Thereās some very well balanced groups alright- Iām going with Germany.
!
I thought your i.p was blocked you scallywag?
An absolute nightmare draw for us having to play the Italian derby against Uruguay and then possibly having to meet Colombia in the second round if we manage to progress.
Itās imperative that we top the group but I wouldnāt be particularly confident of qualifying as we are traditionally very slow starters in tournaments.
[quote=āSidney, post: 870536, member: 183ā]
Final
Brazil v Argentina[/quote]
I the murky world of south American football I just canāt see Argentina leaving Brazil with the world cupā¦and even more so if they meet in the finalā¦
[quote=āRudi, post: 870541, member: 1052ā]An absolute nightmare draw for us having to play the Italian derby against Uruguay and then possibly having to meet Colombia in the second round if we manage to progress.
Itās imperative that we top the group but I wouldnāt be particularly confident of qualifying as we are traditionally very slow starters in tournaments.[/quote]
so you donāt think England will qualify and you donāt think Italy will qualifyā¦so that leaves Uruguay and Costa Ricaā¦interestingā¦
Where did I say England wouldnāt qualify? I also didnāt say Italy wouldnāt qualify, Iām just not too confident given itās a difficult group and we take some time to feel our way into groups. In saying that, we have a team of champions who usually find a way to get ourselves through these types of situations.
groups C, E and H and fucking jokes altogether.
well you rated my post on England getting out of that group dumbā¦
What do the non-Irish TFK posters think of their respective countries draws??
USA - (B Tinnion), looks like theyāll have their work cut out to get out of that group.
AUS - (TWCB, Fisty) what do ye think, lads?
ITA - (Rudi) tough enough group, should have to much for RoastBeefs, but Uruguay and the Ticos are no pushovers.
ENG - (chewy louie, Captshan etc) should have more than a match for this group of johnny foreigners, just keep an eye on Saurezās hands (and teeth)
BEL - (Fran) soft enough group in fairness,
I rated your post dismissing Uruguay as dumb. Uruguay have two of the best players in the world and host of other players who would walk into the England team.
btw, the Yanks must be getting tired of running into Ghana at the world Cup.
[quote=āmyboyblue, post: 870533, member: 180ā]France are some jammy cunts alright.
Draw in full fwiw
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ba0YP0SIEAAdaB0.png:large[/quote]
France are the flakiest shower of cunts going. Switzerland, unsurprisingly, are the big winners. The horrible cunts will top the group and advance to a second round tie with the runner up from Group C, another piss poor collection of teams.
Isnāt GodĆn one of their centre backs? Might not have played last summer but heāll be one of them this summer presumably.
How the fuck are Moy Park one of the sponsors of this craic?
Godin is a class act. If Uruguay are still persisting with a back three then Iād suspect Caceres is another one and heās a very good defender too. Lugano is a good experienced player as well and it is likely that they will have Coates back too.
Smaller South American fry than Argentina have done it before.
You have to look at the draw, travel and climate when predicting how this is going to go.
I reckon itās set up for a Brazil-Argentina final. Argentina really have a great draw. They should win their group anyway, but their matches are in Rio, Belo Horizonte and Porto Alegre which will suit them both climate and travel wise. If France win their group which they should do, Argentina will have an easy last 16 match as the rest of Franceās group is rubbish.
Of the European teams Belgium have fared well with a very winnable group and as favourable a schedule as they could get as regards climate and travel - they play in Belo Horizonte, Rio and Sao Paolo.
Compare that to how Germany and Italy have fared. The Hun have a very difficult group both football wise and climate wise, playing all three matches in furnace-like conditions in the afternoon in Salvador, Fortaleza and Recife, two at 1pm and the other at 4pm.
Italy also have two 1pm kick-offs in Natal and Recife as well as that 10pm kick-off against England in Manaus when it will still be very hot. That isnāt going to suit a player like Pirlo. Englandās other two matches arenāt too bad in Sao Paolo and Belo Horizonte. Donāt rule out Costa Rica who could go well in this group given that the conditions will suit them best of anybody.
Ivory Coast must fancy their chances given theyāre in a good group and the conditions will suit them.
The big thing that jumps out from the draw is that Brazil will probably have to meet either Spain or Holland in Round 2, and I think itāll be Spain who this will prove a tournament too far for. I really fancy Brazil to win that.
If Germany win their group and progress it would be set up for a Brazil-Germany semi-final. Again Iād fancy Brazil.
On the other side, if the draw works out as I think it will, I donāt see too much to stop Argentina. Their route through would likely see them take on Ecuador, Belgium and maybe Holland, and their travel schedule wouldnāt be too bad either - Sao Paolo, Brasilia, Sao Paolo, Rio.
Winners:
Argentina
France
Belgium
Ivory Coast
Colombia
Losers:
Germany
Italy
Spain
Holland
Italy are losers in this draw but not England according to this clown:rolleyes:
England are clearly less losers than Italy if you examine the venues, because Italy play their other two matches 1,500 miles north of where England play their other two matches.
Iād be interested to know why you donāt think thatās an advantage, especially given that England are based in Rio?