Predictions for the Cup

here are my predictions for all the stages... I will list the top two teams of each group and then Ill list the winners of each knock out game:

Group A: Germany, Poland (Poland could lose out especially after their 2-1 defeat against COL)
Group B: Sweden, England (Calling ENG being 2nd for a while, especially without defined strike force)
Group C: Argentina, Ivory Coast ( 2nd place special, Dutch dont handle Serbia right and lose out)
Group D: Portugal, Mexico (Simple enough, could come down to goal differential)
Group E: Czech, USA (Italian Scandal gets the USA into the 2nd round)
Group F: Brazil, Croatia (Socceroos make surprise run at Croats, naw)
Group G: France, South Korea (South Korea continues their run and puts away the Swiss)
Group H: Ukraine, Spain (the first match up in the group decides the winner)

ROUND OF 16
Match 49: Germany v England = England (proves GER has only one good player and an Ok keeper)
Match 50: Argentina v Mexico = Argentina
Match 51: Sweden v Poland = Swedes
Match 52: Portugal v Ivory Coast = Portugal
Match 53: Czech v Croatia = Czechs
Match 54: France v Spain = France (Match up of the 2nd round, ZZ shows why he was the greatest)
Match 55: Brazil v USA = Brazil (Yanks glory ends, although could be greatest upset of all time, Brazil treads all over this)
Match 56: Ukraine v South Korea (Sheva shows why he will be a great Chelsea striker)

ROUND OF 8
Match 57: England v Argentina = England (although the England Economy crashes for a day, ENG's backline holds up to the test and Owen scores the winner with Rooney coming on as a sub)
Match 58: Sweden v Portugal = Portugal (Shows why the Euro 2004 finalists should have won)
Match 59: Czech v France = Czech (Henry finds out he has no real support)
Match 60: Brazil v Ukraine = Brazil (No one can stop them)

SEMI-FINALS
Match 61: England v Portugal = England (takes back Euro 2004)
Match 62: Brazil v Czech = Brazil (Koller and Baros are no match up v Ronaldo and Adriano)

3rd PLACE GAME
Portugal v Czech = Czech (Show why they deserve high ranking by FIFA

Final
Brazil v England = Brazil (Rooney scores but so does the Barca Champ on a set peice, great game plays out in Brazil's beautiful game style, plus someone on England gets a red card)

Tell me where I went wrong...

What does SI know?!? (Not much)

Sports Illustrated's cover story is on the World Cup, featuring Beasley, Convey, Donovan, and Gooch on the cover. That's the good news.

But in the issue, staff writer Mark Bechtel offers his predictions on who will don the Golden Boot, given to the tournament's top scorer. He predicts the honor will go to one of the following: Milan Baros of the Czech Republic, Brazil's Ronaldo, France's Thierry Henry, Italy's Luca Toni, or Portugal's Pauleta.

Note that two of his predictions play for teams in the USA group. So let's think this through. Does Bechtel think the US will make it out of group stage? Apparently not! How else could either Baros or Toni win the golden boot unless they play beyond the second week. Great! Well, I suppose the one bright spot in all this is that Bechtel's prediction will be as bankable as some of their others over the years.

Ronaldo

The Washington Post reported today that Ronaldo is considering playing in the US -- not right away, mind you, but later on. Evidently, NY Red Bulls already offered him a contract, but he declined, citing current Real Madrid obligations. I just hope he doesn't wait too long. At 29, he doesn't have a lot of years left and he's been prone to injury. It would be nice to have him and David Beckham in the US at the same time and in condition to play solid soccer. My concern is that if he were to come over, the hype would be considerable and anything short of all-star performance would be seen as failure for both him and MLS.

USA will make us all proud

I just heard Nick and Steven on Sirius Radio talking about the World Cup and it made me crazy. They go out of their way to disrespect the USA's chances while at the same time touting England to go a long way. Heck, I think it will be tough to get out of the group but it would be a tough group for almost anyone in this tournament to survive. All of the negative focus on the Morocco result is absure- yes we didn't play well but THE GAME DIDN'T COUNT. England (the B team for sure) lost to Belarus for God's sake.

So long as we put forth a good effort I will be proud of our guys. Let's just not give in to nattering nabobs of negativism.

Thanks Ref!

I've been invited to join this community as a poster and I thank the Ref for this vote of confidence.

