Category: World Cup (Page 15 of 17)

One day to go before the massive spectacle finally begins. I need to write a mental note to myself to remind me to spend at least part of all future World Cups in England. Or Brazil. Or Tibet. Anywhere but here in the States would be better. No atmosphere here whatsover.

Why is the MLS still playing now? Can any soccer fan in the country–even the most die-hard Salt Lake fan, give a toss what happens in the domestic league? Start two weeks earlier, finish two weeks later, and take a month off when the biggest event in your sport is taking place every four years.

It is actually better around here than it used to be, though. At least the papers mention something is actually taking place–even if they don’t quite understand what the hell it is. Even all the matches are going to be televised, on ESPN no less. Unfortunately, they’ll be making do with baseball announcers whose apparent qualification for calling the games is that their daughters may have once played the game.

I’ll try to catch as many of the matches as possible in a decent soccer pub–type establishment. I think there might be 3 or 4 of those in the country. They might even show the matches on the Setanta channel so the commentary will be in German. I suspect that will be more bearable.

Michael Ballack will miss Germany’s first game at least. The official reason is some slight muscle problem. His real problem is that gigantic mouth of his. Klinsmann must be sick of hearing it by now. He needs to shut it and actually do something on the pitch for a change to earn that superstar reputation.

Speaking of big mouths and big egos, Wayne Rooney returned to the team after getting the apparent okay from the doctors to play in at least some matches for England. He promptly announced to all the reporters greeting him that ‘the big man is back in town’. He’s just asking for it. Confidence and swagger are one thing, but when you start spouting things like that, especially playing on one leg… Well, it tends to come back to haunt you. Of course, he could have just been alerting the brothels.

Cisse managed to break his leg in a friendly. That might be the only injury that actually improves a team. Surely, the French are at least as well off without him.

The Mexicans run of bad luck has already begun. Goalkeeper Oswaldo Sanchez will miss probably the whole show due to the death of his father. He could return later, but the Mexicans will be with him back at home after 3 matches anyway.

It’s finally time to get the show on the road. I don’t care what your favorite sport is, if you can’t get into the World Cup you’re just afraid to try. And that’s a shame, because this is as good as it gets.

Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

Group H should be the easiest group to predict in the tournament. The two top teams both have their issues, but the other two are so far behind they shouldn’t pose any threat. Spain, often considered the biggest underachievers, are still hanging around the fringes of greatness with a top notch team. Ukraine is solid up front, but have a few injury concerns and a suspect defense. Both Tunisia and Saudi Arabia, completely over their heads here, will be happy with just a win.

Spain has a nice combination of youth and experience. The Arsenal youngsters Cesc Febragas and Jose Antonio Reyes are among the most exciting kids in the game today. Raul, though, like Xavi, struggling with an injury right now, bring talented veteran experience. They also have seemingly half of Liverpool’s team which will benefit them since they play so many matches together. Spain has always been good, and the expectation is that they should have won something by now. But, they were never the best team in any tournament. They aren’t this time either. But, they shouldn’t be knocked as underachievers just because they never overachieve.

Even with Andriy Shevchenko nursing a knee injury, Ukraine is strong enough offensively to take second in this group. There are many questions in the back, but Tunisia and Saudi Arabia aren’t going to worry them. They’ll easily get through the group stage and might be able to spring a surprise or two if they get healthy and can tighten up the defense.

Like a handful of teams, Tunisia will be overjoyed with just a win somewhere in Germany. Other than Togo they are probably the weakest team in the field.

Saudi Arabia tend not to just lose matches in the World Cup, they lose by impressive scores. They are perennial shoe-ins to make the Cup due to a very easy qualifying group, but they have no chance here. Only something like two of their players have ever played outside of a Saudi club.

Once again, Spain, good but not great, should have a solid World Cup this time. They’re the class of the group and that should be the springboard to get them going. They won’t win it all, but they should go deep into the tournament. Ukraine is hobbling and concede too many goals, but they’re easily the second team in this group, and could even manage an upset or two further on. Tunisia and Saudi Arabia are just rounding out the field and won’t be factors in this Cup.

France, Switzerland, South Korea, Togo

This group is almost a carbon copy of Group F, with one top class team in with three vastly overmatched others that barely belong. The difference here is that the top team is the seemingly constantly underperforming French. This group is their chance to finally get it together. They are too good to keep pulling this nonsense in every tournament. Whichever minnow happens to swipe second in this group, is again of no importance.

