World Cup

[debiasir]

my predictions Itlay to win lol, they better i have a bet on and they are my team. if they go out come on England

 

[furryrabbit]

my prediction - ireland to win ........... oh wait .

come on deutschland!

 

[debiasir]

bloody france getting a draw has ruined my coupon with ladbrookes

 

[aberdeen aquarist]

bloody france getting a draw has ruined my coupon with ladbrookes

tell me about it

 

[Arfie]

Well I don't get the press that Brazil are getting, saying they were rubbish I know Ronaldo was lazy, but Ronaldinho looked scarily good Kaka played really well, Adriano was OK, Robinho looked OK when he came on, even Roberto Carlos looked good, better than I thought he would.

The difference between the below par performances of Brazil and England was that Brazil always looked like they could up a gear or two if they needed to, where we looked like we'd run out of steam and ideas

All the big boys seem to be holding something in reserve and making sure they don't lose the first game, irrespective of the type of performance

So just: Spain v Ukraine, Tunisia v Saudi Arabia, Germany v Poland to watch today

I wonder if Spain can finally live upto all the potential they've had over the last few years, now they all play for Liverpool

Arfie

 

[keesh121]

Key players is definatly reina and torres

 

[McMurray]

Go tongo.... Go tongo.... i want tongo to win

 

[jarmado]

another proof of WC popularity:
http/www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/06/1...g.ap/index.html

 

[Arfie]

Key players is definatly reina and torres

Torres - yes
Reina - no With Casillas in the team, Reina won't get a game unless he gets injured.

Xavi and Alonso should do well, both talented players and Garcia if he gets a game could do well, he's pretty good in european football.

I'm recording it (At least I hope I am, Sky+ is set ) hope to see it later

Arfie

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

I'm really hoping Portugal will win it all, I watched Brazil against Croatia and I'v got a feeling that they are way overrated. Portugal struggled in the first game, but I think maybe they were going for a containment strategy to save energy and reduce the chance of injury for the latter matches.

I think they have got all the talent they could ever need to win it all this time. Also they always play better against the bigger teams than the weaker ones. Watch for them to really turn up the intensity after the group stage!

Vive o Portugal!

SLC

 

[jarmado]

I'm really hoping Portugal will win it all, I watched Brazil against Croatia and I'v got a feeling that they are way overrated. Portugal struggled in the first game, but I think maybe they were going for a containment strategy to save energy and reduce the chance of injury for the latter matches.

I think they have got all the talent they could ever need to win it all this time. Also they always play better against the bigger teams than the weaker ones. Watch for them to really turn up the intensity after the group stage!

Vive o Portugal!

SLC

don't you think Brazil is doing the same thing as Portugal?
saving the best for last?

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

no because they almost got beat bt croatia. Admit it, the Croatians had way too many shots on goal at the end of the match! Also they had the edge in posetion time.

 

[jarmado]

no because they almost got beat bt croatia. Admit it, the Croatians had way too many shots on goal at the end of the match! Also they had the edge in posetion time.

i am not admitting anything because i did not watch the whole game..
and i am not taking your words for it..
not a footie fanatic, sorry..

 

[SLC Flyfishing]

Well either way it doesn't matter. All I'm trying to get across is that maybe Brazil isn't as good as everyone makes them out to be! They are a great team no doubt, but I'm not so sure that they are so far above every other team in the tournament. There are some really great teams this year that will make it difficult at best for any team (including Brazil) to win it all!

But in the end, I predict Portugal will come out on top!!!

SLC

 

[Arfie]

I think that had Croatia scored, Brazil would have stepped it up and got another, unless it was last minute As I said before, I think all the big boys are just making sure they don't lose after France lost their opener last time and they pretty much all have

Brazil are far from over rated, they have one of the most talented squads, with 5 or 6 proper match winners in Ronladinho, Robinho, Ronaldo, Adriano and Kaka and sometimes Carlos

Stats from the BBC are:

Possession
Brazil 52% v 48% Croatia
Shots on target
Brazil 8 v 4 Croatia
Shots off target
Brazil 9 v 4 Croatia

So actually Brazil had better possession, more shots on target and more shots off target than Croatia, oh and most importantly, more goals

Spain looked pretty good today though and the Tunisia vs Saudi game was pretty good

Arfie