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Subject: World Cup Guide
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Tässä Hellsangel:n tekemä opas kaikkien niidenkin iloksi jotka eivät globalia lue:
Hey,
Tomorrow the fourth edition of the Sokker World Cup will start. Together with Belgian moderator langhe (current NT coach of Indonesia and NT watcher) I've tried to compose a guide to the World Cup.
In this guide you can find several comments and stats on each NT that will be participating. I've also given the opportunity to the NT coaches to give comments on their own NT, explain their perspectives and share their top 4 for the World Cup.
The stars next to the countries name gives a superficial indicator of the teams strenght. The teams with many stars are the favorites to make it pretty far in the tournement, while the teams with 1 or 2 stars generally are the underdogs who can surprise.
If you see any mistakes, please let me know by sk-mail and I'll change them. Also, NT coaches that haven't mailed me the comments on their team yet can still contact me through mail.
Happy reading! :)
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP A[/color]
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by Hellsangel
THE GROUP
One of the thoughest groups for sure. Nederland has the most complete squad with class players everywhere and some great depth aswell. England can rely on a great defense and midfield. Croatia doesn't seem to have the same quality of players, but are still 9th on the world ranking. Uruguay is the underdog.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Nederland
2. England
3. Hrvatska
4. Uruguay
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Nederland[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
This is a very strong side! Class players in every section of the field with Mike Van den Eede, striker, and Peter Mulders, winger, as key players. Nederland will likely play more attacking football as it has always been their perspective. In the qualifications they got the maximum of the points in a group with Portugal and USA. Now every game will be though, but Nederland still has the most chances of proceeding towards the next phase of the tournement.
Coach: Shadowman (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
"Our goal in this group is to proceed to the next round. I think we`re considered favorites in this group, but I`m definitely not going to underestimate the other teams. All have proven their worth last season, so there won`t be any easy matches.
Our main strength is a balanced team without any weak links. Our weakness might be the lack of depth in midfield."
World Cup top 4 according to Shadowman:
1. Polska
2. Italia
3. Belgie
4. Nederland
Qualifications
30/30 in group F
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Mike Van den Eede
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Peter Mulders
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Dick Stadwijk
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Quarter final
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Semi final
[color=darkblue size=2]England[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Better watch out for England this time! Throughout the history of NT's in Sokker, England has knows ups and downs. When gibby was in charge in the early days, England was an absolute top team. Then the English had a few seasons where getting good results seemed to be lot harder but for know they are back on track. Strong points of this team are defense and midfield. Sean Eastwood seems to be the only class striker up front so that can be a bit of a downer for the English. If England can get past the group stage, I think they are able to surprise more opponents.
Coach: jpk030876 (1 season experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
25/30 in group C
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Damian Murray
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Trevor Henchoz
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Kirk Warren
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Semi final
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Hrvatska[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
The famous Croatian strikers Malec and Duvnjak are not so fenomenal any more and have been replaced by a younger generation. With this, Croatia have waved goodbye to the past and welcomed the future. Eterovic and Deljanin are some great exemples of the new Croatia. Now the team seems to be more important then the individual actions. The qualifications were though as they lost twice against Ceska R. It will be very hard for Croatia to qualifify from this group as I think Nederland and England have got better players. Tactics will make the difference.
Coach: Nikkon (No experience as NT coach)
"Our goal is to qualify to the knock-out phase. It`s gonna be hard because we have two very strong opponnets, Nederland and England. I can`t talk about our strengths or weaknesses, all I can say is that I`ll try to use our stengths as best as possible and try to hide our weaknesses:)"
World Cup top 4 according to Nikkon:
1. Poland
2. Nederland
3. Italia
4. Eesti
Qualifications
24/30 in group H
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Drago Deljanin
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Valentin Eterović
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Jadranko Čelar
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Semi final
WC2: Quarter final
WC3: Quarter final
[color=darkblue size=2]Uruguay[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
I guess Uruguay is already happy that they are present. A lot of troubles qualifiying but managed to secure the participation by defeating Indonesia with 3-0 at the final round. Uruguay has some good strikers up front and can line up a decent defense. Midfield seems to be the main problem. Getting points in this group should be a win on it's own. Maybe Uruguay can be decisive for the final ranking in this group because the country that loses points against them, will have a lot of difficulties proceeding.
Coach: dewb (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
18/30 in group B
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Atahualpa Dalmonte
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Alonso David
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Isaac Rubio
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Not qualified
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP B[/color]
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by Hellsangel
THE GROUP
For sure on of the most exciting groups as every country has a good chance of proceeding towards the next round. Every game can be crucial. Most remarkable fact is that Suomi and Schweiz already met in the qualifications. Suomi won twice with 2-3 and 1-0. Schweiz will be out for revenge. Deutschland has some very strong players and could just be the best team in group B. Canada as a small nation has depth issues which could be decisive but some decent tactics can get them through.
Final ranking according to me:
1. Deutschland
2. Suomi
3. Schweiz
4. Canada
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Suomi[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Very decent squad with no real weakness what so ever. Always trying to play attractive football. For a second consecutive time Suomi got the maximum of 30 points in the qualification series. Last time they made it to the quarter finals, let's see if they can do it again. The individual class of some players (see 'Players to look out for') can cause some serious damage.
Coach: Ripa_K (1 season experience as NT coach)
"We will go to the tournament as underdogs for the big boys and our first eleven can compete with almost any team in the world. My first goal in the tournament is to lead Finland to quarter finals and from there on with a bit of luck and good tactics everything is possible.
Our biggest strengths are our wingers who can deliver the ball to our strikers and we also have one of the best keepers in all of Sokker. Our main weakness in other hand is the drop in quality below the first team, if we get a few injuries and/or suspensions the replacing players aren`t the same quality. Under my command Finland is yet to lose any official match and I`m going to keep it that way for as long as possible =)"
World Cup top 4 according to Ripa_K:
1. Italia
2. Poland
3. Suomi
4. Eesti
Qualifications
30/30 in group E
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Hannu Ala-Aho
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Heikki Starkki
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Joona Leppäkangas
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Quarter final
[color=darkblue size=2]Schweiz[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Last World Cup Schweiz was the underdog in a group with Espana, Brasil and Eesti and now the opponents aren't a lot weaker. The only difference between then and now is that Schweiz has established itself as a strong team.
Can Schweiz get past the group phase for the first time? We'll know in three weeks time.
Coach: lumpaz ()
Qualifications
24/30 in group E
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Diego Blaesi
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Renaud Pereiro
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Giuseppe Baubonne
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Not qualified
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Deutschland[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Germany was the strongest team in pot C when the draw for the groups was dealt with. That's because the Mannshaft only collected 24 points in the WCQ's. Germany lost twice against the almighty Polska: 0-7 and 7-1. Now the opponents will be easier to defeat and I'm positive Germany can qualify from this group. They can count on a strong players on every position of the field to do so. But if they have the same luck as in the last World Cup (see the match against Canada), they'll probably finish last. :p
Coach: hallenser (1 season experience as NT coach)
"We are a medium-sized sokker-country. Looking at this, a realistic goal should be reaching the quarterfinals. A strength of our team is having a lot of players with nearly equal skills. There is nearly no player which cannot be replaced by another. Outstanding players are the winger Orlando Ott, striker Thomas Wessels and the two midfielder Suster and Konrad. A weak point of the team are the goalkeepers: not bad at all - but not world class, for sure."
World Cup top 4 according to hallenser:
1. Polska
2. Italia
3. Espana
4. Nederland
Qualifications
24/30 in group L
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Thomas Wessels
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Orlando Ott
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Dominik Suster
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Quarter final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Canada[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
One of the oldest countries in Sokker lead by one of the most experienced coaches. The Canadian players are ok, but not superb. The main strenght of this team is their attack. Weaknesses are a lack op depth in the squad and a traditional lack of luck when the important games are played. Canada will be looking for qualification, but the adversaries in this group aren't walkovers.
Coach: Seca (6 seasons experience as NT coach)
"Our ambitions are to advance beyond the group. Though Canada is #4, we feel it is a fairly even group, and with a little good luck advancement is possible.
Our main weakness is depth. For a small nation, we have a pretty good starting 11 but we will run into trouble if we experience form or injury problems.
Our goal-keeper should be a strength of our team. Statistically, he is very good, though he often underperforms. We also have a fairly dynamic striker in Amado, though he also did not play up to expectations last season."
