World Cup 2006 discussion thread

[JSBC]

For the few soccer/football enthusiasts here, let's use this to discuss the great game and the great tournament this summer.

I'll start.

England: Picking a 17 old kid in Theo Walcott. A big gamble that's for sure, but in reality I don't think he's going to play a huge role. Sure Rooney is likely to miss out, which means they'll probably play Crouch/Owen up front, and have Defoe and Walcott on the bench.

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[Derk]

[Allstar7]

I loathe 'footie' as well

Just loathe it

[droqqa]

Damn, you guys are asshats.

My knowledge of the game is limited, however, I will be in Germany for World Cup from the 10th-18th! Have tickets to 2 games USA/Czech & Germany/Poland. Couldn't be more excited.

Will you be attending JSBC?

D

[hard2tel]

I almost never watch soccer but when i do i love it.

I cant freakin wait until the World Cup. ..Go USA.

[emmasdad]

The only futbol game I ever attended convinced my that it is you, soccer fans, that are compleatly and utterly fuggin insane. I was in Guatemala City and it was a WC qualifier vs. Uruguay. I heard and saw things that would make MVP blush like a schoolgirl. I bought a Guate jersey just so guys wouldn't throw bags of urine on me. I hate to think what would have happened if someone actually scored a goal. Yikes.

You guys are nuts. Go USA.

[Stoneburg]

Absolutely devestating blow for England to miss Rooney. He's the only attacker they have that can create, setup and score all on his own. He's the complete player, strong, fast, powerful drive, creative, great technique and brutal determination. With him they are actually for the first time in 30 years a serious contender, without them they're just an above average team.

Defense
For once they don't have a really strong keeper, but the defensive line looks very good indeed. Cole is a class wing back who is competent bringing the ball forward as well as defending, and has some real pace. Ferdinand has huge potential and will hopefully be nmore focused when the cup starts, his pace and strength in the air is great. John Terry is a world class defender with no real weaknesses, the only somewhat weak link is Gary Neville who is definetely over the hill, his lack of pace could be a problem but hopefully his enormous experience will make up for it.

Midfield
This is actually the most interesting part of the team. On paper the midfield is absolutely brilliant with Gerrard and Lampard in the middle, however, they don't seem to work that well together. I would actually prefer to see Gerrard as right wing back (don't laugh, the few times he has played that position he has been outstanding). Lampard is the star of the team and the most important player now that Rooney is out. His goalscoring capacity is absolutely amazing for a midfielder and he's got great vision, he'll be a hard working playmaker who is also no slouch defensively.

On the right side they've got the best crosser of the ball in the world and one of the best set pieces taker, Beckham has also developed his other skills while in Real Madrid to become a more allround winger. His work ratio is always underestimated, few players run as much as he does and participate as much in both the buildup and defense. On the left they've got an interesting choice between Cole and Philips. Philips has incredible speed but ex-prodigy Cole has better technique and more international experience. One problem could be that with Philips lack of defensive strength, Joe Coles tendency to break into the center and Ashley Coles offensive mindset they might leave the left side too open to attacks.

Attack
Without Rooney I think Crouch/Owen is by far the best pairing. I like strikers with extreme abilities and they both have some. Crouch is probably the best player in the world in the air (now that Duncan Ferguson is retiring) and actually has more ball control and is more intelligent than giver credit for. He'll be an excellent target player. With him you have Owen who is great on the counter attack. His balance and speed is essential for Englands low defense and counter attacks to work and the boy is a natural finisher.

Tactics
Sven Göran is probably one of the most tactically minded coaches in the Cup, by far the most intellitgent that England has had in.. ever? His low pressure and low defense is however a bit foreign to England players (and fans) who don't seem to always appreciate it. The key for him will be to get the midfield to work together, both with themself and the defensive linve, and to get Owen/Crouch comfortable in their roles. I think their playing style will shift through the tournament which is also a challenge for the players.

Against lesser teams like Paraguay and Trinidad they will have to be controling the game and feed Crouch with crosses from Beckham. The midfield will have to make a lot of offensive runs to break up the opposition defense who will probably be collected and looking to counter attack. Against better opposition (if they go through.. which they should) they'll have to be content with defending with discipline and more attacks will be either long balls by Beckham or through balls by Lampard on Owen.

England fans need to come down to earth in general and realise that their squad hasn't been among the top nations since '66, they simply haven't had the quality. This is however the best English squad I have seen in my life time and I'm hoping they have a good run. Making it to the quarter finals would be a GREAT effort and well, once you're there, anything can happen.

[hard2tel]

^^One of those fans which ED was speaking of.^^ lol

Great analysis Stoneburg. Can someone give a description of the American squad?...or a site where i can read about them?...I googled it and looked on ussoccer.com but didnt find any analysis or anything..just the lineups..game results..etc..

[Stoneburg]

We've got a very well organised team compared to most and usually have very good morale. This has been important to off set our lack of natural talent in the squad. Sweden isn't a very big country and the weather isn't exactly optimal for football, so we don't get many Ronaldinhos.

