Canadian Bills Fan Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 For those interested.... Group A Brazil Croatia Mexico Cameroon Group B Spain Netherlands Chile Australia Group C Colombia Greece Cote d'Ivoire Japan Group D Uruguay Costa Rica England Italy Group E Switzerland Ecuador France Honduras Group F Argentina Bosnia Iran Nigeria Group G Germany Portugal Ghana USA Group H Belgium Algeria Russia Korea Republic
B-Man Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 Geez, tough draw for the U.S. Germany and Portugal will advance.
Cugalabanza Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 Thanks for posting. I didn't know these were out today. Oh, no! !@#$ing Ghana again!!!
Johnny Hammersticks Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 Geez, tough draw for the U.S. Germany and Portugal will advance. Agreed. I don't see a tougher group...not even close.
Cugalabanza Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 Yeah, the group of death, without question. But apart from that, it's a really really interesting draw for the USA. In 2002, USA had a huge 3-2 upset win over Portugal which helped them get out of the group. Then they won their first knockout game and faced Germany in the round of 8. Germany got away with a pretty bad hand ball on the goal line late to stop the USA from tying the game and won 1-0. And there’s also the Germany Klinsmann connection which is huge. Of course Ghana sent us home in 2006 and 2010. Germany is currently #2 in the FIFA rankings and Portugal is #5. I think that’s generous for Portugal. USA will have to upset one of these powerhouses and take care of Ghana too in order to get out of the group. Won’t be easy. I can’t wait.
GOBILLS78 Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 Agreed. I don't see a tougher group...not even close. You could make an argument for Group D, but yeah... it's a tough one.
Cugalabanza Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 Read a little more about the draw. Man, it's gonna be tough. This is from the Soccer By Ives site: In addition, the distances between the venues they’ll play in and their home base in Sao Paulo are vast. The U.S. will likely end up traveling nearly 9,000 miles in the group stage alone. I don't know why FIFA seems to hate us so much, but it will definitely make for maximum drama. I'm so excited for this. I don't know how I"m gonna wait til summer.
TheMadCap Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 wow, US got boned! They ain't making it out of that disaster without two wins...
Dr. Fong Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 I only somewhat follow World Cup soccer. Has the US ever gotten a decent draw? Because it seems every time it comes around they have a really tough group. Is this selective memory on my part?
Cugalabanza Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 I only somewhat follow World Cup soccer. Has the US ever gotten a decent draw? Because it seems every time it comes around they have a really tough group. Is this selective memory on my part? 2010 wasn't so terrible. They were drawn with England, Slovenia, Algeria. They were able to advance and they lost to Ghana in the first knockout round. In 2006, they were in what most people considered the group of death, with Italy, Czech Rep., Ghana. They did not make it out of the group. They needed to beat Ghana in the last group game, but couldn't.
GOBILLS78 Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 (edited) I only somewhat follow World Cup soccer. Has the US ever gotten a decent draw? Because it seems every time it comes around they have a really tough group. Is this selective memory on my part? Basically, if you aren't a top-eight team (or 16, for that matter) chances are you're going to be unhappy with your group. The U.S. just doesn't have sustained success, so it's stuck with the luck of the draw, and always stuck with at least two teams better than them. Edited December 6, 2013 by GOBILLS78
LewPort71 Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 Being in group H would have been better. Group D is also a 'group of death " IMHO. G is a killer group. Ghana ugh
4merper4mer Posted December 6, 2013 Posted December 6, 2013 There appears to be a fake country entered in Group C.
KD in CA Posted December 7, 2013 Posted December 7, 2013 Thanks for posting. I didn't know these were out today. Oh, no! !@#$ing Ghana again!!! And after a bye week too!!!!
meazza Posted December 7, 2013 Posted December 7, 2013 You could make an argument for Group D, but yeah... it's a tough one. Brits don't scare me but Uruguay does.
PTS Posted December 7, 2013 Posted December 7, 2013 I was pretty bummed yesterday but after a day to think about it, the group isn't as bad as initially thought. I take nothing away from Ghana, they are a good team but they are a team the US should beat. Much of their WC pedigree has come because they beat the US twice to advance further. In 2006 (at a game I was at in Nuremburg), Ghana was gifted a penalty to win 2-1. It was an even match. In 2010, the US was extremely unlucky not to win. Despite poor player selection and tactics by Bob Bradley, the US was the better team and could have easily won had they capitalized on numerous great opportunities. Portugal is a slightly better Mexico. They can easily be frustrated and when they do they lose their minds. Germany is class. If we played them on match day one, it would get ugly but on matchday three, they will likely be secured through. If so, it gives the US a better chance to get a point or three if the stars align. All in all, it's 50/50 on advancing which I'd take. If they were in Group B, I'd say the chances would be 15%.
meazza Posted December 7, 2013 Posted December 7, 2013 I was pretty bummed yesterday but after a day to think about it, the group isn't as bad as initially thought. I take nothing away from Ghana, they are a good team but they are a team the US should beat. Much of their WC pedigree has come because they beat the US twice to advance further. In 2006 (at a game I was at in Nuremburg), Ghana was gifted a penalty to win 2-1. It was an even match. In 2010, the US was extremely unlucky not to win. Despite poor player selection and tactics by Bob Bradley, the US was the better team and could have easily won had they capitalized on numerous great opportunities. Portugal is a slightly better Mexico. They can easily be frustrated and when they do they lose their minds. Germany is class. If we played them on match day one, it would get ugly but on matchday three, they will likely be secured through. If so, it gives the US a better chance to get a point or three if the stars align. All in all, it's 50/50 on advancing which I'd take. If they were in Group B, I'd say the chances would be 15%. Portugal has CR7. When that twat turns it on it gets ugly. Sorry but i hate Portugal but it won't happen.
bbb Posted December 8, 2013 Posted December 8, 2013 Is this draw totally random or do they pick one of a group or the strongest teams, one out of the next strongest, etc.?
Recommended Posts