The World Cup draw is only a day away as festivities kick off Friday in South Africa at noon (ET). The pots were released earlier this week with no big surprises. The seven top ranked teams in the world (Brazil, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany, Argentina, and England) will join hosts South Africa in Pot 1. The Asian and North American teams join second-time qualifiers New Zealand in Pot 2 while the five remaining African countries and three South American contingents are seeded together in Pot 3. Pot 4 consists of the other eight European clubs.
I don’t really see a ‘Group of Death’ forming this World Cup. Serbia seems to be the only team out of European Pot 4 to cause any problems. How funny would it be if they drew Argentina/Netherlands and Ivory Coast again this World Cup? Greece, Slovenia, France and Switzerland will all fall short as many of these European squads struggled in qualifying with a possible dark horse arising from the Danes. Australia has to be considered the best team in their group with the U.S. South Korea could be tricky, but doubtful.
All eyes have to be on the African teams this World Cup. Cameroon and Ivory Coast are firing on all cylinders while Algeria went through a complete emotional roller coaster just to qualify. Will they be completely spent this summer though? Paraguay will surprise the most this World Cup, mark my word. Argentina is my (ranked) Pot 1 team to combust.
Ideal Matchups:
England to be paired up with Serbia or Slovenia: so they know how it feels.
Australia to meet Italy in a revenge match from 2006. (Please no flopping this game!)
United States to rematch with Brazil in a Confederations Cup final duel. My money’s on Brazil.
Netherlands vs. Portugal. Cards! Cards! Cards! Maybe they can break the record come this World Cup.
One match I don’t want to see: Italy vs. France. It’s been done!
Most Importantly: What do you guys want to see? Anything out there that catches your eye?
@cica draza,
da se nisi nikad vise vratija ode.
"da ce slovenija zajedno sa srbijom proci prvog kola prventsva, mora da vam je tesko izabrati za koga ce te navijati"
sta sad… aj dodi… reci mi.. za koga navijam?
ali sam ti reka sta ce biti?
Great job to jinx your team… maybe this is why Serbia and slovenia never got anywhere..
bas mi je "tesko izabrat za koga cu navijat"… steta da opet nisu nista napravili na svijetsko prvenstno
@cica draza,
Srbia ce kiksati protiv Australije..
Slovenija ce izgubit od Engleske i ispasti…
oba idu kuci… nisu nista napravili….
i ako bi volija da Slovenci dobiju Engleze…. nema sanse..
neka te vidim poslin utakmice sta ces reci
u boys must be choking at the near reality da ce slovenija zajedno sa srbijom proci prvog kola prventsva, mora da vam je tesko izabrati za koga ce te navijati… hahah
@anonymous,
stay anonymous..
Serbia to score 13 goals in 3 matches… What are you 12?
serbia ghana 4 – 0
serbia germany 4- 2
serbia australia 5 – 0
serbia croatia, shit thats right uz didnt qualify hahaha
@ anonymous
Croatia didn't qualify for the WC. They aren't in any group.
So what Group is Croatia in??
Ziva, Why do u hate Muslims?
btw…
STAND UP IF YOU HATE ENGLAND!
STAND UP IF YOU HATE ENGLAND!
STAAAAND UUUUP IF YOU HATE ENGLAND!!
Resident commie!? There are way too many of those on here to even keep track. I wouldn't only limit it to dinamofan.
I wish to god you guys could get back to Stimac and ask him again about his 16-team league, because my friends in the croatian media refuse to ask him the tough questions. With the winter break here, we can look back at what a joke this league has become.
Half of the teams are facing banruptcy….amazing.
Oh well, Stimac and his boys at HRT are counting the money they have been able to generate and steal from the first division teams.
@ Ziva,
Take it easy, seriously. Dinamofan came out of nowhere and volunteered himself for the HNL reports. Maybe you might not care, but other people do. Tom from Winnipeg specifically asked CSR to expand to more HNL news. So we did. That definitely works within the site.
Now DF is pissed off because because he feels unappreciated. If you can't find a new writer for the HNL reports starting in February, you're doing them! Because I'm sure not! 🙂
i wake up every morning thanking god i am a hrvat, not a serb or a muslim.
dinamofan……since you are our resident commie/yugo/socilaist lover, you can keep writing about games nobody watches or pays attention to.
Yeh the 'real tea' comment was classic. Definitely a CSR Top 10!
