Here would be my top 3: 1) Brazil- Robinho, Ronaldo, and Ronaldinho will make the best front 3 the WC has ever seen. 2) Germany- You can never underestimate the effect on playing at home. I'm not sure of the young talent that they have but I'm confident they will be good. 3) Argentina- Probably has the most talent at the U-21 level right now. D'Alessandro and Saviola are going to be stars.
I agree with your 3 choices, but would also add France. They've done well in youth competitions, and still have a lot of talent.
1) Holland - a lot of their current players will still be around come 06 and still be in good form, but most importantly the young talent coming out of holland right now is fantastic. 2) Brazil - there really is no need to post why. 3) Argentina - almost the same reason as Brazil. as usual tons of quality players coming from the domestic league. (in response to cosmosRIP) argentina did have tons of young talent going into 02 but most of that group was left off the team. from watching 3 of their recent games i would say minus the big 4 Argentina has the best team in the world when using only their domestic players. 4) Germany - i do not believe 02 germany was that good and i dont think 06 germany will be all that good, but look at what 02 did and then factor in home field. just to make things interesting i would love to see one African team (especially Cameroon) or the US make the final four. however i do think at this point in time an African team has a better chance, but the US has shown how it can improve in a short amount of time.
1) Brazil - The defending champions would be having competitive fixtures in COMEBOL qualifying and the Confederations Cup which the previous champions somewhat lacked. From what I've heard there are plenty of young talents including Diego, Robinho and Adriano... as well as the existing members of a WC winning squad. Perhaps Ronaldo will get in shape by then as well. Firm favourites for me. 2) Argentina - With the amount of quality players both young and experienced, I expect Argentina to bounce back from the dissapointments of 2002. It seems a lot of people here were impressed with D'Alessandro after the USA/Argentina match, I see his name mentioned frequently on the boards recently. 3) Germany - I think Germany will do well as long as its national squad doesn't weaken dramatically. Home advantage obviously helps, but the pressure on the players may be too great. The only up-and-coming player I know of is Deisler, who missed the WC last time round. Other teams such as Spain, the Netherlands and England have enough calibre to win the tournement but have yet to be seen as favourites in my eyes.
England will have the same squad as in 2002 but swap kirkland infor seaman and we'll have wayne rooney up front. Italy should be strong as ever and have some great youngsters, as do Argentina.
It's hard to see anyone past the usual suspects, so... Favorites 75%-100% chance of making the semis Brazil Argentina Italy Germany outside favorites 50%-75% France England Holland Spain possible surprizes 25%-50% Turkey USA Cameroon Portugal Mexico Denmark Thats about all we can say now. A lot rest on the draw (group of death will keep a very good team out of the knockout round-ie Argentina in 2002 -- Also look at German's path to the final-Paraguay, USA, South Korea- none of them world powers) One of these teams may not even make it to Germany(ie Holland 2002 and England-France 1994) My gut tells be we will see a Germany-Brazil rematch in the final. But I would bet my bottom dollar that our winner will come from the above list.
When I see the young talent that Brazil has coming up and who they will still have, it's scarry. I think, despite it being in Germany, it's a no brainer at this point. But many said it was a no brainer that Argentina would be in the final this time.
Yea, but that dosent mean that Argentina wasnt or isnt one of the top three or four teams in the world (I mean in real life not in crazy fifa ranking lands.) Argentina was a cassulty of the draw, no more no less. The same thing will happen at Germany 2006.
Germany may have home advantage but that does not disguise the fact that they are a weak team who are overly reliant on Oliver Kahn. As for Argentina being a casualty of the draw, they were in a tough group but one that you would have expected them to win, it was their own fault they failed, not the draws.
True. But Germany, in my view, is the team to beat in 2006. The host team always over preforms at the WC. I cant think of a WC in recent years where the host hasn't done better than expected. (Korea and Japan both feared going out in the first round, France one the thing, USA beat Columbia and made it out of the first round in forever, Italy made the semies, Mexico has only gotten past the second round in WCs played in Mexico, Spains best WC was in 82.) As for Argentina, yes they have no one to blame but theirselves, but it just proves the point that the draw is a big factor and at least one very good team will not make it out of round one due to the draw. If the ping-pong balls would have put Argentina in Group C instead of Brazil do you really think Argentina would have not advanced?
But a favourite like argentina has got to beat the big teams if they want to win the comp. If you can't beat Sweden then you are doing something wrong.
