2010 World Cup Thread.

[Erick]

oh well i guess its rest time for him, they are all good they wont need him next game anyway!

Exactly. Although it was BS. I just love how the first people to point the finger at Luis Fabiano were our biggest rivals: Argentina.

I guess they forgot about Maradona's "Hand of God" goal in 86

[Alkasquawlik]

Good god, Portugal just killed North Korea.

[Philo]

Good god, Portugal just killed North Korea.

Saw the result, watching the game right now.

[bimmer_E30]

Exactly. Although it was BS. I just love how the first people to point the finger at Luis Fabiano were our biggest rivals: Argentina.

I guess they forgot about Maradona's "Hand of God" goal in 86

haha i know, although i would give 90% of the credits to KAKA because he made it happen!

and omg, 7-0

[CorvallisBMW]

Kim Jong Ill is going to execute every one of those poor guys when they get back

[dirtysix]

World No 5 vs No 78. Draw!
Fuck we're awesome.

[Philo]

Kim Jong Ill is going to execute every one of those poor guys when they get back

Exactly what I thought while I was watching it. That country is so fucked up. Ronaldo's goal was comical to say the least.

Spain looked a little better today, but they missed a lot of easy opportunities. Torres couldn't score for shit and Villa missed not only the PK, but a couple others.

[sonnyqm3]

I like Brazil since they are a great team but I believe Argentina is gonna take it all the way.. I hope at least, been a fan since early 80's..

[Ral]

[Maluco]

Group stage before round 3: what to expect

As Spain just defeated 2-0 Honduras in the last Round 2 match, let’s take a look at the current standings in the 8 groups and see what could happen in the last round of the group stage.
GROUP A
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Uruguay 2 1 1 0 3 0 4
Mexico 2 1 1 0 3 1 4
France 2 0 1 1 0 2 1
S.Africa 2 0 1 1 1 4 1
Matchday 3: France - South Africa, Mexico - Uruguay

The only question here is: is Mexico willing to take the chance (remote chance, but still) to try to win, risk to lose and possibly end up with an unlikely elimination, just to secure the first place and avoid Argentina in the next stage, when a draw would send both them and Uruguay to the round of 16? Hard to say. I’m not entirely sure Mexico will accept to play for the tie, leaving the first place to Uruguay. In any case, I don’t think either France (oh mon dieu!) or South Africa can win their game with enough goals to qualify even if one of the other two teams loses.


GROUP B
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Argentina 2 2 0 0 5 1 6
S. Korea 2 1 0 1 3 4 3
Greece 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
Nigeria 2 0 0 2 1 3 0
Matchday 3: Nigeria-South Korea, Argentina-Greece
Argentina is virtually qualified already - only math still gives a chance to the unthinkable. South Korea has a great chance to grab the second place, since Greece doesn’t seem very likely to win (or even draw) against Maradona’s powerhouse. But Nigeria itself isn’t out of the games at all: a win by any score against the Koreans would qualify the African side if Argentina defeats Greece. So, the second spot in this group is as undefined as it gets.


GROUP C
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Slovenia 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
USA 2 0 2 0 3 3 2
England 2 0 2 0 1 1 2
Algeria 2 0 1 1 0 1 1
Matchday 3: USA-Algeria, England-Slovenia
Now that’s gonna be exciting. Surprising Slovenia will face disappointing England playing for a draw, While Capello’s side has no choice but winning. In the other match, USA and Algeria both just need to win (Algeria also needing a 2 goals difference) to secure qualification without depending on the other match’s result. My bet? USA and England will win and Slovenia will fall to 3rd place and go home. In that case, first place in this group will be decided by goal difference - and I think USA may very well prevail. But in any case, those will be 90 very exciting and dramatic minutes, and pretty much anything can happen, even an incredible England elimination.


GROUP D
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Ghana 2 1 1 0 2 1 4
Germany 2 1 0 1 4 1 3
Serbia 2 1 0 1 1 1 3
Australia 2 0 1 1 1 5 1
Matchday 3: Ghana-Germany, Australia-Serbia

Another group entirely up to grab. Serbia will face Australia knowing that a victory will put them in the round of 16 straight away, while the Aussies need not only to win, but also to score a lot of goals to have a chance. Even with a draw, Serbia could still pass, depending on how the other match ends. Germany will play Ghana going for the win, no questions asked - an unusual scenario for the Germans. Ghana, meanwhile, can play for the draw to secure a place in the next round. As in the previous group, I think the current leader may end up in third and say goodbye to the World Cup; but again, everything can happen (well, not everything: I think Australian chances are close to zero).


