It's going to be cooler in Brazil, as it will be winter down there. Nothing like winter in the states but it's not going to be as hot as a lot of people are making it seem.

I'm not going to make any predictions because there are a good amount of teams who have a nice chance of winning. I'll be cheering for USA until/if they get knocked out and then it's Brazil/Italy after that. Man for man, Brazil has one of the best teams, along with Germany but again, there's a lot of other good teams.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I don't know why he's so confident. It doesn't get much tougher than Spain, and Chile are a very handy side with players who will be accustomed to the temperatures over there. The Dutch are also liable to implode at any moment in a major tournament.

don't understand it either, very tough group. Certainly as the Dutch don't have a very good goalie. And even worse, they have a miserable defense.

quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Group H: Belgium - These guys. I think everyone wants them to do well. I don't think they'll ever have a better group of players - it's surely some sort of statistical freak for Belgium to have so many genuinely world class players. This is a really good opportunity for them and I hope they win the group and get a good draw in the next round. Algeria - Don't see anything happening for them. Russia - They've fallen a fair way from the dizzying high of Euro 2008 but I do think they're a dangerous side and will probably qualify. South Korea - Sorry Lira, but I don't think they're as good as Russia. Maybe I'm wrong because I haven't seen them play much in recent years, but a look at their squad doesn't really change my mind.

I don't think Belgium could have drawn a much better group than this. They just have to qualify in a group with Algeria, Russia and South Korea. It has often happened that they'll fail in such situations but I don't think that will happen this time.

They'll also be playing in good weather conditions, not too hot, and they don't have much distance to do between matches. This can be a huge advantage when qualifying for the next round and playing other less fortunate teams. Most likely this will be against Germany or Portugal. Unfortunately I think the tournament will end for Belgium in the second round with opponents like this.

I do think we have a good central line of key players with Courtois as goalie, Kompany in defense and Witsel as defensive mid. Also De Bruyne will be an important player. I just hope he'll be playing more often the next months in order to be in a good condition and rhythm for the world cup. And we obviously still have Eden Hazard. I hope he'll be showing all of his qualities on the world cup as he hasn't done too often when playing for Belgium. Add other good/decent players like Vertonghen, Fellaini, Defour, Dembele, Chadli, Benteke and I can say that we have a nice team. Major weakness of the team is the lack of a good striker. Other teams have someone as Van Persie, Ronaldo, Cavani, Suarez, Falcao ... we'll have to do with Benteke, decent, but not at the level of the players I just mentioned. Lukaku will also be selected, but unfortunately he can't play soccer too well.

Another major weakness: our trainer! He did qualify us for the first time in 12 years, but he lacks the tacktical knowledge and has made huge mistakes before during the qualifing round.

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Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Germany - ...they have a [...] very good tactical manager.

I disagree. My opinion, and that of many Germans right now, is that Löw is our biggest problem that will prevent any realistic title chances. He's widely considered a mediocre manager who happens to have the most ridiculously talented players in decades. Despite all that skill he has been unable to establish a stable defense, even against second rate teams, and stubbornly puts on his favorites instead of the best squad. Also, he commonly tries to copy random elements of how Bayern Munich is playing, often by putting players on positions where they don't usually play. This works for Guardiola since he usually has a concept behind it, but whenever Löw tried to copy him it was a disaster.

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quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J I don't know why he's so confident. It doesn't get much tougher than Spain, and Chile are a very handy side with players who will be accustomed to the temperatures over there. The Dutch are also liable to implode at any moment in a major tournament.

Ha ha, I wasn't at all. We never beat Australia or Chile.
Also first match is on Friday 13th...against Spain...

And if we would end second in the group we are most likely meeting Brazil

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Originally posted by OrangestO We barely made it out of our group four years ago (wasn't it a goal in the 90th minute by Landon that advanced us?).

And you have a much, much tougher group this time around.

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Originally posted by FCB_Fanatic Lukaku will also be selected, but unfortunately he can't play soccer too well.

Are you insane!? I don't know how he plays for Belgium but he's been a fucking monster in the Premiership for the last two seasons. He's frightening. Combined with Benteke and you've got a really good, physically powerful strikeforce that could bully any defence.

quote:

Originally posted by Meat187 I disagree. My opinion, and that of many Germans right now, is that Löw is our biggest problem that will prevent any realistic title chances. He's widely considered a mediocre manager who happens to have the most ridiculously talented players in decades. Despite all that skill he has been unable to establish a stable defense, even against second rate teams, and stubbornly puts on his favorites instead of the best squad. Also, he commonly tries to copy random elements of how Bayern Munich is playing, often by putting players on positions where they don't usually play. This works for Guardiola since he usually has a concept behind it, but whenever Löw tried to copy him it was a disaster.

