So we, England that is, have drawn a tough group: italy, uruguay and costa rica. Looks like we may get to see bryan ruiz on the international scene. We will have to play very well to come out of the group, but if you want to win the world cup you to have to able to take on all comers I guess. Spain vs holland look set to be the game of the draw.
It's a bit of a cliché, but there aren't any easy draws at a WC. Everyone's going to be up for it and everyone will want to make an impression. If we bring the right mix of youth and experience we might do ok. By that I mean lots of youngsters and less players like Milner.
Just a reminder of the others in the Fulham squad involved. Gives us quite a spread of interest across the Groups. Group E seeds Switzerland, whose squad could include Philippe Senderos and Pajtim Kasami, face a tough challenge against a nation they share a border with; 1998 World Cup winners France. The Whites duo are also scheduled to play against a pair of Latin American nations, Ecuador and Honduras, in another group which could prove to be wide open. Iran face an almighty challenge to advance from Group F, where Ashkan Dejagah and company will be tasked with encountering two-times World Cup winners Argentina. The Iranians' tricky group is completed by 2010 Africa Cup of Nations champions Nigeria and Brazil 2014's only first-time qualifiers, Bosnia-Herzegovina. Goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, who made his return to the Netherlands squad in the last round of international friendlies, faces a repeat of the dramatic 2010 World Cup Final in Johannesburg. Andres Iniesta struck an extra-time winner past Stekelenburg to write Spain into the history books, and the 2010 World Cup finalists will be joined in Group B by Chile and Australia this time around. Group C provides an interesting showdown for Giorgos Karagounis, whose Greece team were drawn in an unpredictable pool with Ivory Coast, Japan and Colombia, for whom Whites striker Hugo Rodallega has collected 43 international caps.
As a Yank, I'd like to say that the only difference between the World Cup and March Madness (the annual college/university basketball tournament that captivates our nation) is that in the World Cup it's not one and done, it's three. Best of luck to England.
Been to Manaus - Humid: 95%; Hot 95F. Italy may be a warmer country than England, but that's marginal in comparison with this humid part of Brazil, so it's the same for both teams. Those few fans who make the journey are certainly in for something different. It really is a city of 1-2 million in the middle of the jungle, including Parrots and everying else in the hotel gardens, with Caymans, monkeys etc not far away. The Amazon is still very wide despite being so far from the ocean - Nearby is the sureal meeting with the River Negro which runs side by side for a while before eventually mixing. Oh, and freshwater dolphins jumping around. Love to go back, but no chance!
Scope then for Roy to continue his analogies and take a leaf out of Rene's book even. Seriously, sounds terrific GS. But maybe not for a football match. Will moving the England game forward 3 hours (to 11pm our time) be a help or a hinderance?
You think England have a tough group? Try Germany, Portugal and Ghana - the USA group! To me, the "group of death" is B, Spain, Netherlands, Chile and Australia. The next worse group is the group the USA is in, group G. The easiest groups looks like E and H.
It shows how good the World Cup is when ........ A). A group of Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA is not the group of death! B) the following fixtures are all in the first four days and on paper could easily be the quarter finals..... Brazil v Croatia - Spain v Holland - Germany v Portugal and Italy v England I have just booked three weeks paternity leave starting 12th June lol Wonder how long it will take my boss to realise this is the start of the World Cup and is actually three weeks after the expected date.
Nicely done! I'm guessing the late night kick-offs won't bother you as you're likely to be up all hours anyway. Hope it all goes well, Cookie.
Cheers Captain.... another edition to the Fulham family, The wife has banned buying any baby stuff as she says it's to early (It's our first) but I have secretly already got a Fulham baby grow!! I would like to make a point that the baby section on our online shop is rubbish.... A few years back a Reading fan at work had a baby and I was in charge of the present there shop was a 100% better than hours.
Uruguay look very strong up top and I can see Suarez running rings around the defence. Italy will be a big challenge and Costa Rica is a bit of an unknown - for me anyway. I think that for Roy to get them out the group he will have to play his trusted system so reviled by Gary Lineker and the English press. Despite continuously lamenting the state of the English game the media never seem to recognise the effectiveness of a rigid defensive system, particularly in compensating for a lack of quality. England have several good to very good players but possession and mentality the two biggest issues. Against Uruguay it's the best way of containing the attack. They look like a team that can score at will but aren't so solid defensively - they finished below Chile in the qualifying table but managed to beat Argentina at home. If England can keep the midfield and defence solid and just play two or three attacking minded players they could get a 1-0. What we don't want is an open free for all because Uruguay can outscore England, no doubt. Against Italy you have to be tactically strong and solid and try to match them at their own game. Pirlo is the one to get at so it needs someone with legs who is disciplined - Milner might get the nod there and play a man marking role- Phil Jones the other alternative. I'm sure the schizophrenic media coverage will continue up to and during the world cup with Roy getting stick from most sides.
He is: Milan (3 December 2013): Juventus veteran Andrea Pirlo faces missing the rest of 2013 and perhaps the start of next year after the Serie A leaders confirmed on Monday he has suffered knee ligament damage. Coach Antonio Conte admitted to fears over Pirlo on Sunday after the experienced midfielder hobbled off 15 minutes into a 1-0 win over Udinese in Turin. Pirlo left the pitch for treatment and, despite returning to the pitch to play on, pain got the better of the Italy international. A Juventus statement said: “After departing yesterday’s Juventus v Udinese match early in the first half, Andrea Pirlo underwent medical tests this afternoon, which revealed second-grade damage to the medial collateral ligament of his right knee.” MOTD2 showed him at the Arsenal game on Sunday and I read (or heard) somewhere that he might even be considering retirement. I mentioned in another thread that he came on in the Italy v Nigeria match at the Cottage recently - he was quite simply in a class of his own. He will be a huge loss to Italy.
