Who will win the World Cup?
 

Brasil are starting to look very good indeed, but the Argentines have a truly killer squad. The Netherlands could impress, but historically they fall short every time.

Mmmm. I've been thinking Argentina or Netherlands for some time, but having seen Brasil last night...

Please tell us your choice.

i want a south american team to win. that means either brasil or argentina. argentinians however are, as a group, such a horribly arrogant, obnoxious bunch of people, that they give the rest of latin america a bad name (i'm not talking about many many wonderful individuals though). go brasil!!!!

I voted with my passport, although I suspect we've not a snowball in hell's chance.

Brasil. We (friends) have also made a bet. (bet = € 10)

either ARG or CZE will win.

I really can't see past Brazil but the fact that every man and his dog is tippimg Brazil makes me want to plump for someone else. I guess France, Italy or Argentina would be among my next choices.

brasil! but czech team will be the second:p

yeah, i tipped the final Brasil - Czech republic with Brasil winning 3:2. Third would be Netherlands, fourth Argentina. Well, we'll see.

i'm always split between supporting holland or spain. I went with spain last time so this year i'm going for holland.

Brazil will win mostly likely, although not much has been talked about France, who are dangerous too. as are argentina

Maybe I should have left Brasil out, and asked 'Who will Brasil beat in the final'?

Contenders for the semis: Argentina, Netherlands, France, Portugal, Ukraine.

I have a feeling Ukraine will do well but I don't think the final or anything. Semis maybe.

Come on Trinidad! They're my World Cup sweepstake team...alas!

What are the odds that the final round will be Usa Vs. Saudi Arabia?

oddsmakers?

France, Italy, Brasil (& even the USA) stand a chance, but I still think it'll come down to the Czech Republic & Argentina provided they aren't in the same bracket.

Viva Italia!

I pick Brazil. Honestly, it wasn't I who picked the US.

Argentina

Shit, has Argentina even won a Copa America tournament in the last ten years?

Meh...

Maybe it's because I really don't like Argentina, but I just can't see them winning this.

Just a guess.

I don't want to provoke Arari any more but USA don't really stand a chance to be honest. Not a bad team by any means but not going to win. I don't think the Czechs will do that much at this world cup either.

poland will win it!

hard to look past brazil indeed; definitely the team to beat.
after them i'd give italy and argentina the best cards... but they're both in tough groups and will have to start at 100% from the very beginning, which could break them up later in the tournament. i'm also not ruling out germany yet, no matter how bad they may be playing. they somehow always manage to grow during the tournament and have a fairly easy first round, plus home advantage. sadly i can't really see anyone outside of the "big four" winning it this time.


still, as a dutchman i had to smile about how this worldcup videogame is being advertised in germany:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QT5P7aSt00
http://stop-holland.de

i have an alligence to Holland, due to a fasination with my main man.. Ruud Van Nistelrooy, so i picked them in a draw in our house - the winner gets an all expenses paid night out on the piss. then i work i entered a draw, paid a tenner and got a name out of a hat...which was Trinidad and Tobago...some fuckin hope of them getting anywhere..

I feel your pain. I pulled out T+T in a sweepstake.

Portugal had to be left off the list due to lack of space but they are a team who could go a long way, or at least end the aspirations of others.

I don't really care.
I know that Poland will lose either in the first or the second round.

Bora Bora hopefully.

Your first game (Angola) is a bit of a grudge match in some ways isn't it?

Nuno Gomes is a great player. How did he end up staying at Benfica for so long - there must have been enquiries from someof the very big clubs for him?

Perhaps they remember when he was at Fiorentina and was a bit rubbish if I remember rightly.

Ack! He won the cup at Fiorentina, non?

He's welcome at Manchester City any day. Him and Robbie Savage would see us sorted out a bit.

Yeah but he scored something like 6 goals in 20 something games which is not that great and the copa italia is rubbish.

Yeah, it is. 6 in 20? Players have started slower than that in a new country, in a new league. I think he went to Benfica when Fiorentina had their financial collapse - he always looks good for Portugal.

the current odds

I thought this was quite good, comparing the previous German World Cup with this one:

A world of difference: 1974-2006
8 June 2006
by FIFAworldcup.com

When you watch archive footage from the 1974 FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, it is sometimes difficult to believe your eyes. Has it really been only 32 years since Franz Beckenbauer could walk around undisturbed, only noticed by a handful of journalists?

Flashback
In 1974, the world economy was still reeling from the effects of the previous year's oil crisis. Europe's political landscape was dominated by the division of Germany into East and West and the FIFA World Cup host city of Leipzig was still firmly behind the Iron Curtain.

However, 'Little Paris', as it was dubbed in the 18th century when it became the centre of a classical literary movement, is now a symbol of the historic changes over the last three decades, with its revitalised Zentralstadion set to host five fixtures this summer.

High-tech stadiums ensure maximum comfort
Sixteen teams arrived in Germany in 1974 to compete for the world title, whereas 32 nations will be battling it out this year. Spectators will watch 64 games in 12 high-tech arenas, including nine completely new stadiums. In 2006, all of the venues will provide the ultimate in spectator comfort, far removed from the conditions fans had to endure back in 1974, when they stood on the terraces, often at the mercy of the elements.

"Compared with today, the 1974 tournament was like the stone age in terms of stadiums," said Organising Committee Vice-President Wolfgang Niersbach. OC President Franz Beckenbauer takes a similar view: "It's like night and day. Many of the games weren't even sold out."

While 1.7 million people watched the 38 games of the finals across nine venues in 1974, the figure this summer will be more than three million. In 1974, the public purse contributed the equivalent of Euro 120 million to the tournament, whereas 2006 will see around Euro five billion of public money invested in improvements in infrastructure.

