I can't see a thread on the World Cup starting next month!
Who are you guys supporting and who is your pick to win!

good idea!

I'm from Brazil but we can't really say I am supporting my nation's team. I root for my team, Internacional, and that's it. the Seleção is usually a lazy team filled with primadonnas who don't represent the country at all and much more important, it is not the "national" team, it's the CBF team.

actually this World Cup's version is the opposite of that - due to 2006' fiasco - and Brazil has been steamrolling since Dunga took over. on the other hand his roster is a joke and the team lacks talent. anyway history tells us that if you pick Brazil, Italy and Germany as favorites you're likely to get it right.

Spain, Holland and Argentina are the ones who will feature the hot players though. I would say Argentina is the most talented team but they've become big-time chokers; Spain is the team that's been playing the best but that doesn't mean anything either - Brazil in 2002 and Italy in 2006 were considered finished before the World Cup and they both won. so overall I didn't answer your question and didn't say anything really new or objective

im all for team usa...and no im not joking

Yeah I need to have a look at Brazil's team, they left out Ronaldinho right? Apparently he is too old?
I thought Brazil must have an awesome team if they are leaving him out?
Is there problem that they are a team of individuals do you think?
They will be a force. They have a tough group though!
Everyone I know is picking Spain but Euro was a while ago now.
England have a good team and have a chance even though they alwasy choke.

Bam I think USA are going to have a good shot, maybe not at winning but to advance far further than people think, the MLS would have helped develop soccer/football in the U.S. so much. Your main competition is England and I don't know much about Algeria or Slovenia in your group but the U.S. should make it to at least the final 16!

I am from New Zealand and this is the first time since 1981 that we have qualified, we have never drawn or won a game so even to just do that at the world cup would be huge for us really, not asking too much! Haha.
I will support Italy and Australia once we are knocked out.

Im not getting my hopes up with England chances this year has they always let the nation down. The media always seems puts to much pressure on them saying this is our year. We also have awful a penalty record so lets hope we can avoid them, we need to take every game as it comes, i'll would be happy with a semi final place and take it from there.

I think spain have the best squad of players and should win the WC but it never works out like that does it, never right off the Germans and Brazil will there as usual.

My tip- Spain
Watch out for Serbia and Ivory Coast

Spain are favourites but there are any amount of teams who can challenge. England,Brazil,Germany,Holland,Portugal and Argentina spring to mind. A dark horse to follow for me would be Australia. I don't think they will win it but they could go far!

Brazil.

I drew Holland in a sweepstake with friends. Coulda been worse, I suppose, though it could have been better.

I can't wait!

Spain is gonna win this thing, they are by far the best team. Argentina does not have a great midfield, which will limit their chances, despite having a shitload of good strikers. Brazil doesn't have enough players with a good technique. France can't play together, England will have the Lampard-Gerrad problem, Germany doesn't have the experience, ..

I wanna play WC fantasy soccer with you guys!

There are several ways around the 'Gerrard-Lampard' myth...

Play! There is a thread with a link and group/password information. It's easy to set up.

Capo, you too

Yeah, I need to make a Yahoo account though. I can never be bothered with that kind of stuff. If it were a 10-step process, I'd be all up for it; a 2-step process and I kinda get exhausted just thinking about it.

I'll do it, though.

is not that Ronaldinho is too old, but he just didn't follow every single Dunga rule and he hasn't been playing very well either. even so I believe it is a shame that the head coach gives such little importance to raw talent and so much to hard working defensive midfielders, off-field manners and "commitment", like he says.

the group difficulty has dropped a lot with Drogba hurt as well as England misses a lot with Rio Ferdinand out. anyway I never thought they had that great of a chance. it's unbelievable that there isn't one single reliable english goalkeeper, for instance. and Spain has a good chance this time in my opinion. their Euro win was 2 years ago but they have been playing well ever since.

In the early rounds I will be watching my usual teams I root for. U.S., Mexico and England. I always enjoy cheering them on, even though I know they won't go very far. After that I just enjoy watching the best play, whoever that may be.

Lionel Messi will be playing for Spain right? I'm looking forward to seeing him play as well.

Messi will be playing for Argentina..

Thanks De Niro.

?? Barry?

I joined the league. Fuck me, I'm too excited about this tournament, so only total disappointment can be my part.

