Thunder Strike's Football 2010 World Cup guide

[Thunder Strike]

Well that was an exciting couple of matches. Well done to the USA for topping the group. And I'm relieved to see England get through.

[Gangs]

I'm soooo still supporting the yanks.

[Vice Man]

I really hope Chile beats Spain tomorrow. I love how everybody talks the latter up yet they never amount to anything.

[Thunder Strike]

Well, Italy out, and NZ unbeaten. Interesting day so far.

[Leo]

Italy being out is a huge surprise. I'm going to revisit my prediction after tomorrow's games to see how I did. Then, I'll try to predict the knockout stages for you guys so we can all laugh at the homerism.

[Gangs]

I've given up predicting anything...

[TomAceEsq]

USA and Slovakia....Hopefully one of them does the fuckin' deal.

[ಠ_ಠ King Death II ಠ_ಠ]

Brazil v Portugal tomorrow, lol

[uchiha]

Portugal 0 - 0 Brazil

even against all the odds we still prove that we are better than what most  people thinks...this tie is to fuck everyone who said that Portugal would definitely lose, and this is just the start...not even Brazil could stop us

And also that ref was really unfair, 5 or 6 yellows just in the first part...

[Leo]

Chile v. Spain, I can't wait.

[ಠ_ಠ King Death II ಠ_ಠ]

Chile   1   :   2   Spain

good game i guess

[Leo]

Kind of boring. That red card was BS since the Spanish player barely got touched in the back of the foot. At least Chile gets through, though, and I think they have a good chance against Brazil anyway, so it should be fun.

USA v. Ghana tomorrow.

I'll update my thoughts on who's left and how wrong I was.

[Arsenal 10]

My predictions:

South Korea will beat Uruguay.
USA will beat Ghana.
England will beat Germany (more of a heart guess, than using my head).
Argentina will beat Mexico.
Netherlands will beat Slovakia.
Brazil will beat Chile.
Japan will beat Paraguay.
Spain will beat Portugal.

That would be Quarter Finals of:

Netherlands vs Brazil.
South Korea vs USA.
Argentina vs England.
Japan vs Spain.

[Leo]

Group A:
France-Group Winner Easily
Mexico-Eh, maybe, maybe not, who knows
Uruguay-Wouldn't be surprised if they get handled by South Africa fairly easily
South Africa-Home Team advantage could be huge, watch for them to fight for the #2 spot in this group
Group B:
Argentina-Winnarz of group
Greece-Not enough info on this team
Nigeria-Like most African teams, will play with a lot of heart, start the series out fast, even give the big names a little scare, but don't expect too much
South Korea-They're Asian, that's about all I know of this team
Group C:
Blighty-Will probably advance with the US, but this whole group is weak and anyone could get out
USA-Will win some close games on lucky shots and might make it through
Slovenia-They're European?
Algeria-Will challenge Blighty and the US for a spot to stay alive
Group D:
Germany-Group winnar
Ghana-Along with the Ivory Coast, they are the best examples of what I said about Nigeria, look for them to make a nice story for a time, but don't write them into the next round just yet
Australia-if this were rugby, we could just name them champions, too bad it isn't
Serbia-will challenge Ghana for that #2 spot
Group E:
Netherlands-Along with Denmark, should cruise to the next round
Denmark-Should cruise to the next round, expect some big games later from one of these two teams
Cameroon-not enough info
Japan-look up South Korea
Group F:
Italy-Clear group winner
Paraguay-Decent team, don't have high expectations for them, though
Slovakia-not enough info
New Zealand-my dark horse to sneak into the next round and then get pummeled by a big name team
Group G:
Brazil-Will have a tough fight, but I expect them to move on to the next round
Portugal-Also no promises, but should move on
Ivory Cost-Best African team in my opinion, but they got stuck with two teams that are clearly better and will struggle against them, would move on in some other groups, but in this one, they should be glad to beat up on North Korea
North Korea-Should be glad that they made it this far
Group H:
Spain-Probable group winner
Switzerland-Will put up good games, but I don't expect them to advance
Chile-Will play some memorable games and may even upset a few bigger teams in the next round, but eventually, they will be clearly eliminated by a better team
Honduras-Like the Swiss, will play some good games, but ultimately are not good enough to advance

Well, let's see how I did with my vague predictions:(+=good prediction,-=bad prediction,0=neither good nor bad)
Group A:
-France-On second thought, forget what I said about them winning the group.
+Mexico-Did what I expected and snuck into the next round
0Uruguay-Didn't get beat by SA and also got into the next round
+SA-Did fight for the #2 spot, but just missed it
Group B:
+Argentina-100% on this prediction
0Greece-I knew nothing when they entered and I know nothing as they exit
0Nigeria-Didn't do much, at least they put up a fight
0South Korea-Research would've told me to expect them to advance, they did
Group C:
+England-Right about the weak group, they did advance
+US-100%, even with the making it on lucky shots part(thx Green and Donovan)
0Slovania-not too shabby a team
0Algeria-did kinda challenge, but I'm not gonna lie, I didn't even make the connection that Algeria is in Africa until after the tournament started, so I can't claim anything on this one
Group D:
+Germany-was right
0Ghana-Fought hard like I said, but didn't fail to get into round 2 like I feared
-Australia-got destroyed by Germany, then did okay after that
+Serbia-did challenge for #2 spot but was ultimately unsuccessful
Group E:
+Netherlands-cruised
-Denmark-didn't cruise
-Cameroon-good team which I should've researched more, disappointing cup for them
-Japan-Made it through, I should have expected more of a fight from this team but didn't
Group F:
-Italy-didn't get through, huge surprise to me
0Paraguay-More than just decent, made it to the next round
-Slovakia-snuck through even though I knew nothing of them at the time
-New Zealand-put up a good fight, but was unable to get to their round 2 beating I predicted
Group G:
+Brazil-even NK gave them a fight, I was surprised
+Portugal-not as solid as Brazil, but made it through as expected
-Ivory Coast-fought hard, but without Drogba, were less of a threat than expected
-North Korea-had a great first game v. Brazil, than followed my prediction
Group H:
+Spain-got it right
+Swiss-did put up the good games I expected and barely failed to advance
+Chile-in the next round like I expected and will play a bigger team in Brazil, let's see if they upset them
0Honduras-did okay, but were nothing special in this group

So my score went something like this out of 32 teams:
+ 13
0 9
- 10
Not bad, but nothing special.

