WORLD CUP 2010

[DukeJack]

Draw about to start on ESPN2, Univision, and ESPN360

First team in Group A is already South Africa, so will it be a ceremonial draw?

[dbackjon]

Keep us updated.

[JMU DJ]

USA has been drawn and is in the Group C with England, Slovenia and Algeria


I believe USA will play England first


#9 England
#14 USA
#28 Algeria
#33 Slovenia


... not a bad draw IMO

[dbackjon]

Top two advance from each group?

[JMU DJ]

Top two advance from each group?

Yup

[bandl]

Group G is certainly the Group of Death!

Brazil
Portugal
Ivory Coast
North Korea

Wow!

[DukeJack]

Keep us updated.

Sorry, got caught up in lab. Full groups:

GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
GROUP B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
GROUP C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
GROUP E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
GROUP F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
GROUP H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

[Grizalltheway]

Group G is certainly the Group of Death!

Brazil
Portugal
Ivory Coast
North Korea

Wow!

I've got Nolth Kolea taking that one.

[bandl]

Keep us updated.

Sorry, got caught up in lab. Full groups:

GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
GROUP B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
GROUP C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
GROUP E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
GROUP F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
GROUP H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

Italy, Netherlands, Spain and Germany should have no trouble getting through.

I still can't believe Group G. You could make two world all-star teams with just players from Brazil, Portugal and Ivory Coast. That is going to be a fun group to watch.

[DukeJack]

Ok, so picks to advance:

GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
GROUP B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
GROUP C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
GROUP E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
GROUP F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
GROUP H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

[bandl]

Ok, so picks to advance:

GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
GROUP B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
GROUP C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
GROUP E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
GROUP F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
GROUP H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

My picks exactly EXCEPT that I think Portugal/Brazil will advance through Group G. Just my homerism though

Also wouldn't be surprised to see Australia take the second spot in group D...

And it really is a toss up to me in group A...Uruguay could just as easily advance. And France could bring their A-game instead of their B-game that they played with through qualifying, so who really knows

[UNHWildCats]

Ok, so picks to advance:

GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
GROUP B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
GROUP C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
GROUP E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
GROUP F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
GROUP H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

Not sure South Africa will avance in that group. France and Mexico have to be heavy favorites there. South Africa is currently ranked 86th in the world, not sure home field can overcome that. France is 7th, Mexico 15th and Uruguay 19th.

[bandl]

Ok, so picks to advance:

GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
GROUP B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
GROUP C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
GROUP E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
GROUP F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
GROUP H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

Not sure South Africa will avance in that group. France and Mexico have to be heavy favorites there. South Africa is currently ranked 86th in the world, not sure home field can overcome that. France is 7th, Mexico 15th and Uruguay 19th.

FIFA World rankings mean nothing.

[slycat]

Keep us updated.

Sorry, got caught up in lab. Full groups:

GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
GROUP B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
GROUP C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
GROUP E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
GROUP F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
GROUP H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

[DukeJack]

Ok, so picks to advance:

GROUP A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France.
GROUP B: Argentina, South Korea, Nigeria, Greece.
GROUP C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia.
GROUP D: Germany, Australia, Ghana, Serbia.
GROUP E: Netherlands, Japan, Cameroon, Denmark.
GROUP F: Italy, New Zealand, Paraguay, Slovakia.
GROUP G: Brazil, North Korea, Ivory Coast, Portugal.
GROUP H: Spain, Honduras, Chile, Switzerland.

Not sure South Africa will avance in that group. France and Mexico have to be heavy favorites there. South Africa is currently ranked 86th in the world, not sure home field can overcome that. France is 7th, Mexico 15th and Uruguay 19th.

Two problems with your theory: you actually put stock in FIFA's rankings and the host country has NEVER failed to advance out of the group stage. The closest ever was the US in '94 who were one of the third place teams to advance.

