Well, well, well.......it turns out I'm a soccer genius
7 for 8, baby! I told you all that I know soccer. I told you to call your bookies and place your bets. I wonder how many of you did? Not all my predictions were dead on, just most of them (7 out of 8 to be precise). Boy, it's hard to be humble sometimes. Anyway, here is my synopsis of the round of 16, and my predictinos for the quarterfinals. Pay close attention little ones:
Germany vs. Sweden: Who would have thought that the Germans would be the most entertaining team in the tournament? This is an extremely strong team, and they proved it against the Swedes.
England vs Ecuador: Everyone said this was another disappointing game for England, but not everyone is an expert like me. With my trained eye, I saw how they started to play some excellent soccer in the second half. I saw how Rooney began to dominate. I saw the English midfield start to create chances. They are starting to come together...bad news for everyone else in the tournament.
Argentina vs. Mexico: Mexico played a tremendous game and could have easily won. What a great performance. Argentina looked beatable for the first time. I actually watched this game on a Spanish TV station too...which made it somehow better.
Portugal vs. Holland: This was my one error. Not only was I wrong about the outcome, I was wrong about Christiano Ronaldo - he didn't cost his team the game because he got injured and had to leave. It was pretty sad to see him crying when he got subbed...of course it also reinforced my belief about his lameness. The low point of the tournament so far was the 5-minute window spanning Figo's headbut on Van Bommel, followed by Van Bommel's delayed reaction Emmy award-winning collapse/head clutch, and then Figo's Academy award-winning flop that earned Holland their 2nd red card. Figo: what a talented player, but what a contemptible sportsman.
Brazil vs Ghana: Well, everyone knew that was going to happen here didn't they?
Italy vs. Australia: A gutsy performance by the Aussies. Italy looked very unconvincing and won on a chintzy injury-time penalty. I really want them to lose.
Spain vs. France: Oh cjs, I'm sorry. Spain played well. They're very young. We'll hear from this team again, so don't despair. But the wily old veterans pulled it out for France. Zidane and Viera played very well...and Henry got revenge on Aragones for his (ahem) off-colour comments.
Switzerland vs. Ukraine: I missed this one, but apparently I didn't miss much.
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for.....my quarterfinal predictions!
Germany vs. Argentina: Germany is my favourite team in this tournament. They play an exciting, offensive style and they don't flop and cry too much. I have them as slight favourites to win the whole thing. The Polish striker combo of Klose and Podolski are the greatest offensive threat I've seen in the tournament. Argentina looks tremendous as well. Why don't they start Lionel Messi? I don't understand it. This will be a squeaker. Germany 60%.
England vs. Portugal: Oh boy. England are rounding into form, but if Portugal hadn't lost Deco and Costinha to suspension this would be a tough call. Since they did, England are a big favourite in my opinion. England 70%
Italy vs. Ukraine: Could Italy have lucked into an easier path to the semis? Australia and then Ukraine? I suppose they paid their dues since they had a pretty tough group, but still.... The one thought that comforts me is that they are destined to lose to the winner of the Germany Argentina game. Italy 90%
Brazil vs. France: I love Zinedine Zidane with a somewhat inappropriate intensity. He played great today, but it will take more than Zidane to take down the Brazilians. I think this game will be much closer than people think, though. France could win....but they won't. Brazil 55%
Germany vs. Sweden: Who would have thought that the Germans would be the most entertaining team in the tournament? This is an extremely strong team, and they proved it against the Swedes.
England vs Ecuador: Everyone said this was another disappointing game for England, but not everyone is an expert like me. With my trained eye, I saw how they started to play some excellent soccer in the second half. I saw how Rooney began to dominate. I saw the English midfield start to create chances. They are starting to come together...bad news for everyone else in the tournament.
Argentina vs. Mexico: Mexico played a tremendous game and could have easily won. What a great performance. Argentina looked beatable for the first time. I actually watched this game on a Spanish TV station too...which made it somehow better.
Portugal vs. Holland: This was my one error. Not only was I wrong about the outcome, I was wrong about Christiano Ronaldo - he didn't cost his team the game because he got injured and had to leave. It was pretty sad to see him crying when he got subbed...of course it also reinforced my belief about his lameness. The low point of the tournament so far was the 5-minute window spanning Figo's headbut on Van Bommel, followed by Van Bommel's delayed reaction Emmy award-winning collapse/head clutch, and then Figo's Academy award-winning flop that earned Holland their 2nd red card. Figo: what a talented player, but what a contemptible sportsman.
Brazil vs Ghana: Well, everyone knew that was going to happen here didn't they?
Italy vs. Australia: A gutsy performance by the Aussies. Italy looked very unconvincing and won on a chintzy injury-time penalty. I really want them to lose.
Spain vs. France: Oh cjs, I'm sorry. Spain played well. They're very young. We'll hear from this team again, so don't despair. But the wily old veterans pulled it out for France. Zidane and Viera played very well...and Henry got revenge on Aragones for his (ahem) off-colour comments.
Switzerland vs. Ukraine: I missed this one, but apparently I didn't miss much.
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for.....my quarterfinal predictions!
Germany vs. Argentina: Germany is my favourite team in this tournament. They play an exciting, offensive style and they don't flop and cry too much. I have them as slight favourites to win the whole thing. The Polish striker combo of Klose and Podolski are the greatest offensive threat I've seen in the tournament. Argentina looks tremendous as well. Why don't they start Lionel Messi? I don't understand it. This will be a squeaker. Germany 60%.
England vs. Portugal: Oh boy. England are rounding into form, but if Portugal hadn't lost Deco and Costinha to suspension this would be a tough call. Since they did, England are a big favourite in my opinion. England 70%
Italy vs. Ukraine: Could Italy have lucked into an easier path to the semis? Australia and then Ukraine? I suppose they paid their dues since they had a pretty tough group, but still.... The one thought that comforts me is that they are destined to lose to the winner of the Germany Argentina game. Italy 90%
Brazil vs. France: I love Zinedine Zidane with a somewhat inappropriate intensity. He played great today, but it will take more than Zidane to take down the Brazilians. I think this game will be much closer than people think, though. France could win....but they won't. Brazil 55%
posted by Mr. Apple at 7:56 PM
3 Comments:
Germany vs Argentina is the final before the final. :-) Hoping Deutschland to pull through....fingers crossed...
This world cup has been strange, the teams you expect to win have been, and then there's this whole fairplay thing they're promoting, but the palyers aren't following.
Why are you no longer going to post?
I will post - but not every day. For the past few months I've often just been posting because I felt obligated to post...stupid but true.
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