Last Minute Predictions

With the tournament starting tomorrow morning, I figured it was time to hurry up and get some predictions down on paper, or cyberspace in this case. Since everybody has already read too many predictions by now, I’ll just post mine, without explanations.

Group A:

Mexico

South Africa

France

Uruguay

Group B:

Argentina

Nigeria

South Korea

Greece

Group C:

England

USA

Slovenia

Algeria

Group D:

Germany

Serbia

Ghana

Australia

Group E:

Netherlands

Cameroon

Denmark

Japan

Group F:

Italy

Paraguay

Slovakia

New Zealand

Group G:

Brazil

Ivory Coast

Portugal

North Korea

Group H:

Spain

Chile

Switzerland

Honduras

Overall, I don’t really have any crazy predictions, but then again, if you watch a lot of soccer, you find that the highly ranked teams are that way for a reason, they have the best talent.

Without further ado, my predictions for the eliminations rounds are as follows:

Round of 16

Mexico over Nigeria

England over Serbia

Netherlands over Paraguay

Brazil over Chile

USA over Germany

Argentina over South Africa

Italy over Cameroon

Spain over Ivory Coast

Quarterfinals

England over Mexico

Brazil over Netherlands

Argentina over USA

Spain over Italy

Semi-Finals

Brazil over Netherlands

Spain over Argentina

Finals

Spain over Brazil 2-1

Not the most original prediction, but Spain simply have the best team, play the best style, and have the most confidence. I mean, did you see their 6-0 destruction of Poland on Tuesday? They will easily win their group, and score a ridiculous amount of goals in the process. The danger looms from their round of 16 match, where they will face a tough opponent at a very early stage of the tournament. As long as they survive that match, I see them cruising into the finals. As for Brazil, as much as I hate Dunga and his selections, he has them winning and winning and winning, and after all, this is a WC. And since I know Germany isn’t making the finals, that means Brazil is, and…. there’s almost no chance that I’m actually going to be right about any of this. But hey you never know what could happen, Zidane headbutt anyone?

If my predictions haven’t been exciting enough for you so far, get over it, but look forward to my foolishly and recklessly attempting to predict a Golden Boot winner and an all tournament team. If I even get half of them right, I’ll be as lucky as Jules and Vega in the burger scene in Pulp Fiction.

For the Golden Boot winner, I’m being conservative, and going with Spain striker David Villa for three reasons. The first is that Spain scores a ton of goals, and the matches against Chile and Honduras look to be goal fests. Villa simply doesn’t miss chances, and thus will easily score several goals in the group stages alone. The second reason is that I’m not worried about Fernando Torres stealing too many of his goals. El Nino is still working his way back to full fitness, and thus won’t play all 90 throughout the group stages. And even when the two star strikers play together, Villa still scores. That sounded interesting, anyways, reason numero tre is that I except Spain to go all the way, meaning that Villa will play more games than most and thus will score more goals, and yes I’m still not making any interesting predictions.

So, with no explanations, here is my World Cup XI

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas-Spain

Defenders: Maicon-Brazil, Gerard Pique-Spain, Walter Samuel-Argentina

Midfield: Giovanni Dos Santos-Mexico, Wesley Sneijder-Netherlands, Kaka-Brazil, Xavi-Spain

Strikers: David Villa-Spain, Carlos Tevez-Argentina, Wayne Rooney-England

With Mexico playing tomorrow morning and the U.S. on Saturday, I thought the highlights of U.S.A.’s 2-0 victory over Mexico in the 2002 WC would be fitting to leave you with. Enjoy.

Dave's World Cup Predictions, Part II

We are mere hours away from the moment we have been waiting for ever since Fabio Grosso nailed home the deciding penalty and Italy lifted the cup four years ago. But now its time for me to hammer out the rest of my picks for the finest sporting event in the galaxy.


Group E
1. Netherlands
2. Denmark
3. Cameroon
4. Japan

I think the Netherlands might be the most overlooked side in this whole tournament. A quick scan at the Oranje's 23-man roster reveals a plethora of offensive talent. Robin Van Persie is fully fit and recovered from injury and Wesley Sneijder is coming off an impressive treble campaign at Inter. And perhaps there is no hotter goal scorer on the planet right now than Arjen Robben. Of course, Robben is as fragile as my emotions after watching the "Married Life" montage from Up (did I just admit that over the internet?). The big question about ol' Arjen is not whether he will return from injury, but whether he will simply get hurt again. But it seems as if Holland is being overlooked, and with good reason, for the fact the man who has been their rock in goal for the past 15 years, Edwin Van Der Sar, is gone. There already were some questions with the backline, but the addition of Maarten Stekelenburg (26 caps for the dutch) is the big reason why many are doubtful that the Netherlands will lift their first Jules Rimet Trophy.