My picks exactly EXCEPT that I think Portugal/Brazil will advance through Group G. Just my homerism though

Also wouldn't be surprised to see Australia take the second spot in group D...

And it really is a toss up to me in group A...Uruguay could just as easily advance. And France could bring their A-game instead of their B-game that they played with through qualifying, so who really knows

Group D and G were really hard to guess, but if Cristiano Ronaldo isn't healed by then I do not like Portugal's chances in that group. Asides from Germany, any of the other teams could advance or even win Group D, which is why I put it ahead of G for Group of Death.

[CitadelGrad]

If USA takes 2nd place in its group, their second round game will be against Germany, most likely. That's where the dream will die.

[isumatt]

Boy France gets a favor by going into South Africa's Group...Must be nice

[EPJr]

[Grizalltheway]

Can't wait to watch the cocky Brits fall on their faces again.

[slycat]

Yeah England is pretty easy. I really would love to beat them now.

[BlueHen86]

Shouldn't England be trying to win the whole thing? The Sun makes it seem like the goal is just to get out of the first round. That might be a good goal for the US, but I think the English should have the bar set higher. If they win their group and then get knocked out in the round of 16 I expect The Sun will have an another stupid headline describing Englands failure.

[slycat]

Official game ball for the Cup

[BlueHen86]

Official game ball for the Cup

That's a big freakin ball. The game is already low scoring enough, I'm not sure that one will fit in the goal.

[DukeJack]

That's a big freakin ball. The game is already low scoring enough, I'm not sure that one will fit in the goal.

Oh, I dunno, this one seemed to work fine for Germany in the Euros....

[DukeJack]

The Sun's only good for titty shots. Here's some other press on the game/ group:

With the draw, people will think it is easy but I think we have to respect all of the teams.

I think it's a difficult group. It's got teams with lots of experience who have big coaches like Mr Capello at England. USA are equally a big team, they've already confirmed that at the Confederations Cup by getting to the final against Brazil and by beating Spain. It's a group that gives England and the USA an advantage

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/04122009/ ... group.html

The US game will be tough because they'll be very well organised and they'll be fit. They won't out-play us, but they could out-strength us, but they'll be similar to the Sweden sides we've met at tournaments in the past: they'll be solid. There won't be too many players to out-skill us or shock us, but they'll be strong.

The US are well organised and well drilled, athletically very good and with players with a lot of experience playing in England or Germany, but that could be a like-versus-like contest. That could actually be quite good for England. It'll be like a Premier League game, with two teams with a similar style. They'll know how England play, but we won't be surprised with what they're going to come with. And I think that England have just got far too much quality for the US.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009 ... w-reaction

And then it began - first England opponent… USA. The announcement was met by a collective groan. Once derided and ridiculed, the USA is now a team to reckon with, many felt.

"The USA is our only problem, but I know we'll beat them. It'll be a tight game," he said.

"It would have been nice to get New Zealand, but I think the USA adds a little bit of glamour," said Paul Baker. "They're a talented side, but the way England are playing under Cappello it won't be a problem."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8396538.stm

"England are the top team, but the U.S.A and Slovenia are beatable. Our advantage is none of the teams know us very well.

"I was the U.S.A playing in the Confederations Cup, and they did not impress me much."

http://goal.com/en/news/1863/world-cup- ... d-mansouri

I have watched the Americans at the Confederations Cup when they reached the final. They are a good team, but beatable.

http://goal.com/en-us/news/85/england/2 ... ing-rooney

I don't think you can take anyone for granted who has reached the World Cup finals and our opening fixture against the USA will be a test," said Rooney.

"They have lots of World Cup finals experience and their players are playing all over the world. Tim Howard is a top keeper and has fantastic experience from his time at Manchester United and now with Everton.

"I really like Clint Dempsey as a player, I think he is a constant threat when he plays for Fulham and then there is Landon Donovan who I think is one of those players who can make things happen in a game, so there is no doubt that this will be a tough opening game.

http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/finaldraw/ ... ey+capello