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Snake Plissken
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 Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:00 pm Post subject: World Cup 2010 Thread (Next up: Playoffs on Nov. 14 and 18) |
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So, the final step in the qualifications takes place on the 14th of November. Two legged playoff in Europe is as follows:
Ireland - France - This matchup is hard to call. I'll give a slight edge to Ireland as they are yet undefeated in the qualifiers, but French have the experience. Ribery is out, which will weaken the French, and Viera didn't even make the squad.
Portugal - Bosnia - This is the most intriguing matchup of the play-offs. Portugal has struggled to get here, edging Sweden by a single point, and their star player, Christiano Ronaldo is out with injury. Bosnia is one of the most potent offenses in the world, having scored 25 goals in 10 matches in the qualifiers. The test will be Portugal's inept offense vs. Bosnia's suspect defense. I'm giving the underdog some edge in this as they play the second leg at home and Ronaldo is out.
Russia - Slovenia - This is perhaps the easiest one to call. Russia is extremely good, and with the lone exception of a loss at home vs. Germany, they have been superb in the qualifiers. Slovenia has been shaky on offense and defense, with only one significant victory over Slovakia on the road. Playing Russia will be their first significant test thus far. I think Russia takes both games comfortably.
Greece - Ukraine - Greece, the winner of Euro 2006, has qualified to the World Cup only once, in 1994. They are known for their strong defense, while their offense rests on one player, Gekas. Ukraine, on the other hand, has been dominant for the last 8 years or so, winning some tough matches in the process, including the home victory against England. Ukraine has the experience, and the best player on the floor in Shevchenko, which will be enough to secure a place in the World Cup.
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Also qualifying are:
Uruguay - Costa Rica - Here I will give an edge to Uruguay who are playing solid football of late (yes even with the loss to Argentina at home. Costa Rica missed a golden opportunity to qualify to the cup after losing a 2 goal lead vs. USA.
New Zealand - Bahrain - Surprise team, Bahrain, is one victory away from their first World Cup qualification. They will, however, need to win on the road in New Zealand, or at least tie 1-1 as the first leg ended in a 0-0 draw, and away goals count as a tie breaker. I think New Zealand will pull through in this matchup, but barely.
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09-10 Predictions: LAL 67-15, 16-5, Title #16
Last edited by Snake Plissken on Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:31 pm; edited 7 times in total |
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Snake Plissken
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| Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:14 pm Post subject: |
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Confirmed Teams for 2010 World Cup
Hosts
South Africa
African Qualifying Group
Ghana
Ivory Coast
Asian Qualifying Group
Japan
Australia
South Korea
North Korea
European Qualifying Group
England
Netherlands
Spain
Serbia
Slovakia
Italy
Denmark
Germany
South American Qualifying Group
Brazil
Paraguay
Chile
Argentina
North and Central America Qualifying Group
United States
Mexico
Honduras
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09-10 Predictions: LAL 67-15, 16-5, Title #16 |
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Ares24
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| Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Can't wait for the actual drawings. |
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Snake Plissken
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Wilt
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 3:48 pm Post subject: |
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If Bosnia (my country of birth) qualifies for the World Cup, that would eclipse a (bleep) 10-peat by the Lakers. Heck, that would be the happiest day of my life. Considering what we've gone through as a country and how small we are, this would be an amazing accomplishment. I try not to think about it.
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¡Hala Madrid! |
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818lakers
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 4:57 pm Post subject: |
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Roll Tide Roll!! |
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Ares24
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Wilt wrote: | | If Bosnia (my country of birth) qualifies for the World Cup, that would eclipse a (bleep) 10-peat by the Lakers. Heck, that would be the happiest day of my life. Considering what we've gone through as a country and how small we are, this would be an amazing accomplishment. I try not to think about it. |
They have a real chance. But I'm rooting for Portugal. It just wouldn't feel right without all the Portuguese stars. That being said, they need to ste up and beat Bosnia. |
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chazzz3dt_AB17
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| Posted: Wed Nov 11, 2009 11:32 pm Post subject: |
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| 818lakers wrote: | |
perfect timing  |
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Snake Plissken
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 4:47 am Post subject: |
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| Ares24 wrote: | | Wilt wrote: | | If Bosnia (my country of birth) qualifies for the World Cup, that would eclipse a (bleep) 10-peat by the Lakers. Heck, that would be the happiest day of my life. Considering what we've gone through as a country and how small we are, this would be an amazing accomplishment. I try not to think about it. |
They have a real chance. But I'm rooting for Portugal. It just wouldn't feel right without all the Portuguese stars. That being said, they need to ste up and beat Bosnia. |
No doubt Portugal, even without Ronaldo, is the favorite, but the victory in itself would be far more important to Bosnia, and I think that will translate to the effort on the pitch. Portugal will have to play two perfect games to win and likely will have to shut out Bosnians at home. Both I have hard time believing, given their performance in the qualifiers and their chemistry.
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09-10 Predictions: LAL 67-15, 16-5, Title #16 |
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KobeDunk
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 7:52 am Post subject: |
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Ireland vs France is going to be a war! Hope Ireland wins!  |
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Snake Plissken
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:03 am Post subject: |
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| KobeDunk wrote: | | Ireland vs France is going to be a war! Hope Ireland wins! |
I think they will. I'll go with aggregate of 2:2 with Ireland scoring on the road while shutting out France at home.
