World Cup predictions

kaimera

70 days and counting till kick off......

So maybe this poll is a tad early but hey!

Aside from the might of Argentina who look on paper the best team in the competition, my money's on Spain.
I've always had a soft spot for the Spanish considering the quality in the Spanish league. Just a pity they can rarely convert that form through to the national team.

(also, I'm in Spain on hols when the final is on!! Gwan Spain!!)

Anyway....who do you think will win this years World Cup in Japan/Korea ??

TwoShedsJackson

Argentina. It's got to be them. I'd love Spain to win it, but they always choke in the competition proper.

cournioni

'wan Ireland!

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

mike65

Spain always seem to underachive at national level, maybe a reflextion on the fractured nature of the state...

Argentina are my favourites followed closely by France.


Mike.

-oRnein9-

Ireland are gonna win the world cup, no seriously my money is on Argentina. They have the best players in tha world.

dobdobdo

My heart says Ireland but my head says Portugal. If Ireland don't win it and I seriously think they can (get through the group and anything is possible?) Portugal seem to have strength in all departments.

NeRb666

Italy!

Mountjoy Mugger

I reckon England might spring a shock and actually do it this time.

Johnny_the_fox

Argentina are my prediction.

(But in pervious world cups they where favourites and didnt win)

I believe I will say this but I think England WILL surprise us.......

NeRb666

England are gonna surprise us by admitting that they really are ****e, and it wasn't just a dodgy referee this time.

b20uvkft6m5xwg

Italy usually come up trumps when it matters although their lack of teams in the latter stages of the Champions League is worrying.

I'll reserve judgement until this weeks round of Int'l fixtures, specifically england vs Italy

Nice But Dim

Like people have said, Spain always, alway bottle in on the big occasion. Every time, without fail. It's become really quite amusing as they have an unbelievably strong team.

Argentina will win it. Italy do seems to have a very strong team as well, despite their club teams being quite poor this season.

More interesting is who you think will win the Golden Boot. My money's on the Russian bloke Bestacharya (sp?). They've an easy group and I fancy him to bang four or five in during the group stage.

Failing that, Poland's lead striker (can't remember his name off the top of my head). Again, a reasonable group should mean that he'll bang a few in a la Oleg Salenko.

cournioni

Originally posted by Nice But Dim
More interesting is who you think will win the Golden Boot. My money's on the Russian bloke Bestacharya (sp?).

Vladimir Bestchasnyth?

TwoShedsJackson

Golden Boot = Hernan Crespo.

-oRnein9-

Golden boot = Michael Owen
I really hate England and Owen but I think he will take the Golden Boot.

Dont be at yourself

France.

Golden boot for Owen, if England can get through their group.

Illkillya

Hmmmmmmm toughun... I'd nearly go with Italy. I think they're class this year. I'd like to see Portugal win, they have a really good side and imo would be capable of winning it if things went well for them.

I saw Colombia are ranked 5th in the world in the FIFA rankings.. do they deserve such a high placement.. could they be possible champions?

kaimera

Golden boot?
Crespo---BUT at the minute he's out with a ankle injury (I think) so tis hard to say whether he'll be at his best for the finals.

Saviola is the best young striker at the minute (I no longer count Owen as a "young" striker) so he'll be in with a chance.

With me praying for a Spanish victory, I'd have to go for Raúl or Morientas for top scorer. A very classy front duo.

Btw...Sowwy about the poll! I completely forgot about Italy!
Considering they should have won the €uro champs, I'd say a semi final berth @ least.

adeypius

Brazil

after nearly not qualifying, they have to go all the way
just check out all the young talent they have throughout
all the leagues in Europe, especially Spain

SheroN

golden boot for pires...oh wait..:/...damn knee ligaments.

Yeats County

I'd love Ireland to win it but my prediction is for Argentina, they seem unstoppable at the moment but can they reproduce this form in the WC? Methinks they can.
Predictions for the Denmark game on Wednesday?

gandalf

Sheron that is not funny. If you had any decency you would edit that remark out.

Gandalf.

eddhorse

but seriously for a moment , i would have to agree with NeRb666
and go for ITALY ,their european sides are not doing well in the champions league but are in the uefa cup, and more importantly they were really unlucky not to beat france in the european championships only for a lucky wilthord goal, solid defense

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by gandalf
Sheron that is not funny. If you had any decency you would edit that remark out.

Gandalf.

ahh paul, you wouldnt care if it was a spurs player though would you....

gandalf

Sorry Eamo I may jest and slag off Spurs, Rangers, Utd whoever but I would not wish an injury of that type on any player.

