World Cup 2006 - Germany (World Cup ONLY)

[vamologocomisso]

his carisma and joy to play

This apply much better to Ronaldhino than Ronaldo in my opinion. Maybe Ronaldo smiles more when playing with Brazil, but with his club he didn't smile too much this season. :lol:

exactly what I said. Ronaldo has joy and happiness with brasil. He is like an spoil kid who needs everybody saying he is the best all the time, and in the national team this happens  :shock: (its absurd, but in the end brasil may be the champion again with our spoil and happy child playing his best )
Ronaldinho smiles more and do some very impressive tricks, but impressive tricks dont win games. Dont get me wrong, I like his tricks, but I LOVE to win, hehehe :roll:

"banheira" means bath tub

[Krys TOFF]

Bloody Hell ! Cisse have been injured by a Chinese guy during last training match. :x He may not be able to take part of the World Cup...
In this case, somebody else would be called to replace him. Who ? Giuly I hope. But it would be even better if Cisse is not injured too much...

[Chulk]

Cisse is a great player. Hopefully he will be able to play. By the way, why isn't Giuly in the team? Who is in his place?

[vamologocomisso]

Cisse is out! Too bad for football fans... :cry:

btw, I dont think it was that chinesse player?s fault...

[Mislav]

MEINE DAMEN UND HERREN,
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
DAME I GOSPODO!!

THE WORLD CUP IS OPENED!!!

[CTG]

I participate in the tipping contest of my department at the university. Here are my tips for the first round:

1 A 2006.06.09. Germany - Costa Rica 3-1
2 A 2006.06.09. Poland - Ecuador 1-1
3 B 2006.06.10. England - Paraguay 2-0
4 B 2006.06.10. Trinidad and Tobago - Sweden 1-5
5 C 2006.06.10. Argentina - Ivory Coast 2-0
6 C 2006.06.11. Serbia - Netherlands 1-1
7 D 2006.06.11. Mexiko - Iran 1-0
8 D 2006.06.11. Angola - Portugal 0-3
9 F 2006.06.12. Australia - Japan 0-0
10 E 2006.06.12. USA - Czech Republic 0-1
11 E 2006.06.12. Italy - Ghana 2-0
12 G 2006.06.13. South Corea - Togo 4-0
13 G 2006.06.13. France - Switzerland 1-0
14 F 2006.06.13. Brasil - Croatia 2-1
15 H 2006.06.14. Spain - Ukraine 0-1
16 H 2006.06.14. Tunesia - Saudi Arabia 1-1

[Krys TOFF]

Cisse is a great player. Hopefully he will be able to play. By the way, why isn't Giuly in the team? Who is in his place?

Trezeguet is I think.
And as supposed, Giuly or Anelka has not been chosen to replace Cisse : Govou was chosen even if he was not as good as Giuly or Anelka.
Another choice could have been Pires, to replace Wiltord as midfield and put back Wiltord to his original place : forward.

About the match France-China : we saw once again than Trezeguet is not efficient more than 30 minutes. He replaced Cisse, scored a goal (thanks to Henry, he did all the job and Trezeguet just had to put the ball in the finish) and then we didn't saw him until he was replaced.
So Trezeguet is made to put some additionnal pressure on the forward only for the last 20-30 minutes of a match. So he should not play from the start. Never.
Another thing is the efficiency of Ribery : he entered 15 minutes and immediately gave speed and energy to the team. Can he make it during 90 minutes ? Not sure. He should be preserved for help in case a match is badly engaged.

[Krys TOFF]

Let me predict too.

Groups final results/qualifications :

Group A :
1/ Germany
2/ Poland
3/ Ecuador
4/ Costa Rica
Poland will have advantage compared to Ecuador : their fans can come and hail for them. This can make a big difference.
Germany can't be else but 1st in this group.

Group B :
1/ England
2/ Sweden
3/ Paraguay
4/ Trinidad & Tobago
Sweden can be 1st in this group, England must be careful. But theorically, England should be 1st. Paraguay and T&T have no chance.

Group C :
1/ Argentina
2/ Netherlands
3/ Ivory coast
4/ Serbia
Difficult group. Argentina experience should help them reach 1st place. Netherlands never starts good their competitions (it was the case again at "less-than-21-years-old" Euro that took place few days ago), they always get better and better when competition advances. But they should be qualified anyway.

