2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

Reus is a better player than Lewandowski. Not a slap on Lewa because he's a world class striker but Reus is one of the best talents in European football currently. A very underrated one, too.
 
Brazil & World Cup: I have lots of memories when I think of these words. They often have to do with great Brazilian players or with the World Cup duels my own country had with these guys.

World Cup 1974:
Netherlands - Brazil: 2-0
1-0: Neeskens '50; 2-0: Cruijff '65

World Cup 1994:
Brazil - Netherlands: 3-2
1-0: Romario '52; 2-0: Bebeto '62; 2-1: Bergkamp '64; 2-2: Winter '75; 3-2: Branco '80

World Cup 1998:
Brazil - Netherlands: 1-0
1-0: Ronaldo '46; 1-1: Kluivert '87 Brazil wins after penalties.

World Cup 2010:
Netherlands - Brazil: 2-1
0-1: Robinho '10; 1-1: Sneijder '53; 2-1: Sneijder '68


However, today I thought of someone else. Franco Baresi. I've never been that fond of Italy but this guy impressed me so much. Baresi was truly a legend.

For everyone who missed this guy, or just wants to refresh their memories, or loves to dive into the past: check this out, behold and remember:

At 34 years of age, Franco Baresi's dream of winning the World Cup as captain lay in tatters as he limped off the field against Norway in the first round with a knee-injury. Surgery was needed. The Milan-legend made a remarkable recovery and was declared fit on the day of the Final. Coach Arrigo Sacchi did not hesitate but added his captain to the starting line-up against the mighty Brazil with Romario/Bebeto up front. Baresi responded with one of the finest World Cup performances by a defender ever. He did everything right.

(He did not everything right because he missed a penalty at the end, but as a defender, he was outstanding)

I really like this YouTube comment:
Talk about God-like defending. The man is playing with an injury on a superhot pitch, against the best team in the world, reading every ball, breaking down every Brazil attack, jumping in the way of every cross, covering every blade of grass at the back, in midfield and on the attack. A loyal, one club, one country man, Franco Baresi is the best defender there ever was.
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The Flash said:
I actually expect England to get knocked out in the group stage.
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That actually wouldn't surprise me at all either. This is the first time that I can recall since I first started watching the World Cup where there is no expectations over here for England to possibly win the tournament. It'll be interesting to see how they perform when there is less pressure on them to do well...

@Brazil: I just watched a programme yesterday about the 1970 World Cup, and it was a wonderful watch. Although it was a bit before my time, I still felt strangely nostalgic whilst watching it, and that Brazilian team were just in a class of their own. :) Maybe the best team of all time?
 
If England get out of the group stages then they'll probably reach the quarter-finals as their potential opponents in the second round don't look too intimidating. In the quarter-finals they'd face Spain, Brazil or Holland though. :applause:
 
Colombia is a better team than England, even without Falcao. So I wouldn't be sure about the 2nd round either. I don't see them getting past Italy and Uruguay, anyway.
 
I haven't seen Columbia play since the 1998 World Cup so I'll take your word on that, but I hope you're right about Italy and Uruguay anyway. :cheers:

Argentina are being dickheads in their preparation for the World Cup:

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I think the banner says "The Falklands are Argentinian". This is going too far now. Whoever organized it didn't even have the balls to get Zabaleta, Demichelis and Aguero involved. Hopefully Argentina pull some shit like this suring the World Cup and get a colossal fine from FIFA.
 
Italy and Uruguay are definitely the favourites to go through in England's group. Then again, Italy were in an easier group in the last World Cup, and went out in the group stages, so it's definitely not a foregone conclusion that those 2 teams well go through. However, if England were knocked out in the group stages this time around, it wouldn't surprise me...
 
Everybody watch out for Italy! Last Wednesday:

Italy 1 Luxembourg 1

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http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jun/05/italy-luxembourg-cesare-prandelli
What was encouraging for England?
For a side without a win in seven games since qualification was secured in record time on 10 September 2013, drawing on home soil against a team ranked 112th in the world certainly isn’t a good look. But remember Italy did lose to the fourth division side Pontedera before the 1994 World Cup and still contrived to reach the final. Luxembourg’s 85th-minute equaliser in Perugia did come from a familiar area of vulnerability for Italy: a set piece. In mitigation, confusion was caused by three changes of system and six substitutions. A broader analysis of Italy’s play was that it was very centralised for an hour of the game. That shouldn’t come as a surprise considering Cesare Prandelli picked Daniele De Rossi, Andrea Pirlo, Marco Verratti, Claudio Marchisio and Antonio Candreva in his starting XI. The middle was congested and at times that left their full-backs exposed out wide. Luxembourg did have some joy down Italy’s left. Maybe England will too.
 
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I wouldn't worry about Italy's results now. They always start slow and I actually expect a cautious first game in and maybe a draw. But I have no doubts they will go through.
 
The saying is, football's a funny old game, and that's certainly true. You can never be totally sure how a match will pan out, and that's what makes it so exciting. France were knocked out in the group stages in 2002, and the same thing happened to Italy in the last world cup, in a group they should have had no problems in qualifying from. And of course, Greece winning Euro 2004! Should Italy go through this time? Absolutely. But it's definitely not a foregone conclusion. I do feel if England are going to have any chance of qualifying, they need to get at least a draw in the first match with Italy, particularly as Uruguay is their 2nd match.
 
I have doubts about Italy getting through. We all know what happened in 2010. Of course they did well at Euro 2012 but they are not a secure force anymore. Perhaps the 2002 World Cup achievements fit best to the current state Italian football is in. They barely went through and got kicked out right after that.
 
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::) Yeah, sure... Why do we even care to discuss and predict games, if it's all a matter of chance.
 
Forostar said:
I have doubts about Italy getting through. We all know what happened in 2010. Of course they did well at Euro 2012 but they are not a secure force anymore. Perhaps the 2002 World Cup achievements fit best to the current state Italy is in. They barely went through and got kicked out right after that.
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True. The side they had in 2010 is arguably stronger than the side they have now, and yet they managed to finish bottom in a group which contained New Zealand. (!?) Italy are definitely favourites going into the first match, but I wouldn't put it past England to pull off an upset there. With no expectations on their shoulders, they actually might surprise people this time out. :)
 
Sara said:
True. The side they had in 2010 is arguably stronger than the side they have now, and yet they managed to finish bottom in a group which contained New Zealand. (!?)
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Exactly.
Sara said:
Italy are definitely favourites going into the first match, but I wouldn't put it past England to pull off an upset there. With no expectations on their shoulders, they actually might surprise people this time out. :)
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Who knows!
Ariana said:
::) Yeah, sure... Why do we even care to discuss and predict games, if it's all a matter of chance.
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I guess we're just terribly looking forward to this tournament. Can't wait! :)
 
Ariana said:
::) Yeah, sure... Why do we even care to discuss and predict games, if it's all a matter of chance.
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Who said it was all a matter of chance? Just because nothing in football is a foregone conclusion, that doesn't mean you can't predict the most likely outcome of a match/tournament. Saying that upsets can happen, is hardly the same thing as saying that everything is down to chance...
 
Armenia is reported to have given Germany a hard time in the recent match, and Germany only won 6:1. ::)
 
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