I for one am starting to get World Cup fever. Ever since i was 8 years old i have watched just about every game in every tournament. England have little to no chance but there are some good teams and could be some wonderful games. Germany are my dark horse tip to win it.

I'll go with Brazil. It should be an exciting tournament.

You may go with Brazil. Just don't go to Brazil to watch it. If you do and get robbed don't say anything bad to them or they just might kill you.

I think Germany has a good chance even though tge games are not played in Europe. They have 13 players from 2 of tge best clubs in the world Dortmond & Munich. With an assortment of other great players.

Normally WC teams are allstar teams. These guys have played as a team together and really know each other as an opponent.

Belgium has a nice team. They will win their group. They will face the second place team in the German group. They are more them capable of beating the second place team no matter who it is.

Spain can do the same I don't know who is on their team. But if the put a lot of Barca and Real Madrid players on that team. They hacpve a change.

But I hate that fu king game it is for girls right?

That's like picking the Yankees, Klyd .

Colombia is rated 5th in the world so who knows what can happen? Brazil is rated 4 th.

I'm really looking forward to this. I can't see Spain winning their fourth straight personally, my pick is Germany but they've always been the best during the start of the tournament before crumbling in the later stages. Brazil are going to have it tough to get by the second round regardless of them being at home, i can see either Spain or Holland beating them assuming they are the two who make it through Group B. I can't say this is one of the great Brazil world cup squads, Neymar,Ramires,Oscar,Dani Alves and Marcelo are the only big players of theirs i can think of.

England will find it tough to get through their group imo, i see a great tournament for Italy and Uruguay were Semi Finalists in 2010. Whoever gets through the group should easily make it to the quarters though because Group C is terrible. The thing i'm looking forward to seeing is if Argentina and particularly Messi will perform well. Can't say he's had a great international career yet.

Some our picking Argentina to be in the final two

At this point i'd say Argentina are a dark horse. It might sound weird that a team of their history would be an outside chance but look at their squad, outside of Di Maria, Messi Aguero and Higuain. Who do they have? It looks like a hollow squad with a few world class players thrown in, i'd actually say Englands squad has a lot more depth.

When Brazil won the WC in 94'here in the US.

Who did they have Romario who almost was not added to that team. They had the great Babetto and a supporting cast. They had a lot of good mids and backs, but not spectacular players

That was it and it evidently was enough to win it. They had a good wing mid forget his name who was booked red carded, and out of the tournament for his horrible foul on Tab Ramos in the game against the US.

How do I remember all this I hate that game?

WTF are you talking about? The only team with a better overall squad was Italy, i hope your not trying to imply that the 2014 squad can be compared to 94? No idea who Babetto is, but Bebeto was certainly a major influence on that team.

The 94 brazil team had two great players Romario and Bebeto sorry about the spelling I did not like school like you evidently do.

The rest were good players that the coach made into a team. Would brazil had won in 94 without Romario or Bebeto? No fucking way.

My point was that you missed was Argentina could be a team like Brazil was in 94. If that happens they can win.

Damn I hate this game

Again the only superior team to Brazils in 1994 was Italy, while there's clearly at least five better than this Argentina squad.

You are unfairly underrating players like Jorginho,Dunga (who was better than Bebeto), Paolo Sergio,Aldair, the captain Rai, and one of the best fullbacks ever Cafu.

I don't know what type of school you went to, but mine didn't have lessons devoted to the spelling of 90's football players names .

If you hate the game so much you shouldn't talk about it.

Dunga was a defensive Minded player I think he was a defensive mid not an attacking player. So he was better then Bebeto on attack?

Hey US played Brazil what was the score? Did Brazil beat them 5 -0?

I will ask you again could brazil have won without Romario or Bebeto yes or no?

How old are you? I know a lot about things I hate

Dunga was a better player than Bebeto.Yes he was a defensive midfielder. Why would he have to be better on attack to be better? Why would brazil have to beat the US 5-0 to make them a world cup worthy team? Spain practically beat everyone 1-0 in 2010, and Italy drew 1-1 with the US as well as beating Australia 1-0 with a last minute penalty in 2006.

Do you seriously think asking if a team could win without two of their best players is a valid point? Would England have won without Bobby Charlton and Bobby Moore? Would Germany have won without Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller? Would Italy have won without Paolo Rossi and Dino Zoff? etc

How about this what players make more money offensive attacking players or defensive mids? I was a back (yes i played) but I could understand that reasoning.

Yes it is a valid point for that particular team. The Brazilians did not like the game their coach brought to that team. But they did like the result in the end.

Incidently, I knew Parreira when he managed the Metrostars.