World Cup top 4 according to Seca:
1. Poland
2. Netherlands
3. Belgium
4. France
Qualifications
18/30 in group M
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Sean Amado
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Felix Iginla
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Joe Parker
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: 1/8 final
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP C[/color]
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by Hellsangel
THE GROUP
Probably the weakest group this time. Slovenija and Sverige don't stand much of chance proceeding towards the next round. Polska and France simply have got the better player. The game between those two teams is likely to decide the group winner. Sverige will want to win against Slovenija to become third.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Polska
2. France
3. Slovenija
4. Sverige
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]France[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
A team that should have fully developed by now. France won the first edition of the U21 World Cup and the players that were present then should be regulars by now. France was in a rather easy qualification group and thus got the maximum of points. Clearing the group phase now should be no problem what so ever. With Slovenija and Sverige being a lot weaker, getting 6 points shouldn't be a problem pour les bleus.
Coach: Guibou (1 season experience as NT coach)
"This tournament will be difficult for France: some important players in our first eleven don`t feel good at the moment so we won`t be as good as we could but life is life and I think we can make as good as our record (quarter final).
I think our biggest strengths are our defenders and our goalkeeper, and Hadrien Lecrom, the only french player as good as a polish one :D
In my opinion our weakness are our strikers, what`s more we have a really big difference between our 14-15 best players and the others... An injury or a suspension will be a real disaster. The last weakness may be our qualifications group...it was so weak that we couldn`t really prepare this WC..."
World Cup top 4 according to Guibou:
1. Polska
2. Nederland
3. Espana
4. Italia
Qualifications
30/30 in group B
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Hadrien Le Crom
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Evrard Micoud
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Edmond Cadet
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Polska[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪✪[/color]
What's there to say? If Borkos makes a decent tactic and lines up the best players, he will win most likely. No other national team in Sokker can choose between such a wide variety of top knotch players. Still, surprises are possible if Turkowski and others are missing chances and the Polska defenders will make own goals. But how many times does that happen? Poland got 28/30 in the qualifications only to draw against Nigeria with their first NT line up ever in Sokker. The games against Deutschland were won easily. Poland will be searching for their 4th World Cup title.
Coach: Borkos007 (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
"When you`re a coach of such team you can have only one priority - win. So that`s what I hope to achieve, 1st place in both World Cup and u21 World Cup. Still, it`s not that easy as people think it is - please remember that Belgie have beaten us last time in group stage albeit it extremely was lucky. But...if it happenned in knock out stage? And it actually can happen. Hm...strong side of Poland - for sure variety of players for each position. Weak side - form in this season, especially in strikers formation. Generally I think that this will be the best WC ever - teams like Italia, Nederland, Eesti, Espana, Brasil, Romania have great squads now so there will be no favourite in games between them. No favourite = result depends on tactics = interesting games. :)"
World Cup top 4 according to Borkos007:
1. Polska
2. Espana
3. Italia
4. Nederland
Qualifications
28/30 in group L
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Paweł Baszczyński
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Mateusz Malik
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Bartosz Jóźwiak
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Champions
WC2: Champions
WC3: Champions
[color=darkblue size=2]Slovenija[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
When it comes down to players, Slovenija has one of the weakest sides. With striker Egon Adamovic as the only top class player it will hard to get some good results in. But: you might wonder how Slovenija made it to the world cup: in the qualifications both Scotland and England were beater. Impressive for a team like Slovenija! At the end they got 21/30 and made it to pot 3 for the draw. Unfortunately for Slovenija the chances of advancing are almost nil. I think they'll already be happy if they can beat Sweden.
Coach: čevap (1 season experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
21/30 in group C
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Egon Adamovic
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Ervin Leviçnik
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Lado Apnar
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Not qualified
[color=darkblue size=2]Sverige[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
One of the weaker teams present at the World Cup and probably already happy that they are present. Became third on goal difference in the qualifiers. Sweden will be looking for three points in the match against Slovenija. Any point against France or Polska should be an enormous surprise. Major weakness is the Swedish defence. They also miss true quality in their team.
Coach: tordenskiold (3 seasons experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
21/30 in group I
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Kalle Rand
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Martin Petterson
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Noak Öqvist
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Not qualified
WC3: Not qualified
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP D[/color]
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By Hellsangel
THE GROUP
Two favourites to go through: Spain and Argentina. Hungary and Portugal will surprise if they play the eight finals. The first round will be crucial as the winner between Spain-Argentina is likely to go through. The loser from the other match between Hungary and Portugal will probably have to go home early.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Espana
2. Argentina
3. Magyarország
4. Portugal
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]España[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
When you take a look at the first three World Cups, no non-Polish country has done better then España. After reaching the quarter and semi finals, Spain made it to the final 3 seasons ago only to be defeated by the almighty Poland. Everything indicates that a similar performance is possible again: Spain got the maximum of points out of the WCQ's, they have beaten some great teams in the pre-WC friendlies and have the possibilty to choose between a number of top knotch players. Currently standing at rank 3, Spain is one of the biggest favourites this time. Clearing the group stage should be no problem. Only problem could be that they don't have a mega striker up front.
Coach: defrans (2 seasons experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
30/30 in group G
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Heileen Cesar
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Oscar Domoraud
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Clemente da Silva Cunha
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Quarter final
WC2: Semi final
WC3: Final
[color=darkblue size=2]Argentina[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Argentina was in a difficult group for the WCQ's, but became 1st without any serious problems. Besides losing the first game against Mexico with 1-0 and drawing 1-1 with Australia in the fourth round, the Argentinians managed to win every game in WCQ group D. Now they are again favourite to go through as they can count on some very nice players. I think a lot of countries are jealous when they take a closer look at the Argentinian welth up front: Garcia, Bardaro, Basualdo, Mas, the younger Armenteros,.. all great players. A weak point could be that the defense often isn't capable of giving a good pass forward but instead likes to kick the ball out of play. If Argentina can win the first game against Spain, they should be up for the eight finals.
Coach: javi77 (2 seasons experience as NT coach)
"Argentina is in a very difficult group, because Spain is a dream team! and Portugal is complicated...
I believe that we are going to classify equally"
World Cup top 4 according to javi77:
1) Argentina
2) Polska
3) Italia
4) España
Qualifications
25/30 in group D
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Adriano Armenteros
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Carlos Mastrangelo
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Ezequiel García
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Magyarország[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
After an edition being absent, Hungary will be looking for a nice performance. Although not being favourite to go through, the Magyars are able to hurt stronger teams. But they'll have to cover some of the teams weaknesses like defense. If they are in trouble, Hungary can always count on Petronovics, the secret weapon up front.
Coach: Jurkasz
"Very tough group for us, we have to fight hard for every point. Spain and Argentina are both strong, and Portugal is also capable of causing surprises. However, I will try everything to get through, and if our strikers will play in their best form I think everything is possible :)"
World Cup top 4 according to Jurkasz:
1. Poland
2. Nederland
3. Espana
4. Italia
Qualifications
21/30 in group I
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Kálmán Imrik
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Alfréd Petronovics
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Ferenc Grósz
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Not qualified
[color=darkblue size=2]Portugal[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
After having some trouble in the WCQ in the games against USA and Nederland, Portugal still managed to make it to the World Cup with 19 points out of 10 games. The Portuguese will be counting on their duo Lombardo-Kramer for the goals. They'll need those players to make the difference because with also Espana and Argentina in this group, Portugal is not favourite to go through. Reaching the eight finals for the first time should be a succes.
Coach: lowmem (2 seasons experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
19/30 in group F
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Eusebio Lombardo
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Jesús Kramer
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Gláucio Wemans
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP E[/color]
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By Hellsangel
THE GROUP
With Brasil and Ceska as the favourites to go through, Norge and Cymru will face a very difficult task. The first round will be decisive. The match between Brasil and Czech Republic will most likely decide the group winner. The loser will have a difficult assignment of beating Norway and Wales, the absolute underdog of this group.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Brasil
2. Česká republika
3. Norge
4. Cymru
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Česká republika[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Ceska was quite impressive in the qualifiers. Got a 30/30 and beat Hrvatska twice. Furthermore Czech Republic was the only country that didn't concede a single goal in 10 games! As a finalist in the first U21 WC, a lot of the Czech players have reached the senior NT standard. Better watch out for the midfield. Defense appears to be decent, but the attack is rather weak as Czech Republic doensn't have a top striker. Favourite to go through. The qualification could almost be certain if they can beat Brasil.
Coach: Wal-Mart (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
"I would be glad if we show some great Sokker, pretty to an eye of independent fan where we can recruit some supporters who would enjoy our play and support our team. I want to make the tournament more exciting, more thrilling, do it in a kind, smart but nice way. Brillant goals, perfect Sokker moments, that´s what I want to show."