If Barry is match-fit, I'd certainly play him, which would allow both Gerrard and Lampard to head further up the pitch, which they like doing. I'd even play Gerrard (and Joe Cole for that matter) as a second striker working off Rooney. Essentially, against more industrious teams, I'd play a 4-5-1, otherwise by the quarters, should we get there, our midfield will once again be fucked, and we'll be relying on individual great performances from the likes of Ashley Cole and Wayne Rooney, which win might impress everyone watching but don't help us avoid fatal penalty shoot-outs.

As for Brazil and Ronaldinho's absence... Dunga's built his team around a a careful but by no means conservative work ethic into which Ronaldinho doesn't fit. For all the 'raw talent' he may have, if he doesn't fit into Dunga's chosen formation very well, and hasn't had the best of 'off-field manners' or 'commitment' in the qualifying campaign (two things vital to any dressing room vibe going into a month-long tournament against the best teams in the world), I can't think of any reason to take him. It's a bold decision certainly, but only because it goes against media pressure - I only wish we'd had that kind of manager in previous tournaments.

yes Capo I agree that 'off-field manners' and 'commitment' are vital to a team's success, but the thing is Brazil didn't find the right middle term between Germany 2006' total mess and this year's massive worrying with everything other than soccer.

I find it impressive that Dunga doesn't care to have one single talent waiting on the bench to try to turn a game upside down. if Brazil's losing 1-0 in the quarterfinals with 15 minutes to go, Julio Baptista and Grafite will be the guys with the task to step up and make a comeback. I'd rather have Ronaldinho or Pato or Neymar.

I just don't see what you mean with "by no means conservative work ethic"... Dunga is the most conservative guy in the world. he is ALWAYS bragging about discipline and "commitment", - that word is gaining joke status here - he likes military and even questioned media guys that they shouldn't give opinions on apartheid because they weren't there so they don't know if it was good or bad!

anyway, he loses himself when he goes on bragging about things he doesn't know. of course he knows everything about soccer and especially about the World Cup (it's his fourth), his team is steamrolling ever since he took over, winning Copa America, Confederations Cup and beating Portugal, Italy and Argentina - this one several times. on the other hand he lost the Olympics, played poorly until Copa America final when he found his magic 'counter-attack' approach and even the Confederations Cup win was a heartbeat. there were a few 0-0 home games against shitty teams like Bolivia and Colombia when you just couldn't keep awake during the game and many many times our goalkeeper Julio Cesar has left a game as the hero. in short, Brazil's the favorite, but that's not going to be a very good to watch team.

Great, I just opened a Yahoo account to do this.

Hello! I am back! Who I am Supporting? Of Course...ARGENTINA!!!

We are facing Nigeria, South Korea and Greece. We hardly got into World Cup, we were in danger because of the poor game style we had until Martín Palermo made the "argentinian miracle" allowing us to keep on trying to get into the World Cup as we finally did. Messi is playing for Argentina as De Niro says, so don´t try to get him out of my team! JAJAJAA!

Michael Owen, David Beckham and others are not playing for England for injuries or whatever... I don´t think England has many chances to win this World Cup. I think we could face England in quarters, Brazil in Semifinal and Germany in the final if my logical thinking comes true.

Fair Play. Good Luck and may the best win....

Brazil: Pelé might be the king, Maradona is GOD! (JAJA! I know Tony Mosrite you told me you like Maradona! Just Joking)

England: No llores por mí, Inglaterra.

You'll have no crying from me, not unless some talented dwarf knocks us out with a handball.

I don't think England would have much chance of winning if Michael Owen did play. This isn't 1998!

Rio Ferdinand is out, knee ligament in training.

If Germany make the final i will eat my liederhosen. Same theory applies to Argentina and their lunatic coach

North Korea v South Korea in the final for me.......

Come on, guys. How about a little bit of respect for the defending champs?

From guardian.co.uk

Italy World Cup 2010 fan's preview: Final, here we come.

The Italian member of our World Cup fans' network says Italy will retain the World Cup and England will lose to USA

Italy's Fabio Cannavaro takes a breather during a friendly against Mexico in Brussels. Photograph: Francois Walschaerts/Associated Press

Italy tend to do badly when expected to win – 1990, on home soil, for instance – and astound everyone when they're written off as rubbish. This year it's looking good – media experts are talking about the players being over the hill, Serie A being way past its prime, the strangulating tactics and why Marcello Lippi should be a club manager. It's the sort of thing people were saying in 2006. Italy will certainly find a way to make almost every game a struggle – New Zealand's physicality and speed is a worry – but our strengths are scrappiness and flexibility. I think we'll make the final. Really.

