world cup predictions

Here's mine -

Brazil over Holland
Uruguay over Ghana
Argentina over Germany (really looking forward to this one)
Spain over Paraguay

Brazil over Uruguay
Spain over Argentina (Argentina will probably win, but I love the way Spain plays)

Brazil over Spain

I think Holland is a good darkhorse. They could go all the way if they can upset Brazil.

I have great prizes for the winners!!

whoops!

Hey, man - 1 for 2 isn't bad. Anyway, I was really rooting for Holland, so that makes it OK.

After watching Germany play argentina, I have a hard time anybody will be able to beat Germany. They have speed on defense and strikers that no how to put the ball in the net. Even with Mueller out for the next game. I still believe Germany will go all the way.

I think it's a little early to be booking seats for the celbration Banquet.

England and Argentina weren't exactly defensive powerhouses this cup. (England wasn't much on Offense, either) None of the teams left have that issue. Further, I think Spain has a better midfield, and I think they haven't played their best game yet. Germany might have.

It will be Germany's turn to see how they stack up against really organized teams.

The somewhat scarey thing about Spain is they have made it this far without playing convincing football. They've had Villa and that great midfield to carry them while Torres has been largely absent. Then again, you don't have to score a ton to win the Cup.

If Germany doesn't do it here, look for them at Euro 2012 and Brazil 2014. They are still a young team with lots of guys on the way up.

Here's a rundown set to music from David Henson

Germany was very good against Argentina. And against England. Helped to have ref and linesman who don't see ball 2 feet over the line!!!

Harry Redknapp wrote:Germany was very good against Argentina. And against England. Helped to have ref and linesman who don't see ball 2 feet over the line!!!

Bitter, bitter man.

Spain vs Germany - Can't wait. I really love the way Spain controls the ball with their short passing game, but Germany seems to me more dangerous in the final third. I agree with Geezer about Spain maybe not having played their best yet, but so far they do seem to have trouble getting the ball into the netting. It's Spain's ball control vs. Germany's counterattacks.

And, don't overlook The Netherlands.

AND - - - Based on my original quarter final predictions, I am obviously the resident expert in this matter (I was almost 0 for 4).

If Germany beats Spain and then wins in the fiial, they will be
The only undefeated team in the cup....

No... Wait.

That distinction would go to New Zealand.

Could a moderator move this post to the mens soccer category?

onetouchfutbol wrote:Could a moderator move this post to the mens soccer category?

Technically, should it be in General Sports, as Men's Soccer is supposedly reserved for discussions of UP Soccer?

Geezaldinho wrote:I think it's a little early to be booking seats for the celbration Banquet.

England and Argentina weren't exactly defensive powerhouses this cup. (England wasn't much on Offense, either) None of the teams left have that issue. Further, I think Spain has a better midfield, and I think they haven't played their best game yet. Germany might have.

It will be Germany's turn to see how they stack up against really organized teams.

OK, I can't take credit here, I had help from Paul the Oracle.



He hasn't missed yet.

How can I get access to Paul? I needed him before I started this thread.

Rooting for Spain now - Too much diving and rolling around on the ground by Holland. There didn't seem to be any of that Germany-Spain.

You might not be able to miss him. According to THIS SOURCE, he has replace Jurgen the German on the BBC

He's better at his predictions...

But he may not get a chance. German fans have put a price on his err...cephalopod.

Klinsmann, BTW, said yesterday that the way to beat Spain is to press hard, show no respect, and be "really nasty" .

Well, with van Bommel, the Dutch have the right personnel for the job. Either they will win or be playing short for a long stretch of the match.

I'm waiting for the ref assignment to see if they will get away with that game plan.

And the ref for the game will be Howard Webb from England and his crew. Known as a disciplinarian but won't over whistle. Spain will get beat up a bit but I don't think the game will get out of hand. Guaranteed yellow at lest for van Bommel.

Benito Armando Archundia from Mexico will do the third place game between Uruguay and Germany.

That should make it a wild and woolly affair.

I figured when we didn't see him in the semis that Webb would get the final. Good choice, I think. He's used to the high pressure games and doesn't take any crap. I'm confident he'll take care of Van Bommel, hopefully with a caution early enough to allow the game to open up. I also hope he deals with Robben's break-dance routine, rolling around on the pitch every time he gets touched!

Webb will complete a unique double as he had this year's Champions League Final. Taking charge of the two highest-profile matches in soccer in the same year sort of speaks to the quality of his work.

Had Uruguay been in the final, Archundia would have gotten the nod for that game to avoid having a ref from UEFA.

It's all but over for the dutch

Uh oh.... In other news, reports of death threats coming out of Amsterdam and Rodderdam directed toward a certain cephalopod...

And for Paul's evening meal, he decided to have a go at a Germany-Uruguay prediction. This was watched live on TV in Europe.



Is it just my perception? or does anyone else notice Paul is right handed? He always seems to pick that side.
And how do they keep that soccer ball on the bottom? inquiring minds want to know...

Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabarez vows to break Paul's streak.

SoreKnees wrote:I figured when we didn't see him in the semis that Webb would get the final. Good choice, I think. He's used to the high pressure games and doesn't take any crap. I'm confident he'll take care of Van Bommel, hopefully with a caution early enough to allow the game to open up. I also hope he deals with Robben's break-dance routine, rolling around on the pitch every time he gets touched!

Thanks, everyone, for all the input on refs. I don't follow the sport close enough to know refs by name, but the refereeing sure does seem to be uneven from game to game. I hope you're right, Soreknees - More and more, I am coming to intensely dislike all the dives and rolling around. I think it demeans the game.

Geezer - I'm trying to wrap my brain around determining the right-handedness of octopi - serious stuff here. Does it mean his arms on his right side on average are his most dominant ones? Or, is his single most dominant arm on his right? Or, is it the sum total of the dominance measurement of arms on each side? Inquiring minds might want to know about that even more than how they got the soccer ball to stay on the bottom, although that's really important, too.

Inquiring minds (like my wife's) might also want to know if I don't have something better to do than think and write about stuff like this.