[vancity eagle]

I have been thinking about this, lets discuss. I personally think that it is not that far off.

[man_in_the_middle]

IMO the most teams that are their, are close to as good as their world cup teams would be. So Argentina is close to what their world cup team would be, so is Brazil, Nigeria, USA, ect... But some of thee best teams in the world are missing. Spain, France, England, Croatia, Germany, and Portugal are consistently top 10-15 teams in the world who are not at the Olympics.

[mattteo]

Two worlds apart....WC obviously having the higher quality between the two.

[vancity eagle]

Originally Posted by mattteo

Two worlds apart....WC obviously having the higher quality between the two.

no one is disputing the WC is higher quality, but I dont think they are 2 worlds apart. For example you have a very close to full squad Argentina, only managing 1 goal victories over very inexperienced CIV and Australia squads, yet in WC they thrashed Serbia. My point being there is some very good competition on display here. I think many of these olympic squads would be very competitive in a WC.

[NYfan]

I think the talent level of the Argentina and Brazil teams is probably better than many WC teams and close to their own WC squads, but not quite as good.

I think that most of these teams would be competitive in the WC. What seems to be missing is the seasoning and leadership that teams get with older players.

[BocaFan]

Originally Posted by man_in_the_middle

IMO the most teams that are their, are close to as good as their world cup teams would be. So Argentina is close to what their world cup team would be, so is Brazil, Nigeria, USA, ect... But some of thee best teams in the world are missing. Spain, France, England, Croatia, Germany, and Portugal are consistently top 10-15 teams in the world who are not at the Olympics.

Nail on head.

It's the allocation of spots from each confederation that impacts the quality difference in the 2 tournaments more than the difference between the senior and olympic teams of the individual nations involved.

Imagine if 30% of the World Cup teams came from AFC or OFC....

[Auriaprottu]

Originally Posted by NapoliSupporter

It's the allocation of spots from each confederation that impacts the quality difference in the 2 tournaments more than the difference between the senior and olympic teams of the individual nations involved.

You're right, but how right you are is a tough call. If you look at Brasil's 2006 team next to this youth + 3 senior players team, you'll see a lot of difference in the lineups. How much of this is due to a big aging-out of the Selecao after 2006 is debatable, and we'll have to wait until close to the 2010 Cup to see how much that team looks like this one.

Imagine if 30% of the World Cup teams came from AFC or OFC....

Yeah, that drops the quality a lot.

[scotch17]

Originally Posted by NapoliSupporter

Imagine if nearly 50% of the World Cup teams came from AFC, OFC, and CONCACAF....

fixed

[almango]

Originally Posted by man_in_the_middle

IMO the most teams that are their, are close to as good as their world cup teams would be. So Argentina is close to what their world cup team would be, so is Brazil, Nigeria, USA, ect... But some of thee best teams in the world are missing. Spain, France, England, Croatia, Germany, and Portugal are consistently top 10-15 teams in the world who are not at the Olympics.

I disagree. Most of the squads are very inferior to the national teams. Also Europe hasn't exactly been setting the world on fire at previous tournaments, with their last victory being in 1992 (Spain took it serious as host). The timing of the tournament means even if more big UEFA countries were present, they wouldn't be sending strong squads. I have no doubt that if you separated the under 23 tournament from the Olympics, increased it to 24 teams with more proportionate representation from stronger regions and held it at a more sensible time, the standard would be much higher.

[Excape Goat]

Argentina is fielding a team that will look liked their 2010 team. Of course, many potential starters are missing. I am basing my theory on their 1996 and 1998 team. Almost their entire 1996 squad went to the WC Finals two years later. And I find their 2008 team very close to their current full national team. In two years' time, some of the youngsters such as Gago will probably start Argentina in South Africa. The same can be applied to Brazil(but they are missing Kaka and Robinho)

I think the South Americans took the Olympics more serious than the Europeans. They do not have the European Championship to consider. They can bring up the best possible players. Let's say I think Italy and Holland are resting their overaged players while Brazil and argentina can bring up Ronaldinho, Riquelme, etc.