@ someguy
That last comment might be the funniest in CSR's history.. good shit!
Bottom line im rooting for the dutch and the germans… but my brain is saying England 🙁
Guys, I love the passion and everything you guys are about on the site, but let's keep the conversations about soccer. I know it's very easy to get heated about religion and politics once the topic is sparked, but I need you guys to control that urge. I feel the same as probably a lot of other people on CSR that haven't chimed on on the subject: we don't want to hear it.
Exchange emails or telephone numbers, do whatever you have to do to finish this debate, but this is not the forum to do it on. Talk to you guys soon.
As for your statement that "English pay the foreigners and use them like prostitutes", it would be more accurate to say that, in the EPL, "the Americans (and Arabs and Russians and Chinese) pay the foreigners…". Even the "British" media is largely owned by an Aussie-American. The EPL broadcast rights have gone from the Irish to…yes, Americans.
While I'm on the opposite side of the political spectrum from Ziva, I find it a little ironic for an Englishman to be complaining about the US "doing damage all over the world". Britain's history of colonialism, exploitation and empire building makes the US look like amateurs. That tea you all love doesn't come from Hertfordshire, after all. While there are plenty of valid criticisms to be made about US foreign policy, so much of the English resentment is based on pure envy.
Oh, and I drink tea, used to be a big Twinings fan but then my roommate from Beijing introduced me to real tea.
@dinamofan
I really don't care what you think about the US, but I still don't get how you have nothing against Serbia. That boggles my mind. I'm not trying to make soccer political but I bet a lot of us on here have family members that died in the war, both soldiers and civilians, so I could never say that I have nothing against Serbia.
I know that some of you guys aren't the biggest fan of the Bosniaks, but do you remember Srebrenica? Perhaps you were too young, google it. Oh, and who was there to "protect" the civilians? None other than the Dutch, so I couldn't ever say that I don't have anything against Holland either.
You talk shit – end of story.. saved from islam.. you know what people need saving from you not islam. your like cowpat seriously.. have you ever heard yourself. If your so confident of your religion shoot yourself in the head and find out. Maybe your better off there. Just think of all the great things you can do in heaven and all the great speeches you can make.
bored of hearing your opinions. One thing for sure is maybe CSR needs one voice for Hajduk and one for Dinamo. I doubt i'd return from winter break. you know what you can take over HNL1 reports..
Saluting US flag indeed. your just a prostitute – end of story.
i have no problem saluting the US flag and backing the policies of Bush and the republicans. you are correct in one thing, it is all about the money, and I am making a good living thanks to the US.
So you guys go ahead with paying 40-50% of your wages to the govts of Europe.
Without the US, Europe would be more islamic than it already is. You should all praise the US for saving you from the Koran.
The savior (Obama) has done nothing.
The English pay the foriegners and use them like prostitutes. If they are that low that all matters to them is money yes for sure we can create this big show called the EPL, but oh yes isn't that all that U.S does lol.
Hehe and isn't this why Ziva is in U.S just for money lol. Keep saluting the flag, keep saluting it.. your politicians are laughing at you.. They can use you for anything they want..
keep sending them home in body bags 🙂
English army don't represent lots of the people. Thats why they get spat. Keep sacrificing your life for politicians. Keep those pigeons coming:)
spoken like a true liberal, socialist…..
US might have its fault, but without the US countries (allies) like Engalnd would be in worst postion than they are.
Fuck England and their arogancy when it comes to soccer. Their almighty EPL is great only because of the amount of foreigners in that league. I'll be rooting for Sam's Army as if they were Croatia.
Well for the game against U.S i'll definitely support England. i hope we smash the U.S… 5-0, 6-0 would do nice and then i'll support Slovenia against England..
Regards 1776 or 1812 – America belongs to the hidiginous people – the rest are immigrant aliens.. Immigrants over took the country.. Same with Australia..
and yes a absolute waste of Tea – anybody would be outraged a throwing boxes of tea in the river… what the hell you think you're doing.. its tea for goodness sake..
drums up support for the war i mean..
U.S do so much damage all over the world and whilst this might not be the fault of all the players and all of its citizens, one player from the U.S team always talks crap during every world cup about another nation or tries to pretend their under terrorist attack or drum up support for the world. I believe it was Kasey Keller last time out. Besides that they are rubbish. Why support a rubbish side who play terrible football.
