As I said in Barranquilla it makes a difference. Chicago is no Barranquilla. As to your second point I already conceded a point is possible. But less likely.
I would not have minded that but with the team losing only once in Barranquilla since Pekerman has taken over I can see why they don't mess with a good thing.
Yup. They should've, as playing in Bogota, we've never defeated them, there. (although we have many draws, playing there, but not for WC qualifiers) Chile, has always had problems playing at high altitudes (curiously despite this fact, we have managed many times to beat Bolivia at La Paz, which is lots higher than whatever other big city from South America). You can believe whatever you want, but that doesn't change anything. Pekerman, the same as James, has never beaten Chile at Barranquilla neither...
I never said the contrary. Well, then go ask the colombian federation to switch the match to Santiago of Chile, so James and the rest of the guys, could have some edge. Facts don't change. Next match is going to be played in Barranquilla.
True, but home teams in general rarely lose in CONMEBOL qualifying. Nothing special about Barranquilla. Of course the home team is better than a Venezuela or most of the teams Chile played in the 2016 Copa, but at least Chile are familiar with the (weather) conditions.
Chile, likewise..... Hey man, this "exchange" of words is very fun, but this topic is not about the next match between Colombia and Chile. Maybe you believe it the same (about it being fun), but for almost everybody else must be lots more annoying than being fun. Why not let this thread go back to topic ?
But as I said before I can't even remember the last time Colombia has even lost by more than one goal at that home. That cannot be said about too many other home venues in South America.
I wouldn't consider Chile a favorite, myself. But the poll, that heads this thread, currently has us (to my surprise), in 4th place, which puts us, second to Argentina for teams coming from Conmebol (even over Brazil). Oh, btw, Colombia must be among those who vote for "other".....
Well, Netherlands won't be favorites. We will have a hard time qualifying because France will probably be top of the group so we will have to battle it out with Sweden for the 2nd spot. And even then we have to hope we belong to the best 8 runners-up so we can prepare ourselves for matches in the play-offs against a good side because we are ranked quite low on the FIFA rankings.
While its very weird to put the label "dark horse" on this team, I think Italy is one to watch out for... Nobody really talking about them, they just continue to churn out results. They also have a fantastic group of youth emerging: Donnarumma, Romagnoli, Insigne, Zaza, Immobile, El Shaarawy, Florenzi, De Sciglio, Sansone, Bernardeschi, Mattia Perin, Jorginho, Stuararo, Rugani, Locatelli, Baselli and now it looks like they have a future stud in Andrea Belotti and could even call Balotelli back. Of Course its all about the draw, but they could definitely find their way into contention
Just had some time to look this up---and these are just the player I could think of off the top of my head.... But how on earth can you look at this and pick anyone but Germany as the favorites?: German Forwards (11): Mario Gomez (30) – Marco Reus (26) – Mario Gotze (24) – Timo Werner (20) – Leroy Sane (20) – Andre Schurrle (24) – Kevin Volland (24) – Max Kruse (27) – Karim Bellarabi (26) – Pierre Michael Lasogga (24) – Julian Brandt (20) German Midfielders (12): Ozil (27) – Muller (27) – Kroos (26) – Draxler (23) – Kimmich (21) – Khedira (29) – Max Meyer (21) – Gundogan (25), Lars Bender (26) – Sven Bender (26) – Weigl (21) – Goretzka (21) German Defenders (14): Boateng (28) – Mustafi (24) – Hector (26) – Hummels (27) – Howedes (28) – Emre Can (22) – Ginter (22) – Rudiger (23) – Schmeltzer (27) – Durm (24) – Rudy (25) – Tah (20) – Badstuber (25) – GroSkreutz (28) German Goalkeepers (9) : Neuer (30) – Ter Stegen (24) – Kevin Trapp (26) – Bernd Leno (24) – Zieler (27) – Adler (31) – Weidenfeller (36) – Timo Horn (23) – Karius (23) That's just insanity
Well, the way I did it is just by saying winning back-to-back World Cups rarely happens. But on paper it is very difficult to pick against them. Even when they are not favorites i.e. 2002.
I definitely get what you are saying but that much quality depth is pretty crazy. I think Brazil and Spain are closest to them just from an on paper depth perspective but their depth is so young its hard to say.
The Closer I look I think France Is probably the closest to Germany: Forwards: Griezmann, Benzema, Giroud, Gameiro, Martial, Coman, Gignac, Lacazette, Fekir, O. Dembele, Remy Midfielders: Payet, Pogba, Matuidi, Kante, Sissoko, Ben Arfa, Valbuena, Diarra, Schniderlin, Gourcuff, Capoue, Cabella, Ntep, M'Villa Defenders: Varane, Umtiti, Koscielny, Evra, Sagna, Kurzawa, Rami, Sakho, Mathiew, Mangala, Digne, Debuchy, Zouma, Kondogbia, Clichy, Tremoulinas Keepers: Lloris, Mandanda, Areola, Ruffier
To some extent, but most of the talent there seems a step down or much older. Evra, Sagna, Gignac, Clichy, etc. And a lot of these players never seemed to fulfil their promise like M'vila, Gourcuff, Capoue, Remy, Gignac, Mangala.
It all depends on: a) the draw b) who is injured c) the refs d) who Putin is most pissed off at There are probably six top contenders (Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, Portugal, Belgium), but you never know who the draw is going to throw up against each other in the knockout rounds and/or who is going to end up in a group of death.
I would swipe out Belgium with Spain. Belgium's players, IMO, do not have the mentality to win an international competition, as was evident in the past two major tournaments, where the overall value of their players was possibly higher relative to what it will be in 2018. Germany, France, Portugal & Spain are, I believe, head and shoulders above any of the other European countries in terms of quality of talent rising through the ranks.
Not generous, let alone remarkably, the facts just speak for themselves. Players coming through Portugal: -Renato Sanches -Andre Gomes -William Carvalho -Joao Mario -Raphael Guerreiro -Ruben Neves -Bernardo Silva -Joao Cancelo I could go on as there are certainly more but I'm sure you get the picture. All those players listed are still young, with most of them already playing vital parts to Portugal's Euro 2016 success and playing for the biggest clubs in Europe. Portugal in recent UEFA competitions: Euro 2016 - Winners Euro U21 2015 - Runner Ups (losing the final as favorites) Euro U19 2015 - Runner Ups Euro U-17 2016 - Winners Let me know how many countries can rival that record. Yeah, I'm sure I'm just saying this because I'm Portuguese
zahzah speaking about bias, wow the amount of hypocrisy is mind blowing. I would also say that we can argue Italy no problem, I can see a valid point in choosing Italy over Portugal, but Belgium? are you kidding me? that back line is dreadful. If Portugal had a few more players in England, people may have a different outlook. The truth is, Portugal will have to achieve 3 times more than most countries to earn about half the respect, not for good reason, but mostly out of wishful thinking and spite. The Portugal youth teams have been dominant for about 6 years now, and we are starting to see the benefits. Belgium has a decent team on paper, made larger by the fact a decent chunk plays in the EPL. There is a few teams I would choose over Portugal in 2018, Belgium however, not even close.
I can't. Italy are not at their historical levels, with most of their current best players on the wrong side of 30. Aside from Verratti & Donnarumma, I can't name any notable young Italian players that seem set to be world-class.