Group E's General Discussion Thread

The first 2 could even be semifinals. I don't know about Argentina v Türkiye though. The latter is not quarterfinal material, imo.

What jumped out at me after the draw was the following potential round of 32 matchups:
Argentina v Spain
Holland v Brazil

It only takes one of those pairs to finish 2nd in their group for those matchups to occur.

Argentina and Spain both got groups they really should win, but Holland and Brazil got difficult groups. I would bet on that Holland - Brazil R32 match happening.

 

Damn that is a huge loss fo the Germans.

 

Curaçao: One of the weakest teams in the World Cup, but don’t underestimate them. They have a number of players that play in the first and second divisions of the Dutch league, and many have experience playing together.

Germany: One of the Top 10 teams in the world. They have amazing talent in attack and central defense like Tah, Rudiger, Schlotterbeck, Musiala, Sane, Wirtz, and Havertz. Nagelsmann has done well with this team. However, the one huge liability I see here is in their fullbacks. Kimmich has often covered there but he really isn’t a fullback, and Germany can get easily exposed in those areas with fast wingers on the counter.

Ivory Coast: This is a new growing team with a lot of promising youngsters. They’ve got: Kessie, Bony, Diamonde, Kossounou, etc. This team is very solid and organized defensively and has not conceded a single goal in qualification. Arguably third best team in Africa.

Ecuador: Also has been a huge growing team with the likes of: Caicedo, Pacho, Hincapie, Pacho, etc. This team moves extremely fast as a unit and is very solid defensively conceding only 5 goals in CONMEBOL qualification. Arguably third best team in CONMEBOL.

Overall, Germany should win this group on paper, but teams like Ivory Coast and Ecuador are exactly the type of teams that will cause Germany a lot of problems tactically. I still fancy Germany to win this group at the end, but boy this will be brutal and frustrating; and they’ll definitely drop points somewhere.

Ecuador vs Ivory Coast is poised to be one of the best games in the group stage. I expect low scoring but chaos on the field with a lot of pace and end-to-end plays. Ecuador slightly edge it talent wise all around, but Ivory Coast’s counterattacks can be scary. We can’t underestimate the fact that Ivory Coast conceded 0 goals and Ecuador (CONMEBOL) only 5 in qualification; that’s MASSIVE. Based on the scheduling and talent edge all around, I fancy Ecuador to edge it for second; but I think both teams advance 2nd and one of the best 3rd place.

Sorry Curaçao, but I’m afraid they’re out of luck here, as the gap is way too huge between them and the other 3 teams.

Final Predictions:
1. Germany
2. Ecuador
3. Ivory Coast
4. Curaçao

 

https://www.ad.nl/video/productie/d...am-zeker-omdat-nederland-ze-opleidde-13387325

Schlotterbeck thinks Curaçao is a good team: 'Especially because the Netherlands trained them'

 

Curaçao needs to pull a shocker, haha.

 

Predictions:

Germany 4-0 Curaçao

Ivory Coast 2-2 Ecuador (This one is very ambiguous and could go either way. Hard for me to say)

 

Beautiful opening goal by Germany!

The fastest one at FIFA World Cup 2026!

 

Much has been talked about Ecuadors defence and not enough about Ivory Coasts attack. I dont think Ecuador will be able to contain CIV.

Im predicting

CIV 2 Ecuador 1

 

CURACAO !!!!!!

 

Curacao level after deflected shot!

FWC 2026 is unbelievable!

 

Who said this FIFA World Cup would be mediocre?

 

I want every team to get at least 1 moment to go nuts... what a moment for Curacao!

 

I told people the level was not going to really drop. The world has improved.

I love 48 teams. Way better.

 

Another beautiful Germany goal!

 

Yes, I think that is now evident, quality gaps have narrowed considerably.

All since Infantino took charge of FIFA!

 

Also this WC has more of a global feel than the previous formats.

 

Last year's U17FWC with 48 teams gave me a taste of what was to be in store come the FWC.

 

Soft penalty.

 

I think the referee had no choice because the defender missed the ball, but I know what you mean,

Once upon a time, that wouldn't have been a foul.

 

If you have to embellish your fall (which he clearly did) that literally means there wasn't enough contact for you to fall. I hate those type of penalties.

 

So do I.

The replay I saw at HT makes it even more dubious.

 

Beautiful goal by Musiala!