick attack and lighting strike.

SB
My african brothers kicked my butt.
2 trips to Centaurus or 4 trips to Solarium, damn nao mais Caliente para meu.

Let the World Cup commence!

http://bangedup.com/Current/worldcupisheretime.jpg

Well, the Saudis certainly didn't upset the Germans the way the Senegalese stunned the French. Germany was good old indefatigable Germany for a change, even without Scholl, Diesler, et al., and no I don't care against WHOM they were indefatigable.

After seeing Denmark and Uruguay, I tip Senegal to win group A -- they can (if they stay focused and structured) beat either of those teams. Maybe not Denmark ... mmm ... already rearranging my picks. Lucky I didn't bet on 'em.

The story about Brazil travelling the most, is very interesting. Good point.

The idea that the Blatter reelection was a good one ... well, he was accused of a large number of things he didn't do, but he was also accused of some things he DID do. I don't find him a "friend" of developing soccer nations, as much as a friend of profit. If it looked profitable for FIFA to muscle into El Salvador or Honduras, the CONCACAF spots would have quadrupled just like Africa's or Asia's. But you're right, he wasn't the TOTAL sleaze-ball that the puppet Africans tried to pretend he was. Just HALF a sleaze-ball.

I miss Holland. No, not Mattie Holland, the Netherlands. Cocu, Bergkamp, van der Saar, van Nistlerooy. Their captain wouldn't have gone home in a huff like Ireland's. Hmm. Come to think of it, Cruyff and Gullit both DID go home in a huff ...

Have the Saudi Coach, Goalie and backline committed suicide yet? That was PAINFUL to watch. Monterrey bars had all the games on 'til the wee hours when I left. Ireland-Cameroon looked like pretty low level play from this purely layman's point of view.

Both Ireland and Cameroun will beat Saudis, good parlay but coming from me...
Saudi goalie was worse goalie i have ever seen, good only at fishing.
I was arranging my photos from Brazil during second half of Germany game. Game means nothing as most goals were scored on headers by players 1/2 a foot taller.

Good luck to Mexico against Croatia on sun night 11:30 PM pacific time.

How the hell did the Saudi qualify for the cup anyway? 100,000 barrels of oil flowing to FIFA??? Even the US women soccer team could have beaten them easily...The German was brutal, they ran the score up even higher than the tune-up match they played again a local Korean team when they arrived.

Uruguay's Alvaro Recoba has some awesome indirect kicks. Too bad they don't have 9 more guys like him.

SB
Saudis represent us asians part of the world, this is a weird world cup as 4 asian representatives due to 2 hosts.
Germany were very nice, showed some muscle in first 30 min to show who is the boss then went on cruise control, game was over after 1 min when Jancker almost scored.
Recoba is a dangerous mf. French beware.
Are you going to venture in Montevideo your next time out in June?

Big game tonight England vs Sweden. Looks like I may have to root for sentimental teams sooner than expected. So go Brazil and England.
Refereeing has been excellent so far but of course easy games to call.
Uruguay was better than I thought. Denmark has a good team with 3 excellent forwards.
Cameroun is pretty good when concentrating. Ireland mediocre, should be quick exit but showed character as usual.

I think the US's thinking on the support of keeping Blatter as the FIFA head is the same as their thinking in keeping Warner's presidency in Concacaf:

Much like the Mayor Daly's political machine and Jimmy's Hoffa's Teamsters, as long as they enrich their rank and file, it OK if they take a little for themselves.

"He a crook, but at least he's OUR crook"

OG

I was kind of dissapointed in Argentina last nite at the beggining of the game,but was soon appreciative of the efforts they made on defense.

I think the fist game is always the hardest in the WC. Argentina had the majority of possesion in bith halves, and if it were not for the set pieces, we would be looking at a draw. I think Argentina noticed early that Nigeria had a problem defending corners.and attacked a lot on the flanks hoping to get more chances.

Ithink one of the things you notice watching the game,( but the announcers totally missed it) was Argentina's defense of the counter. Argentina pushed a lot of players foward in possesion/attack, but it was their great use of their fowards and offensive midfielders in defending the counters. Time and time again you would see Batistuta pressuring the defense and containing play in the Argentina zone. This slowed the Nigeria attack and allowd the Arg. defense to reshape. This is the kind of play that will win World Cups, when your best offensive players can play a pressuring defense!!!.

Alas I missed the England/Sweden Game. need to take those afternoon naps. if I'm gonna hang for these late nights.

I will be heading down to Nogie this week for the Sports Book, WC, and of course my favorite INDOOR sport!!.

OG

OG: good points about the counter-attack. Nigeria is perhaps the fastest team at the tournament, but they couldn't really mount a single break-away, thanks largely to consistently structured pressure across the entire field by Argentina. Very intelligent work, especially on the part of coach Bielsa to get those big names to put out the effort in such a workmanlike manner. Reminded me of van Nistelrooy ... sniff sniff ...