Group D :
1/ Portugal
2/ Mexico
3/ Angola
4/ Iran
Iran has problems with some of his players. Portugal should be 1st easily. Mexico deserves the 2nd place. Easy group for Portugal.

Group E :
1/ Czech Republic
2/ Italy
3/ USA
4/ Ghana
Italy is not at his best. They have difficulties to score. Czech vitality should make them 1st in this group. Italy experience should allow them to be qualified. USA are improving, but they can't be qualified. They MUST NOT be qualified. I hate them for electing and re-electing G.W. Bush, I want them to be humiliated by Ghana, even if I know it will not happen...

Group F :
1/ Brazil
2/ Croatia
3/ Japan
4/ Australia
Who else than Brazil to be 1st in this group ? 2nd place will be hard between Japan and Croatia. But Japanese will fall I think. Except if Brazil plays less good their 3rd match versus Japan. Why do I say that ? Because Brazil-Japan is last match of the group and as Brazil should be already sure to be qualified, they may help Zico (famous Brazilian player but now Japan team manager) and let Japan have a draw with them. I hope to be wrong, but after what happened in Italy for example, I know that kind of "tactics" may happen during WC 2006.

Group G :
1/ France
2/ Switzerland
3/ South Korea
4/ Togo
Main match is the one between France and Switzerland for 1st place. I think it will be a draw but France should be 1st with better goal-average on the other 2 matches. South Korea won't have referee's help like 4 years ago (remember match versus Spain ? Spain should have been in semi-final in 2002), so they will be 3rd in this group.

Group H :
1/ Spain
2/ Ukraine
3/ Tunisia
4/ Saudi Arabia
Ukraine is powerfull, but I hope Spain will overtake them. Tunisia can do a surprise and be qualified if Spain or Ukraine do a bad match. But if Spain and Ukraine play seriously, they should be both qualified.


So, these tips lead to the following :

1/8 final :
Germany-Sweden => Germany will win with difficulties.
England-Poland => Poland because English will be over-confident due to their 1st place in their group. They have the bad habit to always under-estimate their opponents.
Argentina-Mexico => Argentina, easily, logically.
Portugal-Netherlands => Portugal with many difficulties.
Czech Rep-Croatia => Czech Rep after penalty session.
Brazil-Italy => Brazil, but they will need to defend better than ever. Else Italy will win as they always can score if you let them play.
France-Ukraine => France with luck.
Spain-Switzerland => Spain easily.

1/4 final :
Germany-Argentina => Argentina with luck.
Poland-Portugal => Portugal after penalty session.
Czech Rep-France => Czech Rep with energy, except if Henry and Ribery can make the difference, but I fear not...
Brazil-Spain => Spain (there's always a big suprise on every WC, this is the one of WC2006). Even if the match is Italy-Sapin, I hope Spain to be the winner.

Semi-Final :
Argentina-Czech Rep => Czech Rep with luck.
Portugal-Spain => Spain after penalty session.

3rd place :
Argentina-Portugal => Argentina.

Final :
Spain-Czech Rep => Spain because they deserve it.

Of course, it won't happen this way and we will probably see Germany, Italy, Brazil and a 4th one (Netherlands ?) as final 4 probably, but I'd like to see Czech Rep and Spain do a good World Cup.

[Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister]

I'll make further predictions, let me guess first today's games:

Germany-Costa Rica 3:2
Poland-Ecuador 1:1

[Usrin]

Krys: I also hope we'll see great performance from the Czech team, but their place in the final seems to be very unrealistic... Sad but true: FIFA wants to see only the most popular teams in the last rounds because that's the interest of advertisers... (In 2002, they wanted to make football more popular in Asia for the same reason - that's why they helped South Korea.) Considering this, my tips are the following:

Group A
Germany - Costa Rica 1-0
Poland - Ecuador 1-0
Germany - Poland 2-1
Ecuador - Costa Rica 2-1
Germany - Ecuador 1-1
Poland - Costa Rica 3-1
--> 1. Germany, 2. Poland, 3. Ecuador, 4. Costa Rica

Group B
England - Paraguay 1-0
Sweden - Trinidad & Tobago 3-1
England - Trinidad & Tobago 3-0
Sweden - Paraguay 1-0
Sweden - England 2-2
Paraguay - Trinidad & Tobago 2-1
--> 1. England, 2. Sweden, 3. Paraguay, 4. Trinidad & Tobago

