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Post by Hurbster on May 30, 2014 21:24:32 GMT -5
Oooooo, that Belgium team. So damn good.
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Mochi Lone Wolf
Fry's dog Seymour
Development through Destruction.
Posts: 24,036
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Post by Mochi Lone Wolf on May 30, 2014 22:06:59 GMT -5
I'm for the U.S. because I'm American. If not them, I want it to be Argentina as a Barcelona/Messi mark.
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on May 31, 2014 6:48:24 GMT -5
I think a lot of people are overlooking France. They scraped by in qualifying and this is no where near the team of 2006. They should get out of there group but I can't see them going very far after that.
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Post by simplydurhamcalling on May 31, 2014 7:26:28 GMT -5
A South American team (Brazil unless the pressure gets to them) will win it and I expect Chile to get out of their group. My big upset prediction is that Spain don't get out of their group.
I don't think Belgium will do as well as people expect, I think they will fare much better in Russia in 2018.
With that simulator I predicted England getting knocked out in the 2nd round by Colombia and my final four were Brazil, Argentina, Germany and Chile.
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Post by Hit Girl on May 31, 2014 7:45:36 GMT -5
Based on my predictions, it's a Brazil vs Spain final
Brazil will win it.
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Post by EoE: Well There's Your Problem on May 31, 2014 7:50:17 GMT -5
If Australia manage to nab a point against any of the rest of the group, it'll be a damn miracle.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2014 8:02:28 GMT -5
My shocker is Italy not making it out of group play. England takes the second spot. The toughest choice was the second team in Group F. I picked Bosnia-Herzegovina, although whomever wins will have to deal with France. I can see an upset if the French aren't on their game, but even so, Germany looms.
Quarters: Brazil-England, France-Germany, Netherlands-Uruguay, Argentina-Portugal (tough choice) Semis: Brazil-Germany, Uruguay-Portugal Final: Germany over Uruguay.
I choose Uruguay to make the Finals for a couple of reasons: 1) There has to be one South American team in the Final; the toughest challenges will be Colombia and the Netherlands. (That's how I have them beating Portugal.) 2) Brazil has never won the World Cup as a host; facing Germany in the Semis will prove too much.
However, Germany is just too good, and according to my bracket, Uruguay will have played 5/6 games against Top 15 competition. They will be burned out. (That will break another fact that has proven true to this point: South American teams win in "Latin America", if you count Brazil (1970) and Argentina (1986) winning in Mexico.)
I'm a fan of the German team because the US was never in the darn thing when I followed the World Cup in my younger years (until 1990).
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Fundertaker
El Dandy
Hideo Kojima should direct every ending ever!
Posts: 8,914
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Post by Fundertaker on May 31, 2014 11:32:57 GMT -5
Which they only hosted in 1950 and weren't even at their strongest because of internal strife within the governing bodies not allowing proffesional players to be in the national team.
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Post by Hit Girl on May 31, 2014 11:36:03 GMT -5
World Cup coverage is too slick these days. I miss the old days where the picture was slightly blurry and David Coleman would commentate over a phone. It just felt like a proper World Cup.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on May 31, 2014 12:20:51 GMT -5
Can't see past anyone but Brazil winning.
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Post by Hit Girl on May 31, 2014 12:22:48 GMT -5
Can't believe I have to endure a month of Adrian Chiles.
Seriously ITV, piss off.
He's the best they could do?
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Post by The Pixel on May 31, 2014 12:53:47 GMT -5
Argentina are my pick to win. They got the players, climate shouldnt be to much of an issue, close to home. everything is in their favour, even have a pretty easy run
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4real
Wade Wilson
Posts: 27,639
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Post by 4real on Jun 1, 2014 4:47:46 GMT -5
Can't believe I have to endure a month of Adrian Chiles. Seriously ITV, piss off. He's the best they could do? And Andy Townsend. ITV's coverage is usually miserable. I'm going for Brazil to win it, England & Holland to not even make it out of the group stage and Russia getting to the quarters (just because Capello will get it right this time after screwing up with England)
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Post by Allison Reynolds on Jun 1, 2014 8:09:00 GMT -5
Thread bookmarked. My favorite sporting event is finally back and in flamboyant Brazilian atmosphere no less. Very, very excited.