In fact I really feel sorry for Stephen Carr at the moment who is probably one of the best players for Spurs and should be able to show his ability at the World Cup (see I too can care about Spuds players).

Theres one thing to slag off a team, its another to make light a serious injury that could threaten a players career. I just think that kind of comment is in extremely poor taste.

Gandalf.

WhiteWashMan

Originally posted by gandalf
Sorry Eamo I may jest and slag off Spurs, Rangers, Utd whoever but I would not wish an injury of that type on any player.

In fact I really feel sorry for Stephen Carr at the moment who is probably one of the best players for Spurs and should be able to show his ability at the World Cup (see I too can care about Spuds players).

Theres one thing to slag off a team, its another to make light a serious injury that could threaten a players career. I just think that kind of comment is in extremely poor taste.

Gandalf.

i know paul, im only pullin your wire mate.

IRISHLILY24

What I would give to see ireland take it, but I agree on argentina.
btw, when was mexico knocked out of the running? they are also good....or are they just not on the poll?

Biffa Bacon

I hope Italy don't win, they're so boring.
It's got to be France though to win.

KdjaCL

Brazil
I think they will turn it on as for the 1st them ever (i think ) they are not favourities to win .
Just want to see Rivaldo and Ronaldo on same team both fit .
And we are into the "please god dont let him get injured"part of the season .
Shouldnt be long now till we dont care who wins anything in England once Irish players dont get injured .
well im like that all the time .
Once Ireland has the best 11 out i be a happy man during world cup

Augmerson

Harchester United will win the World Cup.

kaimera

Originally posted by Augmerson
Harchester United will win the World Cup.

/slap
Shut up Aug j00 f00!......

bucks73

France are my favourites as they are so strong all over the pitch and also the squads depth in strength.

Argentina will run them close but I cant see Italy or Brazil doing that well. Ireland will do better than Sven Gordons lot though.

king of fifa

nigeria or indeed cameroon should be in with a shout but my head says italy.

blue moon fever

nigiria camerroon did no one else see the africas cup these chaps are on fire.but i dont really care who wins as long as its not the french,

kaimera

I cant see Brazil doing much....the whole soap-opera saga around Romario is pure shíte.

France are defo looking class, specially after the last round of internationals.

I doubt if we'll do any way well if Keano aint 100%.

The African countries are unpredictable.

Mexico arent on the poll cos I dont rate them highly.

Btw....how many peeps are doing a World Cup prediction sheet...ya know...predict everything

---

group winners, Q/Finalists, S/Finalist, Finalists and winner..and the Golden Boot winner ???

Me n the bro have money riding on ours

DerekD Goldfish

Italy are a glaring omision

ingoal the have buffon toldo and abiati three off the best in the world

In defence they have one of the greatest defenders of all time Maldini they also hve cannavaro and nesta

Left wing coco a great wing back who has stepend out of maldini's shadow since leaveing milan right wing zambrotta extremly comsistant. Defencive midfeild they will probably go mfor gattuso and tomasi both in great form with albertini on the bvench. Attacking minfeild they have totti absolute class

And up front the have veiri vho is in scary form and a choice of montella, del peiro, izagai to choose a partner from

Argenting are the only other contenders but Italy will beat them in the final

Neil3030

Spain. The man from del monte he say spain. So do I.

Mossin

My money is on Spain....literally.. so they betta perform this year

Max_ire

we know spain will get knocked out in the quater finals but ireland have a great chance of gettin through to semis if they do they wont win!:)
But seriously Argentina vrs France for the final i think coz France are comin in as underdogs coz no1 has seen them play in quite a while and argentina have been tryin for so long...
Argentina 2 France 1 in the final and ill put money on it:D

Littletinyman

As much as I hate them, I reckon France will triumph... probably beating Italy in the final. Ireland should make it into the quarter finals but I doubt they'll get further, and I'm expecting Cameroon and Portugal to upset some of the bigger sides. As for the golden boot, people like Crespo and Owen are certainly contenders but I think Thierry Henry is the man to put your money on.