Number of teams
A total of 194 countries, the highest figure ever, set out on the long road to qualification on 6 September 2003, contesting an astounding 847 qualifying games. In 1974, 98 associations competed for only 14 qualifying berths. Back then, the world champions Brazil and hosts Germany qualified automatically, whereas this time Carlos Alberto Parreira's men had to come through South American qualification to secure their finals place.

Each of the 32 national sides receives Euro 4.5 million for participating in 2006. In total, FIFA will pay out around Euro 170 million in appearance fees and bonuses. The world champions can look forward to an award of Euro 16.5 million in addition to the FIFA World Cup Trophy. The 16 nations that took part in 1974 could only dream of such riches.

Horst R. Schmidt, General Secretary of the German Football Association and Senior Vice-President of the OC, was also involved in organising the 1974 tournament: "The organisation of the FIFA World Cup is now on a scale that was unimaginable in 1974."

Huge media event
The huge changes in the intervening period become even clearer when you consider the development in terms of the media. In 1974, 4,616 media representatives from 72 countries were accredited, while the figure will be well over 10,000 in 2006. Back then, match reports were still written up on typewriters or transcribed by telephone to the editorial team at home, whereas data is now electronically transmitted around the globe in a matter of seconds. In the early 1970s, colour TV transmission represented one of the few technological breakthroughs, while today's fans can now take in video highlights on the internet or their mobile phones.

Things have also changed somewhat for the supporters. At one time, fans were more likely to meet in someone's house or at the local pub to watch the games on TV. Nowadays, it is commonplace for thousands of them to meet in public spaces to see the action on giant screens.

However, there is one thing that has not changed, namely the immense pressure of expectation on the German team to clinch the trophy in front of their home fans.

i am actually semi nervous about the world cup now. i dont really like sport.

These are the teams that have current odds of 100/1 or better to win The World Cup:

Brazil 5/2
England 7/1
Argentina 8/1
Germany 8/1
Italy 9/1
Holland 12/1
France 12/1
Spain 14/1
Czech Republic 25/1
Portugal 25/1
Mexico 40/1
Sweden 40/1
USA 66/1
Croatia 66/1
Ivory Coast 80/1
Switzerland 100/1
Serbia & Montenegro 100/1


The page is cool; it's got the groupings & the odds for every round.

Barring anything too strange, the First Round group winners appear that they will most likely be:

Group A - Germany, B - England, C - Argentina, D - Mexico or Portugal, E - Czech Republic or Italy, F - Brazil, G - France, & H - Spain.

I should have picked the teams today...it was easy today I guess to give bettors a false sense of confident security...

I ran across an article about Iraquis watching the event.

World Cup fever reaches Iraq

• June 10, 2006 - 3:29AM

Some Iraqi soccer fans said they planned to keep cafes open late while others planned to gather friends at home Friday as World Cup fever reached Iraq despite fears of violence and the high cost of subscriptions to the satellite pay-TV network showing the games.
The Iraqi national team, once considered a regional power, failed to earn a spot in the World Cup tournament that kicked off on Friday in Munich, Germany.
But soccer is hugely popular in this war-torn country and many Iraqis pooled their resources to get around the prohibitive cost of access to the Arab Radio and Television, which owns the rights to broadcast the world's largest sporting event. The official price was $US70 ($A94), but black market access topped $US150 ($A202).
"We've been waiting for this breath of fresh air for four years as we suffered from sectarian violence," said 35-year-old Ali Adnan Mansour.
He expressed hope the insurgents and those behind a recent spike in sectarian violence also would take break for the games.
"I think the World Cup matches will reduce the killing and bloodshed because Iraqis, especially the young men, are crazy about soccer," he said.
"They will not gather and will go home earlier."
Abdul-Rahman Muhammed, a 42-year-old teacher, was less optimistic.
"The terrorists do not care about sports. They only care about violence," he said.
Baghdad resident Falah Muhammad Karim, 40, said he and four friends planned to watch the matches at home, with each contributing $US40 ($A53) to pay for the card to access the games. He also said he felt safer at home as cafes have frequently been the targets of car bombers.
"All the matches start at night and I am really scared to sit in a cafe," he said.
"The security situation is unstable and definitely incidents could break out. I will watch it home with four of my friends ... this is the solution."
Haji Kamel Abdul Latif, who owns a popular cafe in eastern Baghdad, was persuaded to keep his doors open for a few hours after young men in the area promised to provide security.
"The majority of cafes are closed already due to the suicide bomber attacks," the 55-year-old businessman said. "But I live in popular area and we know each other."
He said the young men promised to keep strangers from entering the street and "told me that they can handle their security."
Many Iraqis also worried about losing power during the games as Baghdad faces a severe electricity shortage, leaving many to depend on poor quality generators.
The Iraqi national team ranked first among other Asian teams, such as Japan and South Korea until 1986, when it made it to the World Cup, but it's history reflects Iraq's turmoil.
Iraq's soccer organisation used to be run by Saddam Hussein's eldest son, Odai, and the dictator's son reportedly ordered the torture of players who failed to perform to his standards.
Ahmed Radi, Iraq's best-known soccer player in recent years, has said he was imprisoned three times on Odai's orders.
© 2006 AP DIGITAL

keep the whole thing goin', bABY

Portugal is in.
Argentina is out, a great team though.
Germany is not a great team, but they play at home.

If Brazil wins France today, the final will definetly be Brazil x Germany and i am afraid of it, Brazil may lose.

I dont watch football and I kare about it a fucking nothing but you will lose against italy!

Italy
Italy

Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy
Italy

Germany?