J.A.W. Posted December 6, 2013 Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 (edited) Here's the draw: Edited December 6, 2013 by J.A.W. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjazzg Posted December 6, 2013 Report Share Posted December 6, 2013 Looks like England will be booking early flights home - no change there then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Looks like England will be booking early flights home - no change there then Best to put them out of their misery fast ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serioza Posted December 7, 2013 Report Share Posted December 7, 2013 Looks like England will be booking early flights home - no change there then Best to put them out of their misery fast ! damn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Well, this hasn't exactly been a hot topic of discussion. Now that it's almost here, is anybody interested? I think (as a USA fan) I'm still too much in shock from the draw to be very optimistic. I'm still excited to watch, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Pardon my ignorance ( of soccer/football, and other things), but are the groupings in any way 'seedings', or are they completely random, selected like bingo balls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uli Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Well, this hasn't exactly been a hot topic of discussion. Now that it's almost here, is anybody interested? I think (as a USA fan) I'm still too much in shock from the draw to be very optimistic. I'm still excited to watch, though. I am a soccer fan and am looking forward to see as many matches as I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uli Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) Pardon my ignorance ( of soccer/football, and other things), but are the groupings in any way 'seedings', or are they completely random, selected like bingo balls? I don't know the details but yes there is some seeding for the groups. The top Fifa ranked qualifiers plus the host (Brazil) were put first in the 8 different groups. After that I believe there was a draw wwith some regional safeguard for the rest to make sure that not all South American, African etc teams end up in the same goup. Edited June 11, 2014 by uli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjazzg Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Pardon my ignorance ( of soccer/football, and other things), but are the groupings in any way 'seedings', or are they completely random, selected like bingo balls?The draw is seeded to avoid too many top teams having to fight it out in one group and therefore losing teams to the competition to early when they don't qualify from the group (top two qualify from each grup into knockout round). The First names in each group came from the same pot in the drawer and so on through the group places. Seeding was based on the FIFA World rankings.I'm looking forward to seeing how England's current crop make amends for our disturbingly inept performance four years ago. I'd like to see them get out of the group but fear that Uruguay and Italy may prevent it.Overall it'll be interesting to see if Spain can retain the trophy - it will be a first for a European team outside Europe if they do. Argentina should be good to watch and the Germans could impress. A wild card is Belgium with a fine crop of young players. But really I suspect it's the host's to lose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted O'Reilly Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Pardon my ignorance ( of soccer/football, and other things), but are the groupings in any way 'seedings', or are they completely random, selected like bingo balls? The draw is seeded to avoid too many top teams having to fight it out in one group and therefore losing teams to the competition to early when they don't qualify from the group (top two qualify from each grup into knockout round). The First names in each group came from the same pot in the drawer and so on through the group places. Seeding was based on the FIFA World rankings. Thanks! I almost understand... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Basten II Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) The draw is hard to understand and explain because they have to make sure that they aren't three European teams in any group nor that they should be two representatives of the same continent in any group. You could say that the top tems of the groups shown above are the top seeds . Gotta say I'm quite excited especially for the early round action as almost every group seems to have some kind of a spot in the balance. If the groups A,F, G and H look to have a clear favourite for the top spot, it looks like a nice battle for the three other teams to fight off the remaining spot. The other groups are rather well balanced and your guess about who's going to qualify are as good as mine. For the Yanks here, the key matchup is against Portugal if they manage a win against them it could be the key to a second place and with CR7 not in complete shape, everything is possible. Edited June 12, 2014 by Van Basten II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homefromtheforest Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Go Netherlands! Both my parents are from there even though I was born in Canada. Looking forward to the finale rematch this Friday... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Basten II Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 (edited) Better cheer for Netherlands than Canada footie wise Here's something ironic they actually have a Canadian player lining up for them in Jonathan De Guzman Edited June 11, 2014 by Van Basten II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homefromtheforest Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Interesting. I'm sure Manchester United will be keeping an eye on how well the Dutch do as well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xybert Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 Go Netherlands! Both my parents are from there even though I was born in Canada. Looking forward to the finale rematch this Friday... Yeah, similar for me i was born in New Zealand but family is originally from Croatia (or what was Yugoslavia at the time). From previous experience they're inconsistent, can either rise to the occaion and defeat teams way above them or self destruct and lose to weaker teams. But anyway, go Croatia! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted June 11, 2014 Report Share Posted June 11, 2014 For the Yanks here, the key matchup is against Portugal if they manage a win against them it could be the key to a second place and with CR7 not in complete shape, everything is possible. Interesting viewpoint. Most of the analysis I've heard is suggesting that the U.S. needs to get a win vs Ghana, and then try to get a point from the Portugal match. I tend to think that is the most realistic way to look at things. Either way, it's going to be difficult. Ghana ousted us in 2006 and 2010, and of course were unfortunate not to become a major story in 2010. They're even more experienced now, and with their line-up, they will be a handful for anybody. Ronaldo may be less than 100% fit, but I would guess the issue is being exaggerated. He looked pretty fit to my eyes, vs Ireland. Unless the heat and humidity of Manaus somehow becomes an advantage for us in that second group match, I think that even a draw will be very difficult. After what happened in 2002, I don't think that Portugal will be taking this game lightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Basten II Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) Of course a result against Ghana is needed as if you wanna be better than two teams in such a competition you have no other choice than get results with at least two teams, I have a hard time imagining any of these teams getting more than a moral victory against the Germans so it becomes a three way race for the second spot. Schedule wise the fact that the Portugal game is the one before the last and dreaded game against Gotze and co makes it more vital as if even they manage one or no point against Ghana the Portugal will still be the make or break game . I do think that the US have a team that can get a result against Ghana although historically they have been a thorn in their side. Edited June 12, 2014 by Van Basten II Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 Not that I care much, but the Swiss team is actually the one of Kosovo as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erwbol Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 The Swiss Foreign Legion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
king ubu Posted June 12, 2014 Report Share Posted June 12, 2014 No, all the immigrant kids playing better than many a swiss ... some at least are granted citizenship after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim R Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 A rather uninspiring opening match today. I've been watching world cups since 1974, so I'm not naive, but what Fred did still disappoints me. More of the media scorn ought to be aimed at Fred instead of the referee. Fortunately, I think that the Brazilians would have prevailed anyway, so the controversy is less of an issue than it might have been. Thought most of the Croatians played very well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uli Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 A bit of a lucky win by Brazil but certainly not undeserved. Fred may have helped t to sell the call a bit but one of the replays imho showed that the Croatian player grabbed him at the shoulder. The penalty call for me did not come completely out of the blue. So, no scorn for either Fred or the ref from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niels Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 I'm definitely not a hardcore soccer fan, but I do like big tournaments like this. And in the neighborhood my wife and I just recently moved into, it's impossible to escape the Dutch "orange fever" as all the streets have turned into this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head Man Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 I'm definitely not a hardcore soccer fan, but I do like big tournaments like this. And in the neighborhood my wife and I just recently moved into, it's impossible to escape the Dutch "orange fever" as all the streets have turned into this: Let's hope they get off to good start tonight against Spain. It should be a good contest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erwbol Posted June 13, 2014 Report Share Posted June 13, 2014 http://youtu.be/eE_IUPInEuc Is it Holland or The Netherlands? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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