What Two Teams Will Make It Out?

Mexico, Germany.

 

to me this looks a fairly straightforward group

Germany, Mexico

Pretty much the 2 most consistent teams for making the knockout rounds

South Korea is in poor form, and Sweden will be exposed for being an average team.

 

I got my money on Germany and Mexico.. then Mexico loses to Brazil next round and continues the tradition to never making it to the Quarter finals.

 

is it possible if Germany starts all Dortmund defence? Son Heungmin will really appreciate it. Thanks.

 

As a Mexican, I must say that we got as tough a group as we could have gotten, but we should still make it out in second place. Our offense will exploit the liberties that Sweden's defense likes to afford their opponents and our team likes to keep the ball in our opponent's half. That should kill any momentum Sweden hopes to build. Our problem is that if Sweden can break our play in midfield, they have enough talent to expose our weaknesses. It should be a fun group to watch.

 

I believe Mexico needs to get out of the first game without a bad loss. If Mexico loses it will be devastating on the psyche and the media and fans will be on Osorio with pitch forrks and torches.
Conversely, if Mexico somehow gets a positive result or loses a very close match then I can see the opposite and people believing they can advance.

The last match being Sweden and Mexico is crucial because those are the two I think will battle it out for second place. Both teams will be battered physically and if it comes down to a physical battle the Swedes will win. If Mexico can somehow make it more a game of skill and finese then they have a chance.

Push comes to shove I say Germany and Sweden advance.

 

I feel fairly confident that Sweden makes it out of this group.I'm not as happy as the Swedish studio post-draw was but still......Germany claims 1st place and Sweden claims 2nd.

 

Mexico will be third at best. Sweden cruise through their defense line with ease. Germany will be first and second spot will be a tough battle between Sweden and South Korea.

 

Sweden will qualify they will either beat or (mostly) tie Germany, while both Mexico and South Korea will lost those points against the Germans. I think in such close group a point will mark the difference between Korea Sweden and Mexico
since 94 Germany have this tendency to loose or tie their 2nd game
2014
Germany 2 Ghana 2
2010
Germany 0 Serbia 1
2006
was an exception because they scored at min 90 the 1-0 victory over Poland
2002
Germany 1 Ireland 1
1998
Germany 2 Yugoslavia 2
1994
Germany 1 Spain 1

 

If GERMANY is half as good as everyone (not only in this forum, but in every forum and sportsnews outhere, and i read a lot of those) say they are, then just give them the cup already.

Im so bored about Germany dominance, im bored that fans of other teams worry about how many goals Germany will score against them. Nobody ever QUESTIONS them or their obvious superiority. I know Germany is a BIG FORCE in soccer, one of the greatest, and the current champions, but give it up already. EVERY OTHER big force and soccer superpower is questioned, and can possibly lose any game if they dont step up, EXCEPT germany


If they are that much better than every team, just give them the cup already!!! Lets stop playing WCs and give them to germany


Or lets stop overrating them. They werent better, or at least they were barely better (though anyone who saw that match would say it was even) than Argentina in last WC (scored in the 110th minute). They cant be THAT great

Lets humanize germany please, they are not robots and can lose, just like every other team

 

I see Germany & Mexico advancing.

Sweden is tall and physical but their offense don't scare me at all. They needed a playoff to qualify into the WC. They barely scrapped against a dysfunctional Italy (1-0 aggregate) and beat a poor Netherland side.

South Korea is not in good form (their qualifying campaign wasn't impressive either) and other than Son Heung-min and the couple of players from the German league, I don't think they have enough quality to beat both Sweden and Mexico for the 2nd position.

Mexico are leaders in their qualifying campaign and are in very good form.

Mexico has beaten better teams than Sweden and South Korea in the past World Cups. This is a better Mexico team than 2014 -- which who destroyed Croatia, defeated Cameroon, tied Brazil in Brazil and took Netherlands to the brink.

 

LOL we were no better than Slovenia under coach Ventura.

They didn't even beat that poor Netherlands side. They just went through over a better goal difference.

 

Germany first and Mexico second.

