Metal Sludge Gossip Board

So the club season is effectively over for us all. Might as well move on to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

The teams:

AFC (4 teams):
Australia
Japan
Korea DPR
Korea Republic

CAF (6 teams):
Algeria
Cameroon
Côte d'Ivoire
Ghana
Nigeria
South Africa (hosts)

CONCACAF (3 teams)
Honduras
Mexico
United States

CONMEBOL (5 teams)
Argentina
Brazil
Chile
Paraguay
Uruguay

OFC (1 team)
New Zealand

UEFA (13 teams)
Denmark
England
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
Netherlands
Portugal
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Switzerland

Schedule here: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/matches/index.html

So,.......

Who do you want to win?

If you were a betting man, who would you put money on to win?

Which high profile team do you think will fall flat on their arses?

Thoughts?

I want ENGLAND to win. My home country. I think they will have as good a chance as any time in recent memory. Capello has them organised and despite a number of injuries, I think he will do a great job using whatever players are available.

I worry about who is going to be our goalkeeper more than anything else. We're in a transition period for this key area. I'd possibly hand the job to Joe Hart despite his lack of appearances. Green, James and Kirkland have all had bad seasons shipping in the goals. Foster is a ManU reserve who doesn't get enough match time. Hart has had a great season and has been one of the reasons Birmingham City did so well this season. His confidence is sky high and his future is safe (either remain at Brum or be recalled by Man City - nothing to worry about). The position will still be a weakpoint no matter who is in goal, but he could be the surprise star of the team.

I would bet on Germany to win. Not because I think they are the best team but they are always thereabouts and their odds are really good (14-1 I saw recently). They are a strong team and nearly always get some spawny win from somewhere to keep them in contention.

I think Portugal might fail at the first hurdle, if the Ivory Coast play well.

Initial 30 man squad lists for England, Spain & Brazil:

ENGLAND
Goalkeepers
Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green

Defenders
Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock

Midfielders
Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips

Forwards
Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney


SPAIN
Goalkeepers
Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), David De Gea (Atletico Madrid), Diego Lopez (Villarreal), Jose Reina (Liverpool) Victor Valdes (Barcelona).

Defenders
Raul Albiol (Real Madrid), Alvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid) Cesar Azpilicueta (Osasuna), Joan Capdevila (Villarreal), Carlos Marchena (Valencia), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Carles Puyol (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).

Midfielders
Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergi Busquets (Barcelona), Cesc Fabregas (Arsenal), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao) Marcos Senna (Villarreal), David Silva (Valencia), Xavi (Barcelona).

Forwards
Santi Cazorla (Villarreal), Jesus Navas (Sevilla), Juan Manuel Mata (Valencia) Pedro Rodriguez (Barcelona), Dani Guiza (Fenerbache) Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla), Fernando Torres (Liverpool FC) and David Villa (Valencia).


BRAZIL
Goalkeepers
Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (Roma), Heurelho Gomes (Tottenham)

Defenders
Maicon (Inter Milan), Dani Alves (Barcelona), Lucio (Inter Milan), Juan (Roma), Luisao (Roma), Thiago Silva (AC Milan), Gilberto (Cruzeiro), Michel Bastos (Lyon)

Midfielders
Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Felipe Melo (Juventus), Josue (Wolfsburg), Elano (Galatasaray), Ramires (Benfica), Kleberson (Flamengo), Kaka (Real Madrid), Julio Baptista (Roma)

Forwards
Robinho (Santos/Manchester City), Nilmar (Villarreal), Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Grafite (Wolfsburg).

Spain has an impressive squad

No Charlie Davies on the USA initial roster. I was really hoping he'd come back after that horrific car crash.

I can't make a prediction on who will win as I don't see enough (any!) international football to have any credibility.

That said, if England had Capello in charge in 06 instead of Eriksson then they would have had a great chance of winning.

That Spanish squad does look scary, front to back. Depends if lady boy Torres can get himself fit in time.

That Brazil squad looks like its their weakest for a while. Midfield looks poor. Kleberson, Baptista and Elano all failed in the English Prem. Gilberto left with his tail between his legs. Kaka is real quality though.