I was also impressed with the manner in which Argentina went about picking apart Nigeria, first seeking to find a weakness and then, as a team, choosing to deliberately exploit it. Reminded me of Germany vs. Czechs (Euro96) and vs. Saudis (yesterday). Being held to a 1-0 victory over Nigeria is nothing to sneeze at -- they're very athletic and were strong in tackling and defending.

Argentina overall looked like they were playing as though they could win the entire tournament. A sort of "self actualized" attitude out there -- nobody slacking off. They believed. Nigeria, on the other hand, looked as though each of the individual younger players wanted to "impress" (the major teams' scouts, obviously), rather than the whole team believing in winning this one game, or something bigger. It was about individual glory and / or contracts, for them -- one of the major hazards of bringing a largely inexperienced team to the Cup. Shame, to leave Finidi George at home.

Like Cameroon, Nigeria were unfortunately not as well organized as Senegal. Good game for a neutral, very exciting. I tip England to be able to beat Nigeria, but not Argentina, based on today's efforts. Thus, I predict the group result will be F1 Argentina F2 winner of England-Sweden F3 loser of England-Sweden F4 Nigeria. Nigeria doesn't deserve to finish that low, especially in a tournament where Tunisia and Saudia Arabia are pretending to compete.

Boy they can all of them sure as heck WHACK that new ball hard, can't they? I think I have seen thirty or forty 60-MPH-plus shots in the first two days alone. I especially liked the one in the Ireland-Cameroon game that hit the camera behind the goal ... RIGHT INTO YOUR LIVING ROOM!

I thought Argentina was very impressive with Veron commanding the field, feeding Ortega with Batistuta and Lopez waiting for nice passes.
England looked very good at times but gave it away on bad mistake.
I say Nigeria has no chance, second spot between Sweden and England. Larsson played well as he took a beating in there.
Spain class of its group, Slovenia can make it through as Paraguay and South Africa not very good, looked like a junior more than a senior game.
Go Mexico and Go Auriverdes...
French are putting Micoud on offense replacing old Djorkaeff and thinking about putting Candela in midfield thus removing Henry or Trezeguet from starting lineup. Can't believe Leboeuf is staying put. At least they are mad. I'd say Uruguay has no chance and will play for a tie like Senegal, hoping for a break.

Uruguay unfortunately can't play for a tie against France. Each already have a loss, and can't reasonably anticipate that their last opponent would be a push-over for an easy win. Consequently, although Uruguay will play defensively (as always) they also MUST attempt to win that game against France, if they have any hopes of advancing; as must France. At least, that's how my math adds up, unless someone is better at win-loss-draw arithmetic than me.

I was disappointed in both Mexico and Croatia. It was indeed a legitimate call, the penal-con-rojo, and I suppose a 1-0 result for Mexico was as fair as any result could be. Really both teams deserve negative three points for boring uninspired disorganized stupidity. All neutral Japanese fans in Niigata deserve their money back. Yawn.

I was excited to see how good Turkey looked, despite playing a clearly superior Brazil side. Turkey almost sneaked out of it too, that would have been nice. I think Brazil looked just a hair weaker than the power-houses (Argentina, Italy) will look, but once in a while they showed the touch and the passing that make them perpetually potential champions. The question is, can they get that samba TOGETHER for second-round matches or not? In any case, Brazil and Turkey both should eat Costa Rica and China alive, unless something happens with the notion of who dictates the game's pace and attitude. If Turkey and Brazil keep the attitude up, they'll each have two easy wins. I think only that group has stuck with my original predictions so far -- again, I thank myself for not betting anything on those picks.

I haven't seen Italy Ecuador yet, although I know the result and summary. I'm going to watch the first half on some Guidovision I've got here and then go to Home Depot. Gotta try to keep SOME semblance of a regular life during the Copa ...

Italy looks very good, no surprise here.
I liked Mexico organization but typical lack of offense, they should beat ecuador and advance.
Croatia looked like in preseason form, it's over for them.
Turkey handed the game in a platter but I liked Brazil, very dangerous team. Hope hombres get rewarded today with even better sessions carioca style.

I haven't played organized soccer since I was 12. But, watching that Germany-Saudi game, I couldn't help but thinking, if *I* had replaced one of non-goalie German players, they would still have won, probably by the same score.

In fact, if a randomly selected German citizen between the age of 20 and 40 had replaced one player, they would still have won. This thought led me to pondering some German company, like BMW, can negotiate with their federation and come up with the promotion "Buy a Z3. Win the chance to play against Saudi Arabia in the World Cup!!!"

I don't know if they must put a fine print "No purchase necessary" in Germany.

It's really unfair, the poor Saudis will never get to see their bonus money and mercedes benz.