http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/internationals/4356050.stm

SEEDINGS TABLE
Brazil 64
England 51
Spain 50
Germany 48
Mexico 47
France 46
Argentina 44
Italy 44

Brazil and England top 2 seeds for the world cup according to FIFA. I'd go along with that.
That 8 looks strong, although Mexico don't deserve to be top 8. I'd have surely given that to one of Holland, Czech Republic, Sweden. I especially feel for Holland, not being seeded. If you look at Pot Three though, those teams look solid!

England have the best chance we've had in years to lift the World Cup. I don't think anyone can argue that. This squad we have is 2nd only to Brazil on paper, it's quite complete now (even the keeper!!).
However, we'll probably have a few good games then dive out at the quarters or semi's, per usual...

Looking forward to it!!!

Well, i feel sorry for the topseeds, one of em will be playing in the so called group of death when Holland joins their group. :p The ranking is based on the last three worldcups, and since we weren't present in the last one it's only natural we aren't among the groupheads.

It doesn't matter though, wheter we beat Argentina in the first round, or in the knock out phase is all the same with us.

And more....Portugal and Sweden are also not among the topseeds, but i don't think anyone is really eager to face them in the early stages of the tournament.

Mexico just sucks, Italy can not make a good team since, well, 94 - which was not that great either? Spain is the eternal promise, and we all know it will blow in the Cup.
I am sure Shevchenko will lead Ukraine much farther than them all. ;)

Shevchenko is great, no doubt, but he can't do it alone. The Ukraine will be lucky if they make it past the first round, they haven't shown great expertise during tournaments yet, and their strategy is too transparent, kinda like Russia.

It's coming home, it's coming home, football's coming home. :)

I'm no expert on soccer, but isn't it the case that every World Cup, the teams that are expected to win, don't for some reason. The only reason I say that is that I always choose the favourites in the World Cup sweepstakes and fantasy competitions and I always lose. I remember backing Holland, France, Spain, and Brazil in tournaments that they were red hot favourites in, only for those teams to blow out big time when it really mattered. Will it be the same this time?

Probably. :D

I only know 2 rules when it comes to backing football teams for international tournaments: the Spanish always underperform, and never, ever, under any circumstances underestimate the Germans. It doesn't matter how poorly they've been playing in the run up, they almost always find a way, by hook or crook, through to the latter stages. And from there anything can happen, especially if it goes to penalties... :eek:

Shevchenko is great, no doubt, but he can't do it alone. The Ukraine will be lucky if they make it past the first round, they haven't shown great expertise during tournaments yet, and their strategy is too transparent, kinda like Russia.
I don't think Ukraine is that bad. I am hoping they can do good if they put their hearts into it. As long as they don't suck as much as Poland did in the last Cup - after an amazing qualifying - I will be glad.
I am hoping the Czechs might bring me some joy as well. I am still pissed at the last Euro Championship.

The Czechs might be a serious team, especially with Nedved back in their lineup. I didn't say the Ukraine is bad, they're too much depending on Shevchenko, s'all. If he, for some reason, wouldn't be able to play, they are completely stripped of their muscles.

Personally i also think Croatia is a side to keep an eye on, they usually perform extremely well in tournaments, and have the ability to rise to the occasion like noone else can. I'm also curious how Serbia and Montenegro will perform with their new and much younger team. They looked solid during qualifications, but how will they respond under the pressure that comes along with a do or die tournament ? All in all this might become a very interresting worldcup, too bad that in the end Brazil will win again. :shake:

too bad that in the end Brazil will win again. Hope not...

Hey, we made it - so long as we don't get the "Group Of Death" and win at least one game, I'll be happy. I'm not expecting anything exceptional; that we even got there is enough for me.

Hey, we made it - so long as we don't get the "Group Of Death" and win at least one game, I'll be happy. I'm not expecting anything exceptional; that we even got there is enough for me. Yes, I was not expecting that you would eliminate Uruguai.

