What teams would you like to avoid in the group stage of the World Cup? What're the most fearful? easiest? You'll have a seeded team, a non-seeded-euro team, and either an Asian, African or concacaf team. The seeded teams are Brazil, Argentina, Germany, France, England, Italy, Spain (or Holland) and Mexico. So potentially you could have a tough group like Germany, Holland, and Ghana. Or you could have a slightly less challenging group like Mexico, Slovakia (or Switzerland) and Bahrain/Uzbekistan.
I think any group will be tough. but i would be lying if I didn't want Ecuador in a group with atleast one asian team *we can take any of them*, an african team *likewise* and the other doesn't matter, but it would be nice if it was either Italy or Mexico so we can get revenge for last time! haha
It would be ironic if Ecuador was to face Japan, as my girlfriend is Japanese... haha it would toss a wrench in our relationship for those 90 minutes. what am I saying, I almost forgot taht she is almost converted! ahha but in all seriousness, I just hope Ecuador will do well, no matter what teams we have to face. I am proud we got to Germany, and like Kaviedes says,, we got a team that can challenge anyone. Let's just pray that God will take care of our best players and keep everyone healthy and in top form.
teams i wouldn't want to face in the 1st round: brazil - just too damn good germany - as hosts, the refs will be entirely in their favor. i'm not sure how the seeding works, but mexico will probably receive a seed as #1 in concacaf + their fifa ranking is usually high. so an ideal group would be mexico african team euro team ecuador i know that we can take mexico and give them a good game, as they are vastly overrated. as far as the african team, they will have little experience on the big stage, since most of them will be debutants. hopefully we can counter their athleticism with composure. and the euro team will be the toughest in my opinion. a team like netherlands or ukraine would be very tough, but then again no games in the world cup would be easy.
Yes, I would agree to stay out of a group with host Germany and with powerhouse Brazil... I would like to see Ecuador play Mexico and Slovakia... and a team from either Africa or Asia...
I don't think they put south americans in the same group, do they? I don't think it will be possible we will be with Brasil. Mexico, as I mentioned before for revancha, also Italia i know we can take them both! an african team and asian team would make things easier.
in my opinion i would like to avoid Mexico, for some reason we ALWAYS have trouble with them. I would like to play a powerhouse European (Spain, France, Italy), along with an African Team and Asian Team. Hows this sound: Netherlands Japan Ecuador Angola interesting eh:?
yeah, that sounds like a group we can play! i think we would be favouites to get out with Holland if that was the case.
Hardest group: Holland (if seeded). If not, Germany (home team) Holland (if not seeded). If not, Portugal. Ivory Coast Easiest: Spain or England Ireland China
I don't think this would be possible since the the second pot would mainly contain euro teams, so you're missing a second euro team there. The draw is divided into 4 pots: 1. all the 8 aforementioned seeded teams 2. other 8 euro teams 3. one way: 7 teams from concacaf and asia, plus last euro team 4. 5 from africa, plus 3 remaining south american teams (assuming Australia is eliminated by 5th SA. So the 3 possible rivals are: 1. a euro team or mexico (seeded teams pot) 2. a euro team (euro teams pot) 3. an african, asian, or concacaf team
that's right... and someone said china, but china is not even in the WC, from asia, it is Japon, S. Korea, S. Arabia and Iran. I hope we get S. Arabia, or Iran, we would whip their sorry asses so hard they wouldn't want to ever compete in a WC.
haah yeah, if they were here, it would be easy! i think Japan and S. Korea are the top asian teams and the only ones who deserve any respect. it would not be easy, but we can take them. Iran and S. Arabia would be whipping boys for us!
It's not based on who finish first in the qualification round, it's based on a complex formula that takes into account the last 3 world cups and the FIFA coca-cola rankings of the last three years. The teams at the top of this list are Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Mexico, Germany, Italy, England and France. I think Holland is next, so if Spain or France fail to qualify, Holland will have a seed.
concacaf is not done yet, but mexico is currently ahead of the usa with 1 game left to play for both teams. also, as someone already mentioned, the formula for seeding is more complex than just standings, although standings do play a part in it.
not so sure about iran. they have some solid players and a star in karimi. i think s. korea would not be as difficult as them. japan are prob the best.
The old seeding formula, which is what many of us are assuming will be used again this time around, has Mexico comfortably seeded among the top 8. The factors going into the formula are: 50% WC performance in 94, 98, and 02 (weighted 1/6, 2/6, 3/6, respectively) and 50% FIFA world rankings from the last three years. Mexico compares favorably in the World rankings and outperformed the US by a lot in the 98 WC.
Actually, final standings in qualifying do not play a part in the current seeding formula. Only year-end rankings and previous World Cups do.
Pfft ignorant Ecuas. Iran is currently the best team in Asia, the 2-1 loss against Japan in Japan a few months back with our B team was our 1st loss against Asian opposition in over a year, we have a winning record against Every team in Asia, and don't get it twisted, last time we played you it was us who whipped you not the other way around. 12-JAN-00 LOS ANGELES (USA) Iran vs. Ecuador 2:1 (1:0) Friendly 2000 02-JUN-99 EDMONTON (Canada) Ecuador vs. Iran 1:1 (0:0) Friendly 1999 Iran usually has a good time against South American opponents, Brazil Argentina Paraguay Uruguay Chile Venezuela and Bolivia, are some of the teams that have felt the might of Iran and the only team that has beaten us out of SA has been peru of all teams! back in the 78 WC...
ahha i bet you thought we were using our best team... and how long ago was this?? you just lost credibility...
Here's one possible scenario: (assuming the higher ranked countries of Spain, Czech, Turkey, Uruguay, and Trinidad&Tobago win the playoffs) Pot A: Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Italy, England, France, Spain, Mexico Pot B: Holland, Czech, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, Poland, Ukraine, Croatia Pot C: Serbia, Japan, S.Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, USA, Costa Rica, Trinidad Pot D: Tunisia, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Angola, Togo, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay Or: Pot C: Serbia, Japan, S.Korea, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay Pot D: Tunisia, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Angola, Togo, USA, Costa Rica, Trinidad A slightly less challenging group would be: Spain Croatia/Poland Trinidad Any group involving Germany and Holland would be tough.