Bob the Unlucky Octopus

Originally posted by DerekD Goldfish
Italy are a glaring omision

ingoal the have buffon toldo and abiati three off the best in the world

<snip>

Italy has never lacked for goalkeepers, world-class defenders, or predatory strikers. The inherent problem with their cattenacio game is that it relies on quick-thinking, passing, moving and skillful midfielders, the kind Italy don't have. The likes of DiBiaggio, Albertini et. al just don't cut it as creative players. The only midfielder Italy have who drives with the ball, takes it into dangerous areas and commits defenders is Stefano Fiore. Whereas France have Zizou, Petit and Viera (all world-class midfielders), Argentina have Gallardo, Veron and Canas, Spain have Fran, Helguera, Guardiola- whom do Italy have? In order to counter-attack successfully or even build a normal attack you need creative midfielders with drive and determination. Otherwise midfielders will be knocking it amongst themselves, back to the defense, back to goal, ad infinitum. Even England (while good hardly world-beaters these days) have the likes of Joe Cole, McManaman, Gerrard and perhaps Beckham driving their attack. What makes the Italian clubs great? Foreign players in midfield is a big part of it. Just at Milan you have Leonardo, Boban, Zladkovic in midfield. Find me a top Italian club with 2-3 top Italian midfielders, and you get a cookie. Which is why Italy will ultimately struggle for goals.

My prediction? France to win it, beating Argentina in the final.

Occy

kaimera

How Spain will win the World Cup

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mike65

I think I said Argentina earlier but after the Le Pen vote I want France to win again just to show the facists what the real France
is! ie not 100% white and 100% "French".

Mike.

Seaneh

[/QUOTE]
The inherent problem with their cattenacio game is that it relies on quick-thinking, passing, moving and skillful midfielders, the kind Italy don't have. The likes of DiBiaggio, Albertini et. al just don't cut it as creative players. The only midfielder Italy have who drives with the ball, takes it into dangerous areas and commits defenders is Stefano Fiore.

In order to counter-attack successfully or even build a normal attack you need creative midfielders with drive and determination.

Just at Milan you have Leonardo, Boban, Zladkovic in midfield. Find me a top Italian club with 2-3 top Italian midfielders, and you get a cookie. Which is why Italy will ultimately struggle for goals.

Occy [/QUOTE]

Now to make you wrong
Itlay have AMAZINGLY gifted centrel midfeilders!
Totti, Gattauso, Doni, Del Pero(yes he can play center! and the youngsetrs like Donati and Cassano. on top of that they have amazing wingers in Zambrotta, Del Pero(left wing!), Nervo, Cocco and Tomassi!
They have the best defence in the world.
Albertini and DiBiaggio are both out of the running, because Albertini tore a tendent and DiBiaggio is oooolllllldddd.
They have a better attack than 99% of teams, Pippo, Vieri, Montella and again totti.
On paper they are better than Argentina, France are just as good.
Portugal dont have a snowballs chance in hell, what defence do they have?
Spain never do good in cups.

and on to milan, Boban retired, Leonardo moved back to Brazil and who the hell is Zladkovic??
Oh and Milan have Albertini, Gattauso, Borcci, Donatti, Pirlo and Ambrosini oh and Cocco, even if he is on loan to Barca

Whoot 10 years of supporting Milan rubbs off on you!!

Bob the Unlucky Octopus

Now to make you wrong
Itlay have AMAZINGLY gifted centrel midfeilders!
Totti, Gattauso, Doni, Del Pero(yes he can play center! and the youngsetrs like Donati and Cassano. on top of that they have amazing wingers in Zambrotta, Del Pero(left wing!), Nervo, Cocco and Tomassi!

Totti is more of a striker than a midfielder, as is Del Piero. And let's not forget- the truely gifted central midfielders have a truly all-round game. Zidane in his last 4 games for France in tournaments made more tackles per game than Deschamps or Petit in the World cup. Also, if you would classify Zambrotta, Nervo or Tomassi as world class players, I would humbly submit that you don't live on the same world that I do. Zambrotta is barely useful as a defensive left sided player- I would argue that Paolo Maldini (a defender) has 10x the attacking output of Zambrotta. Tomassi is a substandard ball-hog, I know Sunday park football players who pass the ball more. Nervo can run very fast in a straight line- it's like me saying that Gary Breen, Noel Whelan and Craig Bellamy are world-class players. They're not bad at club level certainly- but I can't picture any of them picking up WC winner's medals.

Another stark, stark piece of evidence- look at Italy's goal output. It is absolutely abysmal given the quality of strikers they have. If the likes of Del Piero, Totti, Montella had world-class service, they'd score more goals, simple as that. Until you can show me a single Italian midfield player who is a proven link between defense and attack I am unconvinced. The likes of Tomassi and Nervo just aren't good enough against the world's best.

They have the best defence in the world.

