Interesting thought. Other than England (obviously) which country will have the most England-based players?
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The 2010 World Cup
- Thread starter Jaffa Cake
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Interesting thought. Other than England (obviously) which country will have the most England-based players?
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In pub. Pleased with draw, would imagine we'll be playing Germany or Ghana in 2nd round...
In pub. Pleased with draw, would imagine we'll be playing Germany or Ghana in 2nd round...
So Group G is the Group of Death, but which group is the Group of Cake? Probably Group H, Spain looks like they should waltz through that group.
Hmm... it's maybe a little early to be asking that – there are opportunities for players to move clubs before next June, and to be omitted from squads due to form or injury – but Australia might be a good bet for that. Nigeria are likely to have a few English-based players too, I would have said, as are France.
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Ah, England! Bring it. 
We could hardly have asked for a better draw....this has to raise the belief for team USA.
Mexico should slap the South Africans around in the first match, maybe that will quiet down the vuvuzelas.
We could hardly have asked for a better draw....this has to raise the belief for team USA.
Mexico should slap the South Africans around in the first match, maybe that will quiet down the vuvuzelas.
I love our (USA's) draw. Get to play England and my favorite player Stevie G, then two winnable games vs Algeria and Slovenia. Hopefully I didn't jinx it, but I think we should go through in 2nd place.
I don't really see a true group of death, although Group G is as close to it as possible. Brazil should easily progress, with Ivory Coast 2nd. Portugal just doesn't have it anymore, imo.
I don't really see a true group of death, although Group G is as close to it as possible. Brazil should easily progress, with Ivory Coast 2nd. Portugal just doesn't have it anymore, imo.
some interesting draws and a couple of boring ones.
turns out they made france a favor by "demoting" them, to eventually go into one of the easiest groups. (big surprise there, pretty much every forum comment in the last few day predicted this one).
Spain and Italy have the easiest groups and are set for a quarterfinal match. It could be Spain's year, as the current title holders have one of their weakest side ever this round.
hardest group are the argentina, germany and spain groups.
US got a really good draw, too bad there is germany behind the corner.
and could Charlize have appeared more bored and unexcited? (not that a draw can be particularly exciting, but as an actress, she could have faked a minimum of interest)
turns out they made france a favor by "demoting" them, to eventually go into one of the easiest groups. (big surprise there, pretty much every forum comment in the last few day predicted this one).
Spain and Italy have the easiest groups and are set for a quarterfinal match. It could be Spain's year, as the current title holders have one of their weakest side ever this round.
hardest group are the argentina, germany and spain groups.
US got a really good draw, too bad there is germany behind the corner.
and could Charlize have appeared more bored and unexcited? (not that a draw can be particularly exciting, but as an actress, she could have faked a minimum of interest)
Seeing as Drogba and C. Ronaldo and Brazil are all in the same group, I think that is not the Group of Death so much as the Group of Dive.
I'm predicting Spain goes all the way, just because they never have before and picking Brazil gets old.
I don't want Germany to beat USA in the second round, but I think they probably will.
France should be forced to wear Irish jersey colors or Thierry Henry benched for tournament play! That qualification venom is still fresh in the minds of those that believe France shouldn't be in the World Cup...
The Adidas Jabulani, the ball England players will be peppering the terraces with during their quarter final penalty shoot out? It looks alright, but it's no Tango.
Running your hands over the ball, the first impression is the grip’n’groove texture, which allows for maximum control, stable flight and perfect grip under all conditions.
The grip ’n’ groove’s profile circles twist around round the entire ball in an optimal aerodynamic way and the integrated grooves provide unmatched flight characteristics, making this the most stable and most accurate adidas ball ever.
Blimey.
Jabulani comprises eight thermally bonded 3D panels that have been, for the first time ever, spherically molded to make this ball a perfectly round football that is more accurate than ever before.
Cripes.
No doubt we're going to have a flood of goalkeepers moaning about it very shortly...
Running your hands over the ball, the first impression is the grip’n’groove texture, which allows for maximum control, stable flight and perfect grip under all conditions.
The grip ’n’ groove’s profile circles twist around round the entire ball in an optimal aerodynamic way and the integrated grooves provide unmatched flight characteristics, making this the most stable and most accurate adidas ball ever.
Blimey.
Jabulani comprises eight thermally bonded 3D panels that have been, for the first time ever, spherically molded to make this ball a perfectly round football that is more accurate than ever before.
Cripes.
No doubt we're going to have a flood of goalkeepers moaning about it very shortly...
Sounds space-agey...and here I thought Sepp Blatter wasn't a fan of too much technology invading the sport? This ball is probably programmed to avoid the hands of French players.
Hugo Lloris is probably hoping that's not the case.
Incidentally, my pick for the tournament: Spain to win, beating Brazil (who knock England out in the semi-finals). I've got my best placed African team as being Nigeria, knocked out by England in the quarter-finals.
Cor blimey! Old Ronaldo will not only have this moving left/right/up/down but into another dimension as well!
that would be fun, but i think the irish would be even more pissed
the ball looks really nice.
i am hoping brasil doesn't win, as they are already a lock for 2014.
it's very early but i think argentina could be a good candidate, because this time they come in as an underdog (sort of), but the team is incredibly talented.
the two most likely big delusions will be last round's finalists, italy and france.
some quite interesting games are possible in the quarters, like brazil-holland argentina-germany and spain-italy
Not quite as annoyed as Adidas would be, I'd wager.that would be fun, but i think the irish would be even more pissed
Indeed, but the problem is Maradona is a fruitcake. I've heard rumblings that they might be lining Guus Hiddink up to act as an advisor to him, which I reckon would help the Argentinian cause, but they'll have to perform a lot better than they did in their qualifiers if they want to progress.
I'm hoping for a swift Argentinian exit, followed by a suitably vitriolic rant from Diego.
Argentina are going to be a very interesting case this time around. On paper, they have a squad that is capable of winning the World Cup; few national sides can boast their level of talent.
But with Maradona at the helm the ship might as well be rudderless. IF Argentina have a good showing at the tournament it will be despite Maradona rather than because of him.
In the end, I think they will be hampered by their manager and make an early exit.
