The Official sj.com World Cup '06 pool

Crass, I'm not handing out bonus points for picking Tunisia to finish fourth in group play.

But that's a professional piece of ball hittin' outta you.

 

BBAM speaks.

Group A
Germany
Poland

Group B
Sweden
England

Group C
Argentina
Netherlands

Group D
Mexico
Portugal

Group E
Czech
Italy

Group F
Brazil
Japan

Group G
France
South Korea

Group H
Spain
Tunisia

Left side of bracket
A1 Germany vs. B2 England

C1 Argentina vs. D2 Portugal

E1 Czech vs. F2 Japan

G1 France vs. H2 Tunisia


Right side of bracket
B1 Sweden vs. A2 Poland

D1 Mexico vs. C2 Netherlands

F1 Brazil vs. E2 Italy

H1 Spain vs. G2 S.Korea

QUARTERFINALISTS
Left side
Germany vs. Argentina
Czech vs. France

Right side
Sweden vs. Netherlands
Brazil vs. Spain

SEMIFINALISTS
Argentina vs. France
Netherlands vs. Brazil

CHAMPION
Argentina def. Netherlands

Tie breakers
1: Total goals in the title game -- 3
2: Total corner kicks in the title game -- 7

 

Thank you, sir. However, with some issues surrounding Nedved and then you have Buffon facing a possible indictment in Italy, I'm wondering where it all might go.

A swap of Italy to the number 1 and the Czechs out is possible. Hell, Ghana could come away with the number 2 spot and the US could slip into number 1. (In no cicumstance do I have the US losing out, no matter the possibility.)

 

I hope so. I wanna see 'em do well.
But I felt like Bruce was wavin' the white flag back in December.

 

I find the biggest issue with the US is the lack of experience the first team has playing together. Far too many times Bruce would patch in a guy here and there to give them some experience.

He plays Twellman all those games. He racks up the goals and he's not selected because of his size. Why waste the time? Have Ching in there getting the time. If it was about rewarding his play at the MLS level give him a game or two, but no more.

The Germans will ALWAYS put out their first team. It doesn't matter who they are playing. This enables the players to get used to each other.

 

It's an every-other-year thing with the U.S. In 94 they knocked off Colombia, which was a prohibitive favorite to win it all. In 98 they tanked. In 02 they beat Mexico — nothing like watching a match in the middle of the night and screaming "U-S-A!" in the middle of my street of a predominantly Latin neighborhood. They won't lose 'em all, but they're not getting out of this group.

 

Did anybody watch the World Cup special on ABC on Saturday.

Landon Donovan praised this year's team saying it is better than '02 and the U.S. 1-23 is better team than most are giving them credit.

then again, this could be more bs from Lando

 

Bump.
REMEMBER!!! Entries are due by 11:59 p.m. Thursday. And I'm in livin' in a CDT world.

 

Following my long hiatus from SportsJournalists.com, zizzer is back with the following:

Group A               
Poland                 
Germany
Costa Rica               
Ecuador               
   
Group B
England                 
Sweden                 
Paraguay                 
Trinidad & Tobago               

Group C                 
Netherlands                 
Serbia & Mont     
Argentina                 
Ivory Coast                 

Group D
Mexico
Portugal
Iran
Angola

Group E
Czech
USA
Italy
Ghana

Group F
Japan
Brazil
Croatia
Australia   

Group G
France
Switzerland
South Korea
Togo

Group H
Spain
Ukraine
Saudi Arabia
Tunisia

Left side of bracket
A1 Poland vs. B2 Sweden: Poland

C1 Netherlands vs. D2 Portugal: Netherlands

E1 Czech vs. F2 Brazil: Brazil

G1 France vs. H2 Ukraine: Ukraine


Right side of bracket
B1 England vs. A2 Germany: England

D1 Mexico vs. C2 Serbia (heretofore referred to as S&M  ;D): S&M

F1 Japan vs. E2 United States: United States

H1 Spain vs. G2 Switzerland: Spain

QUARTERFINALISTS
Left side
A1-B2 winner Poland vs. C1-D2 winner Netherlands: Netherlands
E1-F2 winner Brazil vs. G1-H2 winner Ukraine: Brazil

