The World Cup Brazil 2014

Alasondro Alegré

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The discussion concerning the final draw from the qualifiers thread:

Also, being curious as to the upcoming draw, I Google'd about to find the seedings.

So here is the possible, potential, maybe-ish seedings, according to AllVoices News site:

The 32 qualified teams will be divided into four pots or section of 8 teams each.

According to Wikipedia report, the seeded pot (Pot 1) will contain the hosts Brazil and the seven best-ranked qualified teams according to the October 2013 FIFA World Rankings, including Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Uruguay and Switzerland.

The other pots will be based on geographic and sports criteria. In 2010 group draw and seeding, Pot 2 is assigned for (Asia, North America & Oceania), Pot 3 (Africa & South America) and Pot 4 (Europe).

Based on that scenario, projected pots are:

1. Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Belgium, Switzerland, Uruguay.

2. Japan, Australia, Iran, S Korea, Costa Rica, United States, Mexico, Honduras.

3. France, Chile, Ecuador, Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Algeria, Ghana.

4. Holland, Italy, England, Portugal, Greece, Bosnia, Croatia, Russia.

* * *

Interesting, no?

:?

What's the point of this? Why not a totally random draw?

To ensure "random" doesn't give you a couple of groups like "Group A: Argentina, Brazil, Spain, German" which would mean 2 of those teams would get eliminated, and they are the teams all people would like to see on the head-to-head closing stages. Also it mixes regions up, as you could get a random group of all-european teams which would not make it very "world"-cup..

Basically, makes the group stage more interesting.

No, basically, it ensures the big teams are not eliminated early, because TV ratings.

Uh... no? 2010, France, Italy (defending champions), Denmark out in groups... In 2002, France (defending champions), Portugal (the 'golden generation' of Figo, Rui Costa and others), Argentina, out on groups.

It's never a sure thing even if you put a strong team with three "weaker ones", and on the other hand, yes it makes the knockout stage more interesting. What if you grouped 12 of the best teams into 3 groups, ensuring 6 of them will be eliminated? That'd make for a boring knock out stage where the 6 that went through facing quite weaker sides, only meeting again at the semifinals and finals.



The pots for the final draw:

Pot 1 (seeds)
Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Uruguay

Pot 2 (CAF and CONMEBOL teams)
Algeria, Cameroon, Cote d?Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Chile and Ecuador

Pot 3 (AFC and CONCACAF teams)
Australia, Iran, Japan, South Korea, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico and USA

Pot 4 (UEFA teams)
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia.
 
Just waiting for the draw, this year "groups of death" are very likely, cos many quality teams are not seeded at the top pot.
 
Draw over!


TF4iSbp.png



I think groups D and G are the tough ones here.

What a first game in Group B, too, though, last finals repeat, and it wasn't pretty. Hopefully less yellow cards this time.
 
Draw over!

I think groups D and G are the tough ones here.

.. and Groups B & A are not so easy either. On the other hand, if your country is in C, E, F or H, then you'd be pretty happy. :lol:

What a first game in Group B, too, though, last finals repeat, and it wasn't pretty. Hopefully less yellow cards this time.

They probably won't ask Howard Webb to be referee that again.

England have got a nightmare in Gp D, with the first match up in the jungle in Manoas. Italy may make a bit of a mess of it, but they will go through from the Group stage.

Still, England get to stay in Rio for a couple of weeks, before they go home at the end on the Group stage.

Croatia have the honour of opening the tournament with the Hosts, probably a very large worlwide TV audience watching, as everybody watches the first match.

You still have a better chance than Costa Rica :lol:

So have you found a new smilie to replace the Vuvuzelas for this World Cup?

:smile:
 
Mixed feelings for me. My 2 teams are Spain & Uruguay, the latter is definitely in a tough group. Not a Team USA fan, but daaaaamn....bad draw for them lol.
 
Will be really disappointed if Netherlands don't make it out of the groups.
 
Aw crap... My two teams are both in the same group.
 
But wait...! It gets even worse for the US.

Next summer, the U.S. men's national soccer team will head to Brazil to square off with, in order: Ghana, a team that has sent the Americans home in heart-breaking fashion from the past two World Cups; fifth-ranked Portugal, a squad led by Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest scorers on the planet; and second-ranked Germany, a global powerhouse that the bookies have pegged as Europe's best chance at ending its trophy-winning drought on South American soil. Put another way, as one of my futbol-loving colleagues did in an email this morning: "If you look around your group and you don?t see a Honduras, then you're the Honduras."

This is the point where I'd love to offer some type of official-FIFA-commemorative-glass-half-full #slatepitch about how the draw actually went just how the Americans should have wanted it go, and how they're primed to make a run deep into the tournament. Unfortunately, that's not why I'm here. Instead I come bearing more bad news?for both the team and its Brazil-bound fans?from the relatively overlooked part of this morning's draw, namely where and when the teams are playing. Here's a quick look at the U.S. match schedule:
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vs. Ghana on Monday, June 16 at 7 p.m. at the Estadio das Dunas in Natal
vs. Portugal on Sunday, June 22 at 3 p.m. at the Arena Amazonia in Manaus
vs. Germany on Thursday, June 26 at 1 p.m. at the Arena Pernambuco in Recife

That, by nearly all accounts, was the worst possible travel itinerary on the board. Don't believe me? Here's what U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann had to say after seeing where the lottery balls fell: "We hit the worst of the worst. ... The past few days, everyone was saying, 'Anywhere but Manaus.' Well, we got Manaus."