Also by common consent, one of the most boring teams to watch because of it. France's defensive record was actually sounder than Italy's in France 98, but not boring. Their defense was a dynamic fluid unit, not 4 pegs in a line with a sweeper running up the middle occasionally. It is possible to have a great defense and yet use that defense as a springboard for attack- Italy fail to do this.

[/b][/quote]

Portugal dont have a snowballs chance in hell, what defence do they have?

The same defense Brazil had in 1970, an amazing attack. No matter how many the 1970 side conceded, they believed 100% that they could score more. How else did Portugal reach the semis of Euro 2000? And let us be frank, which semifinal was more of a football match to watch? Italy's 11 men and a mascot behind the ball deperation vs. the Dutch, or France v Portugal? The final itself was a victory for creative football, the unimaginative and one-dimensional Italian side ultimately torn apart by quick incisive breaks from the middle of the park. Italy were found out in the final, as they will be at the World cup finals. Genius in the middle of the park creates goals, goals are needed to win the World cup. I cannot recall a winning world cup side that based their victories on 1-0 defense, or playing on the break. Ironically, the last time Italy won the world cup under Enzo Bearzot they threw catennacio to the winds, and relied on the supreme attacking skills of Tardelli, Altobelli and Rossi to effectively play Brazil off the park. They certainly didnt' beat them with a better defense, the score was 3-2, Rossi scoring a hattrick and Brazil beaten by a superior attack.

Oh and Milan have Albertini, Gattauso, Borcci, Donatti, Pirlo and Ambrosini oh and Cocco, even if he is on loan to Barca

Cocu is the only one of those I rate as a player- a truly magnificent all-rounder.

Whoot 10 years of supporting Milan rubbs off on you!!

Certainly does I'd imagine. Which reminds me- how many Italian sides made the last 8 in the Champion's league again? Until the standard of midfield play and attacking football improves at these catenaccio complacents, they cannot hope to continue reaping football's greatest prizes. I'm not optimistic for Italy's chances at the World Cup finals this year- the likes of Argentina, France and even England are better balanced to cope with the demands of a tournament in which winning is based on a lot more than simply 'not losing'- a philosophy almost every Italian club player learns early on in his career.

Occy

Flemmish Flame

Big Favourites:
Argentina
France

Outsiders:
Italy
Cameroon
Brazil

Surprises:
Senegal
Japan
Ireland
Uruguay

Dissapointing:
Spain
Nigeria
England
South Korea

most important teams missing
Czech Republic
Holland

Seaneh

Donati is one of the most promissing young mid midfeilders in the world atm, as in Cassano, I think you will find that Totti played centre midfeild for almost all Roma's games this year, and that Del Pero prefers to play Left wing. Zambrotta is a great right winger.

Jake

Think alot of people have writen Germany off because of the result against eng-er-land.
Having seen Ballack and his mates in action in the CL as well as the B Munich contingent ect. I think Germany will be stronger than people think!
Well, to strong for us anyway, (although Id like to be wrong on that) which leaves us with a problem because if we do manage to get the runners up spot in our group we have to play the winners of the group involving Spain................
Italy and Argentina will also be strong but I reckon if France can avoid more injuries along the lines of that suffered by Pires they will have enough to win
Would be a great achievment to win three competitions in a row and I would like to see em do it.

Bob the Unlucky Octopus

Originally posted by Gandalf/Sean
Donati is one of the most promissing young mid midfeilders in the world atm, as in Cassano, I think you will find that Totti played centre midfeild for almost all Roma's games this year, and that Del Pero prefers to play Left wing. Zambrotta is a great right winger.

I'm sure they're very promising indeed, but 'promising' rarely becomes 'world-beating'. I merely point out that there isn't a well-developed creative midfield player in the Italian side that can pull it out game after game. There are no Beckhams, Zidanes, Rivaldos, Guardiolas or Zanettis in their team. As such, they will struggle for chances at the World Cup, and their style of play certainly doesn't help either. Every time Italy were successful in the World Cup they played to their attacking strengths. They don't lack for players anywhere else on the field other than in midfield- their defenders and keepers are world-class, as is the abundance of finishing talent they have in their front men, the problem is to find a dynamic midfield to link the two- this is sorely lacking.

Occy

Loomer

I think Italy will make good this year, with Portugal being the biggest danger. I would put my house on Ireland finishing ahead of England. I am confident that England will not progress into the second round let alone win a match in there group. They are with out a doubt the most over-rated over-hyped team in the world bar none. I am looking forward with glee to all the stupid English journalists choking on humble pie.