USA-World Cup Draw
- Thread starter natedizzle
- Start date
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i heard that the Group E which Us, Italy, Ghana, and Chezch are might have been set up!!! i am not sure if its true but if you go www.sports.yahoo.com and click on soccer u can read more about it
That article was one of the reasons I have grown to love football. Only in football would conspiracy theories be thrown about so freely. There's been greater evidence of NBA lottery tampering, and no one says a word. Moreover, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Mathaus did rig the draw.
I'm pretty disappointed. Group E has three Top 10 teams in it, plus the strongest African side. It's pretty ridiculous. Meanwhile, Germany will waltz through their group, as will the Brazilians, French, and English. And I still can't figure out how Spain was seeded and not the Dutch or Czechs.
I'm pretty disappointed. Group E has three Top 10 teams in it, plus the strongest African side. It's pretty ridiculous. Meanwhile, Germany will waltz through their group, as will the Brazilians, French, and English. And I still can't figure out how Spain was seeded and not the Dutch or Czechs.
But that is the charm of lotteries, isn't it? It is pretty much a given that some groups would be stronger than others, given the nature of the lotteries. You also knew beforehand that the Netherlands and Czech Republic were not in the first seeding group; any group that would eventually have either of those drawn would automatically be stronger.
(In an ideal scenario, yes, the groups would be more balanced, I totally agree. Germany and France have gotten a cakewalk in particular -- at least, on paper. Both these side have been struggling as of late, and I would not be surprised if they scraped through the first round.)
It is just the way it is, a lottery -- things happen.
If they want to b*tch, they should do so about the FIFA rankings, and/or the way they seed teams. Now THAT is something real to complain about.
It is so typical that the Italians are crying again. They're incredibly poor losers. They will *always* find a reason to claim it was rigged. They were claiming they were robbed 4 years ago vs South Korea. Now I do feel that referee was making some bad mistakes there, but hey, referees are human. The Italians immediately thought they were bribed. If you actually believed the Italians were right, well, just consider the fact that they say Mathhaus rigged the draw. They have done it so many times, their claims have NO value whatsoever.
Their seeding method just sucks, like their rankings. Spain has always been overrated; they show attractive football, but when it comes down to it, they are a letdown.
In a way Holland is overrated as well (that's coming from a dutch guy here), they usually come up short when it matters as well. Van Basten had some beginner's luck, and that's why they were unbeaten in the qualification rounds. They play a friendly against a great team -- Italy -- and they immediately lose.
France is just riding their -- ancient by now -- previous results at the World and Euro championships.
No offense to anybody here, but I have no idea why the US is in top 10. They certainly are not stronger than say, Portugal, or Italy. The ESPN soccer poll indicates that the US will be world championships, over around 30% for Brazil. Now that is just sad -- I blame that on the rankings.
(In an ideal scenario, yes, the groups would be more balanced, I totally agree. Germany and France have gotten a cakewalk in particular -- at least, on paper. Both these side have been struggling as of late, and I would not be surprised if they scraped through the first round.)
It is just the way it is, a lottery -- things happen.
If they want to b*tch, they should do so about the FIFA rankings, and/or the way they seed teams. Now THAT is something real to complain about.
It is so typical that the Italians are crying again. They're incredibly poor losers. They will *always* find a reason to claim it was rigged. They were claiming they were robbed 4 years ago vs South Korea. Now I do feel that referee was making some bad mistakes there, but hey, referees are human. The Italians immediately thought they were bribed. If you actually believed the Italians were right, well, just consider the fact that they say Mathhaus rigged the draw. They have done it so many times, their claims have NO value whatsoever.
Their seeding method just sucks, like their rankings. Spain has always been overrated; they show attractive football, but when it comes down to it, they are a letdown.
In a way Holland is overrated as well (that's coming from a dutch guy here), they usually come up short when it matters as well. Van Basten had some beginner's luck, and that's why they were unbeaten in the qualification rounds. They play a friendly against a great team -- Italy -- and they immediately lose.
France is just riding their -- ancient by now -- previous results at the World and Euro championships.
No offense to anybody here, but I have no idea why the US is in top 10. They certainly are not stronger than say, Portugal, or Italy. The ESPN soccer poll indicates that the US will be world championships, over around 30% for Brazil. Now that is just sad -- I blame that on the rankings.
BS.This just in....
Any WC game involving Spain will have the following rules:
1. If Spain is winning, no more than 1 minute of added injury time.
2. If Spain is losing, at least 7 minutes of added injury time or until Spain has scored to at least equalize.
3. If Spain has no chance of winning, prepare for a lengthy complaint from Spanish FA demanding a detailed review of the judge's bad calls against them
Any WC game involving Spain will have the following rules:
1. If Spain is winning, no more than 1 minute of added injury time.
2. If Spain is losing, at least 7 minutes of added injury time or until Spain has scored to at least equalize.
3. If Spain has no chance of winning, prepare for a lengthy complaint from Spanish FA demanding a detailed review of the judge's bad calls against them
Another example would be EURO 2000, Spain-Yugoslavia. 98 (8 minutes of overtime !!!) minute game, which the Spainards were trailing 3-2 in the 90th minute and were awarded a penalty in the first minute of overtime and scored another seconds before the whistle was blown. Oh yeah ... Yugoslavia also got a red card.