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;) Bad start for the USA. Czech team made it to the finals of the European Championship two years ago, and their magnificent line up hasn't changed much since. Their starplayer from Juventus, Nedved, is also back from retirement, and their Coach Bruckner is worldclass. Dutch beat them twice, however, during qualification...:D
Must say that the level of the teams in this World Cup has never been so high. So many competitive teams !! It won't be be a walk in the park for Brazil to get their 6th title, far from it.

No crap lets see how they do in the real football championship.

That was embarassing. Goes to show you that a #4 world ranking means diddly squat when you get it from playing noname teams.

I actually had plans for Germany this year but then life happens. In eight years Garrett will be old enough for world cup fever!

I watched the end with a group of colleagues, one of whom is Czech and one a Spaniard. All of us were embarrassed for the US ream except one. The Czech. She was trying so hard not to gloat I thought she'd bust a vessel in her head!

The Fifa rankings is based on how many games where played. US played more games that other countries, so they ended up with a top 10 ranking. This was definately a bad ranking job as US doesn't really have a star player. They do have some good players, but no stars like other teams. US has a tough game against Italy next... if US loses this game, then they will pack up and leave in the 1st round. Italy is a good team, but I don't think they're on the same level as Czech Republic. I think Italy can win this 2-0 or 2-1.

Kuan... why would you consider Czech Republic as a "no-name" team? They are raked 2nd by Fifa last I checked. Rosicky(the player who scored the 2 goals, with one being a long range bomb) is going to play for Arsenal(English Premiership).


Its a shame not many people in the US care about the World Cup. I think its one of the biggest sporting events after the Summer Olympics. This is the time where you have teams put all what they have on the line to represent their country... and here you have people that could care less about how their players perform.:rolleyes:

I like keeping-up with the hooligan scores, too.

Did I say that? No I didn't. I said the US played noname teams to get to their #4 ranking.

Now where's my Brazil Jersey?

Beating the Azurri will be a VERY hard job: they also have a great team this time around, incl. that phenomenal center forward Toni. Ghana seems possible, but 3rd place means exit.

BTW, World Cup actually ranks above the OS: it's the biggest sports event on the globe.

Ahh... I misread/misunderstood you.

Watch Ronaldinho today... he should as always be entertaining to watch.

Vronsky... whats your oppinion on Ivory Coast? They seem to have a good team and are very fast. I choose them to be one of those upset teams like Senegal was last world cup.

Like other African teams, they lack the total concentration and cunning that makes the top teams win titles. Their physical strength and endurance is awesome, however, and their centre forward Chelsea's Drogba is worldclass. Most players from Africa are all playing with European clubs and are catching up fast on the finesses of the game. In ten years or so, I'm sure some African team will win the title, maybe even already next time in South Africa.

Dutch team plays IC this Friday, the winner is almost qualified for the next round. I'm not worried: we've got Arjan Robben :P

You reckon the USA will rebounce?

Drogba is an amazingly good player. I am not saying they will win the title at all, however a German friend of mine has filled out his bracket and says the final will be between Germany and Ivory Coast.

The Brazil game last night was only entertaining in the 1st half. Its a shame it only ended 1-0 as their were several nice chances for more goals.

Regarding USA, it will be nice to see USA pull off an upset against Italy, but I don't think that will happen. Italy was lucky in the last game since Ghana got screwed twice in the game in which they should have twice had a penalty kick.

Poland-Germany is the match of the day here in Poland. Polish fans are pretty much pissed at how Poland's game went. The game is played in Dortmund, which is a city with many Polish immigrants. If Poland has any will to play on in the WC, they must win this game. It will be very difficult for Poland unfortunately and don't know if they have enough to beat Germany. It would be nice to see the upset occur. Funny how Germany's top players in Klose and Podolski are Polish(and speak Polish amongst themselves) but play for Germany's national team. Poland's biggest minus is speed from what I saw in the last game... as well as poor ball handling.

They need more than Robben, Ruud must play like he's interested, and as Van Persie suggested, they need to play the right side of the field also. 3 strikers won't work unless they are all understood to be a threat. It should be a good one, shame I can't catch it.

Ruud rarely plays well in the national team, and if he doesn't perform against IC, I expect he'll loses his place to Dirk Kuyt who was the one of the driving forces during qualification. And then there's the talented Rafael van der Vaart ready to return aswell. Anyway, the match against IC will tell what this new squad is really capable of. If they win, they might reach far.

Wait . . . I knew there was a pretty good women's team . . . are you saying there's a men's team too? :D