2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa!

[Johnny Vinyl]

To the fans of the greatest game in the world, we are less than one year away from the start of the next World Cup. There are still plenty of qualifiers remaining and there will be disappointments or great joy for some of you.

Good luck to all!

According to the FIFA website (as of today Saturday July 25, 2009) the following teams have qualified:

AFRICA: No team has yet qualified.
ASIA: Australia, Japan, Korea Republic and Korea DPR
EUROPE: The Netherlands
NORTH, CENTRAL AMERICA and CARIBBEAN: No team has yet qualified.
OCEANIA: No team has yet qualified.
SOUTH AMERICA: No team has yet qualified.

* The nation of South Africa is automatically entered as they are the Host Nation.

Please post anything related to this Tournament here and express your opinions with fanfare and a courteous amount of fanatisism ()! Most of all have fun and enjoy the topic!

John

[Batman1980]

Uh John, South Africa is automatically qualified since they are the hosting country, might want to adjust your list.

[Johnny Vinyl]

I understand this and most others will too. S.A. isn't a part of the Qualifying process, hence their omission.

John

PS~ I have adjusted my first post to reflect their admission by default as hosts!

[Moviefan1203]

I really want the US to make a good showing, we've made some great strides in the sport but need to start showing it on a consistent basis. The victory over Spain and giving Brazil all they could handle was great to see, but I want to see more like it.

[Johnny Vinyl]

It takes time and the U.S. have made great strides, sometimes even flashes of much greater things. With the size of your population there is no reason not to have the ability to develop a truly World Class team for decades to come. I think it'll happen as the youth programs become more entrenched and also as the world game gains more of a foot-hold on U.S. television. I think that is a major issue right now.

John

[Slec]

My wife is working on getting some tickets. I don't think we could afford the flights and cost of hotel though

[Show spoiler]she does a lot of work there with the government and she's been told there's a good possibility something could be worked out

[Johnny Vinyl]

Pretty expensive trip all around indeed. But well worth it if you could swing it! I'd love to go...not gonna happen though!

John

[Forrestandjen07]

Good stuff

[Bigdog]

Being able to attend a world cup game in 1994 was a awesome sight. Something i will never forget and recommend it for anyone on the fence thinking of going to one.

With that said i hope good things for the US, hopefully they will not draw the death group.

[fatediesel]

Hopefully South Africa is ready for the tournament. It's been reported they're behind schedule and that was before the week long strike that was recently resolved.

[Slec]

My wife says there are no issues getting everything ready in time. She's in country at the moment and that's one of the big topics in government. The workers had them over a barrel i.e. 'give us increased wages or suffer the embarrassment'. The Gov't is prepared to do whatever is necessary to have everything completed on time.

[NJ_RAMS_FAN]

o man.. I still remember the 2006 cup.. time flies man.. Well, my country still had a chance to make it out of the Concacaf. would be nice to see them there although we wouldnt never make it our of the group stage.

[b0bby]

its like 5k per person for airfare coach, hotel, scenary stuff, 1 anyteam match tickets. kinda sucks. i believe the US is in contention for WC 2022. i'll wait til then!!!

[NJ_RAMS_FAN]

Originally Posted by b0bby

its like 5k per person for airfare coach, hotel, scenary stuff, 1 anyteam match tickets. kinda sucks. i believe the US is in contention for WC 2022. i'll wait til then!!!

i think for 2018 and 2022. .would be sweet..

[Nielsb90]

I'm crossing my fingers and everything else that we'll qualify! Looking good though with a 3-2 win over Portugal and a 1-0 win over Sweden! Didn't expect that in arguably the toughest UEFA group... Just bought my ticket for the last qualifier: home against Hungary! It might be a great day

[ManUtd]

Originally Posted by melsbluespecv

i think for 2018 and 2022. .would be sweet..

I'm saving up for Brazil 2014, otherwise I hope it will be USA 2018.

[NJ_RAMS_FAN]

Originally Posted by Art Vandelay

I'm saving up for Brazil 2014, otherwise I hope it will be USA 2018.

Man, i was hopping USA would have bid for 2014, but i think when the bidding was going on for 2014, FIFA had a rotation system that it was time for a South American team to host the cup. Since then, FIFA doesn't do the rotation anymore. Now, the last two host countries area can't bid for two upcoming cups.

[garlad]

Great thread John!

It would be nice to see Ireland qualify, but I will still be cheering on England (Let's face it, they have a more realistic chance of winning it!)

Who are people's tips to win??

Saw a few of your Dutch players in the flesh tonight John. Real Madrid were playing in Dublin! Sneijder, Drenthe and Van der Vaart.. I must say, after they were introduced at half time they greatly improved Real's attacking play.

Holland would be a good bet for the World Cup!

[Johnny Vinyl]

Originally Posted by Monkey-Boy

Great thread John! :thumbsup:

It would be nice to see Ireland qualify, but I will still be cheering on England (Let's face it, they have a more realistic chance of winning it!)

Who are people's tips to win?? hnoes:

Saw a few of your Dutch players in the flesh tonight John. Real Madrid were playing in Dublin! Sneijder, Drenthe and Van der Vaart.. I must say, after they were introduced at half time they greatly improved Real's attacking play.

Holland would be a good bet for the World Cup! ;)

Thx Gar on the thread idea! I thought the timing was right with a little less than a year to go. Certainly the anticipation is already building, even here in Canada.

I think that Spain, The Netherlands and Germany are the top 3 contenders right now in my opinion. One can never discount Brazil in any competition and I think England is due for better things. One of the African teams and Eastern European teams should also not be discounted.

Certainly I'm rooting for my "Oranje", but they have issues getting through. It always seems to be something. The "Best Team in the World that never won a Wold Cup" is definately due. Maybe this will be third time lucky!

John

[Johnny Vinyl]

Hi guys!

Been a long time, but now that the teams and the groups have been decided for next years WC, I thought I'd give this thread a most oppertune bump. It's time to get busy with predictions, opinions, fun jarring and sparring and routing for our respective teams.

So here are the Groups:

Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece
Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana,
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal - The Group of Death
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile

Here are my picks from easiest to most difficult:

Group C: England, USA, Algeria, Slovenia
Group B: Argentina, Nigeria, Korea Republic, Greece
Group D: Germany, Australia, Serbia, Ghana
Group H: Spain, Switzerland, Honduras, Chile
Group A: South Africa, Mexico, Uruguay, France
Group F: Italy, Paraguay, New Zealand, Slovakia
Group E: Netherlands, Denmark, Japan, Cameroon
Group G: Brazil, Korea DPR, Côte d'Ivoire, Portugal - The Group of Death

What are your selections in terms of group difficulty?

John