Nice blog, Arabella, but we really should be talking conspiracy theories when England and the USA get such an easy draw. Just saying.

And that doesn't mean either of them is sure to qualify, either. This is the World Cup after all...


What do you think about the FourFourTwo blog Probably The Best Group In The World?
When the World Cup draw took place last December, it came as no surprise to anyone that England got the easiest group of the lot. It would seem easy to discount group C and say England will finish top...

Have your say.

Of course they get an easy draw, but they still have to perform. England will perform sufficiently to get through, but I'm with you in thinking the USA just don't have the quality. Algeria and Slovenia will both be pretty well equipped and well motivated to knock both of the "bigger" names off.

Okay so England get out of their group...and then we get to fark them up!

^ That'd be the dream!

Mass suicides in London the day we beat them at a world cup. Also finishing in the round of 16, would be a world ending event for the poms. Jeeeeezzzzzz it would be sweet tho!!!!!!!!!!

why would you assume england get an easy draw? like i know UEFA hate them but FIFA dont.... and great young defenders? oh just Micah Richards, Shawcross, Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling, Michael Mancienne, and Kieran Gibbs? who would all be in the current Socceroos squad if they we're Australian at the moment

2006 World Cup England had Sweden, Paraguay and Trinidad & Tobago - another easy group.

2002 they had Argentina plus Nigeria and Sweden, a bit tougher.

1998 they had Colombia, Tunisia and Romania. Another easy group, although Romania beat them.

1994 they didn't qualify (so sad...).

1990 they had another easy group with only Ireland, Netherlands and Egypt. Two draws against the first two and only a 1-0 win over Egypt.

In other words, England are totally crap at World Cups, and should never be seeded in the first pot, however good their squad might look on paper.

I think they should win their group, and if we come 2nd in ours it sets up a mouth-watering encounter. I am sure we would have a very good chance of winning it. In fact, I think Pim should aim for second place just to ensure this game happens!!!

:lol:

Edited by GazGoldCoast: 8/5/2010 12:02:12 PM

i honestly dont think england have the easiest group. i think that honour goes to spain.

usa beat spain in the confed cup and on many occassion have shown to hold their own against big teams.

algeria are very physical and have some very good players playing in the highest leagues, so have that experience.

like she says, slovenia are a dark horse too.

i think spain has by far the easiest group.

also, she points out that shawcross is the only england defender to come through, what about micah richards, nedum onuoha, kieran gibbs, michael mancienne and joe mattock??

I dont think we should worry to much about England getting through, they should do that comfortably. It our Aussie team that we should worry about, they will struggle to get through the first round this time

Shouldn't you say the same about Spain, a team ranked as favourites to win it but a nation that hasn't made it to the Semi Final stage since 1950? and whose best result in the past 20 years is a quarter final appearance in 02 and 94?

Yeah, Doc, you are right historically - but I think this new generation in Spain is another kettle of fish. these kids have already broken the mould.

England need to make that same jump, instead of using the same tired old workhorses (as Arabella notes).

I don't see what Carlsberg has to do with this group.

In all honesty, Argentina and France have bloody easy groups too but I don't see you crying foul over that. You don't get out much anymore do you?

That's a complete load of crap, 16 of Spain's last 23 man squad were in the squad at the 06 World Cup. The core of the team is exactly the same as it was four years ago.

also if you look at recent history England has been knocked out via penalty shoot outs through the past 4 of the past 6 major tournaments they competed in (06, 04, 98. 96)... so it's not as if they've been beaten soundly in a number of tournaments, they've been knocked out by peno's, if they won half of those shoot out's history and their current reputation could be completely different and wouldn't be regarded as shite at major tournaments and chockers and whatnot

Not that I agree with Gaz in any way shape or form here, but lets not break out the 'what if' monster.

hmmm History counts for very little Doctor.
However I think eveyone here is underestimating every team and overestimating England. England are pretty shit on the international stage. I think it will be more interesting the people assume.

Are you serious? History is everything! History is the difference between England and Brazil. They've both got tallented sides, but Brazil are the one that are recognised because they've won so many tournaments.

My point, as I detailed earlier, is that England ALWAYS get easy groups, largely because they have been seeded in the first pot when they sometimes shouldn't have been, especially when judged on WC form.

PS: Nice to see you getting out of Extra Time for a change, Afro. ;)



And then they won Euro 2008...

Of course they have to translate that to a WC win, which won't be easy. But I think they can at least make the final.

Are you kidding? In 02 they had one of the toughest groups around with sweden, Argentina and Nigeria.

regardless of that, it's the SAME generation of players. You know this, I know this. Everybody who knows football knows this.

Oh yeah totally shit, with the most goals in the qualifiers of any nation conceding 5 goals (or something to that affect) for the whole campaign... your the one who just said that history means for very little then you base your assessment of england on history, how logical is that? it's one or the other

also about England's group's... you look at it 06' was alright with Sweden and Paraguay but weren't seen as a Group of Death... 02' Group of Death is pretty much Les could say about England death ridding them, 98' Colombia, Romania, Tunisia... eh Romania where strong but it wasn't seen as the toughest group there... i don't think there soft groups, but groups that you'd expect them to get out of (whereas 10' is soft as)

And I noted that as an exception, Afro. England were seeded in Pot B for that 2002 draw, with the Argies in Pot A, because England were a mess. Anyway, it was only a hard group because (a) Nigeria played better than anyone expected, and (b) Sweden are England's bogey team.

The big problem is the FIFA rankings, which always seem to over-rate the long-term favourites. If England were in Pot B more often, it would be a fairer reflection of their ability.




And you point is...? :-s

Edited by GazGoldCoast: 9/5/2010 08:54:05 PM

I wish we were in this group

The only really easy group they've had is this one with no really 'big' teams in it. Romania were at their best at the time, last time around Sweden and Paraguay were both recognised as talented teams. And as you say, Sweden are england's bogey team.

History is what's been holding Spain back until they broke through at Euro 2008. That will ensure they go a long way here.

I think USA are good enough to get 2nd in the group if they can avoid bad luck. England could hardly have gotten an easier group if they chose the teams themselves.

Actually, Raul's extremely large and unwieldly ego was what was holding them back.

and then Aragones chopped him and they won Euro... although i don't think they'll win, the big favourite normally gets knocked out lacklustrely (France and Brazil in recent times) and then a written off Brazil normally wins it which really really shits me

If Lucas Leiva ends up a World Cup winner it is an imminent sign of the apocalypse

England 0 - Australia 3 in the next stage.

And if England don't make it through the group stage they can always say that the wrong sort of leaves were on the pitch .... mind the gap.

:lol: You say that like Brazil have a chance of winning :lol: That's a long shot :P

England not winning through this group is highly unlikely. Especially with a coach like Capello who is a man known for getting a job done.

the thing is i don't mind the England bashing... but the thing is how Capello is then implicated in that, saying England is shit means Capello is shit... which sort of says that their rather uneducated