Ha! Stating a goal and doing it are quite different things, as I'm sure you know. Ghana is quite capable of beating all 3 of its opponents. So are Germany and Portugal. That's why it's called a Group of Death. I think one thing is clear: we cannot lose the first match. Lose the first match and now we need to get 4 or 6 points from the remaining 2 matches and the pressure will be immense. There's very little chance of getting those points. However, if we beat or draw with Ghana, then the possibilities open up. I think we can claim second place with 3 draws, with help from Ghana and Portugal drawing their match, and each losing to Germany. Of course I'd love to get a win somewhere, but even 3 draws gives some hope. We could go through all the possible permutations for the 3 matches, but if we don't get a result against Ghana, we're goners. I'm sure much of the preparation, then, will focus on the Ghana match, and some extra fitness work in heat and humidity to be ready for the Portugal match in Manaus. If we fall a little short in the first 2 matches, hopefully we'll face an already qualified Germany and can grab 1 or 3 points, as needed. Groups of death are often filled with surprises, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ghana runs through the whole table and claims first place. They are the most athletic team, and are quite skilled. Where they fall short is in discipline and decision making, but I think this is less of an issue with the current squad than in times past. Germany is Germany, and are always dangerous, and Portugal are quite skillful and have the best attacking player in the world not named Messi on their squad. Just about anything is possible. Heck, the USA could even get 9 points -- but don't hold your breath on that one.
Avg @FIFA rankings per group: A - 24.25B - 21.00C - 20.25D - 14.25E - 22.75F - 24.25G - 11.25H - 28.25— Greg Lalas (@Gaetjens) December 6, 2013 Greg Lalas tweets: Avg @fifa rankings per group: A - 24.25 B - 21.00 C - 20.25 D - 14.25 E - 22.75 F - 24.25 G - 11.25 H - 28.25 So yeah, tough and even group. Deserves the label.
IMHO, nothing would surprise me coming from this group. If, and it is a big IF, the USA has its best team available and healthy, they can beat anybody, including Germany. Maybe only one out of five or 10 times, but if that one time occurs in the group phase.... Anything can happen because, for the first time in its history, the USMNT is actually pretty good with better balance across all positions and much, much more depth than ever before. On the other hand, it is soccer, so 3 and out would not surprise me either. It will certainly be an exciting show!
Yep, Bento played in our famous 3-2 win over Portugal in 2002: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/edition=4395/results/matches/match=43950016/report.html Further reason why we won't be able to count on much of a 'surprise factor' against them this time around.
I realize you were likely joking but your post made me think about the German "mentality" (to the extent such a thing exists) and the collective expectations of fans. While Germany is loaded with talent compared to most other countries, they've always had success even when their talent wasn't as robust, ebbed and flowed. If you are a German fan born the same year as me (72) you've seen your team go to 6 euro finals and 5 World Cup finals. They won 3 of the former and 2 of the latter. That's pretty astonishing.
I was half kidding. Obviously they are a good team, but they haven't won a major tournament since 1996. This current generation of Germany players has struggled to get over the hump against top competition. I think they have the talent to get it done, but right now I can't consider them favorites ahead of Spain or even Brazil.
I didn't check the Euros, but Germany lost to the WC winners in 2002, 2006, and 2010. I'm not really sure what else they were supposed to do. Brazil 2002 and Spain 2010 are all-time great national teams, and they lost to Italy in 2006 in extra time.
If they're one of the best teams in the world they're supposed to...you know...umm...actually win those games once in a while. They seem to be really good at getting to the semis/finals of major tournaments and losing. Obviously they're a top 5 team in the world and a legitimate contender for the WC, but for the last 15-20 years they've been also-rans at the end of the day.
Well, no. If you're the best team in the world for an extended period of time, you are expected to win something. But that's not what the person you were responding to said. Germany arguably has been the 2nd best team in the world for a long stretch of time, and the fact that they keep losing to arguably the best team at any given time doesn't disprove that.
It wouldn't shock me to see any of the four teams get 9 points, and it wouldn't shock me to see anyone other than Germany get 0. It's going to be very, very interesting.
It would be quite shocking (and impossible) for every Group G team but Germany to get zero points in group play.
I want to believe this but I can't recall a time I was less impressed by our back 4. I just think we will get carved up by top competition.
At least we're not Costa Rica. How did it go for CONCACAF? Mexico: "More or less fine." Honduras: "Not really." USA: "Very bad." Costa Rica: "What matters is participating." Waaah....
That's great. Thanks for sharing and for the translation. What irony - the USA and Costa Rica were by far the best teams in CONCACAF during qualifying. Their reward? Two very hard groups, while Mexico (which has others to thank for its inclusion) gets a manageable draw, and Honduras' is not that bad, all things considered.
Which is why the US should've let Panama win, but noooooo, we had to be good ********ing sports and keep playing...
I am optimistic, believing that they will stabilize with a consistent set of defenders and more time together.
Well that just goes to show the contempt that Europeans have for teams outside Europe. Ghana is a very strong team that has made the knock out rounds two times in a row, went to the quarterfinals last time, and advanced further than Portugal did. In fact, this is the first group in the World Cup as far as I can tell, to ever feature four teams that made the knockout rounds in the prior edition. You have four teams with reasonable expectations to get out of a group, and two of them won't. Pretty much the definition of a GOD.
But nobody but Germany ever won the WC when you've got one group that's had 3 winners, therefore the (only) group from which every team advanced in the last WC is simply termed "interesting," while everyone focuses in on the 3-way battle between Italy, Uruguay and England and, um... someone else. (Sorry Ticos, but you know that's what they're saying, right...).