Picking on poor cobra? You do understand he is a sock right? Actually they are the 5 time and defending champs if I were to correctly state it. I was wrong they have not won it 2 times in a row, you are correct they lost in 98. I would disagree here. Brazil has some of the most skilled players at practically every position. As a unit they are virtually unmatched. Individually you can point to the clubs they play for to see that they carry over that creativity wherever they go. England has great talent, I think they have some very good players and in some areas have better players then Brazil. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Read what he said, he portrayed it as only Ronaldinho was a better player and that England man for man was better. In an earler post he also stated that none of the 32 teams were better then England man for man. Again I think you need to review his posts starting from his first one in this thread and you will see what he meant and why he got the responses he got.
read the posts correctly, not once did i say the above crap your saying, dont start this again when you cant find any posts to back up it up. then vear into other subjects and retreat like a lil bitch when your proven wrong on counts.
Individually man for man, only ronaldinho and emerson is outright better compared to the england players, which was said in the very first post. something scarecrow cant understand. England back 4 gets the edge, then match up the others they are equaly balanced , whoever performs best on the day Dida - Robinson Carlos - A Cole Cafu - G Neville Juan - Terry Lucio - Campbell Ze Roberto - Beckham Kaka - Gerrard Adriano - Owen Ronaldo- Rooney
K dont actually agree with you tho!! Dida is better then Robinson and has performed at the highest level consistantly for a long time- Robinson hasnt really been tested there at all yet. Carlos and Cole is close but for his distribution Id go Carlos. Cafu tho getting on is better then Neville- again highest level more consistant then him- watch United Milan last year for example. Centre halfs go Englands way.Kaka is much better creativley then Gerrard and im assuming as you named him rather then Lampad, you're claiming Lampard as your defensive midfielder. I think Adriano is much better then Owen and currently maybe Rooney ahead of Ronaldo but both are special. That makes England man for man weaker, and if we look into subs itd be similar!!
I picked Brazil. Considering the high expectations, anything other than a WC win will be considered a flop. If this was a round robin tournament they'd probably win easy. But in the WC system of do or die you have to be lucky as well as good, and odds are somebody will upset them, and if that happens it will be considered a flop, even if it's in the final.
USA. We play like hell in Europe, and very few other national team coaches take us lightly any more. "Expectations" for our boys may not be where Argentina's or Germany's are, but I'll honestly be pleasantly surprised if we make it past group stage. And I'll await the ensuing "sky is falling" hyperbole.
As far as flop, I have a feeling is going to be France but it's really hard to tell, rarely the favorite wins the tournament and Brasil is the favorite right now, anything less than winning the tournament is a flop for them but they are the best team in the world without a doubt. I don't have a lot of confidence in Argentina neither, they don't seem to find the team yet but there still six months ahead, a lot of things can change. I don't think any team can compare themselves to Brasil right now, the brasilians make it look so easy.
Ahem.....the title of the thread specifies "major powers"...besides, the US flopping is to be expected.
england are good, brazil are good, france are bollocks, germany have home advantage, italy will disappoint.
ahem... You may want to check your watch, sparky -- it seems to be running about 10-15 years slow. Mine says 2005, for your reference.
So what? Are you claiming the US to be a "major power" in world football? Considering the past performances of the US in previous WC's then expecting them to "flop" is hardly going against precedent (depending on your definition of "flop")
I think the surprise flop of the tournament will be Czech Republic. On paper, they should reach the semifinals, but something tells me it will all go wrong. The surprise team of the tournament will be Ghana.
I know, the US getting to the Semi's would be a great achievement for us, but for others only making the semi's would be a flop, see Brazil, England, etc...those teams are expecting a final appearance.
I think most people in England expect a quarterfinal exit and only secretly hope for more. It's become a bit of a national tradition to choke at this stage. But then again these traditions can be broken, like we saw when England won the Ashes this year.
Gee, I guess while winding my watch the US became the bestest of the best...I guess I should have listened to American fans, they are truly the most realistic about their team's true standing as the bestest in the whole wide world....gee.
Germany will have tremendous pressure and will not be able to deal with it. The games I have seen they have been unimpressive and Ballack is overrated.
HE HE HE so true................ill be realistic. Ill be HAPPY if Mexico makes it past the first round. I will be celebrating like if they would have won the whole thing. I will also be very happy if MEX wins their group standings like 2002 with ITALY in their group and CONF 2005 with Brazil in their group now that is my goal. WIN the group.
I think expectations would be higher for this English team. But yiou are right. The English fans would be happy that Enghland goes beyond the quaterfinal.
Spain , an aging team which showed cracks in qualifying. England probably will fail again but i cant see any weaknesses , robinson has looked a bit dodgy lately
though Robbo has been great in an England shirt and has been one of the best keepers in the premiership according to the stats.