Group C
Argentina - Ivory Coast 3-2
Serbia - Netherlands 1-1
Argentina - Serbia 1-0
Netherlands - Ivory Coast 2-1
Netherlands - Argentina 1-2
Ivory Coast - Serbia 1-0
--> 1. Argentina, 2. Netherlands, 3. Ivory Coast, 4. Serbia

Group D
Mexico - Iran 2-1
Angola - Portugal 1-1
Mexico - Angola 1-1
Portugal - Iran 3-1
Portugal - Mexico 2-2
Iran - Angola 1-0
--> 1. Portugal, 2. Mexico, 3. Iran, 4. Angola

Group E
Czech Republic - USA 2-0
Italy - Ghana 0-0
Czech Republic - Ghana 1-1
Italy - USA 1-0
Czech Republic - Italy 1-1
Ghana - USA 2-1
--> 1. Czech Republic, 2. Ghana, 3. Italy, 4. USA

Group F
Australia - Japan 1-0
Brazil - Croatia 1-1
Croatia - Japan 1-3
Brazil - Australia 4-0
Brazil - Japan 1-4
Croatia - Australia 2-0
--> 1. Brazil, 2. Croatia, 3. Australia, 4. Japan

Group G
Togo - South Korea 2-1
France - Switzerland 2-0
France - South Korea 2-0
Togo - Switzerland 2-1
Togo - France 1-1
Switzerland - South Korea 3-1
--> 1. France, 2. Togo, 3. Switzerland, 4. South Korea

Group H
Ukraine - Spain 2-1
Tunisia - Saudi Arabia 2-0
Ukraine - Saudi Arabia 4-0
Spain - Tunisia 3-1
Spain - Saudi Arabia 6-0
Ukraine - Tunisia 2-1
--> 1. Ukraine, 2. Spain, 3. Tunisia, 4. Saudi Arabia

1/8 finals
Germany - Sweden 0-0, 1-0 after extra time
Argentina - Mexico 2-1
England - Poland 3-0
Netherlands - Portugal 2-1
Czech Republic - Croatia 2-2, Czech Rep. wins by penalties
Spain - France 2-0
Brazil - Ghana 2-1
Ukraine - Togo 1-1, Ukraine wins by penalties

1/4 finals
Argentina - Germany 2-0
Spain - Czech Republic 1-0
England - Netherlands 2-1
Brazil - Ukraine 3-1

Semi-finals
Argentina - Spain 1-1, 2-1 after extra time
England - Brazil 1-1, England wins by penalties

3rd place
Brazil - Spain 2-1

Final
England - Argentina 2-1

[BonzaiJoe]

Germany - Costa Rica 2-2
Poland - Ecuador 1-0
Germany - Poland 0-0
Ecuador - Costa Rica 1-3
Germany - Ecuador 2-1
Poland - Costa Rica 1-1

1. Costa Rica
2. Germany
3. Poland
4. Ecuador

England - Paraguay 1-1
Sweden - Trinidad & Tobago 3-0
England - Trinidad & Tobago 3-0
Sweden - Paraguay 1-2
England - Sweden 3-2
Paraguay - Trinidad & Tobago 2-1

1. England
2. Paraguay
3. Sweden
4. Trinidad & Tobago

Argentina - Ivory Coast 1-0
Serbia - Holland 2-0
Argentina - Serbia 0-0
Holland - Ivory Coast 4-0
Holland - Argentina 0-1
Serbia - Ivory Coast 2-0

1. Serbia & Montenegro
2. Argentina
3. Holland
4. Ivory Coast

Mexico - Iran 3-0
Angola - Portugal 2-2
Mexico - Angola 2-1
Portugal - Iran 4-1
Portugal - Mexico 0-0
Iran - Angola 3-3

1. Mexico
2. Portugal
3. Angola
4. Iran

Czech Republic - USA 2-0
Italy - Ghana 4-0
Czech Republic - Ghana 2-1
Italy - USA 2-3
Czech Republic - Italy 0-0
Ghana - USA 1-2

1. Czech Republic
2. USA
3. Italy
4. Ghana

Australia - Japan 3-0
Brazil - Croatia 2-1
Croatia - Japan 4-1
Brazil - Australia 3-0
Brazil - Japan 3-1