MickeyG wrote:I can't make a prediction on who will win as I don't see enough (any!) international football to have any credibility.

That said, if England had Capello in charge in 06 instead of Eriksson then they would have had a great chance of winning.

That Spanish squad does look scary, front to back. Depends if lady boy Torres can get himself fit in time.

That Brazil squad looks like its their weakest for a while. Midfield looks poor. Kleberson, Baptista and Elano all failed in the English Prem. Gilberto left with his tail between his legs. Kaka is real quality though.

The Spanish squad does indeed look an excellent one. I agree with you about the the Brazil team. On paper, it doesn't hold up against some of the others. They will be up there but I tihnk they will be knocked out somewhere after the final 16.

Supersonic wrote:Initial 30 man squad lists :

ENGLAND
Goalkeepers
Joe Hart, David James, Robert Green

Defenders
Leighton Baines, Jamie Carragher, Ashley Cole, Michael Dawson, Rio Ferdinand, Glen Johnson, Ledley King, John Terry, Matthew Upson, Stephen Warnock

Midfielders
Gareth Barry, Michael Carrick, Joe Cole, Steven Gerrard, Tom Huddlestone, Adam Johnson, Frank Lampard, Aaron Lennon, James Milner, Scott Parker, Theo Walcott, Shaun Wright-Phillips

Forwards
Darren Bent, Peter Crouch, Jermain Defoe, Emile Heskey, Wayne Rooney

They'll still take seven out of those. Old Heskey should go first, plenty to choose from actually. I always hope that England would do well, but it just never happens. I hope I'm wrong. The team has looked better though.

SLASH1976 wrote:Spain has an impressive squad

The list looks great, but they've failed in many tournaments. Hopefully they'll do well, it would be a shame to fail with that team. What a midfield.

France's provisional squad:

Goalkeepers: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Mickael Landreau (Lille), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

Defenders: Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Rod Fanni (Rennes), William Gallas (Arsenal), Marc Planus (Bordeaux), Adil Rami (Lille), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla)

Midfielders: Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Yann M'Vila (Rennes), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon)

Forwards: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Jimmy Briand (Rennes), Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse), Sidney Govou (Lyon), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille).

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Benzema doesn't get in, maybe ManU can get him now on the cheap. I'm not expecting lot from France this time.
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Holland Training squad: Sander Boschker (FC Twente), Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Piet Velthuizen (Vitesse), Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht); Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Joris Mathijsen (Hamburg), Andre Ooijer (PSV Eindhoven), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord); Ibrahim Afellay (PSV Eindhoven), Vurnon Anita (Ajax), Otman Bakkal (PSV Eindhoven), Edson Braafheid (Celtic), Wout Brama (FC Twente), Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax), Orlando Engelaar (PSV Eindhoven), John Heitinga (Everton), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), Stijn Schaars (AZ Alkmaar), David Mendes da Silva (AZ Alkmaar); Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Eljero Elia (Hamburg), Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Jeremain Lens (AZ Alkmaar).

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I've always liked them, but they don't look that strong. Van Nistelrooy might join.
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Portugal's provisional 24-man squad:

Goalkeepers: Beto (Porto), Daniel Fernandes (Iraklis), Eduardo (Braga)

Defenders: Fabio Coentrao (Benfica), Paulo Ferreira (Chelsea), Ricardo Carvalho (Chelsea), Ze Castro (Deportivo La Coruna), Bruno Alves (Porto), Rolando (Porto), Ricardo Costa (Lille), Duda (Malaga), Pepe (Real Madrid), Miguel (Valencia)

Midfielders: Tiago (Atletico Madrid), Deco (Chelsea), Raul Meireles (Porto), Nani (Manchester United), Miguel Veloso (Sporting Lisbon), Pedro Mendes (Sporting Lisbon)

Forwards: Simao Sabrosa (Atletico Madrid), Hugo Almeida (Werder Bremen), Liedson (Sporting Lisbon), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Danny (Zenit St Petersburg).

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Portugal seems solid, at least on paper.
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Germany:
Goalkeepers: Hans-Jorg Butt, Manuel Neuer, Tim Wiese

Defenders: Per Mertesacker, Heiko Westermann, Philipp Lahm, Jerome Boateng, Andrea Beck, Arne Friedrich, Serdar Tasci, Marcell Jansen, Holger Badstuber, Dennis Aogo.