According to a few simulations, the most consistent finale are Brazil vs Spain, which I actually kinda hope for because I like both teams quite a lot. Brazil won both times. Switzerland are the overachievers and France are the underachievers.
I'd like to see Mexico overachieve and surprise folks, since they've been fun to watch recently Belgium too. I support USA for that nation pride thing, but mostly because of that, since other teams have more exciting players.
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Optimax
Mephisto
"I came here to hunt ghost and chew bubble gum, and im all out of bubble gum!"
Posts: 728
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Post by Optimax on Jun 1, 2014 9:02:04 GMT -5
If Australia manage to nab a point against any of the rest of the group, it'll be a damn miracle. We score in each match and keep our opponents to 3 or less goals, playing a decent style of football and I'll be happy.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 1, 2014 14:53:59 GMT -5
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salz4life
Grimlock
Prichard is a guy who gets that his job is to service his boss.
Posts: 13,937
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Post by salz4life on Jun 1, 2014 18:46:34 GMT -5
The World Cup in '94, when I was 16, got me into soccer. I really only followed the World Cup, but over the past couple of years I have started following Club Soccer and, more specifically, the EPL. Usually, after the US exits, I pull for Holland. I just like the way they play. However, with me following the EPL so much, I will probably be pulling for England. Unfortunately, there is a good chance neither get out of the group stage so I could be back with Holland. LOL As for my prediction on who wins, I have Brazil.
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Post by DiBiase is Good on Jun 1, 2014 19:45:23 GMT -5
Can't believe I have to endure a month of Adrian Chiles. Seriously ITV, piss off. He's the best they could do? Could be worse, they could have Rio Ferdinand on the panel for no reason other than his name being Rio.
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pegasuswarrior
El Dandy
Three Time FAN Idol Champion
@PulpPictionary
Posts: 8,748
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Post by pegasuswarrior on Jun 1, 2014 19:47:09 GMT -5
Favorite sporting event on the planet. This and NCAA Tournament time are times I will be glued to the television. Life will have to go on at some point, but the DVR will be full force. I don't foresee myself missing a single game live on tv through the first two match of each group though. Once every four years: life can take a backseat for a week and a half or so.
In a Group of Death, I could absolutely lose my mind if the US makes it out of there. Shades of the Donovan goal where I literally ran outside and around the house and Daniel Bryan "Yes!'ed" it for 20 minutes straight before it was ever a thing.
That being said, lots of teams I root for. Lots I root against. Shades of NCAA Tournament for me in that regard too.
And the broadcasting! Nothing like it! That can MAKE a game! So hyped!
EDIT: And the ESPN hate train that I would love to engineer on a daily basis gets let off the hook during this time. I know it's just because its their baby, so to speak, but they do a great job of coverage at this event, and it does have a huge feel to it. I hate that network to death and would love to see it crumble to the ground, but I like back off during this once-every-four-year stint and thank them for making it all live and giving me tons of coverage and hype. It's the only thing--only thing-- I feel they do right in terms of making sports sports and not just sports entertainment. (Yeah, they still flair it up, but soccer/football is like that everywhere, it seems, and I like that they take us into other countries' experiences with their own teams as well. Also, it's totally cool to be a homer, and they do that with a team I can actually agree with them on!)
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2014 3:11:14 GMT -5
Gotta roll with my raza, Viva Chile! They played like dog chit against Egypt, but I know it was just a ploy to save their best for the Copa Mundial. As long as we get Vidal near 100% we stand a better chance. Hopefully this would free Alexis up to start scoring some goals. Looking forward to their NXT friendly this Wednesday against Sheamus.
One thing I still don't understand is all the praise their goalie Claudio Bravo gets. He's off to Barcelona, while Sanchez is rumored to be Juventus bound alongside Vidal. I have zero confidence in Bravos ball handling. He goofs up far too often. I have to close my eyes every time they pass him the ball. I am hopeful that Sampaoli comes to his senses and puts the best goalie in south america in the net, Herrera.
Also tomorrow is the reveal of Chile's 23 man squad for the World Cup.
I honestly think we can win it this year.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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