Just a short post to start. I've watched a tape of the US/Latvia game and my initial thoughts: great first half (marred only by scoring a single goal); a mediocre second half, with Latvia missing a couple of clear chances midway through (one player had about 7 yards of open net from maybe 8 yards and he shot it wide); and Convey either played his way onto the starting 11 or he's the first sub off the bench. He clearly showed that he's fit and fast and his crossing was top notch. Sometimes his first touch is less than accurate and that could be a problem. But if the choice is between him and O'Brien, then it's got to be Convey. O'Brien has experience, and he played well in 2002. But his injuries and layoff clearly showed in this game. (I also think Convey is a stronger and faster presence than Beasley on the left side, though I think Arena needs Beasley on the field with Donovan. A couple more weeks of practice and the two of them could be teaming up like they have in the past.)

Less than two weeks before the Cup opens. This is going to be great!!!

Away To Germany We Go

The good ol' yanks are getting ready to go overseas. With a loss to MAR(0-1), wins against VEN (2-0) and Latvia (1-0), Mr. Arena has plenty of calculating to do.

As I said I would do before, here is my starting eleven...

GK: Kasey Keller. He will outshine Cech in the opening game and he needs to continue his outstanding level of international play.

Defenders left to right: Lewis Gooch Pope Cherundolo
Comments on defenders: Pope scares me, he is smart and that will be needed but will he be able to last 90 minutes against someone like milan baros? If Gibbs had not gotten injuried then this would have been his spot. Cherundolo is also going to have the right to go up on the wing because Beasley will cut in.

Mids: Convey (L), Donovan (TOP), Beasley (Right, with freedom to move central), Pablo and Reyna in the back, controling the play and covering for the forward adventures.

Forwards: McBride. Fulham smarts and ability in the air will be key.

Overall thoughts:
Obviously the Mids are where the trouble lies. With the showings of Convey in the the warm up matches its hard to reason why you wouldnt give him a starting slot. The only other reason I could see is if you throw Eddie Johnson up top and put Beasley back on the left.

The first subs off the bench: Johnson/Wolff (Help us Lord if Wolff gets any playing time) or Ching could get the nod if the defenders have been rough, Dempsey (Convey if he isnt in the starting lineup) O'brien for some smarts not goals if needed (a long term sub if needed in the 20th minute), Bocanegra in the back, Howard in Goal (although I would have liked to see Hahnemann get some time against VEN).

Now your thoughts?

No need to worry... I think

Sorry for the time away...  2 weeks and counting...

    So now time for some talk about the USA.  My first reaction after the MAR game was disgust (1-nil loss).  I had trouble sleeping, no lie, and worried about the next game, today against VEN.  Today's game marred by yellow cards and the suspected foul play by a team that has never qualified led to the dismissal of an American.  But overall I can breathe a little bit again.  We are not in the clear however with only a 2-nil win and VEN having some scary counter-attacks.  However, this is the way the USA will have to play, when we have the ball forward, everyone has to be forward. 
    Convey led the way once again, improving his case to be a starter.  In the game against MAR, only when Convey came in for the 2nd half did the USA seem to pick up their play. In a few days I will do a profile on Ghana and USA (dream lineup for USA included).  Josh Wolff once again showed why he has no right to be on the National team, had no impact on the game and the one time he was in on goal after some great touches he squandered his chance.  Eddie Johnson showed moments of brillance and he will be a force in any role he plays.  And as highlighted at halftime by the lovely ESPN 2 crew, Gooch was solid in the back.  The only thing that worries me about Gooch is that any time he gains control of the ball in the back is that he kicks it out right away.  Dempsey showed that things were "Goin' Down"(Click on video to see Clint Dempsey's celebration - Announcer said it was rock-n-roll if only he knew) after his goal in the second half.  Great run by Johnson and header by Dempsey, with the original pass by Donovan (give him some credit although the pass was strong, and only Johnson would ever be able to catch up to that pass). 
    At this point I am scared for Beasley to be playing in any more warm up games.  I also wish Hahnemann got the start or some PT.  Howard had an incredible save and his distribution looked great.  A few too many throws out of the back but then again that was the pace of the game.
    Overall I was happy with the performance, especially coming from most of the subs.  Lewis coming on as a sub showed that our defence has the potential of holding the line, if they are on the same page.  Looking foward to Latvia and Sunday in Chicago.

Italy

I was told to write about Italy...so I will. As a loyal AS Roma fan, I have been paying close attention to the recovery of il capitano, the one and only Francesco Totti. Although even if he does start in the World Cup, Italy may have more issues to worry about. With 19 days to go the Italian nation and Italian football is still rocked by the corruption controversy. What's more, certain players such as starting goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon could be implicated. The big question then remains: how will all this controversy affect the team and the players?

The Italians had a poor performance in Portugal 2004 and were famously knocked out by South Korea in very controversial circumstances. It seems that everything related to football in Italy is shrouded in controversy. However, I predict Italy to do very well in this summer's tounament. They will beat us and Ghana, draw with the Czech Republic and finish in the group. Their round of 16 game will likely be against Croatia or Australia leading to a quarterfinal, mouthwatering match up with host nation Germany. I do not see Italy lifting the famed Jules Rimet trophy this summer, but they will get close, to either the quarter or semifinal. I think a final place would be a bit too much for this squad.

