Completely agree on Argentina. It's possible they won't even face a really tough team until the semi-finals. They've also been very good in qualifying now that they don't have a coke head for a coach. And Messi has been fantastic for them as has Aguero. I'd say their chances of winning the world cup are even higher than Italy's. Especially since the climate will not effect them like it will with the European teams. As we saw in the confederation's cup.
Ah yes, those famous La Masia graduates like Samuel Etoo, David Villa and Dani Alves. I can't believe that people swallow this myth the media feeds them about noble homegrown heroes. Barcelona has spent more on buying players than anybody else except Real and the oligarch/sheikh clubs. It's one thing for Barcelona to win, it's another thing for them to win while blatantly cheating and playing some of the most boring soccer ever seen on the planet, but what tops it all off is that they have also demanded to be hailed as paragons of sporting virtue for doing this. As for Messi, the Lance Armstrong of soccer, his future is probably testicular cancer.
You can't rule Argentina out because they have quality in their side and it is in their neighboring country. But I don't think they have the weather on their side. I have always gotten the impression that Argentina is similar to the US in terms of climate. France seems to have lucked out again. If only there was an international governing body for the sport to look into such things...
Yes. And by contrast, Italy will have to beat (or at least get results) from two very good teams just to get out of their group. Then they could well need to beat a genuinely great team (Brazil or Spain) to make the semi-final. That is a 1978 or 1982-like draw. It doesn't mean we won't go far in the tournament, but it's going to demand an incredible level in terms of focus, top performance without errors, and sheer good luck. I was looking at the theoretical route to the final for Italy, and it is something like: England; Costa Rica; Uruguay; Ivory Coast; Spain; Argentina; Brazil. That is six hard games in heavy heat and humidity. Tough!
I couldn't really find anything online and I don't really believe or trust wiki but does anyone know if Diego Forlan is still playing for Uruguay or if he will be picked for the finals?
FIFA moved the Italy-England game from the evening to the afternoon. Supposedly this was pressure from the broadcasters, but we all know that these are the two countries FIFA hates most in the whole world. Sepp must have been licking his fat lips at the chance. He is probably lining up Byron Moreno 2.0 for the Costa Rica match as we speak.
1. He's out 2. Hence I said "2.0", get it?... I wasn't suggesting the actual Byron Moreno would be wheeled out, just FIFA's newest fixer with a whistle
Just trying to figure out the time zone difference. The italy-england match will be june 14 at 6:00 PM brazil time, so here it will be 10:00 PM ? (EST) Not sure if i did this right because i suck at converting time zones. lol Manaus (Brazil - Amazonas) Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 6:00:00 PM AMT UTC-4 hours Toronto (Canada - Ontario) Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 6:00:00 PM EDT UTC-4 hours Corresponding UTC (GMT) Saturday, June 14, 2014 at 22:00:00 http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html Correct me if im wrong but some games will be televised at 2:00 AM EST ? If so, that is really sh*t !
I'm on the East Coast, which puts me at UTC-5. Below is the group schedule. I have listed the times as it corresponds to the Eastern/Central/Rockies/Western times 14 June - England - Manaus - 18:00 (UTC-4) - 17:00/16:00/15:00/14:00 20 June - Costa Rica - Recife - 13:00 (UTC-3) - 11:00/10:00/9:00/8:00 24 June - Uruguay - 13:00 - Natal (UTC -3) - 11:00/10:00/9:00/8:00
It's unfortunate that Uruguay is last and with the least recovery days. Italy needs to have booked six points by then. Fortunately the English, despite themselves, are already fattening up their own heads. It's what they do best. "After all," they say, "at the Euros it went to PKs. Italy didn't really outplay us until extra time. They are slow starters. They are old and unfit. They don't like it up 'em. RAWAR! INGERLUND!!!"
The FIFA website converts the time to your time zone. The England game will be at 6:00 PM EST. Originally at 9:00 PM which would be the latest I have ever seen a WC game at.
Just to add more confusion, I read that day light savings time does not apply to all Brasil. And with the Southern Hemisphere doing it in reverse, no need to worry about game times at this point. It should be clearer for all of us come spring.
Muslera: 'Now bring on Italy!' By Football Italia staff Fernando Muslera knocked Juventus out with Galatasaray and hopes it can be “an appetiser” for the World Cup. The Uruguayan goalkeeper will face Italy in the group stage of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. “I hope this can be an appetiser... Italy are in my destiny,” the former Lazioman told Mediaset Premium.
I hear about this so called English arrogance all the time but its stereotypical bollox! Just show me an example where an Englishman has said something more arrogant than some of the stuff Ive just read on this thread!!? Why is the world so hung up on the English all the bloody time??
WTF? So tell me, where exactly does anybody on that clip say England are going to win the world cup? Or even do well! In fact the Englishman describes the English team as nothing more than 'robots'! Hardly a good endorsement! So I ask again - show me an englishman who arrogantly thinks England will win the world cup the way a previous poster on here has said Italy will be Brazil in the final?
I already have received the dossier of England's excuses lined up: 1. The heat. 2. Uruguay's home support. 3. The heat. 4. Roy Hodgson. 5. The heat. 6. A noisy hotel. 7. The heat. 8. 'A bad day at the office'. 9. The heat. 10. WAGs. 11. Tired players because of a long Premiership season. 12. The heat. 13. Too many foreigners scoring goals and not being 'English' enough. 14. The heat. 15. Gambling. 16. The heat. 17. Distracting, attractive fans. 18. The heat. 19. The wrong kind of grass. 20. The weather, including wind, sun, rain, warmth and clouds. Obviously there are no ways to prepare for all of these eventualities and England's chance of pretending to not be useless are very high.