In one week the Football World Cup 2006 will begin. Now I guess many AD'ers don't know anything or care at all about this sport, that is fine. Please don't reply in such a case.

However, if you are a big fan like myself, here is the obligatory question for all big sport events:

Who is going to be the World Cup Winner in 2006?

For an overview: The participants in 2006:
FIFA WEB SITE
Hint: The USA take part, as does Iran =)

Now, it's fairly obvious that I am wishing my team all the best, but I am picking an underdog: I say Paraguay will win!

Paraguay?!? That would be something. I am a HUGE soccer fan and I can't wait for the World Cup to start. My favorite club team is Arsenal.

The Germans have not been very impressive lately, but the home team always plays well. Considering they made the final in 2002 I have a suspicion they could win it all.

The US has a much better and deeper team than the quarterfinal side in 2002, but I think our group is the hardest in the tournament. Hopefully we can get a win against the Czech Republic in game one, that would give a decent shot at advancing.

I just came back from a trip to Rome (which was amazing) and it is obvious to see the general excitement for the World Cup. The europeans go insane over the game and all of the world basically shuts down when the games are on.

I am not really a huge football fan (i already enjoy one boring sport in baseball) but I am trying to get into the world cup this year. I am really rooting for the USA since they have a very legitimate shot at advancing far. But as was said, their division comprised of the Czech Republic, Italy, and Ghana is probably one of the toughest. Brazil is the powerhouse and the favorite and it will take a monster peformance to unseat the champions.

I will be trying to watch as much as I can even though the time difference will make it more difficult. It should be a great month of sports.

It is nuts, especially here in Berlin. Germany is getting a huge dosis of nationalist sentiment, something I am not quite sure I like too much. Germans have always been extreme in this respect.

The US has a hard group, but they have a decent team as well, and hard groups are a good preparation for the next rounds (insofar as one succeeds). So I think they can make it quite far. Would be a blast to see a game of Iran vs. the US in the semi-finals (I think due to the pairings that would be the first possibility for them to play against each other).

Nevertheless, Europe will perform economically quite bad for about one month. But it will be great!!!! =)

Huge soccer (football) fan and the World Cup is simply exciting.

Although no South American team has won a world cup that was held in Europe, I'm going against the odds and picking Argentia.

I think the US could surprise and possible reach the quarters. They have a world class midfielder in Landon Donavan, decent attack, and solid goal keeping. However in the "friendlies" I've watched over the last several months it appears our defense is still a bit dodgey.

I agree... Landon Donovan has had the time to grow as a player, and his return to Germany will show that he has something to prove to the German people. (He played there a few years ago)

You also can't forget that if Eddie Johnson finds his niche he could be dangerous. Need we also talk about Mr. Reyna??? Prob'ly not...

Also, someone people forget about is Oguchi Onyewu... that guy is a MONSTER.

I wouldn't count the US out on this one, especially against the Czech Republic. There's nothing wrong with a "tinge" of nationalism when it comes to the World Cup. For years the US has been counted out, and considering we have a better team now than in 2002, who knows what will happen this year!

My pick is Germany. (My grandmother's birth country! ; ) ) We'll be routing together. Not that I don't feel pride for our national team, but I've always routed for Germany.

After a heartbreaking loss to Croatia in the '98 Semis and a startling no show in the '02 final against Brazil, I think Germany is gonna be very charged up and motivated to win on their home soil.

My "dark horse" picks to also do well are Iran and England. Iran fooled everyone who wasn't a soccer guru last time around by doing rather well. Well, being the best team of central Asia is no secret now, and they will have to fight to stay alive in the later rounds.

England had always been a solid team, but if Wayne Rooney is healthy enough to play, this being his first world cup, look out, this Red Devil from Manchester United is gonna raise hell in the tournament. Part of me will be rooting for him to at least play a few matches if he's healthy enough. I'm sure Manchester United is going to be very cautious with him.



Boooooo! Glory, glory, Man United! And the Reds go marching, on, on, on!

Lol....you're an Arsenal fan? J/K.... This surely is going to be a fun thread!

Who is going to be the World Cup Winner in 2006?


