Official World Cup Prediction Thread !

[CanadianSU]

Who wins? Germany

Who Gets the Golden Boot? Hulk

Biggest Surprise Team? Bosnia

Upset Game? Croatia over Brazil

Team you wish was in? Ukraine

Does USA make it through? sure.

How will England do? R16

Shame my Ukrainians could not make it, but nonetheless the World Cup is exciting for Football fans and non Football fans alike.

 

[skurey]

USA wins it all

 

[KelVarnson]

Who wins? Brazil

Who Gets the Golden Boot? Neymar

Biggest Surprise Team? Chile

Upset Game? Costa Rica over Italy to put England and Uruguay through.

Team you wish was in? Sweden

Does USA make it through? No

How will England do? R16

 

[Trueblue25]

Soccer's a godless sport.

 

[cmr27]

Who Wins: Brazil

Golden Boot: Mueller

Surprise Team: Colombia (they upset Italy in round of 16)

Upset Game: Ecuador over France to reach the KO round/England over Italy

Team You Wish Was in: Sweden

Team You Wish Was Out: Mexico

Underachiever: Argentina

Under the radar team: S. Korea

USA: Out at group stage (too leaky in the back but they play a nice positive style)

England: Round of 8

 

[CanadianSU]

Who Wins: Brazil

Golden Boot: Mueller

Surprise Team: Colombia (they upset Italy in round of 16)

Upset Game: Ecuador over France to reach the KO round/England over Italy

Team You Wish Was in: Sweden

Team You Wish Was Out: Mexico

Underachiever: Argentina

Under the radar team: S. Korea

USA: Out at group stage (too leaky in the back but they play a nice positive style)

England: Round of 8

Keep in mind the refs are always always with the French. (Ukraine vs France playoff game was awful officiating)

 

[cmr27]

Keep in mind the refs are always always with the French. (Ukraine vs France playoff game was awful officiating)

Everyone in Ireland agrees with you.

 

[ImperialOrange]

Germany wins

Dzeko golden boot

Belgium surprises casual fans that haven't looked at their roster

US upsets Portugal

I wish Ibra, and therefore Sweden were in

USA make it through

Chile and Ecuador give Brasil and Argentina all they want and possibly more
in knockout rounds

England out in the round of 16

 

[cusefan88]

Bravo to this thread already saw Chile and Colombia as surprise teams. They both have serious talent (Colombia has a great crop of attackers) and are playing in South America.

I happen to like the England team this year. Hodgson picked a nice squad. I think Uruguay could be out if Suarez is still not recovered from his recent surgery.

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

Who wins? Germany

Who Gets the Golden Boot? Gonzalo Higuain

Biggest Surprise Team? Ivory Coast. Do they still count as a surprise? Someone already said Belgium so I'm going with IC.

Upset Game(s)? Ghana turns Group G into a mess in all 3 of their games.

Team you wish was in? Austria and David Alaba since everyone already claimed Sweden and Ibra.

Does USA make it through? On Julian Green's coat-tails. (I don't really think we're going through but I'm driving his bandwagon.)

How will England do? Out in the quarters

 

[storange]

Who wins Sorry but Brazil at home forget it

England will get beat in the second round and coach will get fired ( sound familiar )

USA loses all three games and only scores 1 goal total Klinsmann fired in August

Klinsmann will speak to my 13 yo son who has Italian heritage and promise him a spot on the 2018 World Cup team if he plays for the US. The US will be shocked as he cuts one of the best US players ever to make room..

Surprise team Ghana they are better then 38th and Portugal should be weary.

Sorry to beat a dead horse but Landon scored in the 8-0th minute yesterday to get LA a tie with Chicago. In 91 degree heat.
Last two weeks USA 4 goals Donovan 3 Jurgy

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

Who wins Sorry but Brazil at home forget it

England will get beat in the second round and coach will get fired ( sound familiar )

USA loses all three games and only scores 1 goal total Klinsmann fired in August

Klinsmann will speak to my 13 yo son who has Italian heritage and promise him a spot on the 2018 World Cup team if he plays for the US. The US will be shocked as he cuts one of the best US players ever to make room..

Surprise team Ghana they are better then 38th and Portugal should be weary.

Sorry to beat a dead horse but Landon scored in the 8-0th minute yesterday to get LA a tie with Chicago. In 91 degree heat.
Last two weeks USA 4 goals Donovan 3 Jurgy

Sorry to ruin your day since it's clear Klinsmann once kicked your dog or something, but he's 29-8-11 as USMNT manager and got a contract extension through 2018. Getting stuck in the group of death will not get him fired. Also, I don't care what Landon Donovan was doing in MLS while the USMNT was busy with Turkey. He's not going to Brazil, and Aron Johannsson has made him expendable.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Sorry to ruin your day since it's clear Klinsmann once kicked your dog or something, but he's 29-8-11 as USMNT manager and got a contract extension through 2018. Getting stuck in the group of death will not get him fired. Also, I don't care what Landon Donovan was doing in MLS while the USMNT was busy with Turkey. He's not going to Brazil, and Aron Johannsson has made him expendable.