1. Brazil
2. Croatia
3. Australia
4. Japan

Togo - South Corea 1-2
France - Switzerland 1-1
France - South Corea 2-0
Togo - Switzerland 0-0
Togo - France 0-5
Switzerland - South Corea 2-2

1. France
2. South Corea
3. Switzerland
4. Togo

Ukraine - Spain 1-0
Tunisia - Saudi Arabia 4-0
Ukraine - Saudi Arabia 2-0
Spain - Tunisia 2-2
Spain - Saudi Arabia 3-1
Ukraine - Tunisia 1-0

1. Ukraine
2. Spain
3. Tunisia
4. Saudi Arabia


1/8 finals:

Costa Rica - Paraguay  2-4
Serbia/Montenegro - Portugal 1-0
Germany - England 1-1 (Germany wins by penalty)
Argentina - Mexico 3-2
Czech Republic - Croatia 0-0 (Czech Republic wins on golden goal)
Spain - France 2-0
Brazil - USA 2-2 (USA wins by penalty shootout)
Ukraine - South Corea 4-0

1/4 finals:

Paraguay - Serbia/Montenegro 1-2
Germany - Argentina 0-1
Czech Republic - Spain 0-0 (Czech Republic wins by golden goal)
USA - Ukraine 1-2

Semi finals:

Ukraine - Argentina 0-0 (Argentina by penalty)
Czech Republic - Serbia/Montenegro 0-1

Bronze:

Ukraine - Czech Republic 3-0

Final:

Argentina - Serbia/Montenegro 2-0

[Usrin]

BJ: if your predictions will be true, you can earn a huge amount of money by betting on them. For example, the odds of an Argentina-Serbia final is 750:1 on http://www.betandwin.com...

Just a remark: there won't be golden goal, extra time will be 2x15 minutes even if somebody scores during it.

[Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister]

Germany - Costa Rica 3-2
Poland - Ecuador 1-1
Germany - Poland 0-0
Ecuador - Costa Rica 2-1
Germany - Ecuador 2-1
Poland - Costa Rica 4-1

1. Germany
2. Poland
3. Ecuador
4. Costa Rica

England - Paraguay 2-0
Sweden - Trinidad & Tobago 1-0
England - Trinidad & Tobago 2-0
Sweden - Paraguay 2-1
England - Sweden 1-1
Paraguay - Trinidad & Tobago 3-0

1. England
2. Sweden
3. Paraguay
4. Trinidad & Tobago

Argentina - Ivory Coast 2-1
Serbia - Holland 0-1
Argentina - Serbia 1-1
Holland - Ivory Coast 3-1
Holland - Argentina 3-2
Serbia - Ivory Coast 1-1

1. Holland
2. Argentina
3. Serbia
4. Ivory Coast

Mexico - Iran 2-1
Angola - Portugal 0-4
Mexico - Angola 2-1
Portugal - Iran 2-0
Portugal - Mexico 1-1
Iran - Angola 2-3

1. Portugal
2. Mexico
3. Angola
4. Iran

Czech Republic - USA 1-1
Italy - Ghana 1-0
Czech Republic - Ghana 4-1
Italy - USA 1-0
Czech Republic - Italy 0-0
Ghana - USA 0-1

1. Italy
2. Czech Republic
3. USA
4. Ghana

Australia - Japan 1-3
Brazil - Croatia 2-1
Croatia - Japan 1-1
Brazil - Australia 5-2
Brazil - Japan 3-0
Croatia - Australia 4-0

1. Brazil
2. Croatia
3. Japan
4. Australia

Togo - South Korea 0-0
France - Switzerland 1-1
France - South Korea 1-1
Togo - Switzerland 0-3
Togo - France 1-2
Switzerland - South Korea 1-0

1. Switzerland
2. France
3. South Korea
4. Togo

Ukraine - Spain 0-2
Tunisia - Saudi Arabia 0-0
Ukraine - Saudi Arabia 3-1
Spain - Tunisia 5-1
Spain - Saudi Arabia 2-0
Ukraine - Tunisia 1-1

1. Spain
2. Ukraine
3. Tunisia
4. Saudi Arabia


1/8 finals:

Germany - Sweden 0-1
Holland - Mexico 2-1
England - Poland 2-0
Portugal - Argentina 0-0, 0-1 a.e.t.
Italy - Croatia 0-0, 1-0 a.e.t.
Switzerland - Ukraine 2-1
Brazil - Czech Republic 4-1
Spain - France 1-0