I'll go out on a limb and say that the Czech Republic will back up their hype and play through a tough group (Italy and the US are in it) and play through and win it all.

I've always like the Netherlands since the days of the "Three Musketeers," but I want the Germans to win this year.

Brazil.

They are the champs and I am predicting a repeat.

I am rooting for France since they have two of my favorite players: Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry. However, I think England and Brazil will meet in the finals, and Brazil will win.

I know I'll be rooting for Trinidad & Tobago. Sure, they may be 266 times less likely to win it all than Brazil but I have a feeling.

HENRY!!! I love TH14!

Titus I believe we can find a common ground in our hatred for Chelski. I would rather see MAN USA win next season than this current trend continue.

Fife and Drum I'm actually happy with the US defense. I think that's likely the strength of the team with Keller between the sticks. I'm just not sure about our attacking players. Other than McBride we don't have a consistent striker. Eddie Johnson has a ton of talent, but he's been out of form for months.

Did you see Bobby Convey play at all the past two weeks? He's been playing in England for Reading and he looked ten times the player he was last year. We have some great midfielders, just short on strikers.

I think Brazil will win but I'm rooting for the US national team. I would LOVE for them to beat one of those uppity European or South American teams.

I think that the soccer world would implode if the USA won the world cup and that would be a good thing.

The vaccum could be filled by the NFL and I'd be a happy camper.

I think that the soccer world would implode if the USA won the world cup and that would be a good thing.

The vaccum could be filled by the NFL and I'd be a happy camper.

Keep dreaming, on both counts.

Almost nobody outside North America bother with Gridiron. We have rugby, Aussie Rules, hurling etc. for people who like some broken bones with their football.

And America have only a slightly better chance of ever winning the World Cup than Wales do.

It's also instructive that everywhere else in the world talks about "the World Cup" yet when Americans are involved in the conversation, it has to be qualified as "the soccer World Cup". The only time anyone non-American does this is to distinguish "the cricket World Cup" or the "rugby World Cup", both of which, as later institutions, require the qualification.

Yet the "the World Series" refers to a sport that is barely played outside North America (and, ok, Japan).

Global cultural dominance in the entertainment industry may belong to America, but in sports, you're way behind the rest of the field.

Having said all that, I wouldn't really mind if soccer did implode - it would then give more interesting sports - such as rugby - a clear field to dominate.

Anyway, to the debate question - I predict England will go out in the semi-finals to yet another round of recriminations and national disappointment, which is what always happens when your sense of national identity is purely predicated on sport (ask Welsh rugby fans), and that Brazil will win overall.

Well, there's two ways to look at it.

From my perspective, until the game of soccer is adopted and accepted in the USA too, the world cup is not the "world cup". It's the world "soccer" cup.

Personally, I"ll probably watch most of the matches (like I did in 2002) since I like the game. I still remember Ireland pulling one out of the hat and Italy getting ripped off by poor offside's calls. And, of course, the US beating Mexico was particularly sweet although my grass didn't get cut for 2 weeks for some reason (just kidding). And, the US had a real shot last time. If it weren't for the goal-keeping by Germany, the USA could have made it to the finals. That would have shook up some people, and bad.

And, the NFL is already too big. I wouldn't mind them trimming a few teams out of the league. It would make the level of play better for the rest. I can't imagine watching the New England Patriots taking on the Fiji Falcons or some other similar abomination.

Who is going to win the World Cup? ........ HOLLAND of course!! The Dutch are the most attractive team to watch. We pressure the opponent and we are always in the offense. Just look at the line-up of our team..... fingerlicking good! (even our trainer is a worldfamous player: Marco van Basten) I am hoping for a final between Holland and Brazil. Besides that we have the most colorful supporters, all dressed in strange orange outfits (ever seen that strange orange Indian with his big drum ), always cheering, never causing trouble.

And this year the championship is in Germany: our "arch-enemy" on the playing field. We won the European cup in '88 in Germany, this time we are back and we will get worldcup!

I believe that the United States will win a World Cup before England ever does again. That is assuming England does not win it this year, which I'll be surprised if they make it past the quarter finals.