Qualifications
30/30 in group H
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Václav Horejš
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Hynek Holeňák
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Bonifác Pátek
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Brasil[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
One of the up and coming nations in Sokker. Currently having +- 5200 users, Brasil is the second largest country in Sokker. But user numbers don't say everything. The Brazilian user explosion was only recent so the selecao has to count on the players that are available right now. Brasil can cause trouble to any non Polish nation and propably will survive the group stage of this world cup. If they beat Ceska, the divine canaries can prepare themselves for the knock out rounds.
Coach: ajfa85 (No experience as NT coach)
"In this WC Brazil has good chances of reach the playoffs. This almost occurred in last edition. Our squad strength is the defense and the weakness I let for my opponents to find.
Česká republika is a very strong NT and will be our big opponent in this group stage. Norge grew a lot and will be a big challenge too. Cymru will try to surprise."
World Cup top 4 according to ajfa85:
1. Polska
2. Italia
3. België
4. Nederland
Qualifications
25/30 in group A
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Rui Marinho
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Camilo Roza Ribeiro
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Roberval Zanato
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Norge[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
No favourite to go through, although I'm sure Furulund would like to see Norway playing the 1/8 finals yet again. In a group with Eesti, Norge got a 24/30 in the qualifications. Every game except the ones versus Eesti were won. Norge will have to count on teamplay and tactics to prove the decreasing NT ranking doesn't represent their true capacities. The lack of star players is a downer for Norway.
Coach: Furulund (1 season experience as NT coach)
"My promise when I was elected national coach was to qualifiy for the world cup, which we did. What that will happen now is just a bonus really, but after seeing the draw (Ceska republika, Brazil and Cymru) I think we should be able to get to the knock out stages. I also believe we can, with a little luck, compete with the top two teams in our group.
I think we have a quite strong squad with a couple of stand out players.
I think our strength is that we have a good allround squad. The weakness is probably the lack of world class players like the top teams have. We really have to depend on our tactics."
World Cup top 3 according to Furulund:
1. Polska
2. Espana
3. Nederland
Qualifications
24/30 in group J
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Eivind Osvold
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Stian Fossen
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Halvor Michelsen
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Cymru[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
Cymru have always been on the fringes of greatness, but never quite got there in Sokker as well as in reality. Cymru have one of the oldest, yet still smallest communities (30 users) in Sokker. Merely qualified for the World Cup with a 18/30 in de qualifications. The team will struggle to get any points from this relatively easy group, but their best hope for a point will be against Norge.
Coach: Waterloo (3 seasons experience as Cymru coach)
"This is Cymru`s first WC in Sokker. The fact that we qualified is an incredible achievement for us, considering our small but active user community. We wiil play every game like its our WC final, but I must admit that even gaining a point would be a miracle for us."
World Cup top 4 according to Waterloo:
1 Polska
2 België
3 España
4 Italia
Qualifications
18/30 in group A
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Vaughn Whistone
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Joshua Mutlow
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Dillan Connor
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: Not qualified
WC3: Not qualified
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP F[/color]
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By langhe and Hellsangel
THE GROUP
Another very interesting group this one. Few would believe you if you told Lietuva wouldn’t make it to the next round. But who will take the 2nd spot? Slovensko, New Zealand or Danmark? Slovensko is only ranked 4 places below Danmark, so their 2 duels could be decisive. And then we have the outsider New Zealand. How astonishing was their victory against Italia during the WCQ games … And don’t forget the draw against Danmark (whom they will play again during WC).Knowing the tactic for this game was created by the current NT coach, who knows what might happen? Yet, a slight guess for the final ranking of this group:
1. Lietuva
2. Slovensko
3. Danmark
4. New Zealand
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Lietuva[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Lietuva have always possessed one of the most powerful NT's in Sokker. Currently ranked 7th, I can't remember them being out of the top 10. Lietuva managed to get the maximum of points in the qualifications. For sure they'll be looking to qualify from this group. As a rather small but old country, it's rather stunning how many good players Lietuva has: Kuèinskas, Varaneckas, Kisielius, Kaknevièius, Miškys. Enough guys to make the difference and keep the improving results in the World Cup alive.
Coach: Sillu (3 seasons experience as NT coach)
"I have no goals of what I certainly have to accomplish in the starting World Cup. Of course, the perfect achievement would be to repeat what Lietuva did in the last World Cup, that is to reach the semi-finals. I believe this goal is going to be extremely hard to achieve though. I`d like to win our group and then in the knock-out stage much will depend on which opponents we`ll have to face.
The strong sides of our squad are probably defense and midfield, where we have several high-skilled and different players. However, we have had problems with scoring goals. We have a star striker, Emilijus Kueinskas, but if he`s having a bad day then we have very few players to choose from and I`m not sure if anyone can fill his shoes."
World Cup top 4 according to Sillu:
1. Polska
2. Nederland
3. België
4. Italia
Qualifications
30/30 in group M
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Emilijus Kuèinskas
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Tanislovas Varaneckas
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Mikolajus Miškys
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Quarter final
WC3: Semi final
[color=darkblue size=2]Slovensko[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Slovensko, currently ranked 17th. They can’t wait for qualification. After reaching the 1/8th final during 2nd WC, last WC was a bit disappointing, as they got knocked out during Group stages. By finishing 2nd with a goal difference of 73-8, they showed their ambitions. Lots of unknown players for the common manager, but they have some stars like Lehota, Sauter, … that could make the difference during closed games.
Coach: Jaroslav (3 seasons experience as NT coach)
"Our team has quite high quality. We do not have any star players, who can be nominated for dream team, but our team is quite balanced and has players able to defeat any oppponent ( with decent luck and top-class tactic off course). Speaking about strenghts and weaknesses...our strong side can be our position in rankings, we have nothing to lose against top teams and the same time, we can be very dangerous opponent. On the other side, our weak points is, that we have quite tight squad. In order to be able to play an even match with top opponents, all of our players have to be in top form.
In regards to our ambitions in WC, our situation is not very good now. Advancing through a group stage is a must, every further step/win is dreamed bonus and success od SLovensko in WC."
World Cup top 4 according to Jaroslav:
1.Polska
2.Espana
3.Belgie
4.Italy
Qualifications
24/30 in group G
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Adolf Lehota
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Bohuš Partel
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Ľuboš Sauter
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Danmark[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
Danmark qualified by taking 2nd spot in the group with Italia. Losing 5-3 to Italy could be a boost for the team, but the draw against New Zealand could work out the other way. It will be interesting to see how they perform. The combination of a strong defence (with amazing GK backing up) and midfielders that can split open the field, they surely have a quite decent team. But will the oldies on the striking positions (we forget about Grundsten) be able to mark the goals?
Coach: RTMOB ()
Qualifications
22/30 in group K
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Ingolf Thomassen
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Jonas Vinding Jensen
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Adam Grundsten
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]New Zealand[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
Same position as Slovensko. After reaching the 1/8th final, they ended up being knocked out during Group Stages last WC. Quite a hard job, knowing the country only has 26 managers. With the logical small amount of young talents, this WC could be one of the latest chances to reach a milestone during the WC. But then their strikers will have to be sharper than during the last Friendly game …
Coach: griever (No experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
19/30 in group K
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Alan Hird
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Brent Gilbert
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Johnny Bodger
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Group stage
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP G[/color]
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By langhe
THE GROUP
A hard group for sure. België and Romania have got equally good players and have got the best chances on paper to become group winners. The first match between those teams could be of great importance. However the two other nations in this group should not be underestimated. Chile troubled France in the qualifications and Mexico has some great players. The fact that the Mexicans qualified from a group with also Argentina, Colombia and Australia proves they have a very good team.
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]België[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Being Belgian myself, it’s quite hard to be objective for this NT. Few will disagree that with players as Boon, Moerlose, Allirol, … this team cannot be satisfied with less than Quarter Finals. Strong points of the team are the wingers, combined with the deadly strikers. But even without wingers, it is hard to concede not too many goals. But also the defence is very tough to break down. Yet, some teams managed to beat this team, even on its full strength, so who knows what will happen?
Coach: Hellsangel (6 seasons experience as NT coach)
"As we're in a very difficult group, the first objective will be reaching the eight finals. The game against Romania will be of crucial importance. If we can get a win there, I'm positive we can qualify. If we lose, België will most likely need a win against both Chile and Mexico which will be quite hard to archieve. All in all I have positive perspectives towards this World Cup as we've been playing some decent football lately. I hope we can project those results again on the pitch. I really want to keep the rich Belgian WC history alive!"