Speaking of overlooked teams, Morten Olsen's Danish Dynamite made thorough work of what was easily the most difficult qualifying group in the UEFA zone. A mix of veterans and youngsters has Denmark confident of its 2010 chances. Cameroon probably cannot share the same confidence as the Danes. With its superstar Samuel Eto'o threatening to leave the team on the eve of the tournament, the Indomitable Lions are a side in turmoil. As for Japan, it all rides on Keisuke Honda, but this Group E draw has done the Samurai Blue no favors.

Player to watch - Nicklas Bendtner, F, Denmark
Bendtner should be brimming with confidence following his fine season at Arsenal. Paired with veteran Jon Dahl Tomasson as the Danish strikeforce, it will be interesting to see how Bendtner will fare in a group where goals will be aplenty.


Group F
1. Italy
2. Paraguay
3. Slovakia
4. New Zealand

Italy really lucked out with what is easily the worst group in the tournament. Andrea Pirlo's recent calf injury might be an perilous omen for the defending champions; this team isn't getting any younger and it will look to its defense more than ever to rely on getting deep in the tournament. You can never count out Italy as long as Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluigi Buffon are in the starting XI.

Even with the loss of key striker Salvador Cabanas, Paraguay is a team that usually fare quite well in the group stages of this tournament. Slovakia has a solid midfield but not enough offensive or defensive firepower to do much. And for those who love the relegation battles in the Premiership every year, you have the race between New Zealand and North Korea for who will have the worst goal differential. Luckily, for the All Whites, their group is much kinder.

Player to watch - Ryan Nelsen, CB, New Zealand
Just making it this far is a huge accomplishment for the Kiwis, who some are saying are one of the worst teams ever to make it to the World Cup Finals. But at this stage, merely garnering a point would be cause for celebration in Wellington. If New Zealand is able to conjure up at least a draw, it'll be in large part Ryan Nelsen, the Blackburn centre back who is the heart of the Kiwi D.

Group G
1. Brazil
2. Ivory Coast
3. Portugal
4. North Korea

Native Brazilians have been bemoaning the lack of Joga Bonito in this version of A Selecao. The blame has mainly shifted to head man Dunga, but you can't argue with results; Brazil finished atop the CONMEBOL qualifying standings by a comfortable margin and even though it had a scare from the U.S., Brazil took home last year's Confederations Cup title. Even though some regard this as the "Group of Death", Brazil's second string would still easily win this group.

The hope of a nation are on the shoulders (or the forearm, perhaps?) of Didier Drogba. But Ivorians shouldn't forget that they still have the likes of Salomon Kalou, Emmanuel Eboue, and the Toure brothers. But if Drogba can't make it back (I think he will), it will be to Gervinho to pick up the slack up top.

Portugal is such a frustrating side. How does a team have this many quality players yet produce so few goals? It seems like at this point Portugal is gliding by on reputation alone.

There isn't too much to say for North Korea. I am half-kidding when I say that I hope that the players don't feel too hard the wrath of Kim Jong-Il when they return home after an 0-3 campaign where they give up possibly 10+ goals.

Player to watch - Cristiano Ronaldo, F, Portugal
It was as little as 12 months ago when the argument over who was the best player in the world was debatable. But after his four goal performance against Arsenal in the Champions League quarterfinals and two head-to-head victories along with a La Liga title, its clear that Messi is the man. One of the overlooked questions in this tournament is how the man who once ruled the soccer world will respond. After a disappointing Euro 2008 and UEFA qualifying turn, Cristiano Ronaldo's international reputation is in tatters. This World Cup will prove once and for all whether his name truly belongs with greats or whether he was just another flash in the pan.

Group H
1. Spain
2. Chile
3. Switzerland
4. Honduras

There is not much else to be said about Spain that hasn't already been written. This team is absolutely loaded and has roster that is as talented, if not more so, than Brazil. The questions about the mental makeup of the squad that has always dogged La Furia Roja was answered two years ago when they got the monkey off their back and finally won a freakin' tournament. The only issue that remains is what happens when Spain gets punched in the mouth first. They seemed absolutely stunned when the U.S. struck first in the Confed Cup semis (mind you, Spain's only loss in the last four years) and Sergio Ramos clearly was not focused on the goal that sealed the Yanks victory. But Espana has everything you could ask for in a team that can win it all. To me, they are the clear favorites.

