FIFA World Cup 2014

[Tournesol]

The host cities are preety much at sea level, many of them actually by the sea, so altitude won't be a factor here.

Only 4 out of 12 venues are at sea level so i think altitude will be a factor.

 

[Tournesol]

Contrary to common believe tiki-taka actually means a lot of running. And more even a lot of sprinting. Getting into perfect position is essential as well as counter pressing is. Which is pressing the guy the ball was lost to in an instant, very often extremly high up the pitch, as there's where you loose the ball mostly. Which means not even the attakers get a rest of defensive work. I don't tiki-taka will be the way to go. If any form of possession football it'l be slow dominance. I think quik changes in pace will be more essential then a mass of posession in this world cup (not meaning to give up the ball entirely). It's not a coincidence Del Bosque said that Spain are not limited to tiki-taka at all (most famously demonstrated in the Euro 2012 Final against Italy where they aplied a pretty direct approch)

I didnt explain my point in any depth but what i meant to imply is that the team that wins will be a good passing team who keep possession well and dont have to do alot of chasing, tiki-taka probably not, high intensity pressing game probably not either but the feeling after the Confederations Cup was that more direct counter attacking is the fashionable tactics evidenced by Brazil dismantling Spain in the final.

My point is that i doubt that will be the case here with the humidity/heat.

 

[ILovecycling]

I knew you must have seen it when I read your comments. No, I don't get him 'live' only when clips are posted elsewhere. Did you see his truly epic "Net neutrality" rant? I'll post the link if not.

Apropos Bud et al.....

Why is drinking American beer like making love in a canoe?







It's ****king close to water.

lol at the that beer joke,classy

 

[Amsterhammer]

FA Chairman Greg D yke and KNVB Chairman Michael van Praag have publicly asked Blatter to stand down!



And so it begins......

 

[gooner]

There are a number of reasons why Sakho will start and Koscielny won't. Koscielny might play better for Arsenal than Sakho for Liverpool but Sakho's matches with the French side have been much better than Koscielny's. Koscielny has been pretty poor for France throughout his career and it's only the lack of quality defenders that have made him such a regular figure on the French team. In fact, him getting sent off was the only good thing from the first leg against Ukraine, because it forced Deschamps to start Sakho in the second leg. Up until those matches, Sakho wasn't ahead of Koscielny in the pecking order. But when the chips were down, one guy conceded a silly penalty, was MIA on the first goal and got sent off while the other scored two of the three goals needed to qualify for Brazil. So which of these two guys would you rather start against the big guns in high pressure matches, the one who choked or the one who played the best match of his season when his team desperately needed him to do so ?

Besides, when healthy, Varane is a clear number one and Sakho complements him much better than Koscielny. Also, you have to remember that France are also building their team for the Euro 2016 at home and the plan was always to have Varane/Sakho as a stable, well established basis for France's defense by then. Honestly, I'd rather see Mangala than Koscielny play for France if it ever came down to that. Koscielny is a fine club player but is way too erratic when he plays for France.

Yes, he had a poor game against Ukraine in the first leg but I disagree totally about complimenting Varane. Sakho lacks leadership skills at the back and it's still the case even though he was captain for PSG in his teens. Look how many clean sheets Liverpool have kept with him in the team, it's abysmal. Where were these leadership skills against Palace when they were 3-0? Look at Gary Neville's and Jamie Carragher's analysis which took his game apart. Carragher in particular has said his performances haven't been good enough. That has been consistent throughout the season and one game scoring goals for France doesn't change it. In fact it covers the cracks of a better general view. His defending is what should be judged first and foremost. Club form is a hell of a part in picking a team and Koscielny compliments Mertesacker brilliantly playing on the left side of the central defence. This is pretty much what would be asked of him alongside Varane who for me is the best young centre back in the game. If we're talking about defenders scoring goals as leadership qualities he would be out of the team at Arsenal and Vermaelen would be in. No Arsenal fan would have that. I actually thought Sakho was a very good signing for Liverpool when he arrived but there's no denying he his performances have been a major disappointment and Rogers will definitely be in the market for one or two defenders as a result. Lovren is heavily linked at the moment. PSG wouldn't get rid of Sakho as a French player for no reason especially with the home grown rule for the Champions League.