Serious pretenders to Brazils crown then? Which nations do you think can honestly say they have a team capable of beating the Brazilians?

I'll be putting £50 on England and £50 on Brazil this time :lol: .

Oh yeah, Poland sure sucked in last WC. I hope this time it will be better :)

Hey, we made it - so long as we don't get the "Group Of Death" and win at least one game, I'll be happy. I'm not expecting anything exceptional; that we even got there is enough for me. Hey I think South Korea said the same thing 4 years ago, you've got Hiddink. Somehow he does amazing things with teams.

IMO Bosnia Herzegovina is a team to keep an eye on.

Serious pretenders to Brazils crown then? Which nations do you think can honestly say they have a team capable of beating the Brazilians?Hm...let's see....Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, France, Germany, Holland, Ghana, Italy, and almost every other participant in the tournament. Don't forget that Brazilians are human too, and every human can have an offday. In 2004 all of Europe had an offday, and Greece walked away with the crown, anything can happen.

If Holland plays up to it's standards for 7 games straight, we'll blow any team away and win the worldtitle, but we can just as easily choke in the first round and not even make it into the second round. That's the beauty of football if you ask me, nothing is for granted.

South American Teams performance in European hosted world cups is nothing to shout about.

Brazil however have more class than anyone else. I can't see anyone besting them this time round. Allthough England might run them close.

Hey, Argentina beaten Brazil 2 times this year and one of them in the Maracana.

The problem with Spain is the long time fight among players: Catalonian vs Rest of Spain; there are 3 or 4 players from Barcelona that are hated for the rest because this stupid fight between Barça and Real Madrid; there were several fights this year and 2 player even beat eachother.

The problem with Argentina are the so called 'superstars'; Veron, Crespo, etc., everybody stil remember that Argentina - England game where Veron, while playing with Manchester Utd., almost gave to Beckham the ball 3 times like he were in the same team; the problem with these 'stars' is that: they are already stars, so why face the chance of an injury in a game for free? That could be something bad to his pocket. There are a lot of very young-good players in Argentina, young guys hungry for victory, instead, we have these old guys who already made millions. Everytime they play against, lets say Italy, players who are playing in Italian teams, seems to be sick, they look tired, and do nothing. I hate see that.

Well, you don't need Veron anymore, you have Messi now. I'm sure he's still very hungry.

Final groups:

A: Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador
B: England, Paraguay, Trinidad & Tobago, Sweden
C: Argentina, Cote D'Ivora, Serbia & Montenegro, Netherlands
D: Mexico, Iran, Angola, Portugal
E: Italy, Ghana, USA, Czech Republic
F: Brazil, Croatia, Australia, Japan
G: France, Switzerland, Korea Republic, Togo
H: Spain, Ukraine, Tunisa, Saudia Arabia

My Notes About The Groups:
Group A:
Germany will win, Poland second place, possibly Ecuador.
Group B: England and Sweden will draw, but both will advance. England will not win against Sweden, they haven't since the fifties, and they won't this time either.
Group C: Group of Death, once again including Argentina. This can go anywhere, but I guess Argentina and the Netherlands will advance.
Group D: Close group with no real winner, but Portugal and Mexico will probably come out on top.
Group E: **** this group. I wanted Italy to win, and this is the exact opposition that will give them headaches. Not bad teams, but teams that are not great either. Those are the teams they loose against. If they manage to overcome this, they'll win the group and take Czech Republic with them.
Group F: Brazil and Croatia pass. Easy guessings.
Group G: Switzerland and Korea will pass. France will win, once, and that's against Togo. Good riddance.
Group H: Spain got the perfect group. They have a pretty weak team, and if they had had any better opposition, they wouldn't stand a chance. Ukraine joins them, but Tunisia may sneak a spot.

So, Barmy Army, I guess we'll meet on the battleground next year. :)

Btw....Heidi Klum is one fine piece of ass. :D