Men to watch: Daniele De Rossi is the star: tough, slick and he's a leader. Watch out for Totò Di Natale, Giampaolo Pazzini and Angelo Palombo.

Weakest link: Fabio Cannavaro is making me nervous. I wonder about Rino Gattuso and Gianluca Zambrotta too.

The coach: What José Mourinho was loudly to Inter, Lippi is quietly to the Azzurri: he is the star. He gets players to play for each other, and tactically he is quite a chameleon, adjusting his formation to stiletto opponents' weakest areas. He's the man.

Best chant: The immortal lyrics from White Stripe's "Seven Nation Army": "Oooh, oh oh oh oh oooh, oooh".

Least-liked opponents: Brazil. Yes, they have great players, yes, their coach is excellent, but I swear I will barf next time I hear "jogo bonito".


TIPS
Winner: Italy will have the edge over Spain.

Golden boot: Antonio Di Natale (Italy).

England: They will struggle to pass the group stage, losing to a highly underrated USA side. Their goalkeeping is terrible and their mentality is still suspect. Sorry.

Follow George Ferzoco at boubsterama.wordpress.com

You mean God, don`t you?

Oh! You mean FOOTball...jajaja! You know the old saying, "whoever robs a thief, gets a 100 year pardon".

God is argentinian...But he is everyone`s God...So is british people`s...

Argentina must win this World Cup, we are making southafrican people to support Argentina...However they don`t have a single chance to win...Brazil has won many times, it`s time for us. We must do it, what if the 2012 theory comes true?(Maya calendar says the world is supposed to end on december 21st of 2012, this may be the last World Cup).

This is the team for Argentina

AGUERO, SERGIO (ATLETICO MADRID – ESPAÑA)
ANDUJAR, MARIANO (CATANIA – ITALIA)
BOLATTI, MARIO (FIORENTINA – ITALIA)
BURDISSO, NICOLAS (ROMA – ITALIA)
DEMICHELIS, MARTIN (BAYERN MUNICH – ALEMANIA)
DI MARIA, ANGEL (BENFICA – PORTUGAL)
GARCE, ARIEL (COLON DE SANTA FE –ARGENTINA)
GUTIERREZ, JONAS (NEWCASTLE UNITED – INGLATERRA)
HEINZE, GABRIEL (OLIMPIQUE MARSELLA – FRANCIA)
HIGUAIN, GONZALO (REAL MADRID – ESPAÑA)
MASCHERANO, JAVIER (LIVERPOOL – INGLATERRA)
MESSI, LIONEL (BARCELONA – ESPAÑA)
MILITO, DIEGO (INTERNAZIONALE – ITALIA)
OTAMENDI, NICOLAS (VELEZ SARSFIELD- ARGENTINA)
PALERMO, MARTIN (BOCA JUNIORS – ARGENTINA)
PASTORE, JAVIER (PALERMO – ITALIA)
POZO, DIEGO (COLON DE SANTA FE – ARGENTINA)
RODRIGUEZ, CLEMENTE (ESTUDIANTES DE LA PLATA – ARGENTINA)
RODRIGUEZ, MAXIMILIANO (LIVERPOOL – INGLATERRA)
ROMERO, SERGIO (AZ ALKMAAR – HOLANDA)
SAMUEL, WALTER (INTERNAZIONALE – ITALIA)
TEVEZ, CARLOS (MANCHESTER CITY – INGLATERRA)
VERON, JUAN SEBASTIAN (ESTUDIANTES DE LA PLATA – ARGENTINA)


COACH: GOD

Our keeper is prone to errors but i wouldn't say he is terrible.. My guess is that we will get to the quarter finals as usual.

I always like Italy. Always watch for their results. I just feel they are too old this time round. They have kept the same squad from 4 years ago and most of them wee in their '30s then. Having said that i would never write them off. They are always hard to beat.

This talk of Englands goalkeeper crisis is starting to grate now. it may not be our strongest position but we will be alright,nobody will get a shot at our keeper anyhows

An awful lot of hype world-wide about Argentina, who do have world class players. One word of warning though. Didn't they almost not qualify? Maradona may be God but God never won any World Cups as far as i am aware.....