World Cup top 4 according to Hellsangel:
1. Polska
2. Espana
3. Eesti
4. België
Qualifications
30/30 in group I
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Sven Boon
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Koen Allirol
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Gabriël Callewaert
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Quarter final
WC2: Final
WC3: Quarter final
[color=darkblue size=2]România[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Romania has a very large number of users since a long period of time. More managers leads to more decent youth pulls, ending up with better NT. Yet, Romania is only ranked 10th on NT ranking. Quite a surprise to some managers I think. Even more amazing is the fact that this country has never passed to quarter finals. Last season, they changed NT coach. The current one pulled Romania to the WC with only drawing 1 game against Brasil, winning all the others. Could this be a sign?
The strong point of this NT is for sure the age. And the combination of a strong defense (look at Valerie, Dragan, …) with a strong attack (look at Apreotesei, …) makes this team really dangerous.
Coach: manole1 (1 season experience as NT coach)
"Romania`s objective is to finish amongst the top 8 teams. We have a very good defence, which was already proven at the last WC, pretty good strikers, and also our midfielders looked promising in the qualifying stage. "
World Cup top 4 according to manole1:
1. Poland
2. Eesti
3. Italy
4. Romania
Qualifications
28/30 in group A
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Cătălin Valerie
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Helmuth Apreotesei
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Eugen Dragan
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Chile[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
Chile lacks the superstars we can see in teams like Belgium and Romania. But don’t let this fool you. This NT could be very unpredictable. They lost twice to France (ranked 11th), but each time there was only 1 goal difference. Strongest point of this team is their attack. Lots of games they start with 3 strikers + offensive winger, so you’d better prepare your defenders when playing this team!
Coach: trustix (No experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
24/30 in group B
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Omar Villaseńor
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Cesar Olavarría
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Coné Morón
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]México[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
If I say ‘Mexico’, lots of you will say ‘Bravo’. Yes, it’s true, Bravo is one of their best players, but the other NT members aren’t what you call ‘weak’ either. By having good defensive players AND strong offensive players, it is hard to play against this team. Better be sure all your players are motivated 110% when facing this side.
Coach: ayanche (1 season experience as NT coach)
"Our first goal in the World Cup will come to the stage never before arrival by Mexico to be the Quaterfinals, demonstrating that we are a community small but well organized and he knows a lot of sokker.
Strengths: We have a very balanced team in all three lines, variety tactics to play depending on the opponent.
Weaknesses: The fate: p, we have a little trouble the goal, but we manufacture many arrivals at arch rival only question that the global aim this fine and we are going to move very far."
World Cup top 3 according to ayanche:
1. México
2. Polska
3. Italia
Qualifications
19/30 in group D
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Maximiliano Bravo
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Hugo Méndez
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Aurelio Yegros
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP H[/color]
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By langhe
THE GROUP
Quite a heavy group we have here. Eesti and Italia as 2 teams that have a strong reputation to defend on the tournaments. Both teams have world class players. USA has also proven they are not to be underestimated. Scotland qualified, but it was a narrow qualification, and they are for sure the underdog of this group.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Eesti
2. USA
3. Italia
4. Scotland
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Eesti[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪ [/color]
Currently ranked 6th on the NT ranking, Eesti has theoretically the best chances to proceed to the next level of the World Cup. But can their coach handle the pressure? Following Borkos007 as NT coach surely isn’t a gift! But they have the players, as proved by qualifying with maximum score in a group with Norge and Peru.
Coach: Davy (1 season experience as NT coach)
"”The Draw” was just awful! After our performance in qualifing group we certanly do not deserve to be in the same group with Italia, USA and Scotland . But I can`t say that it`s not going to be interesting. Everybody should win againts Scotland but i`m sure that at least one of us will manage to lose some points to them. Fingers crossed that it wouldnt be Estonia.
There is no point saying that Italia is awfully strong, everybody knows they are the second best country in Sokker , but time has passed and the gap between them and us has narrowed. By the way Estonia managed to beat Italia once when our NT head coach was Sillu and knock them out of WC in the quaterfinals:) Ok moving forward, can`t live in the past glory. Now USA “what the heck” I thought when I saw USA in our group. Now potentially Estonia and Italia are a littlebit stronger than USA but we all know that “a little” doesn`t often capitalyze in Sokker. And USA head coach mr_gibbage has played Sokker f-o-r-e-v-e-r , probably some of Sokker newest managers weren`t even born yet when mister gi(a)bbage was already spamming other respectable managers questbooks with slogans like “kill Vilpu and Tanel, I pay u fifty bucks” and “I pity you fool”. I have to say I`m really worried to play against USA, they really have developed quickly and now is a country which everybody should respect. I`m going to get killed in forums if I lose to them, thats the Estonian way:)
Finally we have Scotland, it`s almost unbeliavable how strong is country who has only 90 managers. But what they lack in quantity they make up with quality and experience:) But they still are group outsiders and I`m pretty sure they dont finish higher than 4th place in our group, but they are definately a handful. I hope it`s nice to beat them twice because in real life they have depressed our football fans too many times:) Oh almost forgot, Estonia actually managed a draw against Scotland in IRL once. Guess the score? Yeah 0:0 :)"
World Cup top 4 according to Davy:
1. Polska
2. Italia
3. Espana
4. Nederland
Qualifications
30/30 in group J
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Mart Saviauk
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Virgo Miil
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Uku Mäeorg
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Semi final
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]USA[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Maybe a little surprise to some of you. I suppose many of you supposed I’d take Italia as favourite to USA. Yet I believe the tactical visions of mr_gibbage will prevale over the player quality of Italia. During WCQ they lost twice from Nederland, and drew against Portugal. Even though this country isn’t ranked in top10, they have very good players and for sure they will become a top country of Sokker.
Coach: mr_gibbage (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
"I think the results have spoken for themselves - the USA are no pushovers and will be looking to catch the "bigger" teams by surprise over the course of the next WC."
World Cup top 4 according to mr_gibbage:
1. Polska
2. USA
3. England
4. Belgie
Qualifications
22/30 in group F
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Jamal Patterson
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Winston Cummins
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Joe Bosh
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Quarter final
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Italia[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Italia, currently ranked on 2nd spot of the NT ranking. Their players are beyond imagination (except for polish managers). Yet, during WCQ they showed that players aren’t everything (which in fact, we all knew already). We all remember the fuss after the result against New Zealand: 0-2 loss. Can Amido teach the criticasters to shut up and unfold himself as tactical genius? No doubt that this NT should proceed if they relied less on their players, and spent more time on their tactical problems.
Coach: Amido (1 season experience as NT coach)
"It`s a very hard group but I think that we can qualify. Italy has got a great team, and with Eesti we are the best team in our group.
My community asks for qualifiation and I think we can do it ;)
Scoltand and USA are too two good teams, but I think that they are a little bit weaker than Italy and Scoltand. It will be hard :)
I think that Italy can win against all teams (but can loose too, it depends :P), the only team unbeatable is Polska. I hope that randomsokker will help us to gain against them but it will be almost impossible for the moment. Italy can arrive to final match if doesn`t meet Polska before."
Qualifications
27/30 in group K
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Rino Gioia
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Giambattista Demi
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Geatano Cipriani
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Final
WC2: Quarter final
WC3: Quarter final
[color=darkblue size=2]Scotland[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
If we believe in logic, Scotland should finish last in its group. But no doubt they are focussed on this WC. Especially the game against USA will be interesting. The last game of their qualifiers showed no NT coach should underestimate this nation. A draw against England is something a smaller sk nation like Scotland can be proud of. Their strongest part is the defence. And with a GK, named after his country, you can bring the crowd to madness.
Coach: Auldreekie1874 (1 season experience as NT coach)
"Scotland couldn`t have had a much tougher group facing nations currently world ranked 12th (USA), 6th (Eesti) and 2nd (Italia)
However what gives me hope is that we came through our qualifying campaign missing two vital players for the vast majority of our matches, one due to injuries and one due to very low form. Both these players are now fit, in form and raring to go and hopefully with them on form we will be able to strike a surprise or two.
Defensively, Scotland are looking in good shape with it being extremely hard to pick a defensive line from 7 or 8 very capable players, although 2 will be automatic first picks, form and injury or suspension dependant."
World Cup top 4 according to Auldreekie1874
1. Polska
2. België
3. Italia
4. Eesti
Qualifications
18/30 in group C
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Adam Rodgers
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Elliot McColligan
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Marc Craig
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Group stage
Hey,
Tomorrow the fourth edition of the Sokker World Cup will start. Together with Belgian moderator langhe (current NT coach of Indonesia and NT watcher) I've tried to compose a guide to the World Cup.
In this guide you can find several comments and stats on each NT that will be participating. I've also given the opportunity to the NT coaches to give comments on their own NT, explain their perspectives and share their top 4 for the World Cup.
