2014 FIFA World Cup: Final Draw 06.12.13

I´m going to disagree with you there

Mexico is the reason for that!

 

Overall I agree with you but the point in regards to Brazil is they haven't won it despite trying. They care a lot ot get it, but other teams such as France, Nigeria, Argentina and Mexico have gotten in the way.

 

Yeah, and there have been many other "reasons" (in the sense you are using that term) why Brazil haven't won the tournament over the years!

 

Yeah, but at the end, the question remains: what is proven by winning the OL gold? That you have the best youth talent and team? No, because you can use 3 overage players. That you have the best team in the world? Certainly not, because there is an age restriction for the rest of your team. That you will have the best team in the world? No, because that has not been the case in the past and no logical reason for it to be necessarily the case in the future.

 

glad you agree.

 

The main reason being that they can't use their best players. Therefore no matter how much they pretend to want to win, its ultimately meaningless. Or maybe I'm wrong and Switzerland and Belarus will rule European football in 2-3 years.

 

Those were, for all intents and purpose, World Cups. Unlike now, everybody's best players were there.

 

We only care about Olympics because it´s the only empty space we have in our Trophy Room. Once we get it, we wont give a **** about it anymore. It´s a crap tournament filled with u-23 players and just a few world class players. Yes, we have yet to get it, but it doesnt change the fact that it´s just crap.

The fact of winning or losing it plays a very small factor on how well a given team will do in the WC.

Neither Mexico odds wont go higher nor Mexicans should think they´re a superb team just because they won the gold medal in London. It´s irrelevant.

 

Interesting news for those that haven't heard yet. Josip Simunic has been suspended from the World Cup. Perhaps you remember him as the player who infamously received three yellow cards in one WC match.


* Shocked Croatian FA likely to appeal (Adds Croatian reaction)

Dec 16 (Reuters) - Croatia defender Josip Simunic will miss the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after being suspended for 10 matches by FIFA for making pro-Nazi chants at the end of last month's playoff victory over Iceland.

The Croatian FA was shocked by the severity of the ban and said it was likely to appeal.

World soccer's ruling body FIFA announced the punishment in a statement on Monday.

"The disciplinary committee took note that the player, together with the crowd, shouted a Croatian salute that was used during World War II by the fascist 'Ustase' movement," it said.

"As a consequence the committee agreed that this salute was discriminatory and offended the dignity of a group of persons concerning, inter alia, race, religion or origin.

"After taking into account all of the circumstances of the case, and particularly given the gravity of the incident, the committee decided to suspend the player for 10 official matches," FIFA continued.

"The first matches ... have to be served during the final competition of the 2014 FIFA World Cup."

At the end of Croatia's 2-0 win on Nov. 19, Australia-born Simunic took the microphone at the Maksimir Stadium in Zagreb, turned to the stands and shouted 'Za dom' (for the Homeland), to which the audience replied 'Spremni' (Ready).

The call-and-response salute is widely associated with Croatia's Nazi-allied Ustasha regime which ruled in 1941-45 and brutally persecuted Jews, Serbs, Gypsies and anti-fascist Croats.

Simunic, who plays his club football for Dinamo Zagreb, said in a statement last month that he meant nothing wrong.

"As a Croatian who was born and grew up outside my homeland, I associate home with love, warmth and positive struggle - everything we showed on the pitch to win our place in the World Cup," said the 35-year-old.

 

Nope.
a World Championships, maybe.
But they hold no resemblance to a World Cup.
And there is no certainty that teams had their best players playing in them, as many of them had a mix between amateur and professional players.
All of our players from 1928, in that chilean team were completely amateur as the rules for Olympic games required them to be (yeah, we were very naive in those days and followed strictly the rules, while others didn`t think the same way), and so, we got eliminated right away in our first match. We played a consolation tournament afterwards, where we had a draw with the home team (Holland) in the final match, whom decided to give us the cup as an act of courtesy.

 

Simunic out of the World Cup for Croatia. How important is that? The guy may be old, but he's been key for the defensive line of Croatia. Basically the end of his international career.

So no Mandzukic and no Simunic vs Brasil...

 

Croatians medias keep saying that it's a really bad new for the team, but personally i never liked this player, and i don't think that the team is weaker without him.
Bilic didn't use him in his first 11 on euro 2012 and croatian team has been ok defensively.
against italia and spain, the team has been efficient in this part of the game, italia scored only once by a free kick, and spain scored only once too in the last 2 minutes when croatia gave up their side cause they had to score and should have scored...they didn't have any clear goal opportunity before that.
so...i don't think that it's that bad, lovren who is improving at southampton will be better than simunic ever was i think. shidenfeld performances at euro 2012 were good.
too bad tin jedvaj is not few years older

 

My Predicitions:

Group A Brazil, Croatia

Group B Spain Netherlands

Group C Ivory Coast Colombia

Group D England Uruguay

Group E France Ecuador

Group F Argentina Bosnia

Group G Germany Ghana

Group H Russia Belgium

 

By all means, I be happy if Colombia went to the otherside of the tournament tree to avoid those teams from groups A, B, and D.

Although, It's foolish to assume that Chile isn't able to take on the Dutch and Spanish when this is in South America. But anything can happen.

 

Just watch Columbia winning the World Cup this time.

 

Please replace the 'U' with 'O' my friend, it means a lot to us.

But if it will depend if Falcao can get ready by the world cup, and not play in the group stages which is a week and a half long, giving him more time to get fitness.

We have more than enough good strikers to keep us into the next round after the group stage.

 

I'm sorry, I didn't knew that at all.
To be honest, Falcao is in his own category but Martinez and Muriel can easily make some trouble. Really impressive squad at all.

 

Yeah, well we normally team Falcao with Teo who is a very talented underrated striker for Colombia. Hence he gets equal amount of playing time over any other striker with Falcao.

To be honest however, we have to thank the genius mindset of Jose Pekerman. He's the reason why we're a strong team.

 

Reportedly Falcao's surgery was a success and he's expected to return to health in time for Brazil.
Ibra and Lewandowski not going was already a shame ... would hate it if Falcao is out too.

PS don't mess with the guy ... it's Columbia and you're Frobuy69

 

Given what happened with Pele in the 50s and Ronaldo in 2002, I am keeping my hopes up. Especially when they made a hardcore comeback into that world cup and won it. But we're not Brazilian so I don't know how this will turn out lol.

 

Why? In a lot (if not all) of Slavic languages its with a 'u'. Its Kolumbija is Serbian.

 

Because we're writing in English; I would understand if that was in another language, it be understandable.

Just like how the dutch prefer 'Netherlands' instead of 'Holland' (for obvious reasons) in English, but certain languages only have 'Holanda' or something like that.

 

Colombians feel offended if you misspell the name, 100% of the time they will correct you.
Personally I'm really lay back and don't care I guess I'm a bad Colombian lol. But they just don't like people misspelling Colombia.

 

Because that's how it's written; other places have it spelled 'Columbia' in different parts of North America, but that's not how our country is spelled. We go with 'Colombia'.

 

Group A Brazil, Mexico
Group B Spain, Chile
Group C Colombia, Japan
Group D Italy, Uruguay
Group E France, Ecuador
Group F Argentina, Nigeria
Group G Germany, Portugal
Group H Belgium, South Korea