Lead by Brian Billick's doppelganger in manager Marcelo Bielsa, Chile stormed through CONMEBOL qualifying. This is a really fun team to watch if you enjoy strong offensive tactics. Spain should be wary. Switzerland hasn't shown much to think that they will make it out of the group stage. Honduras is here simply by the grace of Jonathan Bornstein and without their main man Carlo Costly (a late scratch from the All-Name team), the Hondurans should take advantage of all of the sightseeing opportunities as their sojourn to South Africa will be a short one.

Player to watch - Humberto Suazo, F, Chile
I happened to catch the Chile-Brazil qualifying match when I was in South America last summer and really enjoyed watching Suazo do his thing. This guy was all over the field and it came to no surprise to me later when I found out his goal scoring rate for La Roja (18 goals in 42 appearances). He scored 6 goals in 17 appearances while on loan to Real Zaragoza, proving that he can score at a frequent rate in one of the world's toughest leagues as well.

Round of 16
France over South Korea
USA over Serbia
Netherlands over Brazil
Brazil over Chile
Argentina over Mexico
England over Germany
Denmark over Italy
Spain over Ivory Coast

Quarterfinals
USA over France
Netherlands over Brazil
England over Argentina
Spain over Denmark

Semifinals
Netherlands over USA
Spain over England

Final
Spain over Netherlands

I realize that I made some bold predictions that will most likely come back to haunt me, but keep in mind that the World Cup is hardly ever all chalk. That being said, enjoy the games and be sure to come back to Ambitious Effort for all of your World Cup Coverage needs, and perhaps even a live blog or two.

USA Looking Strong as Chelsea Stars Drop Like Flies

At long last, the week of the World Cup opener is upon us. I for one cannot wait to see Bafana Bafana smack down on our southern neighbors in Fridays’ kickoff match; even if my mind tells me that a young and talented Mexico squad has a great chance to win Group A. And on Saturday, the most anticipated match in U.S. soccer history awaits, as the Yanks get a chance to take Rooney and Co. back to 1776. Once again, I seem to be getting a bit ahead of myself, so first let’s discuss recent friendly action.

The U.S. played Australia on Friday in a final tune-up for both squads. The result strongly favored the U.S. as they won 3-1 thanks to two goals from L.A. Galaxy striker Edson Buddle. His opening goal was particularly impressive, presenting his case to start next to Jozy Altidore, who sat out the match with a slight ankle sprain. While the U.S. did look strong, this seemed to be more of a result of the Soccerroo’s ineptitude than it did U.S. brilliance. We all remember the strong, Gus Hiddink led Australia squad that was narrowly edged out of the ‘06 WC by Italy on a late Totti penalty, but this current squad appears nowhere near as strong. In fact, they looked so weak that I wouldn’t consider Group D a group of death, as I don’t see where Australia will be able to pick up any points. The woeful pitch in Roodepoort did not help either squad, but neither did the air, as the altitude appeared to make the controversial Jabulani ball appear magical to multiple U.S. defenders, who saw more than one attempted header miss them completely. Overall, the match was a positive one for the U.S., particularly for Buddle. On the other hand, it was a big negative for Australia and Robbie Findley, who proved with two shocking misses that his speed is the only part of his game that belongs on this level.

In other news, the Chelsea curse is official, as John Obi Mikel’s injury makes it four of Chelsea’s stars (Drogba, Essien, and Ballack are the others) that are now out of the WC via injury. While they all have the consolation of pulling off the double with Chelsea this season, it is of little consequence to many that the star players of four nations all have significant injuries. When one considers that three of them are from African nations for the first ever WC in Africa, the injuries are particularly devastating. The only good news is that Drogba has already had surgery, and there is still a decent chance of his participation. Although there is little hope of him performing at the absolute peak of his powers, I eagerly await the first unfortunate defender he clubs in the head with his new cast. As far as their respective team’s chances, I think that Ghana will be affected the most in the tough Group D, and will be the only one of the affected four nations to not make it out of the group stages. With that being said, the injuries to Ballack and Drogba eliminate whatever slim chance Germany and the Ivory Coast had of winning the entire thing.

The other significant injury thus far has been to one of my least favorite players, the leering Rio Ferdinand. His England team played Monday against local squad Platinum Stars, and was as unimpressive as one can be in a 3-0 win. This could be seen as good or bad news for the U.S., as England’s struggles against such a weak side show some real weaknesses, yet also could be the catalyst that will anger England and encourage them to play their best football on Saturday.