STO and I don't agree on much when it comes to Futbol but on this, I'm with him.

Julian may be a terrific talent but he has been woefully overmatched in both national team appearances. He is a wasted roster spot.

And I know Klinsi claims that Donovan is strictly a forward but the reality is that he is not.

There is simply no way Green should be going while Donovan stays home.

On the flip side, regardless of how this World Cup goes, I hope Klinsmann gets to stay through another World Cup cycle.

How refreshing is it to see the US trying to carry the game to people rather than bunker and counter?

When you stop putting nine guys behind the ball and actually try to get guys forward, you are going to create gaps in the back. Klinsi's job over the next four years is to meld the D plus the #6 into a cohesive defensive unit that doesn't need 8 or 9 guys behind the ball to defend effectively.

You could see that we simply aren't there yet by the fact that Bradley had to drop deeper into midfield in the second half to help defend.

In an ideal world Bradley would be able to stay higher up the pitch, as he did in the first half, to better link up with Dempsey and Altidore...

He is not a true fantasista but he is as close to a #10 as we have. That pass to Fabian Johnson was sublime...

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Who wins? Brazil

Who Gets the Golden Boot? Neymar

Biggest Surprise Team? Belgium

Upset Game? Belgium over Argentina

Team you wish was in? Wales - just to see Gareth Bale compete on the World's Biggest Stage.

Does USA make it through? No.

How will England do? Who cares. FWIW, if they get out of the group, I think they make the quarters.

 

[storange]

Sorry to ruin your day since it's clear Klinsmann once kicked your dog or something, but he's 29-8-11 as USMNT manager and got a contract extension through 2018. Getting stuck in the group of death will not get him fired. Also, I don't care what Landon Donovan was doing in MLS while the USMNT was busy with Turkey. He's not going to Brazil, and Aron Johannsson has made him expendable.

Big s--t. Bruce Arena got us into the World Cup twice, and so did Sampson and Bradley , Hell Bradley almost won the Federations Cup which is more impressive then anything Jurgy has dons so forgive me if Im not overwhelmed with his record. And yes he might get a free pass this time even if they lose.

 

[storange]

Who wins? Brazil

Who Gets the Golden Boot? Neymar

Biggest Surprise Team? Belgium

Upset Game? Belgium over Argentina

Team you wish was in? Wales - just to see Gareth Bale compete on the World's Biggest Stage.

Does USA make it through? No.

How will England do? Who cares. FWIW, if they get out of the group, I think they make the quarters.

Yea we've had a few spats over the years but you Know your stuff. I actually do like the style of play, the first half yesterday was fun to watch. From my standpoint I always thought LD had one more Cup and I felt he was cheated. ( Destiny taken out from underneath him ) I'm very slowly getting over it, i would guess by June 16th I'll be back to rooting for the US all out.

 

[Noexcuse]

Who wins? Brazil will be tough to beat and Germany should be right there at the end (though I think they may have peaked a year or so ago) but I am going to go with Argentina. They have arguably the strongest group of forwards and are experienced in midfield and solid in defense.

Who Gets the Golden Boot? Messi

Biggest Surprise Team? France

Upset Game? U.S. over Portugal

Team you wish was in? I agree on Ukraine - would possibly cool things off over there and reunify the Country, at least for the 10 days of the Group Stage.

Does USA make it through? Yes (and Portugal goes down in flames, again)

How will England do? 5 points in the Group stage will get them through (draw to Italy, win over Costa Rica, draw to Uruguay. Suarez despite the bluster will not be 100%. Italy wins the Group on goal differential. England to the round of 16 and loses to Columbia.

 

[cmr27]

There is simply no way Green should be going while Donovan stays home. On the flip side, regardless of how this World Cup goes, I hope Klinsmann gets to stay through another World Cup cycle.

No way Jurgen gets canned. 1-2 is the most likely outcome and even that depends on a 50/50 game v. Ghana. There's also no way we'll sneak up on Portugal, not after the WC in Korea. 1-2 is expected. 0-3 is not out of the question and anything better than 1-2 is cause for celebration. The draw is too tough.