BRAZIL, SPAIN, ENGLAND, GERMANY, HOLLAND any of these sides will do fine. In England i don't even think anyone knows of defeats to U.S or cares. Whenever England went to play U.S they sent there B team.
On a more serious note, I agree with "someguy". As much as I'd like the US to do well, I just can't get emotional about it. For me, there will be no trouble sleeping, no butterflies in the stomach, and (thankfully) no weeklong, self-pitying alcoholic stupor after the inevitable elimination. In other words, it won't be a real world cup.
Go to Amazon and search for "On Mormons" by Alex. Make sure to specify volume 1, 2, or 3…
Or, I trade the whole set with you for a CSR t-shirt…
I don't know too much about Mormons Alex. Please educate me.
"tighter than a 14 year old Mormon"??? Wtf, aren't they all married and breeding by age 11?
Logically speaking, us Croatians should want/need England to at least make it to the final 4. If they get beat by the U.S. or even keep it a competitive match and struggle in group stage after completely destroying Croatia in qualifying, what does that say about us? That we've been a complete joke. But if England makes it far and even wins the whole thing, at least we got trampled by the World Cup champs firing on all cylinders at their highest peak- see what I'm saying guys?
Group A interests me the least. I hope Uruguay and South Africa go, minus the vuvuzelas!
Group B is tricky. Argentina has looked like shit. I have South Korea and Nigeria. Greece will do the same as they did at Euro 2008- nothing! They will finally have to stop riding the coat tails of that Euro 2004 win after this one is over.
In Group C I have England taking all 9 points with the winner of the final group match between U.S. and Algeria going through. I think this will be the 'Match of Group Play'.
Group D can become the eventual Group of Seath and look like the current Champions League group with Barcelona, Inter, Dynamo Kyiv and Rubin Kazan. Tighter than a 14 year old Mormon…..nevermind! Germany hasn't looked as sharp, Ghana can be dangerous, Serbia is hungry, and Australia has tasted group stage before, thanks to Croatia. I have Germany and Serbia going through in no particular order.
Group E has my always tournament 'top-seeded under dogs' Netherlands. They are due for a friggin tournament. They go through with Denmark. Be careful of the red and white dynamite in 2010!
Group F has Italy with another cakewalk to the knockout stages. Paraguay will join them as they are my 2010 World Cup dark horses. Watch them do some damage!
Group G has the individual names to be the Group of Death. Ronaldo, Kaka, Ronaldinho, Drogba, Deco etc. However, Portugal is not what they were in 2004. This is an easy one for me. Brazil and Ivory Coast through. Listen to the Portugal-Brazil game though: for the first time in your life you will hear 22 grown men screaming 'Joga!' at each other. Who is who?
To round out things, Spain will skip through Group H with Chile. Switzerland will have a loss to Spain and two draws. What else can you expect from a neutral country? The KO stages should be packed with good teams though.
Serbia will go to the next round.
@ Anonymous
I'm not sure I follow you. Germany and Ghana go through in this group, yet 2010 is the year for Serbia?
group d i think is the 2nd toughest group which means Serbia get ur asses out! Germany and Ghana go through while the Socceroos make a lil noise
hahahahaha at least Serbia has group Didn't recall seeing Croatia anywhere today, Losers. 2010 is the year for Serbia.
@ Ante BBB
Bwaaahahahaha!!
@Everyone
@ Denis Svirčić
If anybody, Australia considering it is my birth country and there are a bunch of Aussie Croats (Jason Čulina, Mile Jedinak, Dario Vidošić, Ante Čović, Eugene Galeković, Matthew Špiranović, Oliver Bozanić, Tom Pondeljak) who are on or were on the roster at some point for this qualifying campaign.
Croatian immigrants, among others, saved soccer in Australia and helped develop it into the respectable level it is at today.
…but let the US stick it to England as well!
dinamofan,
Why is it that you are totally against the US? Is it just English spite or something else?
Does 1776 still hurt? Maybe 1812?
🙂
Who cares! croatia isn't in it! the world is coming to an end!!!
obviously group g = the group of death.. i think brazil and ivory coast go through, bye bye Ronaldo
i think karma bites france in the ass in group a as uruguay and mexico go through
england and usa easily cruise in group c
group d i think is the 2nd toughest group which means Serbia get ur asses out! Germany and Ghana go through while the Socceroos make a lil noise
Groups E & H are interesting as well… i think the Dutch and Danes go through in E with Cameroon coming up just short. Group H the Swiss played well during qualifying but Spain will easily qualify and Chile was superb during qualifying therefore Spain and Chile
ALthough it pains me to say it, I have a gut feeling England is gonna do it this time.. They have a relatively easy group and their draw leading up to the final could be a lot worse as the better teams are loaded on the back half of the draw…. The 3 Lions win the 2010 WC
@dinamofan
How can you be totally against the U.S. yet have nothing against Serbia?