Yes, I agree, you are 100% correct. For an example of what I am saying lets look at two teams from 2002. Argentina and Germany. Argentina was expected to be one of the best team in the Far East. A favorit to win the thing. They beat Nigeria 1-0, so far so good. Then they lost in the biggest game in the first round to England 1-0 on a pk. Then a 1-1 draw to the Sweds. All respectable preformaces, but none of them were totaly unexpected. But this like that Argentina is one of the biggest let down of the summer. Germany on the other hand was not on the radar before the kick off. But they got an easier draw. Saudia Arabia (crap) Ireland (ok, but not that great) and Cameroon (like Ireland, ok but not great.) So they won their group. In the knock out phase Germany got a very good draw and, opps, they're in the finals with Brazil and overachivers. I say all that to say that you just dont know. The draw is a huge event. I would not fell good about picking a winner until after its known. They are a group of teams that have the ability to win, but which one that will win it all depends on who they have to play and when. BTW, I better example of a team that crapped out is France. They cant look to the draw as an excuse.
id put germany HOLLAND and france as co-favorites germany will be at home and by then lauth and kuranyi will give them a world class strike tandem to match the rest of the squad france has something to prove,no? HOLLAND is close enough to home but not at home, alleviating some pressure - also see france - honestlt tho we all know theyre good for at least the semis brazil and argentina will be players but with the WC in europe... well other than sweden (58?), these two dont fare that well on the continent - of course for brazil, not faring well could mean losing the final
Re: Re: Who are the early favorites in 2006? Come one, we all know "the best ever" never means the best ever. ;-) Ya, I wouldn't call the backstabbin' triangle haired boy that great yet. He's talented and good but to call him one of the best ever? The same goes for the jar-jar look alike, Ronaldihno.
All I can say for now is (upto U23 level): Top 3 Brazil France Argentina Well, things can change dramatically after the Olympics and U20 World Championship.
I believe in history and probability as predictors: Only two WC champs have ever repeated...that's a strike against Brazil. As previously pointed out, only one S.American team has ever won on European soil......double strike on Brazil, and big strike on Argentina. Only two nations have ever become first time champions when not also hosting [Germany '54 in Switzerland, Brazil '58 in Sweden].....big strike against Holland, Spain When played in Europe the host country has made the finals 5/9 times, and won 4/5 finals....bodes well for Germany. Dispassionately, I would place my bet on Germany, with outside money on France and Italy. Personally, I'll be hoping for a first ever Bra - Arg WC final (that would be the joint), but it won't happen.
Look for Germany to do extremely well, even if they don't win. Mazembe, I have to disagree with you on Brasil. I dont think it matters anymore where they play- they're one of the few teams with the discipline to succeed even when the fans are against them (which ain't all that often). A superior team will be Brasil's downfall, not playing in Europe. For example, Brasil beats anyone else in '98, and they'd have lost to France at Maracana. I've expected Holland to win before, but I've been wrong. I won't pick them to win anymore. Semis at best. Spain will choke. Argentina's mentally capable only of the quarters. Anything further will require someone else to screw up. But here's my pick: Italy 2, England 1. The Azzurri will win their fourth W/C.
Auriaprottu, you make a valid point, but in the end you did agree with me by placing two european teams in the final. This despite Brasil's team projected to be better four years from now (at least better prepared that's for sure). Even if you think the "winning in Europe" argument is overblown, I think there is something to the difficulty of repeating as a WC champion. That makes me shy away from placing bets on Brasil. You're right about something else - Spain will disappoint.
Argentina has more young talent than any other country. Players like Aimar, Saviola and D'Alessandro should shine once they get a chance to play significant minutes for the national side. However, Bielsa will continue to make it difficult for Argentina to play well. He seems to prefer old, washed up players (Cannigia, Batistuta, Lopez) to young, promising talent.
Brazil is an obvious choice. Ronaldo is still young, Ronaldinho is great, and the up and coming Robinho will impress. Argentina, if well coached and not over-reliant on older players (a mistake of '02), will be awesome. Riquelme is great, Aimar is great, D'elassandro is great. Crespo will still be a threat. They grow world class players like mushrooms. Holland looks scary, with their current crop, and the amazing young players coming up. They still have to prove they can play as a unit and excel under pressure, though. Germany will be very tough. People posting on this thread are badly underestimating them, talent-wise. The home field advantage is obvious, but Germany actually do have an excellent crop of youngsters and established stars. The established stars are Kahn (goes without saying), Ballack (truely one of the world's best), Frings (talented all-around midfielder), Hamann (one of the world's better defensive mids), and Metzelder (a great, young defender who had an awesome '02 WC). The up and comers are Benjamin Lauth (a young forward of Klinsmann-like talent), Kevin Kuranyi (another super talented forward with South American type skills), Paul Freier (a forward/midfieler who is a dribbling wiz and very creative), Sebastian Kehl (a defensive mid or libero with great talent), Arne Friedrich (a terrific young defender), and Sebastian Deisler, who will emerge as one of the best players in the world if he can stay healthy. Yes, Germany had a mediocre team in '02, but it produced great results with excellent orginization and hard work. The '06 team will be vastly improved talent-wise and if they can have the same level of commitment as the '02 team and take advantage of the home field, they will be very, very tough to beat.
Things to consider for Germany. They are the only team guaranteed to be in the finals. They are hosting the competition. They have not failed to reach the World Cup quarter finals since 1950 (when they did not qualify) I still believe that we would be better off having this discussion in 2005, but anyone who would not consider Germany outright favourites at this point should look at the facts above.