Official World Cup Thread

[HunkinElvis]

I'm sure FIFA doesn't rig the seedings:

...GROUP C: FIFA and UEFA sure don't seem to like Holland very much. They were in the "group of death" in EURO 2004 and got a tough qualification draw with the Czechs and Romania. Then they were not seeded, despite topping that group. They've been drawn in another tough group with Argentina, Serbia and Montenegro, and Ivory Coast. I think Argentina and Holland will still move on, but they will be weakened by tougher games than the other "favored" teams face...

Holland and Argentina have a lot of fans around the world. I don't see why FIFA would want to put them in a difficult group unless they want to see some exciting games.

...GROUP D: The idea that Mexico would be seeded was about as foolish as the decision not to seed Portugal. Mexico are a poor team; Borgetti is the only one with any class. They only come to play football against tiny nations. If they think there is going to be an actual contest, they come to foul. There is no doubt they will be mugged by the Portugese, who steamrolled through qualification and led Europe (along with the Czechs) with 35 goals in the process. They were also EURO finalists. Of course, they also have only 10 million people, so FIFA did not seed them. However, FIFA has ensured Mexico is almost certain to go through by pairing them with Iran and Angola, ensuring Mexico's large population of 106,000,000 stays tuned...

Anyone who has watched Iran play knows that Iran is difficult to beat. Iran has a lot of great players including AFC Player of the year Ali Karimi. Iran's Mehdi Mahdavika and Hashemian are impressive midfielders. I consider Iran as the Brazil of Asia.

...GROUP F: You could put Brazil in a group with Argentina, Holland, and Italy and they would still go through. FIFA have taken advantage of Brazil's talent to knock out Croatia, Australia, and Japan. They are all pretty good teams, and capable of causing an expensive upset. Now, two of them cannot do so...

Japan has a huge population who love football. You can tell if you watched their fans during the 2002 World Cup. If FIFA rigs the seedings, then wouldn't they want to put Japan in an easier group?

...GROUP G: FIFA doesn't want a repeat of 2002 when France was knocked out in the group stage, so they've given the fading 1998 champions a pretty easy go of it here. Togo doesn't have any experiece at this level, and without the friendly refereeing of 2002, Korea doesn't have much of a chance. France and Switzerland to go through with little trouble...

I wouldn't underestimate Togo. One of their players, Adebayor, made the most goals in the African qualifying. Plus, they have Nigerian players.
South Korea seems to be doing better after they replaced their coach. They tied with Sweden, and beat Serbia and Montenegro. I don't know how Korea will do in an away game, though. The funny thing about this group is that all of the four teams are happy with the group and they think they could qualify to the next round.

...GROUP H: If you look at the teams who deserved seeding the least, you'd have to put Spain at the top of that list. They had a miserable EURO, failing to get past the group stages. Their qualifaction was pathetic as well. Despite being drawn in a suspiciously easy group, they still failed to come out on top, and only squeaked into the finals through the playoffs. Big surprise then that FIFA has sought to make sure they progress by putting them against Saudi Arabia, whose last World Cup appearance was marked by conceding 8 goals against Germany, and Tunisia. I have little doubt Ukraine will beat them and top the group, but it would take a miracle for Spain to go out in the group stages again...

Today's Saudi Arabian team is very different from the Saudi Arabian team of 2002. They beat South Korea twice in the qualifying. I think they'll make an impressive show like they did in the USA World Cup.