My round 2 predictions will be in the next post...

[Leo]

Round 2 Predictions:

Left Side of Bracket
Uruguay v. South Korea
I expect a good game and either team could sneak through. For the purposes of scoring myself later, I'm gonna go with the South American team since they've been doing so well this tournament. Either team could make it to the Semis though since the next round would be US/Ghana.

US v. Ghana
I'm going with USA on this one just because they have a knack of stepping it up when it's a do or die situation. Ghana's a good team but this might be the US's best chance in a while to go deep in the World Cup.

Netherlands v. Slovakia
The Dutch should handle this one easily, moving on to the winner of Brazil/Chile. If they can get past the quarterfinals, they have a good chance to make it to the finals.

Chile v. Brazil
Probably the best match-up of round 2 on this side of the bracket between two of the best teams in the bracket. The 3rd best team is arguably the Netherlands, who the winner of this match will probably meet in the next round. Look for Chile to continue pushing forward trying to catch Brazil's goalkeeper by surprise. Watch as Brazil tries to counter Chile's relentless attack by trying to expose a weak back line. In this match, I must not only root for Chile, but also predict the biggest upset of this tournament so far as La Roja pushes to the quarterfinals in its bid for a finals appearance.

Right Side of Bracket
Germany v. England
Two teams who have had their struggles. Two teams who can still be very good. Look for the Germans to advance, but not without a capable fight from the Englishmen.

Argentina v. Mexico
Mexico's had a nice run so far, but it will all end at the hands of the Argentine superpower as South America continues its dominance in this tournament.

Paraguay v. Japan
I see Japan as a big darkhorse in that if they win this game, they may be very scary for the winner of Spain/Portugal. Japan had a nice run through the group stages and proved it's got a capable defense mixed with an attacking offense. Paraguay, on the other hand, is also a good team and could very well advance. However, I'm going to go with Japan in this one, breaking the hearts of Paraguayans everywhere.

Spain v. Portugal
Biggest game on this side of the bracket. Not only because it will be filled with superstars, but also because of the history of these two countries. Neighbors in Europe, they were unable to evade each other colonizing the South American jungles. Now they meet on the soccer field for the ultimate prize,  bragging rights. I expect the winner of this game to at least make the semis, possibly meeting Argentina for another star-power fight into the final match. Portugal is filled with talent and when they're on, can win versus anyone, but I see Spain as the slightly more experienced and more experienced team that has a little less flash. In this game, I expect Spain to push through and end Portugal hopes for history to be brought to their little piece of the isthmus.


So there we go, I'll update this when round 2 is over and then you'll get my predictions for the quarters. If you notice, I have 3/5 South American teams going, and if it weren't for two of those teams playing each other(ChilevBrazil), it would probly be 4/5, so watch out for that region in round 2. Damn I love the World Cup, though, since anything can happen at any time to any team.

[Thunder Strike]

Here are my picks

Round 2 Predictions:

Left Side of Bracket
Uruguay v. South Korea
Both these teams are strong in attack, but Uruguay have yet to concede a goal yet. Should be an open and entertaining game. But I'm picking Uruguay to take it 3-1.

US v. Ghana
Only one African team left in the tournament, and the only goals they have scored are penalties. So provided the USA don't gift them a goal they should be able to sneak it. 1-0 to the USA

Netherlands v. Slovakia
Slovakia failed to break down NZ and Paraguay and were gifted goals against Italy, so I can see them struggling to score in this one. Especially since the Dutch have only conceded one goal, which was a penalty. 2-0 to the Dutch.

Chile v. Brazil
Chile have impressed me so far, but after the Brazil match they have 3 first choice players missing for this match. That could count against then with Brazil, although lacking flair, still look very capable. 2-1 to Brazil

Right Side of Bracket
Germany v. England
Both sides aren't looking that great at the moment. I expect a cagey match with plenty of nail-biting for both fans. 1-1 with England winning on penalties.

Argentina v. Mexico
Rematch of 2006, I see it being an easier win for Argentina since they are clicking in attack. But they do look vulnerable defensively. 3-1 to Argentina.

Paraguay v. Japan
Japan have done very well so far in this tournament. But I can see them coming unstuck against a stubborn Paraguayan defence. 1-0 to Paraguay.

Spain v. Portugal
Apart from the initial slip-up Spain have looked good. While Portugal beat the crap out of North Korea they lacked any enterprise against the Ivory Coast or Brazil. I can see this being a frustrating game that Spain will sneak 2-1.

[Leo]

Good game between the Uruguayans and the North Koreans. I started watching at the beginning of the second half and it's definitely been an entertaining game.

[Thunder Strike]

You mean South Koreans, right?

Damn, my prediction was almost perfect as well

[ಠ_ಠ King Death II ಠ_ಠ]

USA will win in a shootout, its 1-1 right now

[Thunder Strike]

Poor yanks.