The stars next to the countries name gives a superficial indicator of the teams strenght. The teams with many stars are the favorites to make it pretty far in the tournement, while the teams with 1 or 2 stars generally are the underdogs who can surprise.
If you see any mistakes, please let me know by sk-mail and I'll change them. Also, NT coaches that haven't mailed me the comments on their team yet can still contact me through mail.
Happy reading! :)
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP A[/color]
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by Hellsangel
THE GROUP
One of the thoughest groups for sure. Nederland has the most complete squad with class players everywhere and some great depth aswell. England can rely on a great defense and midfield. Croatia doesn't seem to have the same quality of players, but are still 9th on the world ranking. Uruguay is the underdog.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Nederland
2. England
3. Hrvatska
4. Uruguay
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Nederland[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
This is a very strong side! Class players in every section of the field with Mike Van den Eede, striker, and Peter Mulders, winger, as key players. Nederland will likely play more attacking football as it has always been their perspective. In the qualifications they got the maximum of the points in a group with Portugal and USA. Now every game will be though, but Nederland still has the most chances of proceeding towards the next phase of the tournement.
Coach: Shadowman (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
"Our goal in this group is to proceed to the next round. I think we`re considered favorites in this group, but I`m definitely not going to underestimate the other teams. All have proven their worth last season, so there won`t be any easy matches.
Our main strength is a balanced team without any weak links. Our weakness might be the lack of depth in midfield."
World Cup top 4 according to Shadowman:
1. Polska
2. Italia
3. Belgie
4. Nederland
Qualifications
30/30 in group F
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Mike Van den Eede
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Peter Mulders
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Dick Stadwijk
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Quarter final
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Semi final
[color=darkblue size=2]England[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Better watch out for England this time! Throughout the history of NT's in Sokker, England has knows ups and downs. When gibby was in charge in the early days, England was an absolute top team. Then the English had a few seasons where getting good results seemed to be lot harder but for know they are back on track. Strong points of this team are defense and midfield. Sean Eastwood seems to be the only class striker up front so that can be a bit of a downer for the English. If England can get past the group stage, I think they are able to surprise more opponents.
Coach: jpk030876 (1 season experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
25/30 in group C
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Damian Murray
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Trevor Henchoz
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Kirk Warren
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Semi final
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Hrvatska[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
The famous Croatian strikers Malec and Duvnjak are not so fenomenal any more and have been replaced by a younger generation. With this, Croatia have waved goodbye to the past and welcomed the future. Eterovic and Deljanin are some great exemples of the new Croatia. Now the team seems to be more important then the individual actions. The qualifications were though as they lost twice against Ceska R. It will be very hard for Croatia to qualifify from this group as I think Nederland and England have got better players. Tactics will make the difference.
Coach: Nikkon (No experience as NT coach)
"Our goal is to qualify to the knock-out phase. It`s gonna be hard because we have two very strong opponnets, Nederland and England. I can`t talk about our strengths or weaknesses, all I can say is that I`ll try to use our stengths as best as possible and try to hide our weaknesses:)"
World Cup top 4 according to Nikkon:
1. Poland
2. Nederland
3. Italia
4. Eesti
Qualifications
24/30 in group H
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Drago Deljanin
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Valentin Eterović
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Jadranko Čelar
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Semi final
WC2: Quarter final
WC3: Quarter final
[color=darkblue size=2]Uruguay[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
I guess Uruguay is already happy that they are present. A lot of troubles qualifiying but managed to secure the participation by defeating Indonesia with 3-0 at the final round. Uruguay has some good strikers up front and can line up a decent defense. Midfield seems to be the main problem. Getting points in this group should be a win on it's own. Maybe Uruguay can be decisive for the final ranking in this group because the country that loses points against them, will have a lot of difficulties proceeding.
Coach: dewb (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
18/30 in group B
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Atahualpa Dalmonte
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Alonso David
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Isaac Rubio
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Not qualified
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP B[/color]
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by Hellsangel
THE GROUP
For sure on of the most exciting groups as every country has a good chance of proceeding towards the next round. Every game can be crucial. Most remarkable fact is that Suomi and Schweiz already met in the qualifications. Suomi won twice with 2-3 and 1-0. Schweiz will be out for revenge. Deutschland has some very strong players and could just be the best team in group B. Canada as a small nation has depth issues which could be decisive but some decent tactics can get them through.
Final ranking according to me:
1. Deutschland
2. Suomi
3. Schweiz
4. Canada
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Suomi[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Very decent squad with no real weakness what so ever. Always trying to play attractive football. For a second consecutive time Suomi got the maximum of 30 points in the qualification series. Last time they made it to the quarter finals, let's see if they can do it again. The individual class of some players (see 'Players to look out for') can cause some serious damage.
Coach: Ripa_K (1 season experience as NT coach)
"We will go to the tournament as underdogs for the big boys and our first eleven can compete with almost any team in the world. My first goal in the tournament is to lead Finland to quarter finals and from there on with a bit of luck and good tactics everything is possible.
Our biggest strengths are our wingers who can deliver the ball to our strikers and we also have one of the best keepers in all of Sokker. Our main weakness in other hand is the drop in quality below the first team, if we get a few injuries and/or suspensions the replacing players aren`t the same quality. Under my command Finland is yet to lose any official match and I`m going to keep it that way for as long as possible =)"
World Cup top 4 according to Ripa_K:
1. Italia
2. Poland
3. Suomi
4. Eesti
Qualifications
30/30 in group E
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Hannu Ala-Aho
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Heikki Starkki
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Joona Leppäkangas
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Quarter final
[color=darkblue size=2]Schweiz[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Last World Cup Schweiz was the underdog in a group with Espana, Brasil and Eesti and now the opponents aren't a lot weaker. The only difference between then and now is that Schweiz has established itself as a strong team.
Can Schweiz get past the group phase for the first time? We'll know in three weeks time.
Coach: lumpaz ()
Qualifications
24/30 in group E
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Diego Blaesi
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Renaud Pereiro
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Giuseppe Baubonne
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Not qualified
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Deutschland[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Germany was the strongest team in pot C when the draw for the groups was dealt with. That's because the Mannshaft only collected 24 points in the WCQ's. Germany lost twice against the almighty Polska: 0-7 and 7-1. Now the opponents will be easier to defeat and I'm positive Germany can qualify from this group. They can count on a strong players on every position of the field to do so. But if they have the same luck as in the last World Cup (see the match against Canada), they'll probably finish last. :p
Coach: hallenser (1 season experience as NT coach)
"We are a medium-sized sokker-country. Looking at this, a realistic goal should be reaching the quarterfinals. A strength of our team is having a lot of players with nearly equal skills. There is nearly no player which cannot be replaced by another. Outstanding players are the winger Orlando Ott, striker Thomas Wessels and the two midfielder Suster and Konrad. A weak point of the team are the goalkeepers: not bad at all - but not world class, for sure."
World Cup top 4 according to hallenser:
1. Polska
2. Italia
3. Espana
4. Nederland
Qualifications
24/30 in group L
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Thomas Wessels
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Orlando Ott
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Dominik Suster
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Quarter final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Canada[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
One of the oldest countries in Sokker lead by one of the most experienced coaches. The Canadian players are ok, but not superb. The main strenght of this team is their attack. Weaknesses are a lack op depth in the squad and a traditional lack of luck when the important games are played. Canada will be looking for qualification, but the adversaries in this group aren't walkovers.
Coach: Seca (6 seasons experience as NT coach)
"Our ambitions are to advance beyond the group. Though Canada is #4, we feel it is a fairly even group, and with a little good luck advancement is possible.
Our main weakness is depth. For a small nation, we have a pretty good starting 11 but we will run into trouble if we experience form or injury problems.
Our goal-keeper should be a strength of our team. Statistically, he is very good, though he often underperforms. We also have a fairly dynamic striker in Amado, though he also did not play up to expectations last season."
World Cup top 4 according to Seca:
1. Poland
2. Netherlands
3. Belgium
4. France
Qualifications
18/30 in group M
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Sean Amado
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Felix Iginla
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Joe Parker
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: 1/8 final
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP C[/color]
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by Hellsangel
THE GROUP
Probably the weakest group this time. Slovenija and Sverige don't stand much of chance proceeding towards the next round. Polska and France simply have got the better player. The game between those two teams is likely to decide the group winner. Sverige will want to win against Slovenija to become third.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Polska
2. France
3. Slovenija
4. Sverige
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]France[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
A team that should have fully developed by now. France won the first edition of the U21 World Cup and the players that were present then should be regulars by now. France was in a rather easy qualification group and thus got the maximum of points. Clearing the group phase now should be no problem what so ever. With Slovenija and Sverige being a lot weaker, getting 6 points shouldn't be a problem pour les bleus.