I know Mangala well from his Standard days and he scored against us for them in the Champions League when he was 17. Wenger started watching him after that. Again seeing Mangala for Porto this season and in particular against Napoli, he's a good defender but I don't think on Koscielny's level. Koscielny is far more cultured in his defending and better technically to add to it. You can talk about his erratic defending but that's Koscielny who likes to defend on the front foot where the majority of the time he's excellent at doing it and reading the game with great foresight before a pass is played into the forward. Of course that can be risky but lots of other defenders like to play this way, Carvalho and Kompany spring to mind. Sakho stands off and is vulnerable to pace and defends too much with that fear in mind. Picking him on the back of one competitive game when there has been none since then is a risky decision by Deschamps IMO.

Debuchy and Sagna are a more tricky problem. Sagna is probably more solid defensively but Debuchy is better offensively. I think that ultimately it just comes down to the fact that Debuchy is more integrated in the team than Sagna. Sagna seems to play alongside the rest of the team as opposed to Debuchy who seems to play with the rest of the team (especially Cabaye and Sissoko). Of course, it might just be that Sagna was part of the team that embarassed itself in South Africa and Debuchy wasn't, and Deschamps has never seemed too keen to take the players from the 2010WC back and only did so when he felt it was absolutely necessary.

I don't think though it has anything to do with what happened in 2010 as we see Evra starting with no issues. Plus, it never looked liked Sagna was one of the ringleaders on it.

Debuchy is better going forward but defensively Sagna is by far the better defender and again he had the better season at club level. If we're going on the Ukraine away game on the basis of your point(not that I am), Debuchy should be out of the team. The French media went after Deschamps for not starting Sagna in the aftermath of what happened.

Sagna is very much a team player and doesn't play on his own inklings. Integrating him into the team isn't an issue when he has played with players at Arsenal over the years who are of a much higher standard than Cabaye and Sissoko. The Newcastle connection shouldn't come into it and Sissoko isn't exactly a player with great link up play himself, he's much better in an individualistic way with his pure power and pace.

He has very rarely left Arsenal down in his 7 years at the club. He has proven himself more than able to deal with the pressure of a club at the top end of the Premiership and for a side competing in the Champions League. Arsenal's trophy drought wasn't because of him and his consistency can't be questioned. To add further to this, look at the name of the clubs fighting for his signature. Arsenal did everything to try and keep him and it's nearly certain he's a City player by the sound of things. He has much more pedigree than Debuchy.

It's not really an Arsenal thing, Giroud has been scoring goals for France in the recent friendlies but he wouldn't be in my best 11 with Benzema having the central role on his own. It looks like Deschamps might start with 2 of them after watching the Jamaica game.

 

[MBotero]

England ftw,Steven G and Frank Lampard to go out with a bang.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

England ftw,Steven G and Frank Lampard to go out with a bang.

Go with-out a bang would be more accurate.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

Yes, he had a poor game against Ukraine in the first leg but I disagree totally about complimenting Varane.

Koscielny himself admitted that he plays in a similar way to Varane by anticipating what is going to happen whereas Mangala and Sakho are more physical and win more one on ones. So Sakho does complement Varane better than Koscielny.

Sakho lacks leadership skills at the back and it's still the case even though he was captain for PSG in his teens. Look how many clean sheets Liverpool have kept with him in the team, it's abysmal. Where were these leadership skills against Palace when they were 3-0?

As you said, Sakho was captain at the PSG but he was also the captain of France against Norway last week. Clearly he is a more natural leader on the field than Koscielny. He might not be the most charismatic leader ever but he gives more confidence to the rest of the team than Koscielny. Sakho is much less likely to give away penalties or make a crazy move like Koscielny sometimes does, and it shows because the team seems calmer while defending when Sakho and not Koscielny is on the pitch.

Look at Gary Neville's and Jamie Carragher's analysis which took his game apart. Carragher in particular has said his performances haven't been good enough. That has been consistent throughout the season and one game scoring goals for France doesn't change it. In fact it covers the cracks of a better general view. His defending is what should be judged first and foremost. Club form is a hell of a part in picking a team and Koscielny compliments Mertesacker brilliantly playing on the left side of the central defence. This is pretty much what would be asked of him alongside Varane who for me is the best young centre back in the game. If we're talking about defenders scoring goals as leadership qualities he would be out of the team at Arsenal and Vermaelen would be in. No Arsenal fan would have that. I actually thought Sakho was a very good signing for Liverpool when he arrived but there's no denying he his performances have been a major disappointment and Rogers will definitely be in the market for one or two defenders as a result. Lovren is heavily linked at the moment. PSG wouldn't get rid of Sakho as a French player for no reason especially with the home grown rule for the Champions League.