Monday also saw favorite Brazil demolish Tanzania 5-1, with two goals coming from Robinho and Ramires respectively. The good news? These ridiculous friendlies against inferior opposition are almost over, and the real games begin early on Friday. And no, it’s not too early to set your DVR for the 6:30 AM kickoff Friday morning.

For those who haven't seen the highlights of the U.S.A.-Australia match, enjoy and dream about the goals flying in on Saturday.

Dave's World Cup Predictions, Part I

We are so goddamn close. We are less than a week away from the greatest sporting spectacle on earth. We are just hours away from Mexico's first red card against Bafana Bafana. We are salivating.

With all that being said, time is running out to make predictions and I wanted to make sure I wanted to chisel mine in the proverbial stone that is Blogspot. Enough with this introduction chicanery, lets get to it.



Group A
1. France
2. Mexico
3. Uruguay
4. South Africa

This was an agonizing group to sort through. I still am not sure how things are going to shake out here. The one thing I will guarantee is that France will make it out of the group. Believe me, I am well aware that Crazy Ray is insane and the players hate him, but I can't believe how down people are on Les Bleus. I am not saying that France will go deep in the tournament, but they have too much talent not to make it out of the first round, even though this looks to be the most competitive group.

Speaking of self-combusting, Mexico has a load of impressive young talent, but the combination of the over-reliance on an aging Cuauhtémoc Blano, the unreliability of Javier Aguirre (shaky/shady managing situations is a recurring theme in this tournament), and typical unfocused play of El Tri will be the downfill of this group.

I really, really wanted to pick South Africa to make it out of Group A and I won't be stunned if they do. There really is something to be said about home field advantage at the World Cup to make up, but this is the weakest Bafana Bafana squad since FIFA let South Africa back into competitive football in the early '90s.

Player to watch - Hugo Lloris, GK, France

Lloris is, in my opinion, the best young keeper in the world and is coming off an impressive season at Lyon . France has struggled scoring goals in the group stage the last two go rounds (0 in '02, 3 in '06), so the 23 year-old needs to come up big if France has any shot to go through.

Group B
1. Argentina
2. South Korea
3. Nigeria
4. Greece

Argentina might be the most interesting side in this tournament. An incredible wealth of talent, including the guy who has received the torch from Zidane as the most iconic soccer player in the world. But how on earth is Maradona coaching this team? Some soccer journos have said Argentina has a very good shot to lift the cup, but after reading this recent SI piece on Messi which indicated that Argentina's veteran players are going over Maradona's in organizing tactics, I just cannot picture a scenario where Argentina will win it all.

As for the rest of the group, I think the loss of John Obi Mikel is too much for Nigeria. South Korea is a highly organized side that will kill you with its discipline. I've made it clear in the past how much I loathe Greece and the way they play football. 2004 is looking more and more like a fluke. Their best chance at points is against Nigeria on June 17.

Player to watch - Lionel Messi, F, Argentia
I took the easy way out and chose Messi as my player to watch for Group B. Messi has recently been compared to, and deservedly so, to Pele and Maradona, the grandmasters of the game. Lio may have his Champions League and La Liga Titles and his World Player of the Year awards, but he doesn't have what Pele and Maradona have: a World Cup title. Now he has at least one, probably two more cups to compete in, but Messi's performance in this tournament will go a long way to determining whether he truly ranks up with the greats.


Group C
1. United States
2. England
3. Algeria
4. Slovenia

Call me a homer or an optimist, but I really do think that the U.S. will beat England. USMNT always plays up to their opponents, no matter their ranking, and the players who will need to be key in that game (Howard, Dempsey, Donovan) have proved themselves against the opposition. But the U.S. always has at least one dud in the group stage (vs. Iran in '98, vs. Poland in '02, vs. Czech Rep. in '06), so I think they'll draw with Algeria, but still beat Slovenia to stay on top of the group with 7 points. The U.S. game will be wake up call for the Three Lions and they should stroll with the rest of the group.

Algeria and Slovenia are not to be taken lightly, however. Slovenia's back line, in particular, frightens me. Holding a Guus Hiddink team scoreless over two critical matches and giving up only 4 goals in all of qualifying is no light feat.

Player to watch - Ledley King, CB, England
With the injury to Rio Ferdinand, King will be the man England looks to at the center of the back line. Despite his relatively low number of caps, King proved himself well in the exhibition with Mexico last week, scoring in a 3-1 victory.

