I haven't followed pro soccer (or football, rather, for the real fans) much in the last few years, much to my regret. My name recognition for the 32 squads is painfully disappointing. But all the more excitement for making the predictions for this, the greatest and most watched tournament on Earth.
So here we go:
Group rounds, in order of group ranking
Group A
1. Mexico
2. France
3. Uruguay
4. South Africa
Group B
1. Argentina
2. Nigeria
3. Greece
4. Korea Republic
Group C
1. England
2. United States
3. Slovenia
4. Algeria
Group D
1. Germany
2. Ghana
3. Serbia
4. Australia
Group E
1. Netherlands
2. Cameroon
3. Denmark
4. Japan
Group F
1. Italy
2. Paraguay
3. Slovakia
4. New Zealand
Group G
1. Brazil
2. Portugal
3. Cote d'Ivoire
4. Korea DPR
Group H
1. Spain
2. Chile
3. Honduras
4. Switzerland
Final Four (in order of finish):
1. Brazil
2. Spain
3. Italy
4. Argentina
You will notice these rankings were relatively conservative; for example, I predict that all the first-seeds in every group will have a first-place finish. I'm actually hoping that this won't be the case this time around. In 2006, this happened for 6 out of 8 groups - a result which indicates that even though these are supposed to be the 32 best teams on earth, traditional powers have become increasingly resilient at holding their place at the world stage. It will be exciting to see which one of the "non-traditional" powers, particularly an African team or Australia, make it far.
South Africa 2010, here we come.
I agree with most of your picks--except for group G. I think CIV will make it out of their group.
ReplyDeleteLet the games begin.
-Fafali
Here are my predictions:
ReplyDeleteGroup:
A: 1. France, 2. Mexico
B: 1. Argentina, 2. Greece
C: 1. England, 2. Slovenia
D: 1. Serbia, 2. Germany
E: 1. Netherlands, 2. Cameroon
F: 1. Slovakia, 2. Paraguay
G: 1. Brazil, 2. Ivory Coast
H: 1. Spain, 2. Switzerland
R16:
France vs Greece--> Greece
Argentina vs Mexico--> Argentina
Serbia vs Slovenia-->Slovenia
England vs Germany-->Germany(last minute goal)
Netherlands vs Paraguay-->Netherlands
Slovakia vs Cameroon-->Slovakia
Brazil vs Switzerland-->Brazil
Spain vs Ivory Coast-->Spain
QF:
Greece vs Germany-->Germany
Argentina vs Slovenia-->Argentina
Netherlands vs Brazil-->Netherlands
Spain vs Slovakia-->Spain
SF:
Germany vs Netherlands-->Netherlands
Argentina vs Spain-->Argentina(Spain could easily go through as well)
Final:
Netherlands vs Argentina-->Netherlands
lol a bit optimistic there, Adi, for your home country. It will be exciting though to see a team like Holland make a breakthrough to the final. It's getting kinda repetitive seeing all the traditional powers go to the final four.
ReplyDelete