GROUP E
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Netherlands 2 2 0 0 3 0 6
Japan 2 1 0 1 1 1 3
Denmark 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
Cameroon 2 0 0 2 1 3 0
Matchday 3: Cameroon-Netherlands, Denmark-Japan
One of only 2 groups where a team (the Dutch) already secured a spot in the next stage, and the only group so far where a team is already mathematically out (Cameroon), only one match really counts here, and Japan can face Denmark playing for a draw thanks to its better goals difference. So, the only question is: can the Densk defeat the asian side? It’s gonna be hard, but in the end we believe they can do it and grab the second place.


GROUP F
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Paraguay 2 1 1 0 3 1 4
Italy 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
New Zealand 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
Slovakia 2 0 1 1 1 3 1
Matchday 3: Paraguay-New Zealand, Slovakia-Italy
Oh, the horror.
No, seriously: Paraguay only needs a draw against New Zealand to go to the next stage, but I think they’ll win and secure the first place. As for Italy and Slovakia, this would mean the second place for whoever wins - or, in Italy’s case, even a squallid (yet not unprecedented) scenario: qualifying with 3 draws. After yesterday’s nightmare game, I won’t even try to guess how it will end.


GROUP G
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Brazil 2 2 0 0 5 2 6
Portugal 2 1 1 0 7 0 4
Côte d’Ivoire 2 0 1 1 1 3 1
N.Korea 2 0 0 2 1 9 0
Matchday 3: Brazil-Portugal, Côte d’Ivoir-North Korea
The African side can just try to defeat the Koreans by 10 goals or something like that, and hope Brazil crushes Portugal. Fat chance. Brazil and Portugal will go to the round of 16, the only question is who will secure the first place. Without Kakà and possibly Elano, Brazil may suffer against a Portuguese side made confident by today’s 7 goals to the Koreans (including one by Cristiano Ronaldo, his first for the national team after almost 2 years). In any case, since Group H will be undefined until the last second and Spain may very well not grab the first place (or qualify at all), coming in first in this group may turn out to be less relevant than expected.


GROUP H
Team MP W D L GF GA Pts
Chile 2 2 0 0 2 0 6
Spain 2 1 0 1 2 1 3
Switzerland 2 1 0 1 1 1 3
Honduras 2 0 0 2 0 1 0
Matchday 3: Chile-Spain, Switzerland-Honduras

Oh. My. God. That’s gonna be exciting. It could end up with a 3-way draw at 6 points, which would mean that a team who won 2 games would be eliminated based on a worse goals difference. It could even end up with an incredible draw in both pints and goals, leading to the unthinkable: the toss of a coin to determine who goes to the next round and who goes home. But wait: first of all, Spain will need to defeat Chile, which is not as highly likely as it looked just a week ago. Switzerland, meanwhile, will have to defeat Honduras (not a very hard task I think), possibly with 2 or more goals. In the end, I guess it will all come down to the Chile-Spain game, where Spain has the obligation to win to pass. The first place will anyway depend on goals difference - unless Chile manages to win or draw against the Red Furies, eliminating them and securing the top spot. So, curiously, the Swiss side looks like the one who has the best chances to grab the qualification. In any case, it’s gonna be another breathtaking matchday.

[hyperE30]

Exactly. Although it was BS. I just love how the first people to point the finger at Luis Fabiano were our biggest rivals: Argentina.

I guess they forgot about Maradona's "Hand of God" goal in 86

Man It was so damn clear!! But even the official laughed with him.. come on

[e30 sdw]

Fabianos goal was nothing compared to the "Hand of God". Wrong to call it a goal? true, but very bad angle to make correct call. Maradonas was just ridiculous
I H**E the Argentinian Team! Mexican Rivals since I can remember. I have my Top 5:
Brazil
Spain
Germany
Ghana
MEXICO BABY!

[Maluco]

[selturk]

France 1:2 South Africa

Mexico 0:1 Uruguay

so Uruguay finishes first in group A and Mexico second..

go home France hahahah

[sonnyqm3]

Argentina 1-0 Greece...