As for Landon, he ran the risk of being a problem in the locker room. Remember how he threw Beckham under the bus in his autobiography. Not the sign of a great teammate. His commitment has been half-baked at best to both the USMNT and the sport by his own admission. He's a great player, our best ever. But why take a chance on a guy who checks out at the first sign of trouble.

I trust Jurgen. He is one of the few coaches in any sport who comes across as a "players coach" without being easy on players and he plays a positive style as you note. No parking the bus.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Yea we've had a few spats over the years but you Know your stuff. I actually do like the style of play, the first half yesterday was fun to watch. From my standpoint I always thought LD had one more Cup and I felt he was cheated. ( Destiny taken out from underneath him ) I'm very slowly getting over it, i would guess by June 16th I'll be back to rooting for the US all out.

The irony is that I've actually done a 90 degree right turn on the issue over which we disagreed the most: whether players should go to Europe or stay in MLS.

Europe is not the end-all and be-all. Playing time is.

I still think a transfer to a good European league is something a player should do if offered, but ONLY if he is pretty damned sure it will mean a lot of playing time.

I've now seen too many high profile transfers that stalled the careers of US players because the player stayed rooted to the bench.

And MLS has improved enough that there are only a handful of leagues that I would consider to be clearly superior to MLS.

I agree with you on LD. One of my all-time favorites and I thought he deserved one last cup.

And I completely disagree with CMR. Beck ham deserved to be thrown under the bus - always playing for Galaxy with one foot back in Europe.

There has never been a single hint that his US teammates don't like him.

As to commitment, the guy has been the face, and heartbeat, of US soccer since the start of the century. Nothing wrong with rethinking things after 30+ years of being all-in.

 

[cmr27]

And I completely disagree with CMR... As to commitment, the guy has been the face, and heartbeat, of US soccer since the start of the century. Nothing wrong with rethinking things after 30+ years of being all-in.

Fair point. Were this European football, Landon would be on the team because a star player usually has more staying power than the coach. Forced to choose between blaming/getting rid of a coach or a player for a problem, European clubs side with the player. People like Sir Alex are an exception. Coaches in American sports have something closer to absolute authority. Armed with a contract extension, Jurgen was always going to get his way. It will be true even if we go 0-3.

 

[CanadianSU]

Who wins? Brazil will be tough to beat and Germany should be right there at the end (though I think they may have peaked a year or so ago) but I am going to go with Argentina. They have arguably the strongest group of forwards and are experienced in midfield and solid in defense.

Who Gets the Golden Boot? Messi

Biggest Surprise Team? France

Upset Game? U.S. over Portugal

Team you wish was in? I agree on Ukraine - would possibly cool things off over there and reunify the Country, at least for the 10 days of the Group Stage.

Does USA make it through? Yes (and Portugal goes down in flames, again)

How will England do? 5 points in the Group stage will get them through (draw to Italy, win over Costa Rica, draw to Uruguay. Suarez despite the bluster will not be 100%. Italy wins the Group on goal differential. England to the round of 16 and loses to Columbia.

Hey hey! We made it to the quarters in 06! (ukraine)

 

[CanadianSU]

Lots of USA love...nothing wrong with that.

I have a better chance of making it in

Sry

 

[NailstheCusefan12]

I also predict the most awesome fan photo will come from the Americans.

 

[Forza Azzurri]

Fair point. Were this European football, Landon would be on the team because a star player usually has more staying power than the coach. Forced to choose between blaming/getting rid of a coach or a player for a problem, European clubs side with the player. People like Sir Alex are an exception. Coaches in American sports have something closer to absolute authority. Armed with a contract extension, Jurgen was always going to get his way. It will be true even if we go 0-3.

I'm not so sure that coaches here in the US have absolute authority.

I think it depends on the coach and on the player. If you are Greg Popovich or Phil Jackson or Belichek, the player goes.

But remember Magic Johnson? If Showalter or Girardi had pi$$ed off Jeter, whom do you think would have been shown the door? If Lebron didn't like Spoelstra, do you really think Lebron goes?

Interestingly, I think National Team coaches have a lot more power than club coaches because their tenures are expected to be short. Most expect to be fired so they take who they want to. Lippi absolutely refused to take Cassano in 2006 & 2010 despite the fact that Cassano was clearly one of the best Italian players.

Guys like Klinsmann and Prandelli, who have gotten pre-tourney extensions, are exceptions - and they still take who they want to.

 

[storange]

ESPN magazine had the salaries of the WC coaches. Jurgy is one of the higher ones ( around 5th or 6th highest Ithink) at 2.5 million. Its clear he has comoplete runof the ship. Sunil and US soccer can't be thrilled with the LD decision but Klinsmann knows he has the reigns so hes going to do what he wants. Then there is Capello double any one else at 10. something. Putin reall wants to win !!!