Soccer does not have to be a major sport in the US for us to be able to win the World Cup. More and more people are playing, our development leagues are becoming more successful at handling talent. With a population of 300 million even if there's modest interest in soccer there's a larger pool of players than most Europeans countries can ever dream of picking from. The US team has come light years in just 10 years and I suspect in 10 more years we'll be good enough to challange for the cup.

Ok, you got me - I should have added "this time around".

I pretty much agree with your analysis in the medium to long term - soccer will only grow in popularity in the USA. Currently the biggest barrier is that without a big adult paying audience for professional adult male soccer, a domestic professional league isn't going to take off, and without a domestic professional league the USA is not going to be able to compete with the really big guns (Germany, Italy, France, Brazil, England).

However, I think the hispanicisation of the South and West of the USA will help in this; Mexicans are as soccer mad as anywhere else in Latin America, and just like the Basques with Pelota, they won't want to give this up as they integrate.

Retrospectively, I could be facetious and say that I was referring to Wales' chances in the rugby world cup, which are not all that bad. However, that would be a fib.

There's more soccer people here than not I would expect. the majority of my school sports was done on the soccer field. I spent 4 seasons as an all star Goalie.
Pretty good Wing as well.
I'll take the US to win but will also back Brazil.

I am sorry Julian, but England has not been able to form a decent national team in years now. England has a really strong and exciting competition, but most of the top-players that play in England are originally from other countries (just look at Chelsea, Man. United and Arsenal). The same applies to Spain. Strong competition, many foreigners, hardly any result in worldcups.

I am sorry, but if our Dutch team has to play against the English team, we are not even worried. The only countries we fear are France, Argentina and Brazil and the only country we really want to defeat is Germany.

..... but then again .... the ball is round anything can happen. I just hope it will be an exciting tournament ... and may the best team win.

Having a reasonably successful domestic league does not automatically guarantee international success, it's true. Nor does it require other countries to quake in their Nikes at the thought of having to face such a team.

However, I've never heard of sustained and consistent performances inside the top eight or ten international teams (and say what you like about England, they do seem able to consistently reach World Cup quarter finals stage i.e. the world top 8) coming from a country that doesn't have a professional doemstic league, no matter how many foreign players also appear in it.

Have you?

All I'm saying is that the USA, while it does surprisiingly well to qualify for World Cup competitions without having a domestic league, will always struggle to get into the very top flight of teams until this changes. Is that really such a controversial position?

Actually, USA has a football (soccer ) league - Major League Soccer - been around long enough to sign Pele at the twilight of his career.

Best sport on planet: Hockey.
Second best sport on planet: Rugby.

Football comes in a close third, mind you. My prediction is on a real dark Horse who I expect to do very well, the Czech Republic. They are a dark horse because nobody seems to mention them or talk about them, or even know they exist, despite being currently ranked second in the world right behind Brazil by FIFA.

They won every one of their warm-up games to date, and predict them in the finals.

As to the US, they may be decently ranked in the FIFA charts, but their warm ups last month were less than spectacular. Loss to Morocco, Tie with Jamaica, crushing loss to Germany... They pulled out 1-0 wins against Poland and Latvia, but play like that will not even get them out of the round robin, let alone into a near-finals match. The US is in a pool with both Italy and the Czech republic, I predict they don't get out of the round robin.

Mind you, I can hardly talk, Canada (as usual) didn't even qualify for the World Cup this year...

To the American fans..
I have promised my dad I would record all games for him to watch at my home, he doesn't have cable.
how are you watching the world cup? What channels etc? And is there anyway to purchase access to all the games at any time like a pay per view thing?

Soccer (or Football) has always been big in my family and the world cup is huge! I feel kind of sad that America has yet to fully embrace this sport as it is a international phenomena.
Altho I am hoping that my generation and the ones to come after us will increase interest in it as it is now a very very popular sport, amongst all genders, when it comes to after school activities.

The US lost to Germany in Germany with our 3rd string playing. There's not much that can be drawn from that game. We won 1-0 against Latvia with our full squad but we dominated that game from start to finish. It could have easily been 4-0, but it was our 3rd game in a week. If we dont' get out of the group stage it will hardly be anything to hang our heads about, it's the "group of death" after all.

bucket, every game is going to be on TV on either ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2. All the games are going to be broadcast in HD.

