[Huss]

Will the US do as well in WC 2006 as they did in WC 2002?

[IASocFan]

They'd be lucky to do as well. My early odds are 95% make it to Germany. 50% to the second round. 20% advance to the QF. 5% advance to the SF.

[SccrDon]

Originally Posted by IASocFan

They'd be lucky to do as well. My early odds are 95% make it to Germany. 50% to the second round. 20% advance to the QF. 5% advance to the SF.

I pretty much agree. We'll go to Germany. Our chances of advancing to the second round depend largely on the group we get placed in. I think our team will be some better than the 2002 group but we might not get the same results.

[schmuckatelli]

Nothing is a sure thing, but the US getting to Germany is about as close as it gets. That said, I think the US will have a better team in 2006 than in 2002, but will find the going rougher. On the one hand, the US should have a higher quality team, particularly in terms of depth in the next world cup. On the other hand, I believe the European teams will not be so prone to upsets as they were in 2002. Since these reasons would seem to cancel each other out, I think the team will do about as well as last time.

[Qamle]

I give them a 100% chance of bringing home the cup.

[Champagne Football]

Originally Posted by Qamle

I give them a 100% chance of bringing home the cup.

Only if George Clooney and Co pull off an Ocean's 11 (or 12 now?) style sting.

The USA should have they capacity to do at least as well as 2002, especially since they now have that experience as a team and more experience individually with players in Europe such as Damarcus Beasley at PSV Eindhoven, etc.

On the other hand, they may now have very high opinions of themselves, have big heads and fail miserably....but a lot does depend on the groupings.

PS: Do all these polls have to be about the USA??

[Prawn Sandwich]

You also seem to be assuming that the quality of all the other teams has remained stable since 02 - this is not the case....

Lets be honest - success will be driven, to a large extent, by the luck of the draw in the Group stage. The US will be paired with at least two teams of equal or better quality - they'll need to get results from at least two of the three group games to have a chance of getting out of the group.

On the basis of recent history (last 3 tournies) the US has got out of the group stages twice - once when they were the hosts and secondly in 2002 when they had to rely on the result from the other game in the group going their way.

I think people are underestimating just how hard it will be to get to the 2nd round even (look at the quality of the teams who have fallen at Group stage in the past to see how tough this can be).

[eldiablito]

Originally Posted by Prawn Sandwich

You also seem to be assuming that the quality of all the other teams has remained stable since 02 - this is not the case....

Lets be honest - success will be driven, to a large extent, by the luck of the draw in the Group stage. The US will be paired with at least two teams of equal or better quality - they'll need to get results from at least two of the three group games to have a chance of getting out of the group.

On the basis of recent history (last 3 tournies) the US has got out of the group stages twice - once when they were the hosts and secondly in 2002 when they had to rely on the result from the other game in the group going their way.

I think people are underestimating just how hard it will be to get to the 2nd round even (look at the quality of the teams who have fallen at Group stage in the past to see how tough this can be).

What he said.

So much depends on the draw.

If USA gets drawn into a group with say Italy, Russia, and Saudi Arabia--I like our chances very much.

However, say the draw includes Brazil, Netherlands, and Japan--I'd be less optimistic.

[Qamle]

I totally disagree. All the US needs to do is know that they can win and they can beat anyone regardless of the draw. Period.

[mritalian1210]

If USA gets drawn into a group with say Italy, Russia, and Saudi Arabia--I like our chances very much.

italy, usa that would be a hell of a game