 

As a Swede, I love the (over) confidence on display here from Mexico fans. Keep it up, lots of future quote material. Yes we are lacking big stars, but the coach is building a real team machine.

It will be tough, that last group game vs Mexico will be a nail biter. But I see Germany and Sweden moving on.

Wouldn’t it be amusing if Korea surprised us all and grabbed the 2nd spot? Amusing and sad. LOL.

 

You are right.

Netherlands beat Sweden 2-0 in the last match date and Sweden still went through via GD.

 

I wouldn't say it is over confidence by the Mexican fans. This Mexico team is better than the 2014 version. And that 2014 WC version was pretty good.

If anything, why do you think Sweden will advance over Mexico? Sweden haven't qualified to the WC since 2006 and barely got in this time around via playoff. I don't want to bash Sweden. But the top-2 teams in this group are Germany and Mexico until proven otherwise.

 

If Mexico was located in Europe they wouldn't make it to world cup most of the time either. Mexican fans are over confident because of their dominant over Concacaf which is basically Mexico, USA and bunch of small islanders and small central american countries. Mexico always choke on WC. They don't have the mental capacity to play against tough teams. I can see Sweden edge them with a little effort. If South Korean have turned to old intimidating team after they changed their German manager. Under new manager they started to pick up forms and team is clicking. They just defeated Colombia 2-1 and draw with Serbia. If they keep this form, they can make headache for both Sweden and Germany.

 

"If's"

I don't deal with hypotheticals

Mexico is considered, historically, a consistent a top-15 team in the world for the past 30 years according to ELO. They always have been a strong 2nd tier team that give the elite teams in the world their run for their money. They may not qualify as much to the WC if they are located in Europe but don't undersell them either. Outside the best teams in Europe, Mexico has a positive record against every other UEFA team.

You are obviously biased against Mexico given your post history.

 

Que, I don't think so. They are probably about the same.

 

Hirving Lozano & Jesus 'Tecatito' Corona are by far better offensive players than anyone in the 2014 Mexico team.

The only thing that 2014 Mexico team maybe better at is their defensive cohesion and their ability to play as one unit. While the 2018 Mexico team is lacking a true defensive midfield and their defense is suspect against counters. But other than that, everything else is upgraded or remained the same.

Even if you argue that they are the same level, I think that's still good enough to advance to the second round for this group and give Brazil (R16 opponent) something to think about, imo.

 

Sweden, Mexico and South Korea are the kind of teams that I'd generally root for if they weren't playing against Germany. Gritty sides coupled with good amount of talent.

Mexico are a fun side to watch. Probably the joga bonitaest of the sides in the Americas today.
I've a soft corner for Mexico anyways. Went there for my honeymoon and absolutely loved the place. Saw a lot of kids (even grown ups for that matter) wearing Chicarito jerseys. He isn't that good. The hype/cult following that he has is crazy. IMHO, Luis Hernandez was a much better player.

 

You were picking on Sweden not qualifying for WC since 2006 and I pointed to the matter. Move Mexico to Europe and you won't qualify for every WC, simple as that. What if are you dealing with?

S.Korea has been in slums for past 4 years despite having high quality players in Europe, they fired their German coach a couple months ago and team is showing promising quality now. I am sure they will surprise everyone next summer.

I give you that Lozano is a beast. This kid is a great talent and can help you out next summer.

 

Yeah but you pretty much just described them around the same level. Dos Santos and Hernandez were decent by the way. But yeah better attack, but defense weaker and maybe don't play as much as a unit. The defense is what really helped them last World Cup to tell you the truth. I think its safe to say all in all pretty much the same.

 

I'm not picking on Sweden, I'm picking on your argument that Sweden will edge Mexico "with little effort" lmao Not even the Sweden fans will say that.

South Korea fans are $hitting their pants when they saw the draw. Even their manager had an uncomfortable face when the camera zoomed into him as the South Korea was drawn into the group lol I trust their feelings and opinions over yours.

Like I said before, I see Germany and Mexico as favorites to advance until proven otherwise.