I do not happen to believe that the MLS has to be a big league for the US to be sucessful. It is not realistic and if you look at a team like Brazil most of their players pay in Europe. More and more of the American players are starting to play there as well. The MLS is helpful in getting players action and giving them time to develop. Look at Tim Howard, Keller, Freidel, Bobby Convey, Beasly, and there are tons of other players that worked on their game in the MLS and then went on to Europe.

Still, it's not much fun to go to MLS games and sit on half-empty stadiums... with a pitch where you can still see the white marks from American Football. You know why soccer doesn't get much TV exposure it the US? Because for 45 minutes straight you can not insert a single commerical. This is not like baseball, American football, or basketball, where there is a break in the action every 30 seconds or so. The game of "soccer" goes non-stop for 45 minutes.

Haha, not at all, what you say is true. In fact there is only a really small and closed group of countries that in general perform well (Brazil, Argentina, England, Germany, France, Holland, Italy, Spain) and reach the quarter-finals at least. (anything less is a disgrace for these countries) But, to my delight, there is a growing group of countries that have become dangerous outsiders. The U.S. does not belong into this category yet, but I expect that soon they will also become a serious competitor.

Good Luck for the USA team today against the Czech Republic. It will surely be an interesting match.

I'm afraid I have become a traitor... I intended to cheer on England, but I felt oddly lethargic as I watched their opening match and I've found myself most supportive of our neighbour, Germany

Yesterday I was gratified to see Mexico hammer the Islamic Republic of Iran 3-1 (I know that I'm not supposed to mix politics with sport... but its not easy). I shall cheer on the USA today I think though... I would love to see the USA and Mexico battle it out... I'm not sure who I would cheer on (I usually cheer for the under dogs in such situations, but I'm not sure which team could be thus considered)

I think Germany has a greater chance over England and I think Sweden, Argentina and Holland have all shown their merits thus far.

So did I. So did they especially in the second half.



Me too - especially as both teams were playing well. (I was, frankly, a bit surprised by how good the IRanians were. I half-expected that football would be frowned on there because of the short trousers, but that's probably just my ignorance and prejudices showing.)



That would be fun - the US would definitely be the underdog, as Mexico is currently ranked something like 4th in the world according to FIFA See here. The Czech Republic is ranked even higher. It should be quite close, though, as the USA is ranked pretty high too - much higher than I would have guessed.


Can't say I disagree with any of this.

One thing I will say is that I've been quite impressed so far by how all the matches (the ones I've seen, at least) show positive, attacking football from both sides. So far, I haven't seen any team play the negative defensive football that has often characterised this stage of previous World Cups. In the past, teams have often approached group matches as games they have to avoid losing, rather than attempt to win. Indeed, the side that has come closest to playing like this so far has been England, which is the main reason I was underwhelmed by their performance.

Sorry to rain on the parade. But you'd have to threaten a member of my family [and one I really, really, really like...not like a second cousin or something] to get me to watch soccer. I will for what it's worth smile when America or Italy wins and I might frown if Iran wins, but beyond that, my eyes will be glued on the College World Series and the Boston Red Sox games...

CP

what a disappointment today, but the scoreline is a bit of an unfair result. i didn't have a lot of faith that the US would get out of the group considering it was the Group of Death. I just hope we can grind something out against Italy to salvage something out of this. I just hate hearing all the armchair fans ripping on the US team when we're stuck playing two great European sides in a European world cup.

From what I've seen so far the European teams are definitely playing better than they did in Japan/Korea. Bazil is going to have to bring their A game to win this one.

Would agree nemov, disappointing result. Once again the Yanks bitten by dodgy defense. Not to take anything away from the Czech’s but every goal could be attributed to a failure in defense fundamentals. Often when the defense gives up three goals it can be attributed to a lack of offense but that wasn't the case today, we had our chances. We just need a solid finisher and Johnson showed a lot of promise.

It's not over yet!!! Come on Yanks!