Midfielders: Michael Ballack, Sami Khedira, Piotr Trochowski, Marko Marin, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Christian Trasch, Mesut Ozil, Toni Kroos.

Forwards: Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose, Stefan Kiessling, Cacau, Thomas Muller, Mario Gomez.

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However much anyone hates them, usually they grind results.
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Hellsinkey wrote:

SLASH1976 wrote:Spain has an impressive squad

The list looks great, but they've failed in many tournaments.

Many... But not the most recent.

As for me? I'm looking for New Zealand to score a goal. Maybe fluke a draw. That's about it, but it is fun to be in there. Last time was '82.

I hope England win obviously , but if we get injuries to the best players in the latter stages , I fear we might not be strong enough!

I can see Argentina coming out of nowhere and having a good tournament, but I think it will be one of the big European countries that win it , Germany, Italy etc

im heading down to marco island, FL for 10 days to watch the world cup. there are tons of tourists from all over euro-land who go there to get drunk and watch the matches...there is simply NOTHING more fun that getting drunk and watching foreigners watch soccer!!

Sleazyjack wrote:I hope England win obviously , but if we get injuries to the best players in the latter stages , I fear we might not be strong enough!

Hmmm, John Terry went to hospital for a scan on a suspected broken foot today.

Drunk Kennedy wrote:im heading down to marco island, FL for 10 days to watch the world cup. there are tons of tourists from all over euro-land who go there to get drunk and watch the matches...there is simply NOTHING more fun that getting drunk and watching foreigners watch soccer!!

Done that in Spain before. It was a blast.

Brazil are favourites and for obvious reason. But as Mickey G said their midfield isn't as strong as previous squads. Spain have a strong squad and winning the euros will help their confidence. Although they have some big name injuries atm.

Argentina and France will fall early imo. Both have awful managers.

England will get through their group round fairly easy, but get no further than the semis.

Germany are in a tough group but they will grind through and have a decent tournament. Don't think they will win it.

Italy will make quarters at best. Lot weaker than the squad that won the last World Cup.

being fairly "dumb" in all things soccer...how does the USA team stack up? do they have any shot in their group?

I am going to put £10 on France to win the World Cup. The odds are pretty long because they only just scraped past Ireland and Domenech is an almost universally unpopular manager. However, this could breed a siege mentality - look how far an ageing France team got last year. Okay, their squad doesn't seem great, but this is a decent 1st XI:

GK: Lloris
FBK: Sagna, Evra
CBK: Abidal, Gallas
LMF: Malouda
RMF: Ribery
CMF: Lassana Diarra, Gourcuff
ATT: Anelka, Gignac

All of a sudden, that looks like a very good side. True, injuries and suspensions will take a toll and their centre-backs are a tad crap, but on the plus side they have the best full-back pairing in the competition (Brazil's Alves and Maicon are better individually, but they've never fully replaced Roberto Carlos at left back; I think Dunga will play Alves in a midfield role with Maicon at right back).

Don't write off Argentina either; they've got the steel and class to do well, and Maradona seems to have found a winning formula at just the right time. Plus, the fact that he's truly bonkers may work in their favour - his antics will take pressure off the team, especially Messi. Veron is old, but if he finds his passing rhythm he can wreak havoc.

DRUNK KENNEDY: The USA have got some bona fide stars in the likes of Tim Howard, Clint Dempsey and especially Landon Donavon. If the real DaMarcus Beasley shows up he too could prove effective. A fit Onyewu would be a boost, but I don't reckon he'll be 100%. My prediction is that they'll either win or finish runners-up in their group (the latter probably more likely, though you never know with England); I'll give 'em a shot for the quarter-finals.

What about Holland ?

SLASH1976 wrote:What about Holland ?

HOLLAND

Headline news: Ruud van Nistelrooy has been left out of the 30-man squad.