1/4 finals:

Sweden - Holland 1-3
England - Argentina 0-2
Italy - Switzerland 1-0
Brazil - Spain 2-2, Brazil on penalties

1/2 finals:

Holland - Argentina 1-0
Italy - Brazil 1-2

Bronze:

Italy - Argentina 0-0, Italy on penalties

Final:

Holland - Brazil 2-3

[CTG]

Okay, let's see a full tip from me just before the first match

Group A

Germany - Costa Rica    3-1
Poland - Ecuador   1-1
Germany - Poland   1-0
Ecuador - Costa Rica   1-1
Germany - Ecuador   3-1
Costa Rica - Poland   0-0

1   Germany   7-2   9
2   Poland   1-2   2
3   Ecuador   3-5   2
4   Costa Rica    2-4   2

Group B

England - Paraguay   2-0
Trinidad and Tobago - Sweden   1-5
England - Trinidad and Tobago   3-0
Sweden - Paraguay   2-1
Sweden - England   1-1
Paraguay - Trinidad and Tobago   3-0

1   Sweden   8-3   7
2   England   6-1   7
3   Paraguay   4-4   3
4   Trinidad and Tobago   1-11   0

Group C   

Argentina - Ivory Coast   2-0
Serbia - Netherlands   1-1
Argentina - Serbia   2-1
Netherlands - Ivory Coast   3-1
Netherlands - Argentina   0-1
Ivory Coast - Serbia   1-1

1   Argentina   5-1   9
2   Netherlands   4-3   4
3   Serbia   3-4   2
4   Ivory Coast   2-6   1

Group D   

Mexico - Iran   1-0
Angola - Portugal   0-3
Mexico - Angola   3-1
Portugal - Iran   1-0
Portugal - Mexico   1-2
Iran - Angola   1-0

1   Mexico   6-2   9
2   Portugal   5-2   6
3   Iran   1-2   3
4   Angola   1-7   0

Group E   

United States - Czech Republic   0-1
Italy - Ghana   2-0
Czech Republic - Ghana   2-1
Italy - United States   1-1
Czech Republic - Italy    1-1
Ghana - United States    1-3

1   Czech Republic   4-2   7
2   Italy   4-2   5
3   United States   4-3   4
4   Ghana   2-7   0

Group F
   
Australia - Japan   0-0
Brasil - Croatia   2-1
Japan - Croatia   1-1
Brasil - Australia   3-1
Japan - Brasil   1-2
Croatia - Australia   2-1

1   Brasil   7-3   9
2   Croatia   4-4   4
3   Japan   2-3   2
4   Australia   2-5   1

Group G   

South Corea - Togo   4-0
France - Switzerland   1-0
France - South Corea   3-1
Togo - Switzerland   0-3
Togo - France   1-4
Switzerland - South Corea   0-1

1   France   8-2   9
2   South Corea   6-3   6
3   Switzerland   3-2   3
4   Togo   1-11   0

Group H

Spain - Ukraine   0-1
Tunesia - Saudi Arabia   1-1
Saudi Arabia - Ukraine   0-2
Spain - Tunesia   3-0
Saudi Arabia - Spain   1-2
Ukraine - Tunesia   3-1

1   Ukraine   6-1   9
2   Spain   5-2   6
3   Saudi Arabia   2-5   1
4   Tunesia   2-7   1

16 ---> 8   

Germany - England   1-0 (with silver goal)
Argentina - Portugal   2-1
Sweden - Poland   2-0
Mexico - Netherlands   1-1, penalties: 4-2
Czech Republic - Croatia   2-1
France - Spain   1-0
Brasil - Italy   2-1
Ukraine - South Corea   0-1 (with silver goal)

Quarter-finals   

Germany - Argentina   0-2
Czech Republic - France   1-1, penalties 3-4
Sweden - Mexico   1-0
Brasil - South Corea   3-1

Semi-finals   

Argentina - France   1-0
Sweden - Brasil   1-2 (with silver goal)

Bronze match   

France - Sweden   1-1, penalties 5-4

Final   

Argentina - Brasil   2-1

[Akoss Poo a.k.a. Zorromeister]

1-2. This Costa Rican team is very weak... At least it seems... I thought that they are stronger. Lucky first goal by the Germans.