World Cup 2006 - Predict the Winner

[carlos3652]

I know, I know, Soccer is for pussies blah, blah, blah... I am proud to say that I am a passionate fan for the game (especially Argentina/ Boca Juniors).

I wanted to see how many planeteers cared about soccer, yourr predictions in the upcoming World Cup (which is less than 12 months away). I will probably be going to cheer on my beloved,

Anyway, please chose your top 3 teams that are the most likely to play the finals and why - (i know the groups arent set yet for Germany and it is way to early to predict but this is a draft until the actual teams qualify and are grouped)

My top 3 in order:

Germany - Home
Brazil - Incredibe team (they own us)
Argentina (My Country / Only team from S.A. to have already qualified - by beating Brazil 3-1 I might add)

[carlos3652]

Moderator: Please edit poll for multiple choices... Im such a n00b I should have hired RainMan to do this, but I could not afford him...

[carlos3652]

Thanks for th evoters who cared lol... this thread might as well be killed...

[chiefs4me]

It won't let me pick 3...and for the record, soccer is not to well liked around here. But I like it...and thank god for it. The 3000 dollar soccer scholarship my oldest got is helping him in college....


Here are my 3 though

Spain
Mexico
USA

[Frankie]

Too early to tell.

[Ultra Peanut]

Went with Germany, though I was this close to voting for Brazil.

Oh, and technically, there will be 32 teams in the World Cup Finals.

[Pants]

Germany for sure. Unless Ballack goes down. I love the game as well. I picked Argentina to win it all in 2002 (you know, when they had the good squad) and was disappointed and pissed, never will pick them again.

I always root for Netherlands, but they are major choke artists, this year I will (hopefully) finally have the opportunity to cheer for the Ukrainian team.

[carlos3652]

Originally Posted by Metrolike

Germany for sure. Unless Ballack goes down. I love the game as well. I picked Argentina to win it all in 2002 (you know, when they had the good squad) and was disappointed and pissed, never will pick them again.

I always root for Netherlands, but they are major choke artists, this year I will (hopefully) finally have the opportunity to cheer for the Ukrainian team.

Dude Argentina in 2002 had an OK squad... Their current team is better, yes, they were picked to win it all in 2002, but then they got in the hardest group (F). They ended up 1-1-1 only losing to England on a penalty shot and did not move on... That was crap.

[Calcountry]

I predict a lot of 1-0 games. zzzzz

[carlos3652]

Moderator that cares: Please edit poll to pick three... im sure if I was talking about something else this would have been done by now...

[DJJasonp]

By the way....in a related story....did you see in the latest FIFA rankings the US national team has moved up to #6 in the country? We're looking very good with Donovan, Beasley, and company. Our goalkeeping is solid, but I'm a bit concerned about our back line.

But should be a fun world cup....by the way, hopefully USA and Mexico will match up next week in the finals of the Gold cup. The semi match is tonight....which bring up even another topic. My friend and I consider ourselves pretty avid US soccer fans. But here's what has us ticked....the Gold cup happens approximately once a year. Pretty big event actually for soccer. But we cant get any of the games televised by an American broadcasting company. No ESPN, no fox sports, no ESPN2....nothing. I've had to hunt down sports bars that have Telefutura (a Telemundo network) to try to catch the games. Most cable companies (even here in So-Cal) dont have this channel.

And the US soccer organizations ask themselves why soccer isnt bigger in the USA or why the support isnt as big as they think it should be.....well, not televising you're national team in a yearly tournament is a something you might want to look into!

Alright...rant over.

[DJJasonp]

Whoops....#6 in the world.

[Braincase]

Whichever team has the wisdom and insight to sign Rich Scanlon.

[Pants]

Originally Posted by bunnytrdr

I predict a lot of 1-0 games. zzzzz

I'd rather watch a 0-0 international match than any NFL match not involving Chiefs. (If the Chiefs are playing they beat out any international match unless it involves Ukraine or the words "semi" and "final")

[Ultra Peanut]

My friend and I consider ourselves pretty avid US soccer fans. But here's what has us ticked....the Gold cup happens approximately once a year. Pretty big event actually for soccer. But we cant get any of the games televised by an American broadcasting company. No ESPN, no fox sports, no ESPN2....nothing. I've had to hunt down sports bars that have Telefutura (a Telemundo network) to try to catch the games. Most cable companies (even here in So-Cal) dont have this channel.

And the US soccer organizations ask themselves why soccer isnt bigger in the USA or why the support isnt as big as they think it should be.....well, not televising you're national team in a yearly tournament is a something you might want to look into!

The blame for that lies squarely on Jack Warner (the Trinidadian in charge of CONCACAF). CONCACAF sold all-language rights to the people who run Telefutura, and the costs would outweigh the benefits for ESPN or FSC to buy them.

Sucks, but it's just the Gold Cup. Nobody sends their A teams, nobody really cares too much. Doing well helps you in the rankings, but it's not a big deal.