Maarten Stekelenburg (Ajax), Sander Boschker (FC Twente), Michel Vorm (FC Utrecht); Vurnon Anita (Ajax), Khalid Boulahrouz (Stuttgart), Edson Braafheid (Celtic), Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Feyenoord), John Heitinga (Everton), Joris Mathijsen (HSV), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord), Gregory van der Wiel (Ajax), Andre Ooijer (PSV); Otman Bakkal (PSV), Mark van Bommel (Bayern Munich), Wout Brama (FC Twente), Orlando Engelaar (PSV), Nigel de Jong (Manchester City), David Mendes da Silva (AZ), Stijn Schaars (AZ), Wesley Sneijder (Inter), Rafael van der Vaart (Real Madrid), Demy de Zeeuw (Ajax), Ibrahim Afellay (PSV); Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool), Jeremain Lens (AZ), Eljero Elia (HSV), Ryan Babel (Liverpool), Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (AC Milan), Robin van Persie (Arsenal), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich).

Some quality, but I wonder about any squad with Dirk Kuyt in it.

MickeyG wrote:

SLASH1976 wrote:What about Holland ?

Some quality, but I wonder about any squad with Dirk Kuyt in it.

Rather have kuyt than Babel. Dirk seems to do ok for Holland, whereas Babel is utter crap.

Drunk Kennedy wrote:being fairly "dumb" in all things soccer...how does the USA team stack up? do they have any shot in their group?

The USA will draw against England in the opener 1-1 imo.

They should qualify and makes a decent stab at the tournament. I can see the last 16 being a realistic target and depending on the luck of the draw possibly the quarters. Semis would be pushing it but you never know!

ITALY

Goalkeepers:
Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Morgan De Sanctis (Napoli), Federico Marchetti (Cagliari), Salvatore Sirigu (Palermo);

Defenders:
Gianluca Zambrotta (Milan), Fabio Cannavaro (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Christian Maggio (Napoli), Leonardo Bonucci (Bari), Fabio Grosso (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Mattia Cassani (Palermo), Salvatore Bocchetti (Genoa);

Midfielders:
Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina), Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Angelo Palombo (Sampdoria), Antonio Candreva (Juventus), Andrea Cossu (Cagliari), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Simone Pepe (Udinese);

Forwards:
Fabio Quagliarella (Napoli), Giuseppe Rossi (Villarreal), Vincenzo Iaquinta (Juventus), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Marco Borriello (Milan), Alberto Gilardino (Fiorentina), Giampaolo Pazzini (Sampdoria).

WTF!! No Totti.

jellyheadrobertson wrote:

MickeyG wrote:

SLASH1976 wrote:What about Holland ?

Some quality, but I wonder about any squad with Dirk Kuyt in it.

Rather have kuyt than Babel. Dirk seems to do ok for Holland, whereas Babel is utter crap.

U can put Kuyt in almost every position and he'll do ok. That's part of his problem he doesn't excel in any position.

That Italian defence looks pretty geriatric, though I'm happy to see Bonucci getting into the squad. Is Borriello good enough to step up to the big time? Also, I hope that Rossi gets to play, I like that kid.

Another question - if Buffon is injured, who of the reserves will take his place?

Surprised that Totti is out, Lippi does tend to stay loyal to his elderly stars. I note that Mario Balotelli hasn't been given a late call up either.

CliffByford wrote:I note that Mario Balotelli hasn't been given a late call up either.

I thought he would get a chance. Star in the making but he's only 19 IIRC. They were also probably concerned that he'd launch into a tantrum or 2 and disrupt the 'chi' / harmony of the squad.

Supersonic wrote:

CliffByford wrote:I note that Mario Balotelli hasn't been given a late call up either.

I thought he would get a chance. Star in the making but he's only 19 IIRC. They were also probably concerned that he'd launch into a tantrum or 2 and disrupt the 'chi' / harmony of the squad.

Or they're afraid he'll ruin the team's color co-ordination.

Hellsinkey wrote:

Supersonic wrote:

CliffByford wrote:I note that Mario Balotelli hasn't been given a late call up either.

I thought he would get a chance. Star in the making but he's only 19 IIRC. They were also probably concerned that he'd launch into a tantrum or 2 and disrupt the 'chi' / harmony of the squad.

Or they're afraid he'll ruin the team's color co-ordination.

LMAO