Offensive players of course, but that's clearly because they bring more entertainment than the defensive players, it in no way means they're better or more important to their teams. I was a right back myself.

It's not a valid point for any team in any sport. Why on earth would it fit the Brazilian 94 world cup team more than say the German 74 world cup team?

For someone to be a good defender they have to now how to tackle. They have to know when to tackle and when not to tackle. They have to be organized as a group.

To be a good defender takes hard work on the practice field.

To be know as a great player a dangerous player you have to be dangerous on attack.

As a back here's how I looked at it. I looked at it from your point of view. You can stop the attacker 99 percent of the time. Then make one mistake and they score you cost your team the game.

Your an attacker you fail 99 percent of the time. Then you score or do something to help your team score and you win. Your the star of the game.

Belgium a good squad so they could get quite far and you can never write off German, of course i want England to do well but i can't see them getting out of the group but they have exciting young players in the squad,A European nation has never won the WC in South America..

Historically, Brazil are excellent (and very underrated) when it comes to defence.

A team can win a tournament (or a league) with only one great striker, but not with only one great defender.

Brazil may have revolutionized the game even more then the Dutch.

I am pretty sure they invented the zone defense in soccer. they did not have to chase opponent attackers all over the field like other teams did

Which also led to getting their offensive shape right after they won the ball faster then anybody else.

They communicate with each other on their short passing game by the dribblers foot position on the ball when they make a pass. As far as I know no other country's team can do that.

They get super fast double teams on a player when they make a bad pass in their short game. Their dribbler when he sees he made a bad pass and his short pass receiver converge on the ball.

They can play.

The United States is going to kick arse or is it going to get their arse kicked?

The US have a decent chance of getting through their group imo. At the end of the day anything could happen, but i believe

Germany will top the group and the second place is up for grabs.

Portugal is the logical second choice, with CR as one of the best players in the world but it's questionable how much help he has, for instance Nani has been abysmal for Man U recently.

Ghana were cheated out of a semi final place in 2010 imo, and i think it's clear that they're the most succesful world cup African team since they reached the quarters in a 32 team tournament, as well as reaching the last 16..

The US are the least likely imo, but even though they are secondary to Mexico talentwise in North America, they have had their best success at the world cup.

I thought Jurgen would bring certain things to the US game that I have not see the US do before.

The Germans and the Dutch short pass movement for creating space I thought was the best in the world at one time. I thought he would bring that off ball movement to the team. It is not a ball skill. It is just movement without the ball. The US is still doing triangulations and movement in a diamond shape to create space for their short passing game. I am very disappointed on not changing that short pass movement.

He had the team long enough to not only play a possession game, but also to play a quick strike counter attack game. If we have a counter atracking game I have not seen it.

We are also open to be counter attacked by opponents. We let that happen its 3 and out definately.

So I would like us to do well as a patriot. But in my head I am pretty sure I know what's going to happen

I hope old Hodgson gives young Ross Barkley a chance. He can be anything he wants to be in the game. England have little chance but with him in the side from the start we could throw a surprise or 2.

Anyone of a dozen sides could win it to be honest.

Yogi got this from one of the soccer sites I am on. God do I hate that game as most people in the US love to say.
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I also read an article by Dave Kidd in the Daily Mirror tabloid today that sums up a lot thats wrong...

                                                   'ACADEMIES BOTTOM OF THE CLASS'


AFTER Fulham youth coach Steve Wigley led the club's Under-18s to their first ever FA Youth Cup Final, I asked him what the FA's commission should recommend to help the development of young English players.

   Wigley argued persuasively that youth coaches needed to be properly rewarded so they could specialise as academy coaches, rather than quitting for more lucrative posts among the backroom staff of first-team set-ups.

   Wigley was right. As he proved two weeks later, when he quit the Fulham academy to become Stuart Pearce's No2 at Nottinghman Forest.

We do need to promote English coaches and players in the Premiership. We are overrun with foreign players and coaches, many help promote the best league in the world, many do not.

Our authorities have announced measures to try and help our national game but we will have to wait and see what happens!!

They just cut Landon Donovan from the US world cup team. I wonder who will Jurgen blame if the United States team goes three and Out?

I heard that. The US's most famous player. Brave move by Jurgen!!

Jurgen as a guaranteed contract for at least 4 years he Has security. No matter how the US does in this world cup.

Donovan is still fast, he can still pass, he has good ball control, he has soccer sense, he can finish a chance or a half chance and he has experience under pressure.

He can't go all out the whole game, but how many players over 30 can?

What he can do is pace himself to the right moment and do something to help his team win.

Now he can't do that.

When it comes to the World cup the future is always now. After its over then you look towards the future.