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09-10 Predictions: LAL 67-15, 16-5, Title #16 |
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Canadian Laker
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 8:57 am Post subject: |
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I'll be pulling for Greece to make it through (to only their second World Cup I believe) since I'm of Greek descent. (My mother was Greek). They are in tough against Ukraine though.
There should be some great battles for the final 4 European spots. |
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marga86
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 11:29 am Post subject: |
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Lots of people are calling that bosnia upset, but who knows... portugal is still a strong team without ronaldo.
and much to your dismay, uruguay is not playing good football as of late lol. They actually lost their first ever official game to argentina in el centenario..
If costa rica can get anywhere close to playing how they were in the beginning of the qualies then uruguay is in for a big surprise. |
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Snake Plissken
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 2:34 pm Post subject: |
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| marga86 wrote: | Lots of people are calling that bosnia upset, but who knows... portugal is still a strong team without ronaldo.
and much to your dismay, uruguay is not playing good football as of late lol. They actually lost their first ever official game to argentina in el centenario..
If costa rica can get anywhere close to playing how they were in the beginning of the qualies then uruguay is in for a big surprise. |
Actually, Uruguay may have lost that Argentina game by a point, but they had many more chances in the game and didn't convert. Previous to it they had a string of very strong games.
On paper Portugal is clearly a better team than Bosnia, but their chemistry and their miserable qualifiers, along with injuries, are a perfect setup for an upset.
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09-10 Predictions: LAL 67-15, 16-5, Title #16 |
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Ares24
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| Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2009 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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Uruguay is not losing to Costa Rica....let in alone in the "el centenario"
I expect them to put on a clinic. |
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marga86
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 12:19 pm Post subject: |
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| Snake Plissken wrote: | | marga86 wrote: | Lots of people are calling that bosnia upset, but who knows... portugal is still a strong team without ronaldo.
and much to your dismay, uruguay is not playing good football as of late lol. They actually lost their first ever official game to argentina in el centenario..
If costa rica can get anywhere close to playing how they were in the beginning of the qualies then uruguay is in for a big surprise. |
Actually, Uruguay may have lost that Argentina game by a point, but they had many more chances in the game and didn't convert. Previous to it they had a string of very strong games.
On paper Portugal is clearly a better team than Bosnia, but their chemistry and their miserable qualifiers, along with injuries, are a perfect setup for an upset. |
lol
they had just lost to peru (worst team in the qualifier) and got dominated by brazil 4-0..
their only decent win in the past 6 months was against colombia...
costa rica is no push over team...definitely better than venezuela, costa rica and maybe on par with colombia.. Uruguay is definitely a more complete team and should have had a direct pass... they have good talent, but they have underachieved. |
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Megatron24
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:14 pm Post subject: |
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| Spain or Argentina are my early picks to win it all based on my experience playing Fifa 10 |
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KobeDunk
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| Posted: Fri Nov 13, 2009 1:38 pm Post subject: |
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| Megatron24 wrote: | | Spain or Argentina are my early picks to win it all based on my experience playing Fifa 10 |
based on mine playing NBA2k10 my early picks to win the NBA title are the Hawks or the Grizzlies. |
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Snake Plissken
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| Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:59 am Post subject: |
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And New Zealand pulls through indeed, but they needed Bahrain to miss a crucial penalty in 52nd min.
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09-10 Predictions: LAL 67-15, 16-5, Title #16 |
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Megatron24
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| Posted: Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:44 am Post subject: |
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| KobeDunk wrote: | | Megatron24 wrote: | | Spain or Argentina are my early picks to win it all based on my experience playing Fifa 10 |
based on mine playing NBA2k10 my early picks to win the NBA title are the Hawks or the Grizzlies. |
but those teams arent highly rated in 2K10. |
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Ares24
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| Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 12:24 am Post subject: |
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| Ireland needs to pull it off in France. I would rather see Ireland than France. |
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Canadian Laker
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| Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 12:06 pm Post subject: |
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Greece have just booked their ticket to the World Cup with a 1-0 win in Ukraine. Ukraine had their chances but Greece displayed some serious defending after converting a goal around the 31 minute mark.
A moment like this I would have shared with my dearly departed and deeply missed mom, who wasn't into sports at all but would have given a short "hooray!" with a smile if I told her the result of her birth country's team. I hope she's doing that now up in Heaven.   |
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Tottenham
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| Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:33 pm Post subject: |
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Thierry Henry is the biggest cheating (bleep) in the history of football. As bad as Maradona.
Ireland CHEATED out of the World Cup Finals
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KobeDunk
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| Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:44 pm Post subject: |
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IM SO MAD!!!! I wanted Ireland to win so bad!!! THis sucks, they really really really got screwed royally!! That ref needs to go fly a kite! JERK!  |
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KobeDunk
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| Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:46 pm Post subject: |
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| Megatron24 wrote: | | KobeDunk wrote: | | Megatron24 wrote: | | Spain or Argentina are my early picks to win it all based on my experience playing Fifa 10 |
based on mine playing NBA2k10 my early picks to win the NBA title are the Hawks or the Grizzlies. |
but those teams arent highly rated in 2K10. |
Ya I guess but the way Argentina s been playing they wouldnt be much better than lets say the Rockets. (if we were to compare apples to oranges)  |
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