Coach: Guibou (1 season experience as NT coach)
"This tournament will be difficult for France: some important players in our first eleven don`t feel good at the moment so we won`t be as good as we could but life is life and I think we can make as good as our record (quarter final).
I think our biggest strengths are our defenders and our goalkeeper, and Hadrien Lecrom, the only french player as good as a polish one :D
In my opinion our weakness are our strikers, what`s more we have a really big difference between our 14-15 best players and the others... An injury or a suspension will be a real disaster. The last weakness may be our qualifications group...it was so weak that we couldn`t really prepare this WC..."
World Cup top 4 according to Guibou:
1. Polska
2. Nederland
3. Espana
4. Italia
Qualifications
30/30 in group B
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Hadrien Le Crom
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Evrard Micoud
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Edmond Cadet
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Polska[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪✪[/color]
What's there to say? If Borkos makes a decent tactic and lines up the best players, he will win most likely. No other national team in Sokker can choose between such a wide variety of top knotch players. Still, surprises are possible if Turkowski and others are missing chances and the Polska defenders will make own goals. But how many times does that happen? Poland got 28/30 in the qualifications only to draw against Nigeria with their first NT line up ever in Sokker. The games against Deutschland were won easily. Poland will be searching for their 4th World Cup title.
Coach: Borkos007 (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
"When you`re a coach of such team you can have only one priority - win. So that`s what I hope to achieve, 1st place in both World Cup and u21 World Cup. Still, it`s not that easy as people think it is - please remember that Belgie have beaten us last time in group stage albeit it extremely was lucky. But...if it happenned in knock out stage? And it actually can happen. Hm...strong side of Poland - for sure variety of players for each position. Weak side - form in this season, especially in strikers formation. Generally I think that this will be the best WC ever - teams like Italia, Nederland, Eesti, Espana, Brasil, Romania have great squads now so there will be no favourite in games between them. No favourite = result depends on tactics = interesting games. :)"
World Cup top 4 according to Borkos007:
1. Polska
2. Espana
3. Italia
4. Nederland
Qualifications
28/30 in group L
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Paweł Baszczyński
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Mateusz Malik
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Bartosz Jóźwiak
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Champions
WC2: Champions
WC3: Champions
[color=darkblue size=2]Slovenija[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
When it comes down to players, Slovenija has one of the weakest sides. With striker Egon Adamovic as the only top class player it will hard to get some good results in. But: you might wonder how Slovenija made it to the world cup: in the qualifications both Scotland and England were beater. Impressive for a team like Slovenija! At the end they got 21/30 and made it to pot 3 for the draw. Unfortunately for Slovenija the chances of advancing are almost nil. I think they'll already be happy if they can beat Sweden.
Coach: čevap (1 season experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
21/30 in group C
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Egon Adamovic
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Ervin Leviçnik
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Lado Apnar
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Not qualified
[color=darkblue size=2]Sverige[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
One of the weaker teams present at the World Cup and probably already happy that they are present. Became third on goal difference in the qualifiers. Sweden will be looking for three points in the match against Slovenija. Any point against France or Polska should be an enormous surprise. Major weakness is the Swedish defence. They also miss true quality in their team.
Coach: tordenskiold (3 seasons experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
21/30 in group I
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Kalle Rand
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Martin Petterson
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Noak Öqvist
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Not qualified
WC3: Not qualified
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP D[/color]
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By Hellsangel
THE GROUP
Two favourites to go through: Spain and Argentina. Hungary and Portugal will surprise if they play the eight finals. The first round will be crucial as the winner between Spain-Argentina is likely to go through. The loser from the other match between Hungary and Portugal will probably have to go home early.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Espana
2. Argentina
3. Magyarország
4. Portugal
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]España[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
When you take a look at the first three World Cups, no non-Polish country has done better then España. After reaching the quarter and semi finals, Spain made it to the final 3 seasons ago only to be defeated by the almighty Poland. Everything indicates that a similar performance is possible again: Spain got the maximum of points out of the WCQ's, they have beaten some great teams in the pre-WC friendlies and have the possibilty to choose between a number of top knotch players. Currently standing at rank 3, Spain is one of the biggest favourites this time. Clearing the group stage should be no problem. Only problem could be that they don't have a mega striker up front.
Coach: defrans (2 seasons experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
30/30 in group G
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Heileen Cesar
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Oscar Domoraud
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Clemente da Silva Cunha
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Quarter final
WC2: Semi final
WC3: Final
[color=darkblue size=2]Argentina[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Argentina was in a difficult group for the WCQ's, but became 1st without any serious problems. Besides losing the first game against Mexico with 1-0 and drawing 1-1 with Australia in the fourth round, the Argentinians managed to win every game in WCQ group D. Now they are again favourite to go through as they can count on some very nice players. I think a lot of countries are jealous when they take a closer look at the Argentinian welth up front: Garcia, Bardaro, Basualdo, Mas, the younger Armenteros,.. all great players. A weak point could be that the defense often isn't capable of giving a good pass forward but instead likes to kick the ball out of play. If Argentina can win the first game against Spain, they should be up for the eight finals.
Coach: javi77 (2 seasons experience as NT coach)
"Argentina is in a very difficult group, because Spain is a dream team! and Portugal is complicated...
I believe that we are going to classify equally"
World Cup top 4 according to javi77:
1) Argentina
2) Polska
3) Italia
4) España
Qualifications
25/30 in group D
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Adriano Armenteros
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Carlos Mastrangelo
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Ezequiel García
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Magyarország[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
After an edition being absent, Hungary will be looking for a nice performance. Although not being favourite to go through, the Magyars are able to hurt stronger teams. But they'll have to cover some of the teams weaknesses like defense. If they are in trouble, Hungary can always count on Petronovics, the secret weapon up front.
Coach: Jurkasz
"Very tough group for us, we have to fight hard for every point. Spain and Argentina are both strong, and Portugal is also capable of causing surprises. However, I will try everything to get through, and if our strikers will play in their best form I think everything is possible :)"
World Cup top 4 according to Jurkasz:
1. Poland
2. Nederland
3. Espana
4. Italia
Qualifications
21/30 in group I
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Kálmán Imrik
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Alfréd Petronovics
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Ferenc Grósz
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Not qualified
[color=darkblue size=2]Portugal[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
After having some trouble in the WCQ in the games against USA and Nederland, Portugal still managed to make it to the World Cup with 19 points out of 10 games. The Portuguese will be counting on their duo Lombardo-Kramer for the goals. They'll need those players to make the difference because with also Espana and Argentina in this group, Portugal is not favourite to go through. Reaching the eight finals for the first time should be a succes.
Coach: lowmem (2 seasons experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
19/30 in group F
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Eusebio Lombardo
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Jesús Kramer
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Gláucio Wemans
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP E[/color]
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By Hellsangel
THE GROUP
With Brasil and Ceska as the favourites to go through, Norge and Cymru will face a very difficult task. The first round will be decisive. The match between Brasil and Czech Republic will most likely decide the group winner. The loser will have a difficult assignment of beating Norway and Wales, the absolute underdog of this group.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Brasil
2. Česká republika
3. Norge
4. Cymru
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Česká republika[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Ceska was quite impressive in the qualifiers. Got a 30/30 and beat Hrvatska twice. Furthermore Czech Republic was the only country that didn't concede a single goal in 10 games! As a finalist in the first U21 WC, a lot of the Czech players have reached the senior NT standard. Better watch out for the midfield. Defense appears to be decent, but the attack is rather weak as Czech Republic doensn't have a top striker. Favourite to go through. The qualification could almost be certain if they can beat Brasil.
Coach: Wal-Mart (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
"I would be glad if we show some great Sokker, pretty to an eye of independent fan where we can recruit some supporters who would enjoy our play and support our team. I want to make the tournament more exciting, more thrilling, do it in a kind, smart but nice way. Brillant goals, perfect Sokker moments, that´s what I want to show."
Qualifications
30/30 in group H
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Václav Horejš
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Hynek Holeňák
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Bonifác Pátek
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Brasil[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
One of the up and coming nations in Sokker. Currently having +- 5200 users, Brasil is the second largest country in Sokker. But user numbers don't say everything. The Brazilian user explosion was only recent so the selecao has to count on the players that are available right now. Brasil can cause trouble to any non Polish nation and propably will survive the group stage of this world cup. If they beat Ceska, the divine canaries can prepare themselves for the knock out rounds.