Clearly Sakho season's with Liverpool was underwhelming and Koscielny was much better with Arsenal. But that's precisely the problem, Arsenal or Liverpool isn't France and Sakho has always played much better for France than Koscielny. Koscielny is a great defender just not when he plays for France. When playing for his national team, Koscielny always seems to me like he is too eager to do well and takes even more risks than he usually does and that always lead to dangerous situations even in matches where the opposing team is otherwise struggling to make a dent in the French defense.

I know Mangala well from his Standard days and he scored against us for them in the Champions League when he was 17. Wenger started watching him after that. Again seeing Mangala for Porto this season and in particular against Napoli, he's a good defender but I don't think on Koscielny's level. Koscielny is far more cultured in his defending and better technically to add to it. You can talk about his erratic defending but that's Koscielny who likes to defend on the front foot where the majority of the time he's excellent at doing it and reading the game with great foresight before a pass is played into the forward. Of course that can be risky but lots of other defenders like to play this way, Carvalho and Kompany spring to mind. Sakho stands off and is vulnerable to pace and defends too much with that fear in mind. Picking him on the back of one competitive game when there has been none since then is a risky decision by Deschamps IMO.

Varane already likes to cut off passes to the forwards so if Koscielny plays alognside him and does the same, it could get messy. Mangala is more similar hence why he could be a better choice despite not being as good a defender as Koscielny in general. There was an interview with Koscielny where he implied that basically Mangala and Sakho were competing for one spot (the tough, physical centre back) while Varane and himself competed for another (the defender that reads the game well and anticpates moves by the formwards of the opposing team). If that is really Deschamps logic, then the real question would be why is Varane ahead of Koscielny in the pecking order and IMO the answer to that is obvious.

I don't think though it has anything to do with what happened in 2010 as we see Evra starting with no issues. Plus, it never looked liked Sagna was one of the ringleaders on it.

Debuchy is better going forward but defensively Sagna is by far the better defender and again he had the better season at club level. If we're going on the Ukraine away game on the basis of your point(not that I am), Debuchy should be out of the team. The French media went after Deschamps for not starting Sagna in the aftermath of what happened.

Sagna was injured a while which allowed Debuchy to pass him in the pecking order and Debuchy performances have been ok since then, so there wasn't a need to put Sagna back on the field.
There were a lot of shots fired at Deschamps and the players after the first match against Ukraine, and rightly so, but Debuchy wasn't the main focus of those attacks, not even close (Nasri, Koscielny, Rémy, Abidal even Ribéry was more criticized than Debuchy on that one) which doesn't mean that his match was great but certainly not as catastrophic as most others on the team.

Sagna is very much a team player and doesn't play on his own inklings. Integrating him into the team isn't an issue when he has played with players at Arsenal over the years who are of a much higher standard than Cabaye and Sissoko. The Newcastle connection shouldn't come into it and Sissoko isn't exactly a player with great link up play himself, he's much better in an individualistic way with his pure power and pace.

I wasn't trying to suggest that Sagna wasn't a team player. He clearly is one. The problem I wanted to point out is that Sagna doesn't want to pass the ball but rather that he doesn't really seem to know to who he should pass it. It seems like he always ends up passing to whichever centre back is next to him which really isn't all that useful (at least France keep possession that way). Debuchy seems to have less trouble passing forward (look for instance at his superb pass to Rémy against Norway), especially to his buddy Cabaye which does help France up the pace of the game if they need to. He also can make better crosses which is always useful when you have guys like Valbuena to put away the header

He has very rarely left Arsenal down in his 7 years at the club. He has proven himself more than able to deal with the pressure of a club at the top end of the Premiership and for a side competing in the Champions League. Arsenal's trophy drought wasn't because of him and his consistency can't be questioned. To add further to this, look at the name of the clubs fighting for his signature. Arsenal did everything to try and keep him and it's nearly certain he's a City player by the sound of things. He has much more pedigree than Debuchy.

It's not really an Arsenal thing, Giroud has been scoring goals for France in the recent friendlies but he wouldn't be in my best 11 with Benzema having the central role on his own. It looks like Deschamps might start with 2 of them after watching the Jamaica game.

