I agree 4 points is optimistic. However I don't think its beyond the relm of possibility. I see a draw vs. Italy and then a win against Uruguay. Uruguay are resting on their laurels from the last World Cup. The squad is very different this time around and barely even qualified for the tournament. If Suarez isn't a 100% thats a huge blow for them. I believe England can certainly take 3 points off Uruguay in a close encounter.


The team I am most intrigued about is Bosnia. They could be the true dark horse in the World Cup. The group is pretty straight forward for Bosnia to finish 2nd. Finishing 2nd means they go up against the winner of group E. France is inconsistent and you never know which team shows up. Ivory Coast is another interesting prospect, however the knockout round would pit them against a group D team, considerably tougher.

As a tournament I think this will be very exciting. Can't wait for it to start now.

[Edited on June 10, 2014 at 8:17 PM. Reason : .]

6/10/2014 8:13:23 PM

They went on to win Copa America

[Edited on June 10, 2014 at 8:30 PM. Reason : ]

6/10/2014 8:24:09 PM

Portugal is playing Ireland tonight. They look very clean in attack. Ronaldo basically plays and goes wherever the hell he wants. I think we should mark him with Jones.

6/10/2014 8:30:03 PM

Honestly the game has been pretty 50\50. Ronaldo is obviously a game changer but the rest of Portugal is pretty damn average..?

6/10/2014 8:36:27 PM

I agree. 3-0 definitely flatters Portugal but they've worked some strong counters and their passing looks very sharp in the final third.

6/10/2014 8:52:21 PM

Portugal looked like shit against mexico.

6/10/2014 9:28:57 PM

In a diamond Beckerman can provide cover to the back 4 as an anchorman while Jones has the ability to move around and not only man mark Ronaldo but also help on what I think is the weakest side on the defense for the US, the LB position. Beasley is prone to bouts of concentration losses and can be caught out of position at times. Jones would hopefully rectify that while keeping Ronnie quiet.

6/10/2014 11:32:47 PM

Man-marking Ronaldo with Jones is an A+ idea.

6/11/2014 2:57:23 AM

Jones would be double booked by half.

6/11/2014 7:16:45 AM

haha he's only had two cards in his last 14 US appearances and he's never had a red card for us. He's the closest guy we have that has the motor to keep up with him. Think his physicality could throw Ronaldo off his game a bit too, as long as he's not fouling too close to goal. How tight the WC is called is definitely going to affect our chances tho

The good thing about Ronaldo is that he's going to leave a ton of room for Fabian Johnson to get forward.

Cool field in Manaus. Italy/England and USA/Portugal are both there.



[Edited on June 11, 2014 at 8:26 AM. Reason : field]

6/11/2014 8:17:58 AM

Athens Drive HS could host a World Cup game better..

6/11/2014 8:46:02 AM

Well suffered through the TWC line yesterday to get my once every 4 years DVR box. Will be attempting to again watch all 64 matches although will be much more difficult this time as I am no longer a single guy with not much else to do. Will be tough to avoid twitter and the internet in general for nearly a month trying to avoid scores as well.

6/11/2014 8:53:59 AM

Quote :

"Tipped by Pele as one of the tournament favorites and boasting its best ever squad for a World Cup, Chile must handle soaring and previously unseen expectations ahead of the team's opening match against big outsider Australia on Friday."

With Vidal in question, this has the feel of the NCSU men's basketball team in 2012-2013. I'm hoping to avoid the same disappointment, fortunately I don't think there are any cancerous players on Chile's squad.

6/11/2014 11:34:43 AM

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2010/jun/05/world-cup-2010-pele-predictions

6/11/2014 11:51:54 AM

Just came here to say ^ you were right and I was wrong. Sakho looks to be chosen over Koscielny. I don't get why you'd not take the superior player (and frankly I don't think its close) but I was certainly wrong.

6/11/2014 12:27:24 PM

ONE DAY!!!!!

6/11/2014 12:29:05 PM

^^ I definitely think Sakho is underrated a bit (by Liverpool fans too) but I agree with you that I wouldn't start him over Koscielny either. At the same time though, I can't say I watch a lot of France and maybe he just pairs better with Varane? We're arguing about it with the US - sometimes the best XI isn't just lining up the best XI individuals.

6/11/2014 12:50:21 PM

that pitch in Manaus looks terrible


expect some ruptured ACLs

6/11/2014 9:06:45 PM

Quote :

"Athens Drive HS could host a World Cup game better.."

Or Preston Woods, Thomas Brooks Park, Mills Park, Middle Creek Park, and Davis Drive Park.

6/11/2014 9:52:56 PM

Quote :

"Chile must handle soaring and previously unseen expectations ahead of the team's opening match against big outsider Australia on Friday."

Sorry if already mentioned, but 32 of the 33 Chilean miners who were trapped a half-mile deep in a gold/copper cave for 69 days (and it took 17 days to send down a probe to verify that they were even alive) made a video downplaying the "Group of Death". They supposedly took dirt from the mine and will spread it on Chile's practice field. J'esus, they take this seriously.

http://www.adweek.com/news/advertising-branding/ad-day-chilean-miners-stars-years-most-electrifying-world-cup-spot-158066

6/11/2014 10:10:01 PM

GAME DAY

6/12/2014 6:53:19 AM

^^Thanks for the link I didn't see that

6/12/2014 9:00:52 AM

Wait, I thought we were in the "Group of Death"

6/12/2014 9:18:19 AM

that's because we're biased Americans

6/12/2014 9:25:21 AM

But I thought Germany and Portugal were both ranked in the top 4.

