2014 FIFA World Cup: pre-tournament discussion

Saturday December 7th 5 am: World Cup draw live on both Sky Sport 2  and ESPN

Latest on the revolutionary new draw procedure which has even the FIFA Secretary General confused:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/sport/football/9474082/Bafflingly-complex-football-World-Cup-draw

"In such a vast country, there was an early plan to revert to the arrangements once used in World Cups where teams were based in one region instead of travelling all over the country but Brazilian organisers did not want one region to stage all of Brazil's first round games.

As that was not politically expedient, FIFA agreed every team had to travel all over, resulting in the huge distances covered, apart from those in Group H where the venues are relatively close.

The team drawn in position E3 has the unenviable task of playing in the wintry cool of Porto Alegre then the tropical heat of Salvador in its first two group matches....

Each group will consist of one team from each of four pots with Pot 1 featuring the top seeds: Brazil, the host nation, alongside Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland.

The other pots will be based on geographical criteria so that countries from the same confederations are kept apart.

Pot 2 will contain the five African teams, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Algeria, Nigeria and Cameroon, plus the non-seeded South American teams Chile and Ecuador and a European team to be moved out of Pot 4 in a pre-draw.

Pot 3 will feature Japan, Iran, South Korea, Australia, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Honduras while nine European sides, Bosnia, Croatia, England, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia and France, will comprise Pot 4.

Valcke revealed that a pre-draw will be held to move one of the nine European teams into Pot 2 where they would then be drawn against one of the four seeded South American teams to preserve the geographical balance of the draw.

To complicate matters further, the four South American seeds would form a temporary Pot X and the three not drawn against the European team in Pot 2 will return to the main draw...."

This draw simulator is fun:

http://ultra-zone.net/2014-FIFA-World-Cup-Group-Stage-Draws

Here are some of the groups it generated for me:

FFS.

Group A: Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon

Group B: Spain, the Netherlands, Chile, Australia

Group C: Colombia, Greece, Cote d'Ivoire, Japan

Group D: Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy

Group E: Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras

Group F: Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria

Group G: Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA

Group H: Belgium, Algeria, Russia, South Korea

Some early comments from me - think England will go home after the group stage. Australia shouldn't even bother going, at least their players can get a bit of a holiday that way.

Cote d'Ivoire finally have a group in which they should be able to do some damage after playing in groups of death in 2006 and 2010. Think they're the only African side with a good chance to progress to knockout stages.

Chile could make things very difficult for either Spain or the Dutch, one of them could stumble and end up leaving after the group stages as well.

Bosnia will fancy their chances of getting out of that group, and could quite foreseeably end up in the quarters.

As for my lot, playing against the hosts to open the tournament is not ideal, but they'll be under pressure so may be an opportunity there. Having said that, our previous World Cup history against Brazil and Mexico is not good, so I'm not expecting much. We've never played an African team in official competition, so will be interested to see how that goes.  

lol at Australia has to be group of death .even chile has a chance at an upset tho

Also, I was talking to a friend about the favourites for this World Cup a couple of weeks back, and said I thought this could be Argentina's time. The draw has helped them, they're unlikely to get a big team until the quarters (compare with Brazil, who will probably end up playing what could easily be a final match-up in the Round of 16).

group c will be hard to pick who progresses and group h will be hard to pick the second qualifier.

if I was going to pick  first round qualifiers it would be

A : Brazil , Mexico

B : Netherlands , Chile

C : Columbia , Japan

D : England , Italy

E : Switzerland , France

F : Argentina , Bosnia

G : Germany , USA

H : Belgium , Russia

Couple of surprises with Spain not making it on goal difference it and USA making it through ahead of Portugal for me

Also reckon group G will be fun but picking Portugal Germany.
Off to TAB to get some money on Belgium

There is one upside of the draw for the USA. They play Ghana first, so three points against them, and then

maybe snatch a couple of draws, should see them through.

Australia will get pasted.

can't see England , USA or Australia making last 16

Mexico will get pasted.

I think I've settled on Costa Rica as my "shirt to wear" this WC, very angry with you Iceland.

Though an Iranian kit could be the go too.

Wouldn't surprise me if Aus sneaked through the next round by some jammy luck of results going their way. Good for them if they do.

So are the games in Brazil  played at night I guess? What time will be kick off in New Zealand for the games?

4am, 7am, 10am.

Very happy with the draw - got VSTs for Rio.

How did others going fair ?

The teams I hope progress are Brazil/Mexico,  Netherlands/Australia, Greece/Japan, England/Italy, Honduras/Switzerland, Iran/Nigeria,

Germany/USA , Russia/South Korea. Some of those will go through.

About 6 of them will go through. 7 at a stretch.

I think the Sth/central american teams will outperfom the Euro favs.  England not to make it out...Costa Rica to surprise.

>mfw I saw the groups for France and England

Anyone found a good calendar for WC games yet?

I think the states can, they have Ghana first up, get three points on the board, and  then go for a couple of draws.

Ghana beat the US in both 2006 and 2010 World Cups. And I would say this is a weaker US side than either in 2006 and 2010.

Final will be Germany vs Argentina.
Spain and Italy squad is to old. England not good enough to get passed group stage.

Spain vs Holland. Howard Web to be the ref?
My teams to get out of the groups (in no particular order)

My picks. The first lot is who I think will get through, the second who I want to get through.

Group A: Brazil, Mexico (Croatia, Cameroon)

Group B: Spain, Chile (Spain, the Netherlands)

Group C: Colombia, Cote d'Ivoire (Cote d'Ivoire, Japan)

Group D: Uruguay, Italy (Uruguay, Costa Rica)

Group E: France, Ecuador (France, Honduras)

Group F: Argentina, BIH (Argentina, BIH)

Group G: Germany, Portugal (Germany, Ghana)

Group H: Belgium, South Korea (Belgium, Russia)

Who I think will go through, in order:

Group A: Brazil, Mexico 

Group B: Spain, Netherlands

Group C: Colombia, Japan

Group D: Italy, Uruguay

Group E: France, Ecuador 

Group F: Argentina, BIH 

Group G: Germany, Portugal

Group H: Belgium, South Korea 

Group A: Brazil, Croatia

Group B: Netherlands, Chile

Group C: Colombia, Ivory Coast

Group D: Uruguay, England

Group E: France, Switzerland 

Group F: Argentina, BIH 

Group G: Germany, Portugal

Group H: Belgium, Russia 

a bit of a mix between what I think will happen and what I hope will happen 

Came across this from a few weeks ago. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-25134584

oh how England or Holland would want to be in Switerland's spot.

Really? Most folks seem to think this will be the strongest side the USA has ever sent to a WC. 

Assuming they avoid injuries in the lead up, the side will blow away all other US WC teams in terms of quality players available to Klinsmann. 

A bit of worry with the outside back spots, but otherwise, they look solid.  

Interesting view, especially considering the criticism the team and Klinsmann were under not so long ago.

The reality of this team is that the best players are 30 or over (Donovan, Dempsey, Howard, Beasley, Bocanegra, etc), and it's not exactly filled with young talent just waiting to take over.

To me they have a feel of Italy from 2010 (in terms of where the squad is at, not as a direct comparison between the two teams) - a bit too old and jaded to make a serious statement. And given the stiff competition they face in their group, I wouldn't be surprised if they end up with no points out of it all.