I think a Colombia or a Bosnia may surprise many at Brazil 2014. Perhaps Chile. Would love to see Montenegro qualify also and have a good run. Belgium and Russia could also go deep but I don't know how big a shock that will be. When i say go far I mean Semi Finals max these teams couldn't win it especially Bosnia. The semi finals usually throws up one surprise team with the likes of Bulgaria, Sweden, Croata, Turkey and South Korea making it in the past.
I do. And you are right. However if they get there could do some damage like Uruguay pre 2010 when they needed away goals to edge past Costa Rica to get there in a playoff game. Made the semis. Qualification and tournament itself is a different ball game.
Fair enough. Point was Uruguay needed a playoff birth to clinch a spot at the world cup. For anyone not sure about the question understand '' Surprise ''
You should actually watch the matches instead of reading the results Uruguay 2010 were a fast side and if you saw them play during WC qualification you would of know they would do damage I do not see it in Chile this time around For me it is Belgium, Colombia and Switzerland
Panama the chance to qualify for their first EVER world cup... Most of their players play in Central America and don't have European/MLS experience, and therefore I can't see them holding on and qualifying above the likes of Mexico, USA, and a more experienced Honduras side... They have a lot of upside and have already defeated Honduras 2 0 earlier in the Hex but the inexperience showed in the match before that with a 1-1 draw at Jamaica... With a tough next 3 matches vs Mexico, at USA (Seattle), and at Costa Rica I cannot see them coming out of the first two with more than 1 point while I see (for the 3 matches) Honduras taking 6-7 points, the USA taking 5-7 points (I have to stay humble though I would love to say 9 ), and Mexico taking 7-9 points... This of course leaves the already dying and soon to be buried Jamaica, and more importantly (no disrespect to the Reggae Boyz) Costa Rica, who play Honduras, at Mexico, and the all important Panama... Again I cant see Costa Rica getting more than 1 point (and only because they play Honduras at home do they have a small shot at 1 point) before entering the match vs Panama... Earlier these teams drew 2-2 in Panama... If we look past this match both are vs USA and at Honduras, but Panama plays vs Jamaica, at Mexico and Costa Rica plays vs Mexico, at Jamaica... In the end I see both sides clinging only to points against Jamaica and maybe a draw somewhere else... Meaning Costa Rica vs Panama is the virtual decider (especially if Panama wins) for 4th place and a shot at WC '14 with only New Zealand in the way... I do see Panama taking this match and easily defeating New Zealand, meaning a first ever WC birth and certainly a surprise team in Brazil... Panama will have gained valuable experience from these qualifiers and they already have the skills to make an impact at WC '14.
Would Belgium or Colombia making the QF or semi finals really be a surprise? Everyone has Belgium on their radar by now and the SA posters are talking about Colombia for almost two years.
Hmm.. looks like you're setting yourself up for a shock, then. So no chance for CR to win at home even though they can arguably put up a better squad? Interesting.
Honduras's strikers and midfield are just too good for Costa Rica's defense... but of course that is why the match is played on the field!
I would say Belgium is the number one surprise for 2014, not that they are going to win the cup but i wouldn't be surprised if they reached the quarter finals. Bosnia relies to much on Dzeko alone, the will probably qualify but i don't see them making it to the round-of-16.
Colombia have a nice squad from top to bottom, Mexico and one of the African teams could surprise. []__[]
Being a surprise semi finalist require being a quality side and being lucky enough to avoid facing superpowers in the knockout stage. The luck of the draw is crucial. Look at Sweden in '94, Turkey in '02 and Uruguay in '10 - none of them beat any superpowers and all of them reached the semifinal via a path arranged for the underpar seeded hosts. Bulgaria would have been knocked out of the first round in 1994 if not for the Maradona situation. Looking at the last twenty years, The only surprise teams to reach the semis via an upset have done so while politically motivated (bulgaria/croatia vs germany. GER always have trouble vs eastern europe, even in 2010 with serbia) or have benefited from home field advantage (South Korea). Also Germany themselves, 2002 surprise finalists, did so without facing a single superpower until the final. Teams who are surprise winners of the group of death (denmark 86, mexico 94, nigeria 98, sweden 02) are eliminated in the very next round. So it's very difficult to guess where the dark horse will come from until the draw is made and the path is revealed. I thought Ivory Coast would be potential dark horses, but they were drawn in an impossible group with Brazil and Portugal. having said that, if we have a surprise semifinalist in this south american world cup, I suspect it will be a team from the Americas. Mexico and Colombia stand out obviously. Japan could also be one such team as they often have ties with brazil
My pick is Belgium. They have a final worthy squad. Look more disgusting than Holland. Germany, Belgium, Brazil, Spain for the last 4 Argentina's defense and goaltending is terrible
Meh I still think Holland is better than Belgium. They don't have world-class players like Van Persie, Robben (or a fit Sneijder, maybe Van der Vaart) who can decide a match. Hazard comes closest but still hasn't impress me enough. They are all near their 30's so basically still in their prime period. The Belgian defense looks stronger but they don't seem to have real wingbacks. I should know because Vertonghen and Alderweireld who played/play in the Eredivisie are better suited as central defenders. Yes it's true they beat us in a meaningless friendly last year but that was right after the big failure of EURO 2012. We didn't take it very serious but found it useful to try out some unproven players which resulted in a lot of substitions during the match on which the Belgians took advantage. Since then our team has gone through a few mutations and now the first eleven is more or less known. Don't get me wrong. I don't think we have any chance to win this World Cup but on a good day we can compete. Spain, Germany, Brazil (with their home advantage) will be too much but I'm not afraid of the others.