Predicted 11-

Buffon
Zaccardo Nesta Cannavaro Zambrotta
Camoranesi Pirlo De Rossi
Totti
Toni Del Piero

Our Group... the group of death's cousin

Between Italy, Czechs and of course Ghana, not many people are giving the United States a chance.  Hell I have my doubts.

    Coming up we will look in depth at the other teams in our group and then of course the other groups.  First off we will look at the Czechs.  They are our first opponents and for any chance to move on, just to face Brazil, the United States needs a point from either the Czechs or Italians and a crushing performance against Ghana.  First to present is the Coach of the 2nd ranked team in the world (eh FIFA rankings suck but who knows), Karel Bruckner.  This is Karel's first World Cup after taking control of the team after the Czechs failed to qualify for the 2002 World Cup.
    Most deadly about this team is their attack.  They have 6'7" forward Jan Koller just coming back into action after an injury spell.  To offset the height they have the pace with Milan Baros.  He was under-rated at Liverpool in my opinion and Rafa could have used him some more, but Villa is not complaining.  Althought I know more than one person who says Baros focuses more on his hair than his play, some might even question his heart.  In the midfield is the surprising Nedved, who at 33 had retired of the national team only to come back for the World Cup. In goal they have Chelsea number one Petr Cech, one of the best in the game currently. 
    What to US needs to do?  Other than pray?  With Gooch in the back marking with Koller, we need to push the counter attack with Dempsey and Beasley on the wings.  This game is the game we settle for the tie, we can not push too hard and we hope that Italy ties with Ghana (Italy usually starts off slow in tournaments, maybe their press will be too harsh on them like usual - one bonus the US has unless you count the Sports Illustrated Curse).  Just looking forward to the surprise first game like we had against Portugal in 2002.

A Day Late...

With the US Mens National Team being named there was little room to be disappointed. We have a mountain to climb in our group and Bruce Arena is leading the team of what the rest of the world would call sherpas. Title a day late because this post is a day late but also for Chris Albright was named to the team after Frankie H. was found with a torn ACL (he had played through it for 3 days before noticing pain, and they say soccer players are wimps).
Here is the list:
The Keepers as expected: Marcus Hahnemann, Tim Howard, and Kasey Keller*
Defenders: Bocanegra*, Cherundolo*, Conrad, Gibbs, Albright (for Hejduk), Lewis*, Onyewu*, Pope
Mids: Beasley*, Convey, Dempsey*, Donovan*, Mastroeni*, O'Brien, Olsen, Reyna*
Forwards: Ching, Johnson, McBride*, Wolff
* My choice for starters

I did not choose Pope as a starter because I dont think he will be able to go for 90 minutes against the Czechs or Italians. Another concern is that Ching got the pick over Twellman the MVP from the MLS last season. From what I am reading there was a concern for Twellman's size on the international level. If you ask what about small Bobby Convey? The reply is that Bobby will provide speed down the wing and will be taking the corner kicks rather than trying to be on the other end and get em in the goal, Ching can bring some ability in the air. I have put my full faith behind Arena, I wonder who would ever be able to fill his shoes?

Getting Nervous

As the moment comes closer (ESPN at 6pm EST) I am getting more and more nervous. Looking back I see that I didnt even choose Dempsey to make the team. What if Arena takes Albright over anyone? US Soccer has a list of 14 newspapers that have selected people, here it is. Less than 38 days until the fun begins. Any thoughts?

God Bless the Queen

A hell of a week in England. Liverpool goes to the FA Cup final with a win over Chelsea. Arsenal heading to the Champions League Final. Chelsea take the PREM with a crushing win over Man U. Of course with the good comes the bad - Rooney's injury. Out 6 weeks from the day he was injured would be the day of England's first game in the World Cup. For Englands Group I have always been saying that it will end up Sweden, England, Paraguay, T&T... Any other ideas? Tottenham have now locked up 4th place so the only way Arsenal will have Champions League in their new stadium is if they win the final. I dont see them doing that at all over Barca. Henry will want a good paycheck from his next employers no? Boro also had another amazing win after being down 3-0 goals, two of em being away goals and came back to win with 4 goals in less than an hour. So maybe there is some urgency in the game after all. Barca over Arsenal
West Ham over LFC
England switching to a 4-5-1?