Coach: ajfa85 (No experience as NT coach)
"In this WC Brazil has good chances of reach the playoffs. This almost occurred in last edition. Our squad strength is the defense and the weakness I let for my opponents to find.
Česká republika is a very strong NT and will be our big opponent in this group stage. Norge grew a lot and will be a big challenge too. Cymru will try to surprise."
World Cup top 4 according to ajfa85:
1. Polska
2. Italia
3. België
4. Nederland
Qualifications
25/30 in group A
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Rui Marinho
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Camilo Roza Ribeiro
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Roberval Zanato
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Norge[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
No favourite to go through, although I'm sure Furulund would like to see Norway playing the 1/8 finals yet again. In a group with Eesti, Norge got a 24/30 in the qualifications. Every game except the ones versus Eesti were won. Norge will have to count on teamplay and tactics to prove the decreasing NT ranking doesn't represent their true capacities. The lack of star players is a downer for Norway.
Coach: Furulund (1 season experience as NT coach)
"My promise when I was elected national coach was to qualifiy for the world cup, which we did. What that will happen now is just a bonus really, but after seeing the draw (Ceska republika, Brazil and Cymru) I think we should be able to get to the knock out stages. I also believe we can, with a little luck, compete with the top two teams in our group.
I think we have a quite strong squad with a couple of stand out players.
I think our strength is that we have a good allround squad. The weakness is probably the lack of world class players like the top teams have. We really have to depend on our tactics."
World Cup top 3 according to Furulund:
1. Polska
2. Espana
3. Nederland
Qualifications
24/30 in group J
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Eivind Osvold
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Stian Fossen
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Halvor Michelsen
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Cymru[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
Cymru have always been on the fringes of greatness, but never quite got there in Sokker as well as in reality. Cymru have one of the oldest, yet still smallest communities (30 users) in Sokker. Merely qualified for the World Cup with a 18/30 in de qualifications. The team will struggle to get any points from this relatively easy group, but their best hope for a point will be against Norge.
Coach: Waterloo (3 seasons experience as Cymru coach)
"This is Cymru`s first WC in Sokker. The fact that we qualified is an incredible achievement for us, considering our small but active user community. We wiil play every game like its our WC final, but I must admit that even gaining a point would be a miracle for us."
World Cup top 4 according to Waterloo:
1 Polska
2 België
3 España
4 Italia
Qualifications
18/30 in group A
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Vaughn Whistone
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Joshua Mutlow
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Dillan Connor
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: Not qualified
WC3: Not qualified
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP F[/color]
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By langhe and Hellsangel
THE GROUP
Another very interesting group this one. Few would believe you if you told Lietuva wouldn’t make it to the next round. But who will take the 2nd spot? Slovensko, New Zealand or Danmark? Slovensko is only ranked 4 places below Danmark, so their 2 duels could be decisive. And then we have the outsider New Zealand. How astonishing was their victory against Italia during the WCQ games … And don’t forget the draw against Danmark (whom they will play again during WC).Knowing the tactic for this game was created by the current NT coach, who knows what might happen? Yet, a slight guess for the final ranking of this group:
1. Lietuva
2. Slovensko
3. Danmark
4. New Zealand
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Lietuva[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Lietuva have always possessed one of the most powerful NT's in Sokker. Currently ranked 7th, I can't remember them being out of the top 10. Lietuva managed to get the maximum of points in the qualifications. For sure they'll be looking to qualify from this group. As a rather small but old country, it's rather stunning how many good players Lietuva has: Kuèinskas, Varaneckas, Kisielius, Kaknevièius, Miškys. Enough guys to make the difference and keep the improving results in the World Cup alive.
Coach: Sillu (3 seasons experience as NT coach)
"I have no goals of what I certainly have to accomplish in the starting World Cup. Of course, the perfect achievement would be to repeat what Lietuva did in the last World Cup, that is to reach the semi-finals. I believe this goal is going to be extremely hard to achieve though. I`d like to win our group and then in the knock-out stage much will depend on which opponents we`ll have to face.
The strong sides of our squad are probably defense and midfield, where we have several high-skilled and different players. However, we have had problems with scoring goals. We have a star striker, Emilijus Kueinskas, but if he`s having a bad day then we have very few players to choose from and I`m not sure if anyone can fill his shoes."
World Cup top 4 according to Sillu:
1. Polska
2. Nederland
3. België
4. Italia
Qualifications
30/30 in group M
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Emilijus Kuèinskas
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Tanislovas Varaneckas
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Mikolajus Miškys
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Quarter final
WC3: Semi final
[color=darkblue size=2]Slovensko[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
Slovensko, currently ranked 17th. They can’t wait for qualification. After reaching the 1/8th final during 2nd WC, last WC was a bit disappointing, as they got knocked out during Group stages. By finishing 2nd with a goal difference of 73-8, they showed their ambitions. Lots of unknown players for the common manager, but they have some stars like Lehota, Sauter, … that could make the difference during closed games.
Coach: Jaroslav (3 seasons experience as NT coach)
"Our team has quite high quality. We do not have any star players, who can be nominated for dream team, but our team is quite balanced and has players able to defeat any oppponent ( with decent luck and top-class tactic off course). Speaking about strenghts and weaknesses...our strong side can be our position in rankings, we have nothing to lose against top teams and the same time, we can be very dangerous opponent. On the other side, our weak points is, that we have quite tight squad. In order to be able to play an even match with top opponents, all of our players have to be in top form.
In regards to our ambitions in WC, our situation is not very good now. Advancing through a group stage is a must, every further step/win is dreamed bonus and success od SLovensko in WC."
World Cup top 4 according to Jaroslav:
1.Polska
2.Espana
3.Belgie
4.Italy
Qualifications
24/30 in group G
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Adolf Lehota
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Bohuš Partel
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Ľuboš Sauter
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Danmark[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
Danmark qualified by taking 2nd spot in the group with Italia. Losing 5-3 to Italy could be a boost for the team, but the draw against New Zealand could work out the other way. It will be interesting to see how they perform. The combination of a strong defence (with amazing GK backing up) and midfielders that can split open the field, they surely have a quite decent team. But will the oldies on the striking positions (we forget about Grundsten) be able to mark the goals?
Coach: RTMOB ()
Qualifications
22/30 in group K
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Ingolf Thomassen
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Jonas Vinding Jensen
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Adam Grundsten
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]New Zealand[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪[/color]
Same position as Slovensko. After reaching the 1/8th final, they ended up being knocked out during Group Stages last WC. Quite a hard job, knowing the country only has 26 managers. With the logical small amount of young talents, this WC could be one of the latest chances to reach a milestone during the WC. But then their strikers will have to be sharper than during the last Friendly game …
Coach: griever (No experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
19/30 in group K
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Alan Hird
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Brent Gilbert
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Johnny Bodger
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Group stage
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP G[/color]
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By langhe
THE GROUP
A hard group for sure. België and Romania have got equally good players and have got the best chances on paper to become group winners. The first match between those teams could be of great importance. However the two other nations in this group should not be underestimated. Chile troubled France in the qualifications and Mexico has some great players. The fact that the Mexicans qualified from a group with also Argentina, Colombia and Australia proves they have a very good team.
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]België[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Being Belgian myself, it’s quite hard to be objective for this NT. Few will disagree that with players as Boon, Moerlose, Allirol, … this team cannot be satisfied with less than Quarter Finals. Strong points of the team are the wingers, combined with the deadly strikers. But even without wingers, it is hard to concede not too many goals. But also the defence is very tough to break down. Yet, some teams managed to beat this team, even on its full strength, so who knows what will happen?
Coach: Hellsangel (6 seasons experience as NT coach)
"As we're in a very difficult group, the first objective will be reaching the eight finals. The game against Romania will be of crucial importance. If we can get a win there, I'm positive we can qualify. If we lose, België will most likely need a win against both Chile and Mexico which will be quite hard to archieve. All in all I have positive perspectives towards this World Cup as we've been playing some decent football lately. I hope we can project those results again on the pitch. I really want to keep the rich Belgian WC history alive!"
World Cup top 4 according to Hellsangel:
1. Polska
2. Espana
3. Eesti
4. België
Qualifications
30/30 in group I
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Sven Boon
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Koen Allirol
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Gabriël Callewaert
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Quarter final
WC2: Final
WC3: Quarter final
[color=darkblue size=2]România[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Romania has a very large number of users since a long period of time. More managers leads to more decent youth pulls, ending up with better NT. Yet, Romania is only ranked 10th on NT ranking. Quite a surprise to some managers I think. Even more amazing is the fact that this country has never passed to quarter finals. Last season, they changed NT coach. The current one pulled Romania to the WC with only drawing 1 game against Brasil, winning all the others. Could this be a sign?