Right side
B1-A2 winner England vs. D1-C2 winner S&M: England
F1-E2 winner United States vs. H1-G2 winner Spain: United States

SEMIFINALISTS
A1-B2--C1-D2 winner Netherlands vs. E1-F2--G1-H2 winner Brazil: Netherlands
B1-A2--D1-C2 winner England vs. F1-E2--H1-G2 winner United States: England

CHAMPION
Netherlands vs. England: Netherlands 3, England 1

Tie breakers
1: Total goals in the title game 4
2: Total corner kicks in the title game11
3: Most correctly picked finishes in group standings

 

Final Standings: Group A
1. Germany
2. Ecuador

Final Standings: Group B
1. England
2. Trinidad & Tobago

Final Standings: Group C
1. Serbia & Montenegro
2. Argentina

Final Standings: Group D
1. Iran
2. Mexico

Final Standings: Group E
1. Ghana
2. Italy

Final Standings: Group F
1. Brazil
2. Japan

Final Standings: Group G
1. South Korea
2. Togo

Final Standings: Group H
1. Saudi Arabia
2. Tunisia

Left side of bracket
Germany vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Serbia & Montenegro vs. Mexico
Ghana vs. Japan
South Korea vs. Tunisia

Right side of bracket
England vs. Ecuador
Iran vs. Argentina
Brazil vs. Italy
Saudia Arabia vs. Togo

QUARTERFINALISTS
Left side
Germany vs. Mexico
Ghana vs. South Korea

Right side
England vs. Argentina
Brazil vs. Togo

SEMIFINALISTS
Germany vs. Ghana
Argentina vs. Brazil

CHAMPIONSHIP
Ghana vs. Brazil

WINNER
Ghana

Tie breakers
1: Total goals in the title game 4
2: Total corner kicks in the title game 8

 

Group A
Germany
Poland

Group B
Sweden
England

Group C
Argentina
Ivory Coast

Group D
Mexico
Iran

Group E
USA
Italy

Group F
Brazil
Australia

Group G
Switzerland
France

Group H
Spain
Saudi Arabia

Left side of bracket
England def. Germany
Argentina def. Iran
USA def. Australia
Switzerland def. Saudi Arabia

Right side of bracket
Sweden def. Poland
Ivory Coast def. Mexico
Italy def. Brazil
France def. Spain

QUARTERFINALISTS
Left side
Argentina def. England
USA def. Switzerland

Right side
Ivory Coast def. Sweden
Italy def. France

SEMIFINALISTS
Argentina def. USA
Italy def. Ivory Coast

CHAMPION
Argentina def. Italy

Tie breakers
1: Total goals in the title game -- 4
2: Total corner kicks in the title game -- 18

 

Group A
Costa Rica
Germany

Group B
England
Paraguay

Group C
Argentina
Ivory Coast

Group D
Mexico
Portugal

Group E
Ghana
USA

Group F
Brazil
Croatia

Group G
France
South Korea

Group H
Spain
Ukraine

Left side of bracket
A1 Costa Rica vs. B2 Paraguay

C1 Argentina vs. D2 Portugal

E1 Ghana vs. F2 Croatia

G1 France vs. H2 Ukraine


Right side of bracket
B1 England vs. A2 Germany

D1 Mexico vs. C2 Ivory Coast

F1 Brazil vs. E2 USA

H1 Spain vs. G2 South Korea

QUARTERFINALISTS
Left side
Costa Rica vs. Portugal
Ghana vs. France

Right side
England vs. Mexico
Brazil vs. Spain

SEMIFINALISTS
Portugal vs. Ghana
Mexico vs. Brazil

CHAMPION
Brazil over Ghana

Tie breakers
1: 4
2: 9