By most accounts, France should have been the dominant team, at least in Europe, from the time they won the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 2000, until now. On paper, they’re excellent. Still. On the pitch they’ve been one long disappointment. Zidane is past his prime now, but they still have the incredible Thierry Henry. David Trezeguet will be there beside him if he ever happens to miss. They have the perfect thug in midfield in Patrick Viera. Their only real weakness is keeping the clown Fabian Barthez in goal–but he’s always good for a gaff–or a laugh, if you’re a neutral–to keep things light. They have enough firepower to win in spite of him. Surely, even they cannot manage to blow it this time. It would be difficult to imagine an easier draw. They probably don’t quite have the talent to win the Cup anymore, but they should advance fairly deep in this tournament.

You can flip a coin to try to pick who will capture second here. Switzerland gets my slight nod. A one-time powerhouse, it’s been a long while since they’ve been able to compete on the world stage. They now have a young and unproven team, but what I like most about them is their un-Swissness. These crazy kids actually brawled with Turkey in qualifying. They might be good enough for second here, no one really knows much about them, but you have to admire their spunk.

Like Japan, South Korea loses the advantage of playing the World Cup on their home soil this go round. Again like Japan they are an up and coming team that shows much promise for the future. But the future is still a ways off for now. If they win a match here, they should be fairly happy.

Togo might be the longest shot in the World Cup. They rely almost totally on Arsenal’s Emmanuel Adebayor, and he spends much of his time on the national team arguing with the coach or sulking. This doesn’t bode well for a team that would be bound to struggle mightily even if he was on his game.

This group was a gift to France whether they deserved one or not. Coming off a whole string of international disappointments, you have to think they’ll rouse themselves enough to walk through this first round as expected, for a change. Switzerland is an unknown entity, but seem to have enough to hold onto second. Even with Dick Advocaat at the helm of South Korea, they just aren’t ready for this kind of competition yet. Just a win anywhere by Togo would be a huge surprise. Give it to France in a walk. Second place, will win the honor to play one more game, then they‘re straight home as well.

Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan

Well, obviously, this group is all about 2nd place. Everyone has already given 1st to the best team in the world. Other than a quick look in to watch Brazil tune-up for their Championship run, there’s little of interest from this group. Even the weak sister that manages to stumble into the next round will surely make their exit there.

Nothing else really needs to be said about Brazil. They have one of the best players in the world at every position. Even their goal, the usual lone weakness, is ably defended by Dida now. The list of superstars is endless led by the best player in the world Ronaldinho. The original Ronaldo is still there, Kaka, Cafu, Roberto Carlos… You get the sense they’re “C” team would rank among the top in the world. They’re just dazzling. The only problem could be just that. They’re the best. They know it. They know everyone else knows it. Sometimes they don’t feel the need to prove it.

Croatia is the most likely to win the second spot. They’re very strong defensively, and can shut down just about anyone. If they can just get a handful of goals from Dado Prso, and Darijo Srna, they’ll live to play on for one more round.

Australia may be on their last soccer legs. This could be the tournament that gets that country focused back on the Aussie rules football, and rugby once and for all. With a gaggle of players that perform decently, but don’t seem to be anything special in the English Premier League–the likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Tim Cahill–they’ll struggle for second even in this weak group.

Since this World Cup is not being played in their country, Japan hasn’t much of a chance this time, either. They’re still relatively new to the soccer scene and are definitely moving up, but there’s a long way to go. Their big draw is actually more of an amusement for the little girls, who seem to treat the flashy keeper Kawaguchi like a rock star.

So it’s Brazil here, and then everyone else in a ragged heap. Croatia actually has 3 players from Australia while Australia has 3 Croats. The Japanese coach is the Brazilian, Zico. So everything about this group has a mish-mash feel to it. Anyone of the other three could slip into second. Croatia has a slight edge, but if they can’t manage to get it into the net, it wouldn’t be a huge surprise. Australia has one of the best coaches in the world in Gus Hiddink, so he may squeeze just enough out of his bog standard charges to get them through. Japan would need the most good fortune, but it wouldn’t be the biggest shock ever. Matters little, Brazil is headed for the final, everyone else in this group is fodder.