I REALLY REALLY want to get the CONCACAF teams (either one is ok) from POT 2 on our group, and NOT Germany or Netherlands. But mostly i really want the CONCACAF teams, they are significantly easier than the rest AND we could easily book friendlies beforehand with them to practice.
Good thing if we do get Germany is that we wouldnt face them again until the final right? Its actually better than facing them in QF or round 16.
Yeah that would be the main advantage of having them in our group. If the other two teams are easy then it's not a bad deal having them with us.
Ideal scenario to me is Group B next to the Qatar group with either Germany or Netherlands as the 2 seed along with 2 easy seed 3 & 4 seeds. Easiest path to the quarters and then would avoid a potential rematch with Germany unless both teams reach the finals.
Yea , in our current form, baring major disaster/huge bad luck, I think we'll qualify for KO stage regardless the draw. We topped the group that has Italy in 1986, and has Netherlands & Ivory coast in 2006. In 1978, there's France and Italy. In 1998, its an easy group but was followed by 2 big teams in round 16 & QF. But Germany was in easy group last time around & failed badly, so you'll never know.
No, it's too risky. We could end up playing a powerhouse in R16. Give me a cheap group with Mexico or USA and Poland as european team.
We can easily play a powerhouse regardless. There is no guarantee that the first seed will end up finish atop of their group. On a side note. I’m watching the USA-Costa Rica match and the US are awful. I’ll gladly take them in a group.
USA should’ve had two goals if not for Navas. Steffen is a trash keeper though it’s like if Argentina kept starting Armani at this point.
As SM said , Mexico seems like a curse...Everytime we beat them, we'd lose the next match (Conf 2005, CA 2007, WC 2006 & 2010). They're so shit that our next opponent would surprise us lol Sadly, we wont have a free 3 points from Nigeria this time.
In the past I would’ve said USA without hesitation (my birth country and because it would grow the sport here) but they are a young team that won’t go deep and will have other chances and this is Messi and Di Maria’s last chance so obviously Argentina now.
Also this Argentina team in general is far more likeable than USA. They work hard and play for each other instead of having egos and depending on skill alone. It used to be the opposite when I was younger.
It appears Venezuela is putting their money on Argentines to rebuild their NT... first Pekerman was hired to lead the senior team, and now they just announced Coloccini as their new U20 manager. Venezuela did seem to be on the rise not long ago, but then they fell off again. I wonder if this new project will bring fruit in the long term...
I don't see how Venezuela can coach their way into relevance like that but bless them for trying. They need more development, which takes money they probably don't have.
Conmebol as a whole needs to be improved alot. I mean Brazil & Argentina has been unbeaten in the whole campaign and has been the latest two Copa champions aswell. The gap is really widening between those two and the rest in this particular WC cycle. Usually the likes of Uruguay , Paraguay, Colombia tend to be very competitive aswell but not this time.
At one time, Ecuador were also bottom dwellers. Sure; they were not at the level of Venezuela but the joke was Ecuador that a country people forgot that exists. Venezuela has a love for baseball, that’s what they focus on. But football is making some strides. With the expansion of the World Cup, they may get there one day.
I’d say we need to watch out of Switzerland, even though most people will take them lightly . Like Croatia, they have history of upsetting tournament favorites . They beat France last year, beat Spain in their WC 2010 opener, tied Brazil in WC 2018, took strong Argentina side into extra time in 2014. They’re not Nigeria or S.Korea who;d always gave us 3 points. I actually miss Nigeria and the 3 points we always get
Sooooo... it looks like Colombia are after el loco Bielsa Apparently one of the terms he is requesting is that they let him control their entire NT process, including their U20 side. He is also asking for compromise from the federation and that they respect a long-term project. He already revolutionized Chile, I’m interested with what he could do with Colombians NT pool. They’ve always had loads of talent but always underachieved, almost solely because of mismanagement