Defense
This used to be Swedens strength but has in the last 6 months become a liability. Our captain Mellber is usually a great defender. Big, striong and fast, but has suffered injuries and horrible form lately. On the right back we have a gaping hole, either Östlund who is indeed a ferocious fighter with a huge heart but quite honestly just doesn't have anywhere near the capacity needed for international football. On the left we're more comfortable with Edman who's good defensively and has a sensitive left foot, capable of delivering deadly crosses but lacking a bit in speed compared to the big teams wing backs. Next to Mellberg in the center is the phenomenon that is Teddy Lucic. The guy can go a year warming a bench and will still always deliver a solid performance. He's not that fast, not that strong, but he's always in the right place and almost always gets his foot or head on the ball. Rarely shines but never disappoints. Isaksson is unchallenged as keeper and is very consistent despite his youth.

Midfield
We play a 1-3 midfield with a balance player, two wingers and a central playmaker. The only uncontested spots are Lindroth as the defensive man and Ljungberg on the left. Ljungberg is obviously one of our biggest stars and one of the few that could claim a place in most squads. Quick and with a huge work ratio his most significant characteristic is still his intelligence, his runs tend to tear big sores into the opposition and no other player gets as many free kicks. As play makers we have either Anders Svensson who has great vision and flair (and can score), but lacks in pace and fysique, or Källström who's stronger, has an awesome left foot but tends to disappear out of the match picture from time to time. On the right side we have either work horse Alexandersson, or the flamboyant Wilhelmsson. I'd actually prefer to see Alexandersson on the right back.

Attack
Zlatan baby, Zlatan. By far the most talented player ever to come out of Sweden. Together with Ronaldinho, Rooney and Henry I would say he is the most talented player active today. His big and strong and has unmatched technique for a guy of his size, he can take on multiple opponents and tends to do the unexpected. Lovely to watch. At his side we have well known Henrik Larsson, the optimal team player. Very intelligent and good at scoring with both his head and feets, his attitude and hard work lifts the whole team and his massive international experience will be very important.

Tactics
By tradition Sweden is a defense-focused nation. However, we have never before had so many talented offensive players so by Swedish standards we're playing a very attacking football. Still, organisation is key. Lindroth and Mellberg organises the defense, offensively a lot depends on Zlatans mood to be honest. If he's in form, give him the ball and let him work his magic. Ljungberg carries a heavy load is very important both in offense and defense. We lack speed and one-on-one capability in our other midfielders (except Wilhelmsson who may not play) so he has to make his runs to open up the field for Larsson and Zlatan. We're used to playing on the counter attack but will probabkly be forced to run the game against Paraguay and Trinidad, paradoxially we tend to be better against better opposition since we are bad at setting the pace of the game. If we go through (which we should) we'll be dependant on the midfield helping the defensive line and Ljungber/Zlatan/Larsson creating and capitalizing on some chances.

And yes, I am looking forward to the World Cup.

[NorthView]

Woooooaaaaahhhhh. Great piece Stoney, I'll get to that in a minute. First off, Walcott. Sure a huge gamble, but why not? As an Arsenal fan I'm pleased to see him make the squad, but very few people have a clear idea of how good he is at the moment. I doubt we'll see much of him duirng the tournament, but that depends on what formation Eriksson uses, which is now in doubt because of the disastrous injury to Rooney, our world-beater.

Rooney - best English player I've ever seen, totally irreplaceable. Our Scouse Ronaldinho.
Owen - still recovering from serious injury. Big question mark over his match fitness.
Lampard - perennial overachiever
Gerrard - world class midfielder who rarely asserts himself enough for England
Beckham - ageing but at least he's not injured
Joe Cole - good performer for club and country
Defence + keeper - few concerns

Now, there's much talk here about what formation Eriksson will plump for, sans Rooney. I'd be appalled (but not so surprised) if he started games with Crouch who, although in possession of a nice touch and awareness, is woefully lacking in pace and imagination.

The possibility has been mooted here of playing Gerrard in an advanced midfield role, allowing him to surge forward as he does for L'pool without having to concern himself with defensive duties. This would leave a slot for a holding midfielder such as Carrick (hopefully in preference to Hargreaves) or even Carragher. The drawback is that this is the notorious diamond system that Eriksson has experimented with before, with poor results.

Another possibility is to move Cole to the role of advanced midfielder, and put Gerrard out on the left, but I feel that's waste of our best midfielder and he hasn't relished the role when assigned to to it previously.

In summary, England's hopes of a World Cup victory have been dashed by Rooney's injury, though in reality the combination of a weak manager too eager to please his "star" players, and resurgent teams from Brazil and Argentina meant that we were unlikely to have won even with a fully fit squad.

Prediction: Owen/Crouch, out in 1st or 2nd knockout stage due to insufficient goals.

[Chance Artanis]

[Drade]

Here's a link to an article on the American squad with a little commentary on the key guys.

[JSBC]

North:

Even though Rooney is likely to be out, you'll still top the group and likely have a 2nd round match with Poland. I figure that'd be probably one of the easiest opponents you could ask for.

Quarters would be a likely matchup of the winners of group D (Mexico/Portugal/Iran) and the runners up in C (Arg/Holland)

Sky's the limit from thereon. You finally have a world class keeper in Robinson, since James sucked donkeyballs whenever he had the gloves.

Easily your best chance at World Cup glory since 1990

[MVPSPORTS]