Group D
1. Germany
2. Serbia
3. Ghana
4. Australia

It is pretty amazing to think that Germany has made it to at least the quarterfinals in every tournament its entered. Despite some rough seasons at the club level for Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, those guys seem to save their best for when they suit up for Die Mannschaft.

Injuries to key players has been a notable theme for some of the tournament's most promising teams and Ghana is no exception. The loss of Michael Essien is a huge blow for both tactical and morale purposes, but Ghana still has a promising young core. That being said, I think just might be a little too inexperienced for this go-round. However, four years from now we'll be talking about Ghana as a dark horse to go deep in Brazil 2014.

I don't place a lot of stock in these World Cup warm-up exhibition matches, but Australia did not show much promise in their 3-1 loss to the U.S. on Saturday. If I were a Socceroo supporter, I would have serious concerns about the back line. Edson Buddle's second goal as well the Herculez Gomez goal were the result of mediocre marking. Poor Mark Schwarzer...

Player to watch - Nikola Zigic, F, Serbia
Group G is widely known as the superstar group, but in my eyes, Group D is the group of death. Serbia's defensive prowess is well documented, so its critical that Birmingham City's Zigic lines the score sheet. Goal differential will determine who goes through in the group

That's it for now. I'll be posting the rest of my group predictions as well as how I think the knockout stage will shake out sometime this week. But I'll leave you kids with one of my favorite things about sports....crazy names.

2010 World Cup All-Name XI
GK: Boubacar Barry, Ivory Coast
D: Danny Shittu, Nigeria
D: Rafik Halliche, Algeria
D: Gäetan Bong, Cameroon
D: Siboniso Gaza, South Africa
MF: MacBeth Sibaya, South Africa
MF: Surprise Moriri, South Africa
MF: Ryad Boudebouz, Algeria
MF: Xherdan Shaqiri, Switzerland
F: Prince Tagoe, Ghana
F: Herculez Gomez, USA
Coach: Pim Verbeek, Australia

World Cup News and Notes

With the World Cup now just eight short days away, I realized its time for me to stop being lazy and start posting some new stuff. For starters, the U.S. team is all settled in their compound/hotel in South Africa, and have had no injury setbacks thus far. They play Australia on Saturday in nearby Roodepoort. Hopefully the match against the Soccerroos will provide a solid final tuneup yet will keep both teams safe from injury so close to the start of the tournament.

In other news, some of you might be wondering why there had been little news from powerhouse Brazil other than rumors of a Kaka-Felipe Melo feud. This has been because Dunga has never wavered from his controversial 23 man squad, and the team had yet to play a friendly, that is until today, when the Selacao faced off with Zimbabwe. It was perhaps not a huge surprise that Brazil got off to a slow start, but it was nevertheless alarming to see Zimbabwe dominate for the opening half hour and come close to scoring several times. Brazil finally scored in the 42^nd minute thanks to a smashing free kick from left wing back Michel Bastos, which was later followed by two more spectacular goals that proved that joga bonito is still alive and well within the Brazilian squad. Highlights and even the entire match can be viewed on espn3.com, the goals are well worth a look.

In addition to the Brazilians, there has been some recent news from the defending campioni del mundo, Italia. To the surprise of many, coach Marcello Lippi omitted the young American/Italian striker Giuseppe Rossi from his final 23 man roster, causing the inevitable frustrated sigh from many American fans who are thinking that he could be the star of the U.S. team in South Africa, instead of watching the games from his couch. Remember however, that Rossi is only 23, and thus will have plenty of future opportunities to star for the Azzuri. And in case you were wondering who made the team over him, the names include Italian striker regulars such as Alberto Gilardino and Antonio Di Natale, as well as Napoli forward Fabio Quagliarella, who has proven he knows how to strike a football.

The other news from Italia regards their captain and MVP of the 2006 WC, Fabio Cannavaro. After having his contract not renewed by Juventus, the 36 year old defender transferred to, wait on it….Al Ahli. What??? Exactly. The club is based in Dubai, and signed Cannavaro to a two year deal. I find this news both hilarious (as a owner of a Cannavaro jersey) and sad, as an Azzuri fan. Their star defender for the World Cup just signed with a Middle Eastern team, one of the surest signs in sports that ones skills are washed up. While I’m sure he’s making good money, the fact that he’s not finishing his career at his hometown club of Napoli to play alongside his brother Paolo is the final nail in the coffin for any who claim that Cannavaro is still an elite defender. I hope he proves me wrong by regaining his 2006 form in a week, but it’s not looking good for Italy once one looks past their easy Group F.