Champions League Me

Good stuff coming up... Barca v Milan, any takers? Ronaldinho's boys up 1-nil (that goal being an away goal) and coming home to Nou Camp. Should be an amazing game but first up is Arsenal at Villarreal. Real need a goal and maybe another squirrel to run on the pitch. Arsenal will of course come out a blazing with new strength after their Spurs tie. New Liverpool era rule - You take your leagues last Champions League spot if you win the cup. So Arsenal, if Spurs dont win, need to win it all or they wont be playing Champions League in their nice new Fly Pirates Stadium. How sweet would it be for the gunners to take what they think the spurs stole.
Thoughts and predictions?
Are we going to see extra time?
Arsenal @ Villarreal on ESPN 2 at 2:30 estern time...

Who do you want to see in the Paris Final?

Urgency...

The game has lost it's pace. What got my attention a few years ago has steadily gone down hill. The English Game is supposed to be fast paced, hectic, and heart-stopping. The complaints at the start of the season included the fight about managers playing for the draw. I don't believe that is the case anymore yet, I still question some teams. One being Chelsea. Chelsea came out at the start of the year with a 1-Nil win over freshly promoted Wigan. They barely escaped in that game with Crespo scoring as the clock reached full time. I saw the same Chelsea on the pitch against Liverpool in the FA Cup Semifinal. "The Special One" should take some blame, he left the pace off the field to begin with - used Robben, Cole, and Duff as his three subs! Of course Chelsea have no chance of a double this year now, but there is always next year at Wembley. Liverpool is thinking other wise, taking two semifinals against Chelsea, one being the FA Cup and the other Champions League, yet in 8 other games it was Chelsea with the victory.

Benitez and Mourinho (4thegame.com)

On the other hand of the spectrum was Tottenham @ Arsenal. It was a hell of a game. Many questions to be asked of both sides. Arsene should have had one of the big three in the game to start, my suggestion Fabregas. Tottenham scored on a play that should be discussed. Two Gunners ran into each other after going for a tackle against Carrick. The Spur saw the players go down and went to the touchline. After what I saw as both players moving to get up, Spurs went towards goal. Then eventually scored and the physio was sent for the injured players, one had already gotten up. So two problems with this situation, one being I hate it when an opposing player goes down to fake an injury to stop play, second being I don't think Tottenham was wrong(Arsenal Disagrees). Of course all this would have been prevented if Henry had started the game and not come on as a sub. A little bonus, if you look below you will see the two goal scorers....

What a Saturday

Posting this after the Battle at 'Bury if you are going to watch the replay of the game don't click HERE for the Game Report. The FA Cup Semifinal of Chelsea v 'Pool is on the way. With a spot for Cardiff on the line, with Chelsea going for the double, and just the plain old contempt each team has for each other it is going to be a match. Boro play West Ham tomorrow, so the question is: Is this the true FA Cup Final? More about a great Saturday tomorrow...

The Last Battle at Highbury...

With only Wigan Athletic being the next home fixture. The Spurs walking into Highbury with the last Champions League spot on the line, it will be a fixture to remember. Of course this North London Derby will be a game to watch. With Henry stating, "We're ready for war," and Ireland Skipper Keane saying its the biggest of his Spurs career, only a classic is waiting for us. Predictions or Post Game thoughts Welcome...

Ballack, Chelsea, USA

With the upcoming contract signing of German Captain Michael Ballack (Sign on the dotted line) to the soon to be English Premiership Champions, who have just agreed to a tour in the USA does any MLS all star team have a chance? OK maybe a better question, Schvenko and Ballack coming to Chelsea, who else should the get their hands on that would be available? Also with "The Special One" saying that there will be three out and three in for Chelsea, who is going to be leaving? Drogba, SWP, and one of those porto defenders maybe?

Getting Under Way

With 12 days to go until the US National team is being named, anyone got suggestions?
Going with the 23 Man Format who do you got?
3 Keepers: Howard, Hahnemann, Keller
7 Defenders: Hejduk, Cherundolo, Bocanegra, Oguchi, Pope, Gibbs, Berhalter
9 Midfielders: Donovan, Convey, Beasley, Lewis, Mastroeni, Reyna, Olsen, Albright
4 Fowards: E. Johnson, B. McBride, Twellman, Wolff

After those last few tune ups Olsen deserves a spot. Should it be Wolff over Rolfe? Albright was getting his head on balls against JAM, or should Dempsey have that slot? Hell, should Cobi be on the team? Did I blow it? Let me know...

US Soccer Player Pool

Welcome

Aight, so welcome to 22 and You. For all those who talk non stop about the world's game. Whether you can't stand the diving thats destorying the beautiful game or you want to talk about the latest move made by Ronaldhino. With more to come stay tuned! And Please, any suggestions on what you would like to hear or any certain topic you would like to discussion let me know!
- The Ref