I'm totally against U.S just like Ziva was against Bosnia. I hope they get no points and that there players go down with a bad case of diarhia.
As i am not greatly enamoured with most of the teams that are in it. I hope Brazil, Spain, Chile (if Morales gets call) and all the African teams do well. I also have nothing against Germany, Holland, Serbia or Mexico. This tournament i even want my home country England to do well as have no time for the current national sides of France, Italy, Portugal and Argentina cos played really dull football. If England do well i'd not mind too much this time around.
I totally agree with Ivica, no matter how much I want USA to do well there is no emotion involved when I watch a USA match. This time around though, since Croatia is not in it, the only team I will support will be USA.
Ivica,
I agree with you, however, Croatia is not in the world cup.
You must have a team or teams that are a far second or third from Croatia?
I have always been a fan of the small countries.
This year, I am following Ghana, Nigeria, Denmark, and USA.
How I would love to see USA stick it to England. Just 1-0 like 60 years ago.
USA!
USA!
USA!
USA!
It was so hard to watch the draw and see no Croatia there. We all live for Soccer, live for the excitement to see our country our flag our fans checkering the stadiums. Looking back at the group we so could have been a part of this.
Australia all the way!!!
Ziva, Didnt Serbia have the so-called "fantastic four" as a backline at wc 06, the ones who conceded no goals in qualifying? I believe it was Ivanovic, Vidic, Dragutinovic and Krstajic. All top (or near top) defenders…
Who do we root for?
My heart is always with Croatia. I was born in Australia and raised in the US. I'll keep an eye on all groups, with a little more attention on those two teams, but make no mistake, no matter what sport I watch, the Croatian NT is the only team that can bring my emotions up so high and make them crash so low.
Italy got very lucky, nice prediction Denis. I hope USA wins their group, hopefully Serbia will get clobbered by Germany, and I have a feeling Portugal won't make it out of the group stage. Brazil will win group G and Ivory Coast will be second…or at least I hope.
Now the question is:
Who do we root for?
How close did I come on Italy group?
I hope they somehow lose to New Zealand.
sorry to turn this into a Serbia debate, but i don't think Serbia have the forward line. Their best striker plays in the Belgian league and that's Jovanovic. Pantelic is like Olic – scores at club level but barely ever in national team. Sulijamani hasn't delivered and Lazovic is also not the best. Unless Milos Krasic and Branko Jankovic – guys like that have a great tournament i can only see Serbia having the type of tourny Croatia did in 2006.
Lets see if S Africa gets a light draw. I think the draw is rigged.
Argentina or Netherlands will get group of death.
France and Portugal will get favorable draws.
How about this group?
Italy-NZealand-Uruguay-Slovenia
I hope the groups are well balanced.
I also hope Italy gets drawn with One of the koreas….haha
North Korea vs. South Korea World Cup Final! Let them figure it out on the pitch! Anyone with me?
you are dead wrong…..there might have been 2 crnogorci on that team at the time. Tensions had nothing to do with it. They lacked a defense at the last WC, this time they have a defense.
Serbia won't get hammered like they did in the previous world cup. Wasn't it during the tensions of Montenegro breaking apart from Serbia at the time? Lots of Montenegrins and Serbs were split on the national team, allowing them to show no motivation whatsoever. I really think they have a chance to get 2nd in a group if they get a decent draw.
USA v SPAIN-Rematch From last summer. Lets see if the Americans can prove it wasn't a flop
USA v. NORTH KOREA -a thrashing USA victory would surely set off another world war
SPAIN v. PORTUGAL- The Battle for Iberia
SERBIA v. SLOVENIA
France vs Algeria 🙂
I predicted they would be in the same group.
Holland v. Denmark
England v. Ivory Coast
Argentina v. Mexico is always a good match
Ghana v. Brazil rematch from 06
Nigeria v. Italy
Germany v. Serbia
Holland v. Serbia (another 6-1 thrashing)
Argentina v. Serbia (another 6-0 thrashing would be very entertaining)