Because their ranking in FIFA is very low (17th), they were seeded in the 3rd pot for the draw, and half of the people out there say France will crash and burn at the Euros. All anyone remembers is the fact that they did terrible in their last 2 major tournaments.
Yes, I suppose watching Paraguay or Greece play is, for the person ignorant of football tactics, like trying to read a book on quantum dynamics to the person who has no knowledge of differential equations. At any rate, I find it fascinating.
Fifa rankings mean nothing just look at england in the top five. Besides when people think of france soccer culture and teams they think one of the best which doesnt make them underrated. []__[]
I agree to a large extent, but would not put Paraguay in the same category as Greece (not saying that your are, but for others who may do so). Paraguay is capable of much more than just defense, as can be witnessed by their complete domination of WC caliber teams such as Slovenia in 02 and Slovakia in 2010. I have also seen them take the game to both Brazil and Argentina in WC qualifiers. IIRC they also created more scoring opportunities against Spain then either Germany or Portugal in WC2010.
But unlike Chile, they can also play the defensive game proficiently. We can't defend for shit, that's why we play to our strengths and attack constantly.
Was about to say that... hahaha But Chile almost beat Spain in a friendly where Vidal was playing as a CB.
Medel and Vidal can do OK as defenders, in case of emergency. But you need more than 2 quality defenders y you want to park the bus. I'd say Medel is quality as a fullback actually, even though he has never been used there by Sevilla or our current NT coach. That's why we just attack, not because we want to look cool, or because it's easier on the eye, but because we have no other way of playing. We make the most of what we got, sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't. We havent produced a world class defender since Elias Figueroa.
And this has nothing to do with the different approaches against higher level competitors... Or would anyone here draw conclusions from the recent Ger-Hun game about their chances in the upcomming euros?
I guess I'm the only one who actually voted... From the list, I picked Sweden... But I think USA is another good contender... I feel like we're never even expected to win our group at the WC...
That's because there is always a better team in the group. Expecting the favourite to win the group over the others makes sense don't you think. USA are more often than not in amongst the overrated category.
I'm still voting for Yugoslavia.. their unbeaten run since 1992 still continues. and no one ever talks about them... that's 20 years unbeaten!
I dont think Portugal is underrated. They are always one of the favorites To me its Uruguay. After 2 years they are still ranked 3# of the world. Forlan is one of the best strikers in the world. At least they stay better than England, Portugal, Italy, France, Brazil, Netherlands, Argentina, Croatia & Russia now. And we dont have to forget they won 2 times the world cup. Others: USA, Denmark, Croatia, Czech Republik, Russia, Sweden They play really good soccer
So they're not underrated at all? Or do you want to say that the 3rd place is too low for them? He had a horrible season for Inter though. However that shouldn't influence us when we rate them now. They're currently highly rated, because they showed good displays at the WC 2010 and the Copa America 2011.
Well,... Your right. So they arent underrated at all. But I was trying to say that people/media possibly rate them worse. Maybe its just me but I think they are one of the best teams yet with Spain, Germany & Netherlands. At least its just my opinion Btw. Nice pic, PP
Rooney is one of the best strikers in the World also and England are constantly ranked in the top #10 in the World. When you consider in the last 30 years in the World cup the two teams comparison is ------ENGLAND-----URUGUAY 2010....13th.................4th 2006.....7th................DNQ 2002.....6th.................26th 1998.....9th.................DNQ 1994.....DNQ..............DNQ 1990.....4th.................16th 1986.....8th.................16th 1982.....6th.................DNQ So why do England get labeled as overrated? While so many claim that Uruguay is underrated when quite clearly England have been the superior performers on the big stage.
..we assumed it was a part of Brazil's lower intestines. HAHAAHAAAAHAAAA! Sometimes I wanna kiss myself ...