Why's Manaus so bad? Well, for starters, it's in the middle of the freaking Amazon and has an average high in June (winter in Brazil) approaching 90 degrees and a relative morning humidity of 93 percent. A total of eight teams play group-play games at the appropriately named Arena Amazonia, but the U.S.-Portugal match?kicking off mid-afternoon local time when the strength-zapping sun will be high overhead?is the odds on favorite to be the most uncomfortable. And, as an added bonus, the stadium in northwestern Brazil is more than 1,800 miles from Sao Paulo, where the U.S. squad is expected to stay between games, and is, among the 12 venues being used by FIFA, about as far away as you can get from where the Americans will suit up for their first and last round-robin games, both located conveniently (if not for game no. 2, that is) only about a three-and-a-half hour drive from each other in northeast Brazil. In all, the Associated Press estimates, the USMNT squad will be traveling more than 9,000 miles during the opening round, the most of any team. (To put that in perspective, that's the equivalent of more than a third of the way around Earth's 24,901-mile equatorial circumference.)

As big of a hassle as that will be for the team itself (which I assume will have the luxury of a charter plane for travel), it'll be even worse for any Americans who hope to travel to all three games via commercial flights. Here's the best travel itinerary that I could craft after spending entirely too much time clicking around Expedia this afternoon:

Newark to Natal, departing at 1:55 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11 and, after layovers in Miami and Rio, arriving 22 hours and 43 minutes later the next day at 1:38 p.m. Price tag: $1,103.73 per person.
Natal to Manaus, departing at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, and, after FOUR stops, arriving 7 hours and 50 minutes later at 10:50 p.m. Price tag: $374.53.
Manaus to Recife, departing at 4:05 a.m. on Tuesday, June 24, and, after another three stops, arriving 8 hours and 35 minutes at 1:40 p.m. Price tag: $480.53.
Recife to Newark, departing at 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2 and landing another 22 hours and 6 minutes later at 4:25 p.m. the next day. Price tag: $1,467.50.

Even if the roughly $3,500 price tag for airfare alone doesn't scare you?good luck finding a place to stay!?the 60-odd hours of time spent on a plane no doubt will. And don't even think about driving. Making it from the opening U.S. game in Natal to Manaus will take you about 51 hours one-way.

On the bright side, the tough draw means there's less of a chance that the men's national team will make it to the knockout round, saving fans the expense of even more wallet-busting flights. Hooray?

Source.
 
Just close the whole stadium down tight and get 10 thousand de-humidifiers.
 
Draw over!




I think groups D and G are the tough ones here.

What a first game in Group B, too, though, last finals repeat, and it wasn't pretty. Hopefully less yellow cards this time.


I'd consider B to be the toughest. Chile have been very good, I wouldn't be surprised to see Spain and Chile advance.
 
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE: FREEDOM STRIKES BACK
 
World Cup 2014: England Squad - BBC Sport

BBC Sport said:
England boss Roy Hodgson has named his 23-man for this summer's World Cup finals in Brazil.


England squad:

Goalkeepers: Joe Hart (Manchester City), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Fraser Forster (Celtic).

Defenders: Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jagielka (Everton), Glen Johnson (Liverpool), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Luke Shaw (Southampton), Chris Smalling (Manchester United).

Midfielders: Ross Barkley (Everton), Steven Gerrard (Liverpool), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Southampton), Frank Lampard (Chelsea), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (Arsenal), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).

Attackers: Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Danny Welbeck (Manchester United).

Standby: John Ruddy (Norwich City), Jon Flanagan (Liverpool), John Stones (Everton), Michael Carrick (Manchester United), Tom Cleverley (Manchester United), Andy Carroll (West Ham United), Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC).

:think:
 
So this is the list of slogans for the buses this year:

Algeria

Desert warriors in Brazil

Argentina

Not just a team, we are a country

Australia

Socceroos: hopping our way into history!

Belgium

Expect the impossible!

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Dragons in heart, dragons on the field!

Brazil

Brace yourselves! The 6th is coming!

Cameroon

A lion remains a lion

Chile

Chi Chi Chi!, Le Le Le! Go Chile

Colombia

Here travels a nation, not just a team!

Costa Rica

My passion is football, my strength is my people, my pride is Costa Rica

Ivory Coast

Elephants charging towards Brazil!

Croatia

With fire in our hearts, for Croatia all as one!

Ecuador

One commitment, one passion, only one heart, this is for you Ecuador!

England

The dream of one team, the heartbeat of millions!!

France

Impossible is not a French word

Germany

One nation, one team, one dream!

Ghana

Black Stars: here to illuminate Brazil

Greece

Heroes play like Greeks

Honduras

We are one country, one nation, five stars on the heart

Iran

Honour of Persia

Italy

Let's paint the Fifa World Cup dream blue

Japan

Samurai, the time has come to fight!

South Korea

Enjoy it, Reds!

Mexico

Always united, always Aztecas

Holland

Real men wear orange

Nigeria

Only together we can win

Portugal

The past is history, the future is victory

Russia

No one can catch us

Spain

Inside our hearts, the passion of a champion

Switzerland

Final stop: 07-13-14 Maracana!

Uruguay

Three million dreams ? let's go Uruguay

USA

United by team, driven by passion



I'm sorry but am I the only one who thinks Germany's is a little... ehh... 4 words out of the 6 are the same as some famous slogan by an infamous political party.
 
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I had to remind myself of the quote, which I did recall.
But yeah, it is a little close to the original. Makes you wonder who thought the new quotes.
Some marketing dude somewhere? :rolleyes:

(Some of the others are bit lame too.)

Also, the BBC mentioned today that Paulinho made the Brasil squad.

The Chelsea guys Oscar, Willian, Ramires and even David Luiz showed some good form over the season, so I am not surprised they made the squad..

Maybe I just didn't see Paulinho at his best for Spurs.

Eriksen, the Danish guy, did well this season and I did notice him playing well for them.

Any Spurs fans want to enlighten me? :think:
 
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