6/12/2014 9:30:46 AM

Yeah, according to FIFA rankings, # 13 USA has #2 Germany, #4 Portugal, and #37 Ghana....

#12 Chile has #1 Spain, #15 Netherlands, and #62 Australia.

I think ours is the Official Group of death, easily. Based on FIFA rankings...

[Edited on June 12, 2014 at 9:40 AM. Reason : ]

6/12/2014 9:40:09 AM

nobody that follows soccer gives a shit about the rankings

[Edited on June 12, 2014 at 9:47 AM. Reason : D's probably "group of deathier" than ours too]

6/12/2014 9:43:34 AM

I knew someone "who follows soccer" would immediately say that. I was just putting it out there.

Do you think Chile's opponents our tougher than ours?

[Edited on June 12, 2014 at 9:50 AM. Reason : are]

6/12/2014 9:47:32 AM

Yes. They were both in a World Cup final 4 years ago.

6/12/2014 9:48:03 AM

Stuck at work but good to have 3 screens. One screen is exclusively reserved for the World Cup for the next month!

6/12/2014 9:50:11 AM

Our group of death is only the group of death if we dont suck and lose all 3 games. I wouldnt want to be in either group but generally a group of death is one where 3 or all 4 of the teams would advance if in other groups. Based on that alone I would give the nod to the other group until I see how we come out and play on the big stage. Granted I am much more optimistic after the Nigeria showing, but who knows. That's what makes it fun!

6/12/2014 9:52:38 AM

I was all set to watch the opening game today. Then I got a meeting notice for a MANDATORY meeting at 3pm. wtf people come on.

6/12/2014 10:34:53 AM

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/police-and-world-cup-protesters-clash-in-brazil/13723516/

6/12/2014 11:53:50 AM

Quote :

"Yes. They were both in a World Cup final 4 years ago."

Determining strength of the group like this is pretty much as silly as using FIFA rankings. I don't see why someone is a "biased American" for thinking G is the toughest. But, your point stands that B and D are just as, if not more, difficult than ours.

6/12/2014 12:04:08 PM

Quote :

"Then I got a meeting notice for a MANDATORY meeting at 3pm"

Doesn't the actual game start at 4?

6/12/2014 12:08:22 PM

Oh yeah, it's all subjective. Past success in recent big tournaments is a better indicator of quality than some ranking system imo. That's not the only reason I think that's a tougher group either. I think South American teams are a tougher draw if all other things are equal which is why I'd rather face a Portugal or Ghana than Chile. A "Group of Death" to me is when there are more than 2 teams that would have a chance to advance from any other group. I think Chile/Netherlands/Spain and Italy/England/Uruguay qualify more than any combo of Germany + other 3 teams.

All I meant by the "biased American" comment was that other countries are not using "Group of Death" to describe our group.

[Edited on June 12, 2014 at 12:15 PM. Reason : honestly I'm tired of hearing that phrase anyway. WC's are tough, in general as we saw in 2010]

6/12/2014 12:13:42 PM

Quote :

"Doesn't the actual game start at 4? "

As far as I know all the games are at 12,3,6,9 EST at least as far as TV goes not sure on exact kickoff time

6/12/2014 12:22:17 PM

Today's begins at 4 Eastern

6/12/2014 12:23:04 PM

Hope my dvr box is setup right then as it said it starts at 3 haha. I did set it to record 1 hr past the end of it though for safety measures so I guess Ill be ok.

Either way I cant watch it till about 8 pm tonight

[Edited on June 12, 2014 at 12:32 PM. Reason : .]

6/12/2014 12:29:24 PM

^^^^ Yeah, agreed - all subjective. I guess I see G as having no easy outs (on paper) - where Australia and CR are seen as easy outs in the other two. Not true, of course, bc like you said WCs are crazy and there really aren't easy Wins - certain teams will surprise - I'm hoping CR is one of those teams.

6/12/2014 12:45:13 PM

we saw how tough Costa Rica can be in WCQ's. I would have given them more of a shot to wreak havoc in that group if Saborio hadn't gotten hurt

6/12/2014 12:49:41 PM

boss it out today - going to pick up baby from daycare at 3:45 and be ready to watch by 4

6/12/2014 12:57:22 PM

Quote :

"Doesn't the actual game start at 4?"

It's the type of meeting that is supposed to only last an hour but will probably last three hours. I'll have my phone with me though so if needed I'll just watch it without sound under the table.

6/12/2014 1:09:41 PM

hot chick in the crowd camera is working fine during this opening ceremony.

6/12/2014 2:13:21 PM

worst opening ceremony ever?

6/12/2014 2:22:37 PM

I don't know about worst ever, but it certainly does suck.

6/12/2014 2:32:47 PM

Pitbull had some sweet loafers tho

6/12/2014 2:41:06 PM

Over or under 3.5 blatant dives by Naymar in the first half?

6/12/2014 3:24:04 PM

I'm going to stop working. I still have 4 hours to go. Whatever.

6/12/2014 3:54:10 PM

This streaming anywhere other than Watch ESPN? I have DTV but am at work

6/12/2014 3:59:36 PM