The strong point of this NT is for sure the age. And the combination of a strong defense (look at Valerie, Dragan, …) with a strong attack (look at Apreotesei, …) makes this team really dangerous.
Coach: manole1 (1 season experience as NT coach)
"Romania`s objective is to finish amongst the top 8 teams. We have a very good defence, which was already proven at the last WC, pretty good strikers, and also our midfielders looked promising in the qualifying stage. "
World Cup top 4 according to manole1:
1. Poland
2. Eesti
3. Italy
4. Romania
Qualifications
28/30 in group A
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Cătălin Valerie
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Helmuth Apreotesei
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Eugen Dragan
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Not qualified
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]Chile[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
Chile lacks the superstars we can see in teams like Belgium and Romania. But don’t let this fool you. This NT could be very unpredictable. They lost twice to France (ranked 11th), but each time there was only 1 goal difference. Strongest point of this team is their attack. Lots of games they start with 3 strikers + offensive winger, so you’d better prepare your defenders when playing this team!
Coach: trustix (No experience as NT coach)
Qualifications
24/30 in group B
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Omar Villaseńor
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Cesar Olavarría
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Coné Morón
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]México[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪[/color]
If I say ‘Mexico’, lots of you will say ‘Bravo’. Yes, it’s true, Bravo is one of their best players, but the other NT members aren’t what you call ‘weak’ either. By having good defensive players AND strong offensive players, it is hard to play against this team. Better be sure all your players are motivated 110% when facing this side.
Coach: ayanche (1 season experience as NT coach)
"Our first goal in the World Cup will come to the stage never before arrival by Mexico to be the Quaterfinals, demonstrating that we are a community small but well organized and he knows a lot of sokker.
Strengths: We have a very balanced team in all three lines, variety tactics to play depending on the opponent.
Weaknesses: The fate: p, we have a little trouble the goal, but we manufacture many arrivals at arch rival only question that the global aim this fine and we are going to move very far."
World Cup top 3 according to ayanche:
1. México
2. Polska
3. Italia
Qualifications
19/30 in group D
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Maximiliano Bravo
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Hugo Méndez
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Aurelio Yegros
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Group stage
WC3: Group stage
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••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••[color=red size=3]GROUP H[/color]
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By langhe
THE GROUP
Quite a heavy group we have here. Eesti and Italia as 2 teams that have a strong reputation to defend on the tournaments. Both teams have world class players. USA has also proven they are not to be underestimated. Scotland qualified, but it was a narrow qualification, and they are for sure the underdog of this group.
Final rankings according to me:
1. Eesti
2. USA
3. Italia
4. Scotland
THE TEAMS
[color=darkblue size=2]Eesti[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪ [/color]
Currently ranked 6th on the NT ranking, Eesti has theoretically the best chances to proceed to the next level of the World Cup. But can their coach handle the pressure? Following Borkos007 as NT coach surely isn’t a gift! But they have the players, as proved by qualifying with maximum score in a group with Norge and Peru.
Coach: Davy (1 season experience as NT coach)
"”The Draw” was just awful! After our performance in qualifing group we certanly do not deserve to be in the same group with Italia, USA and Scotland . But I can`t say that it`s not going to be interesting. Everybody should win againts Scotland but i`m sure that at least one of us will manage to lose some points to them. Fingers crossed that it wouldnt be Estonia.
There is no point saying that Italia is awfully strong, everybody knows they are the second best country in Sokker , but time has passed and the gap between them and us has narrowed. By the way Estonia managed to beat Italia once when our NT head coach was Sillu and knock them out of WC in the quaterfinals:) Ok moving forward, can`t live in the past glory. Now USA “what the heck” I thought when I saw USA in our group. Now potentially Estonia and Italia are a littlebit stronger than USA but we all know that “a little” doesn`t often capitalyze in Sokker. And USA head coach mr_gibbage has played Sokker f-o-r-e-v-e-r , probably some of Sokker newest managers weren`t even born yet when mister gi(a)bbage was already spamming other respectable managers questbooks with slogans like “kill Vilpu and Tanel, I pay u fifty bucks” and “I pity you fool”. I have to say I`m really worried to play against USA, they really have developed quickly and now is a country which everybody should respect. I`m going to get killed in forums if I lose to them, thats the Estonian way:)
Finally we have Scotland, it`s almost unbeliavable how strong is country who has only 90 managers. But what they lack in quantity they make up with quality and experience:) But they still are group outsiders and I`m pretty sure they dont finish higher than 4th place in our group, but they are definately a handful. I hope it`s nice to beat them twice because in real life they have depressed our football fans too many times:) Oh almost forgot, Estonia actually managed a draw against Scotland in IRL once. Guess the score? Yeah 0:0 :)"
World Cup top 4 according to Davy:
1. Polska
2. Italia
3. Espana
4. Nederland
Qualifications
30/30 in group J
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Mart Saviauk
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Virgo Miil
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Uku Mäeorg
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: Semi final
WC3: 1/8 final
[color=darkblue size=2]USA[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Maybe a little surprise to some of you. I suppose many of you supposed I’d take Italia as favourite to USA. Yet I believe the tactical visions of mr_gibbage will prevale over the player quality of Italia. During WCQ they lost twice from Nederland, and drew against Portugal. Even though this country isn’t ranked in top10, they have very good players and for sure they will become a top country of Sokker.
Coach: mr_gibbage (4 seasons experience as NT coach)
"I think the results have spoken for themselves - the USA are no pushovers and will be looking to catch the "bigger" teams by surprise over the course of the next WC."
World Cup top 4 according to mr_gibbage:
1. Polska
2. USA
3. England
4. Belgie
Qualifications
22/30 in group F
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Jamal Patterson
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Winston Cummins
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Joe Bosh
History in the World Cup:
WC1: 1/8 final
WC2: Quarter final
WC3: Group stage
[color=darkblue size=2]Italia[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪✪✪[/color]
Italia, currently ranked on 2nd spot of the NT ranking. Their players are beyond imagination (except for polish managers). Yet, during WCQ they showed that players aren’t everything (which in fact, we all knew already). We all remember the fuss after the result against New Zealand: 0-2 loss. Can Amido teach the criticasters to shut up and unfold himself as tactical genius? No doubt that this NT should proceed if they relied less on their players, and spent more time on their tactical problems.
Coach: Amido (1 season experience as NT coach)
"It`s a very hard group but I think that we can qualify. Italy has got a great team, and with Eesti we are the best team in our group.
My community asks for qualifiation and I think we can do it ;)
Scoltand and USA are too two good teams, but I think that they are a little bit weaker than Italy and Scoltand. It will be hard :)
I think that Italy can win against all teams (but can loose too, it depends :P), the only team unbeatable is Polska. I hope that randomsokker will help us to gain against them but it will be almost impossible for the moment. Italy can arrive to final match if doesn`t meet Polska before."
Qualifications
27/30 in group K
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Rino Gioia
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Giambattista Demi
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Geatano Cipriani
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Final
WC2: Quarter final
WC3: Quarter final
[color=darkblue size=2]Scotland[/color] [color=blue size=3]✪✪[/color]
If we believe in logic, Scotland should finish last in its group. But no doubt they are focussed on this WC. Especially the game against USA will be interesting. The last game of their qualifiers showed no NT coach should underestimate this nation. A draw against England is something a smaller sk nation like Scotland can be proud of. Their strongest part is the defence. And with a GK, named after his country, you can bring the crowd to madness.
Coach: Auldreekie1874 (1 season experience as NT coach)
"Scotland couldn`t have had a much tougher group facing nations currently world ranked 12th (USA), 6th (Eesti) and 2nd (Italia)
However what gives me hope is that we came through our qualifying campaign missing two vital players for the vast majority of our matches, one due to injuries and one due to very low form. Both these players are now fit, in form and raring to go and hopefully with them on form we will be able to strike a surprise or two.
Defensively, Scotland are looking in good shape with it being extremely hard to pick a defensive line from 7 or 8 very capable players, although 2 will be automatic first picks, form and injury or suspension dependant."
World Cup top 4 according to Auldreekie1874
1. Polska
2. België
3. Italia
4. Eesti
Qualifications
18/30 in group C
Players to look out for:
[color=green size=4]★★★[/color] Adam Rodgers
[color=green size=4]★★[/color] Elliot McColligan
[color=green size=4]★[/color] Marc Craig
History in the World Cup:
WC1: Group stage
WC2: 1/8 final
WC3: Group stage
Kiitos, Suomi hieman aliarvostettu. :) Tekstin kirjoittajalla ollut tylsää tai jotain?
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