Sagna is a good defender and any team would be lucky to have him. Debuchy has just performed to the same level for France than Sagna used to before his injury which mean there wasn't really any reason why he should take Debuchy's place. Remember also that very recently France was in the middle of its longest goal drought since the 1930s. It could use any help going forward it could and Debuchy clearly is a better option in that case. Then France started scoring 4, 5, 6 even 8 goals a match but against pretty poor teams where Sagna superior defending skills weren't needed. On the other hand, Debuchy helping the forwards trash the other team in the most comprehensive fashion possible to restore confidence to the French side was useful. Now that France's confidence is back, I wouldn't be surprised if Sagna came back on the team, especially against teams with very good forwards. At the same time, Debuchy performed well in the last few games and if it ain't broke don't fix it.



I personally would field : Lloris, Debuchy (Sagna against teams with good attacking players), Varane, Sakho, Digne, Cabaye (Sissoko against Spain), Pogba, Matuidi, Valbuena, Griezmann and Giroud.

 

[gooner]

I personally would field : Lloris, Debuchy (Sagna against teams with good attacking players), Varane, Sakho, Digne, Cabaye (Sissoko against Spain), Pogba, Matuidi, Valbuena, Griezmann and Giroud.

Mine would be:

Lloris; Sagna, Varane, Koscielny, Evra; Cabaye, Pogba, Matuidi; Valbuena, Griezmann; Benzema.

That's where we respectfully disagree. Your team will be more the closer to the one that I feel Deschamps will select. Digne won't play and it's debatable what will happen with the Giroud, Benzema, Griezmann selection. Giroud scored a great goal against Norway and started as well against Jamaica. Just a guess he may start with the first two in the end.

 

[del1962]

England ftw,Steven G and Frank Lampard to go out with a bang.

oh dear, the two most over hyped midfielders in the history of English football, time to retire them imo

 

[cycladianpirate]

Go with-out a bang would be more accurate.

You are evidently unacquainted with the moral philosophy of the English WAGS

 

[TANK91]

It's comming home , it's comming home, it's comming, the World cup is comming home(to ENGLAND).. 3 lions on you're **** we are unbeatable, Gerrard will do his thing and well win the worlld cup it's comming home. HAHA


Argentinaftw or Uruaguay, if Suarez and Cavani light it up. I don't think a Euro side can win in SA

 

[TANK91]

Mine would be:

Lloris; Sagna, Varane, Koscielny, Evra; Cabaye, Pogba, Matuidi; Valbuena, Griezmann; Benzema.

That's where we respectfully disagree. Your team will be more the closer to the one that I feel Deschamps will select. Digne won't play and it's debatable what will happen with the Giroud, Benzema, Griezmann selection. Giroud scored a great goal against Norway and started as well against Jamaica. Just a guess he may start with the first two in the end.

That team is spot on imo, they wont do much for me though unless Pogba really proves he legit as a world class midifelder and dominates, i feel he is still a little raw yet. They don't have Ribery and they must regret Nasri not here now. And yes no way i would start Giroud over Benzema.

 

[TANK91]

oh dear, the two most over hyped midfielders in the history of English football, time to retire them imo

Gerrard and Lampard were genuine world class for their clubs at their peak though, amazing how Beckham, Gerrard and Lampard failed toegther so badly it really is. Paul Scholes another player(who underachieved for country) the English Xavi, Scholes was.

 

[TANK91]

My England team would be this


4-2-3-1

Hart

RB Jones
CB Cahill
CB Jagielka
LB Baines


Cmid Wilshere and Gerrard


RW Sterling

CAM Rooney

LW Lalana or Barkely

Striker Sturridge

 

[TANK91]

EvansIsTheBest - Sakho has been poor for Liverpool this year not may fans like Sakho in England he is error prown alot. He is a huge talent though when at PSG(and old Football manager games hehe). Kosciellny has to start on last year's form compared to Sakho imo.

 

[The Hitch]

Glenn, I'm not dismissive of the issue. I read up a lot on this and I mentioned Declan Hill's recent book on this which was an eye opener on it. Coincidentally this morning I just bought Brett Forrest's new book on the topic which was released in the last month to coincide with the World Cup on the way. Looking forward to reading it.