I am already excited for the game on Friday (Holland v.s. Cote Ivore) Got my orange jersey, my orange hat, orange hairspray .... essential equipment for the Dutch. I will be watching the game in my favourite bar: drinking, yelling, singing, dancing, cursing .... aaah how I love the world cup.

BTW: I have seen Brazil ... and they did not impress me ... if they continue to play like that they will not get very far. (what happened with Ronaldo??? he was invisible)

Me too! I've been in a paroxysm of happiness for the last three days despite some poor performances.

I wasn't too bothered by Brazil though I thought they were a bit lazy... I don't blame Ronaldo though, after all, he got called fat so he was probably sulking.

I had a really great time tonight. Germany is one of my favourites (I love their anthem) and I nearly died of nervous frustration as each attack went wrong. I've never seen so many stupid passes in a single game before. How Poland didn't beat them is a mystery.

Ballack was also a disapointment. I was expecting something interesting, but he proved to be just another Beckham.... I wonder though if all the big teams aren't really just holding themselves back so as not to give their opponents to much info before the really important games... Ronaldo, Ballack, Rooney... these aren't exactly the sort of men who come along to watch from the bench...

Oh yeah.... and I hope Holland loses

Germany - Poland was a really bad game. If it weren't for the red card 15 minutes before the end, Germany wouldn't have made it. Ballack was a total misfit. The whole middle field was abandoned, and after a while all there was was kick and rush, with few exceptions of a decent buildup of an attack. Ballack should learn to be the capitan asap, or he needs to be replaced.
The passes are another point. Unbelievable how inaccurate many passes were. Sad thing is that now the media and all football fans are enthusiastic about going to the round before the quarterfinal, but seeing this game Germany won't last long there.

Nevertheless, Brasil played just as bad, and they won too. It was not "fair", the Croatians played a decent game, very energetic, but they just don't have the class to beat a team like Brasil.

France played really bad as well, so it is quite interesting to guess who has the talent for winning the World Cup.

I really thought that the US could escape the alleged "group of death" with their team. Yes, our defense broke down, yes Beasley had a horrible game, but the Czechs played like men among boys at times. If we play that poorly against Italy, Bruce Arena is done for.

Part of the US team problem (and this really showed vs. Czech) seems to be size. Even though we have stars who can play in Europe, they are still 5 foot 8. It will be years before we see world-class athletes with size choosing soccer over football, basketball, even hockey or baseball. There just isn't the money in it domestically.

Let's beat Italy Saturday, and see what happens!

On paper, the real 'group of death' to me looks like C - Netherlands, Serbia, Argentina and Ivory Coast. Tough.

Haha, you are just jealous!! But seriously I really think Holland will show the rest of the world how good our team is. We have got a really strong defense, a wonderful midfield (I love Cocu!!) and our attack is as dangerous as Brazil. Arjen Robben is already on fire and Van Nistelrooy is extremely eager and motivated to show the world what he is made of (he is without a doubt one of the best strikers in the world). And lets not forget Van der Sar, eventhough 36, still one of the best keepers in the world. Combine this with our attractive dominant and offensive "Dutch" gameplay and it is as simple as 1+1 = 2: Holland will win the World Cup!!!

Tomorrow will be fun, the whole stadion will be filled with Orange (Holland and Ivory Coast both use this colour) ... lets hope it will be a great game !!

moif, how can you admit you cheered for Germany, ugh. Please keep this sort of thing to yourself, along with the bad talk about Beckham

I just watched four matches in a row with me dad. Such bonding.

England and Trinidad ok boring at first but we knew to fwd to the last 10 minutes to see two beautiful goals.

But I am surprised no one commented on the Spain Ukraine game, Spain looked really really good.

Also the US has no chance , but what was with the coach bad talking the players publicly?

After the first set of matches, the teams that have impressed me the most have been the Czech Republic (See post from a week ago where I predicted they will take it all) and Germany. I disagree about Brazil, they played with only moderate co-ordinatiuon at times as a team, and still need to get their prima-donna's to gel, but as individuals their play was superb. Some of the distance shots were like rifle rounds, truly remarkable. Also, don't be surprised if round one of play a lot of teams fail to impress. The World cup is a grueling tournament, and teams don't ususally bring out the sparkle until the elimination rounds if it is not needed.

