World Cup

[Brigh]

Well England have won 1 World Cup so far

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/england/8684847.stm

(what a cracking tournament it has been)

lets hope we can do it again come June/July

Brigh

[Lasiien]

hehe yeah was a nice win that ! Looking forward to the world cup already, but still wondering if this England tem really has what it takes...

[Cernos]

Cricketers did great, it's about time we had some success in the 1-day game.

As for the prima donnas, I mean footballers, Capello has done a great job but I don't think even he can prevent the wheels falling off in the usual predictable manner. Expect all usual ingredients - unlucky injuries, petulant red cards, missed penalties, dodgy decisions and plenty of rabbits in the headlights when its time to step up to the big occasson. A last 16 exit beckons once more, last 8 if we get a bit of luck.

[xann]

last 16 definitely, plus we'll finish 2nd behind the u.s.a.

Can't say i'm that bothered either, ofc i want England to win but the players make the team so unlikalbe. Every other player in the squad is some sort of cvnt.

[xann]

Last 23:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green.

Defenders: Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock.

Midfielders: Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Forwards: Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney.

So if you were England Manager, would you change anything?

Does every team need to take 3 Keepers? 'cos i'd take 2 i think. Fit Walcott back in.

[Cernos]

Only real surprise is Walcott. I would take him over either Heskey or Wright-Phillips any day of the week. Walcott's form has been patchy since he came back from injury, but I would have thought he was still worth taking as he has that thing which terrifies sides, speed. His ball control and artistry going round people is lacking sometimes, but he still creates lots of assists and gets some goals of his own, more than Heskey ever does. If I see Heskey in the starting eleven I think I'll just save myself the agony and switch the TV off - England are never going to win anything with him filling a striker's slot and producing no goals from it (I don't care how many assists he manages, anyone can assist, it's goal scorers we need).

I think most sides take three keepers. Its the one slot in the team that is almost impossible to cover if you have bad luck with injuries. Joe Hart should be given the #1 slot, but it's not going to happen.

Glad to see Joe Cole in the side, hope they can get him into shape in time, he brings a touch of midfield magic to the side that is missing without Beckham.

My predictions:
John Terry will be this year's red card muppet and really round off his annus horribilis in 'style'.
The Gerrard and Lampard show will be as disfunctional as ever.
England will stagger out the group in 2nd place with a win and two draws, then run into France in last 8 and go out via some controversial means or other as usual.

[Lasiien]

England will stagger out the group in 2nd place with a win and two draws, then run into France in last 8 and go out via some controversial means or other as usual.

hehe, there's a man who's watched too many World Cups/Euro Finals! Nice script Cern but you forgot the bit after the team is terribly unconvincing in the group stage when we win a game and the team actually performs to a high standard and everyone gets their hopes up that we're maybe not so crap after all

[Cernos]

hehe, there's a man who's watched too many World Cups/Euro Finals! Nice script Cern but you forgot the bit after the team is terribly unconvincing in the group stage when we win a game and the team actually performs to a high standard and everyone gets their hopes up that we're maybe not so crap after all

Heh yep, rubbish in the groups stage, then they'll play a blinder in the last 16 / last 8 but will still go out, that's the usual script. The Argentina match in France '98 and the Germany match in Italia '90 being the two classics. I can't go through the stress of penalty shootouts like those again, so if we do end up playing France it's probably best if Henry bashes one into the net volleyball style and we can fully indulge in our other national sport - whinging

[Cernos]

"England captain Rio Ferdinand has been ruled out of the World Cup after suffering a knee injury in training.

The 31-year-old centre-back had a scan after hurting his left knee following a challenge with Emile Heskey during Friday's first training session."

Told you Emile Heskey should never have been on the plane. He's a jinx.

[Lasiien]

Mystic Cern gets it right

[xann]

Lay it on the line here... Whos your pick for the World Cup 2010??!!!

I'm picking Brazil(shocker) with their new more solid style of play.

[Cernos]

I don't know if this matchup is possible with the way the groups are organised, but I would pick Argentina vs Spain as the final, with Argentina just stealing it 2-1 in extra time.

[Lasiien]

I'm gonna say Holland, think they might actually stand a good chance this time around. I don't think Spain will recreate their form of the euro's 2 years ago.

Argentina and Brazil do look good though yeah. Mostly i think when you get down to the last 8 or so its about form and which team actually plays more like a team and not just a collection of superstar individuals

[Lasiien]

hrm, okay who'd have thought the team of the first round would be Germany! I may be speaking slightly too soon as Spain haven't yet played, but just about all the other big guns have been disappointing. Maybe Argentina looked 2nd best?

[Cernos]

Germany were ruthless, definitely have to be a hot tip now. Argentina looked brooding, more to come from them I'm sure (Messi was stunning in their match, only thing he didn't do was score). Brazil looked smooth and in control this evening, they didn't panic against N.Korea's solid defense and were patient, looked like they had an extra gear if needed. Actually the Brazil vs N.Korea match was the one I've enjoyed the most. Apart from one booking, it was a totally clean game, free of any cynicism and a real test of strategies with some great passing, great defending by N.Korea and three great goals.

Asian sides in general have been impressive, really enjoyed watching the two Koreas and Japan play. European (with exception of Germany) and African sides have been very disappointing. Given it's in Africa, the lack of ethusiasm and commitment shown by the African sides has been perplexing.

Champagne Moment so far has to be New Zealand equalising in the last minute of stoppage time. My next door neighbour is a Kiwi, he will have gone into orbit - but his wife is Italian, so that is likely to bring him back down to earth when the two play each other next week!

As for England .... urgh. The goalkeeping error isn't the big issue though, that can happen to any side (and has been). The real issue is our reversion to type - early goal followed by a failure to consolidate, panic & disorganisation leading to 70s style long ball football, abject failure up front with rabbit in headlights striking (Heskey .... barn door .... need I say more?). So what if we let a goal in and it came from an error. Big deal, just go and score another, that's what sides like Germany and Brazil do.