FIFA World Cup Update
The first round hasn’t finished yet, but I’ve seen enough to make some calls. My picks are what I will consider the first place finishers in the groups.
Group A: Ecuador has played very well. They may not be as aggressive as some of the other teams in the WC, but they have the finesse to make some great plays. It will be interesting to see the game with Germany. I have a feeling Germany is going to get a few yellow cards trying to out muscle Ecuador especially with their height advantage. Of course, Germany could bench their stars to rest them for the next round. Ecuador needs the practice if they plan to take on some of the other powerhouse teams.
Group B: England may have some of the top talent of Europe (ok, it’s debatable) but they’ve been lacking in high scoring against some relatively easy teams. However, this could mean that the other teams rose to the occasion. England is very quick and Beckham’s long passes only make their attack more dangerous.
Group C: Netherlands has a lot of speed on and off the ball. Robben has made a lot of moves down the field generating a lot of scoring opportunities. If he can prevent getting injured while striking deep on offense, he could pose trouble to a lot of teams in later rounds.
Group D: Mexico always performs rather well. They are quick, aggressive and capable of some outstanding ball play.
Group E: The Czech Republic is all about strength on and off the ball. The Czechs are probably more aggressive than the Italians and will probably be a challange for non-European teams that advance. Of course, I may partial to the Czech because of the two goals scored by Tomas Rosicky. Anybody with my first name is good in my book. As always, I think the media has blown the US chances out of proportion. It may be unpatriotic but if you are a betting person, the US is/was a bad choice. Unless a miracle happens, the US will be eliminated by Italy this Saturday.
Group F: Brazil was a slightly unimpressive in their first game but I think they’ll make changes to their line-up to ramp up the scoring. Ronaldo looked slow and heavy. He made no effort to go after the ball and he was often out of camera view for most of the game. Adjustments will be made for the next few games (at least they should).
Group G: I hold out hope that France will come to its senses and bury the other two teams in their group (having tied with the Swiss). Their play was unimpressive and Zidane was ineffective. If I was their coach, I’d switch to a 3-4-3 or the popular 4-4-2 formation to emphasize high goal scoring.
Group H: Spain put on an awesome performance in their first game. This team has a lot of depth in its players and they are capable of generating new plays to throw off their competition. Spain was quick on their feet and capable of making some challenging moves qualifying them as a powerhouse team.
My final comments... if Germany is able to keep it together, they may advance far. However, Brazil is still favored. My pick is Spain, but I think any of the teams I listed above a valid contenders for the title.
Blog-o-nuts
June 15, 2006 9:13 PM