And I'm sorry all (and this is 100% sport, not politics) but the US team truly sucked. Terrible, inaccurate passing, taking the ball standing still, poor ball control... they only seemed to have a single tactic, and that was to fire it up the left side. Worse, they were being consistently outrun by the team with the oldest players in the world cup. I hope that was just a bad game for them, but if they can't bring it up about 7 notches they will finish the pool last and deservedly so.

The surprise for me in the first round was France. Their play was halfhearted and weak, Henri missed a couple shots a 10-year old could have made, and Zidane looked old.

I still call it, as I did before it all began, for the Czech republic to win.

Deutschland uber alles baby!

Hey, its either Germany or Sweden, these are our neighbours, and there is no way I'm going to cheer on the Svenska!

And I'm not impressed with the English at all. I don't think they have yet shown their full potential, but this is fairly normal for England who often bloom later in tournaments so I'm still waiting to see if they can change gear to threaten Brazil later on.

Spain did look good... very good in fact and many pundits here have placed them as favourites to win... but... Spain has been a favourite so many times and has yet to fulfill the predictions.

I’m jealous, the games are on over here during the day. Relegated to weekends, highlight clips and a co-workers TIVO (did take Monday off to watch the Yanks).

Vermillion – would agree with your assessment of the US attack. Lot’s of long balls and passes to no one. The few times we actually attacked with intent and proper pace we were rewarded with opportunities. The one off the bar by Renya would have tied the game and may have changed the complexion of the match. Arena needs to go, his tactics are poor and the public berating of the team after the match was uncalled for.

Regarding the size of the American footballers, I really don’t think we’re that out matched with size. The 6’ 8” Czech striker Koller is a bit of an anomaly, he presents a match up problem for any opponent. As mentioned Rosicky is a world class finisher and would agree with Vermillion again that the Czech’s could be one of the teams to beat, we’ll know more after their game against what appears to be a decent Italian side.

The old saying “winning ugly” certainly applied to Brazil and England. Wouldn’t count the Brit’s out just yet, thought the ref’s were a bit unfair with the handling of Crouch int he T&T match. Rooney came on late in the game and energized the squad, he’s certainly not fit for ninety minutes but he could prove a difference maker as a substitute if the match is tight in the second half. And if I’m not mistaken with the possibility of Spain 82 this might be the first time England has qualified for the knock out round after only two games.

I have always been partial to the Italians. I rooted for them in 2002 and they look to be very dominate this year as well. I like most others was unimpressed with the Brazilians, even though at times, Ronaldihno looked unstoppable. Soccer is a great sport unfortunately the American public doesn't get involved as much because our teams usually stink. Same with tennis, if our players aren't the best in the world then the game doesn't count. I was thrilled to watch England play and actually get to see Beckham play soccer instead of posing in front of a camera. He had two assist and was always making plays. I look forward to the match between the US and Italy, I will be rooting for Italy to score 5. That way the Greatest Country in the World will have lost at Soccer, Hockey, Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, and all boxing champions are European or Mexican.

Aaah today is a happy day (although I got a hang-over ), after a difficult game against Ivory Coast we made it through the next round! Yoehoe !! We survived the group of death together with Argentina.... Look out people the Oranges are coming

Ghana - Czech Republic - what an awesome game! Ghana should have won 4:0... they were that much better. Ghana and Italy will get out of that group when all is said and done.

Yes the Czech-Ghana was very exciting and what an upset. It gives the US a shot at making it out of the group if they can get some points against Italy today.

If the US can beat Italy...

That would be a sight to see, but I'm not holding my breath

moif, you might want to start inhaling lots of oxygen because the US is looking pretty good thus far against Italy with the game tied 1-1. US has kept the pressure on the Italian defense and has been physical. Might just see another upset.

Well, it was close! What a game. More like a battle than a footy match. The Americans gave it good but frankly the Italians were the better team and the US only drew because the Italians gave them a goal for free...

But on the other hand, any team that gives goals away like that deserves to lose, so I guess, though it was officially a draw, unofficially the game belongs to the USA.