For instance, for Holland v Spain at the last World Cup final, I don't think you can pull off a fix bribing guys like Sneijder, Xavi, RVP, Iniesta, who are on astronomical wages. 100,000 euros like the Nigerian fixer mentioned as an incentive isn't going to work with these guys to throw a game when they are so well off financially.

Look at it in England at the moment, the lower divisions and non-league football are the ones that have been targeted by the Asian fixers. As we see above with the Nigerian fixer, he said for this very reason that players still plying their trade in Nigeria are more easy to convince of participating in anything of this note.

I think it's in the early rounds of the tournament that games will be targeted with lesser teams and players that don't have the big earning wages of their elite counterparts.

You don't need to pay iniest and xavi and casillias millions to fix a spain game.

You only need to pay one guy, and he's not on 200k a week.

- Fuentes. To go a little easy the day of the final.

Match fixed.

 

[53x11 in DC]

Only 4 out of 12 venues are at sea level so i think altitude will be a factor.

No, actually, it won't. I live and work here in São Paulo, one of the highest altitudes for the Cup, and we're at 800m.

Heat and humidity, however, WILL be a factor, especially for those playing in Natal, Manaus and Fortaleza.

 

[53x11 in DC]

No way. USA should be easy to beat and Ghana isn't that good. Only Germany is tough. At least two groups are way tougher (B and D), because there are at least three good teams.

Uhhhhhh. No. Most publications have G (with #2 Germany, #4 Portugal and #13, the "easy to beat" US) even with or only slightly less difficult than D with 7 Uruguay, 9 Italy and 10 England. Hard to say that Costa Rica is that much better than a scrappy Ghana side, either.

 

[greenedge]

My England team would be this


4-2-3-1

Hart

RB Jones
CB Cahill
CB Jagielka
LB Baines


Cmid Wilshere and Gerrard


RW Sterling

CAM Rooney

LW Lalana or Barkely

Striker Sturridge

I'd have Barkley as CAM, move Rooney to Striker and put Sturrdige on a wing- he played there for club (for most of the year).

 

[l.Harm]

Uhhhhhh. No. Most publications have G (with #2 Germany, #4 Portugal and #13, the "easy to beat" US) even with or only slightly less difficult than D with 7 Uruguay, 9 Italy and 10 England. Hard to say that Costa Rica is that much better than a scrappy Ghana side, either.

Nobody's comparing Costa Rica and the US I'd rate them like (and the odd of the exchange market on Betfair between brackets).

Germany: favourite/outsider (8)
Portugal: outsider (29)
Ghana: no chance (310)
USA: hell no (340)

Uruguay: outsider (32)
Italy: outsider (28)
England: outsider/no chance (28)
Costa Rica: hell no (1000)

Spain: favorite (7.4)
Chili: outsider (50)
The Netherlands: outsider (42)
Australia: hell no (1000)

You can clearly distinguish between the first one and the last two. There are at least three teams with an outside shot to win the Worlds while in the group with Portugal and Germany there are only two.

 

[MBotero]

oh dear, the two most over hyped midfielders in the history of English football, time to retire them imo

That's a little harsh,since that over hyped Lampard is Chelsea all-time leading goalscorer and also have 100+ national caps with a few goals in,plus others trophies and Steven G. also has similar achievements.

 

[Amsterhammer]

This is only for the Dutchies, or those who can understand Dutch. An eye-opener with previously unseen film about the 'Bavaria Babes' in S. Africa four years ago. FIFA is a criminal gang of the worst kind.

http://www.eenvandaag.nl/buitenland/51889/oorlog_met_de_fifa

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

This is only for the Dutchies, or those who can understand Dutch. An eye-opener with previously unseen film about the 'Bavaria Babes' in S. Africa four years ago. FIFA is a criminal gang of the worst kind.

http://www.eenvandaag.nl/buitenland/51889/oorlog_met_de_fifa

Can remember that. They take care of that fans who don´t give a phuck about stupid Fifa initiated rules go trou hell for nothing, while these true gangsters go around scot-free. Mad world. Shall Blatter, Warner and other Fifa buddies (yes , inclusive Beckenbauer) burn in hell together with the likes of Thatcher...

As you might assume: OFC I boycott everything Fifa related (sponsors, pay per view, etc.), like I do with the NFL...

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Greece kept 8 clean sheets more than any other side in European qualification campaign. So, they could be hard to score against again...hell they might even get lucky again and reach high.