Well you're more acquainted with the players and the team than me so I have to defer to your opinion, but my impression of Low has always been that he's pretty tactically astute, and is good at analysing the opposition and creating a specific tactical solution to exploit their weaknesses, which is a very important attribute to have in tournament football. I also think the national side's marked improvement since he took over has been partially down to his implementation of a "game of sprints" with extremely rapid passing and high work rate. And I don't think he's done too much wrong in previous tournaments - in 2008 and 2010 you simply lost to the better side. The loss to Italy in 2012 was a shock, but Italy have always been Germany's nemesis.

From what I've read, his selection of players for the national side has been informed by players he knows to perform well for him, rather than players in form for their club. In 2010 Klose was totally out of form all season, but he was selected for Germany, played every match and did really well. I can understand how this is seen as being stubborn, especially with the talent pool of German players, but it seems to work pretty well. And Germany won 9 and drew 1 of their qualifying games (the 1 being a crazy 4-4 draw with Sweden) so which "disastrous" results are you talking about? He experiments a lot in friendlies, it's true, and he shouldn't really be trying to copy Guardiola, but I would be surprised if he makes any outrageous tactical decisions in Brazil.

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quote:

Originally posted by SYSTEM-J Are you insane!? I don't know how he plays for Belgium but he's been a fucking monster in the Premiership for the last two seasons. He's frightening. Combined with Benteke and you've got a really good, physically powerful strikeforce that could bully any defence.

Lukaku is really strong and has a lot of speed, but technically he's a disaster. He can't give a proper pass and has a lot of difficulties in controling the ball. That's why Benteke is normally the first choice; technically he's better than Lukaku. Belgium plays 4-3-3 with one striker who is expected to be good in the combination. That role is better suited for Benteke. Lukaku is probably the better 'killer' of the two and can come in handy when playing against better teams, when Belgium doens't have to dictate the game. He scored two nice goals in Croatia using his speed and strength.

But I think the future will be for Batshuayi, current top scorer in Belgium. He hasn't been selected for now, but this shouldn't take too long anymore. I hope he will be in the final selection. Less powerfull than Lukaku, but definitely a good striker and technically also better than him.

What's been most unsurprising is that France landed the easiest group. ******s. And it's still fucking beyond me why the hell Belgium and Switzerland are this high on the FIFA ranking.

Futhermore, it looks like System-J's knowledge on football is on par with his knowledge of music, seeing that his analysis is pretty spot on.

From a personal perspective, I think we could've done better, but also a lot worse. Spain will be tough to beat, and while Chili aren't really even outsiders, they shouldn't be underestimated at all. At least we should manage to beat Australia

I think these will qualify:
A: Brazil & Mexico
B: Spain & Netherlands
C: Colombia & Japan
D: Uruguay & Italy
E: Equador & France
F: Argentina & Nigeria
G: Germany & Portual
H: Belgium & Russia

quote:

Originally posted by Frenkieee Futhermore, it looks like System-J's knowledge on football is on par with his knowledge of music, seeing that his analysis is pretty spot on.

Probably because I spend most of my downtime listening to music whilst reading endless football articles on the Internet.

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quote:

Originally posted by Frenkieee What's been most unsurprising is that France landed the easiest group. ******s. And it's still fucking beyond me why the hell Belgium and Switzerland are this high on the FIFA ranking.

Ecuador and Switzerland are not a walk in the park. I wouldn't expect France to coast right out of that group and also wouldn't be surprised if they didn't make it out at all.

It will stink not having Chucho on the pitch. He was a fun player to watch.

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Originally posted by DOOMBOT Ecuador and Switzerland are not a walk in the park. I wouldn't expect France to coast right out of that group and also wouldn't be surprised if they didn't make it out at all. It will stink not having Chucho on the pitch. He was a fun player to watch.

Every team had to win a lot of matches to get here, so no one match will be a walk in the park. Still, some teams are a lot weaker than others. From the teams in bucket one (or whatever they're called), Switzerland probably are the weakest. And Honduras is one of the weakest team in the whole tournament. Ecuador ain't bad, but they're not that good either.

edit: my main concern with France was the fact that the FIFA decided to make some last minute change to the rules so that France wasn't placed in the last bucket.

quote:

Originally posted by Frenkieee Every team had to win a lot of matches to get here, so no one match will be a walk in the park. Still, some teams are a lot weaker than others. From the teams in bucket one (or whatever they're called), Switzerland probably are the weakest. And Honduras is one of the weakest team in the whole tournament. Ecuador ain't bad, but they're not that good either. edit: my main concern with France was the fact that the FIFA decided to make some last minute change to the rules so that France wasn't placed in the last bucket.

Ok; I heard about FIFA doing something last minute with France but didn't keep myself up to speed on it. I try to stay away from the politics of the game and just watch the matches.

Anyone here actually going to be in Brazil and go to a game? I just went to a game at the Maracana (Fluminense x Bahia) in the beginning of September and that place was rocking; a packed house is going to be insane in there. There were only 27,000 and the place was rocking. Just getting there by subway and then the line to get in made me happy I won't be there for the World Cup though. I imagine it is going to take an extremely long time to get to a game, let a lone once you are there, the lines to get in.