World Cup Build Up Thread

[Maguire]

Immobile has come from nowhere really hasn't he?

Not really.
Co-owned by Juve, Serie B top scorer 2 seasons ago.
14 caps, 10 goals for the U21s.

Him, Manolo Gabbiadini and Mattia Destro have been Italy's most promising young strikers for the last few years.
After Balotelli of course.

Zero appearances in qualifying. First senior appearance was only two months ago. Never scored for Italy.

He has absolutely forced his way into the squad after a great season in Serie A.

[soggy biscuit]

Just watched us lose 4-1 to Germany in South Africa.

GaROFLeth BaROFLROFLy

[P!ssed Off]

Immobile has come from nowhere really hasn't he?

Not really.
Co-owned by Juve, Serie B top scorer 2 seasons ago.
14 caps, 10 goals for the U21s.

Him, Manolo Gabbiadini and Mattia Destro have been Italy's most promising young strikers for the last few years.
After Balotelli of course.

Zero appearances in qualifying. First senior appearance was only two months ago. Never scored for Italy.

He has absolutely forced his way into the squad after a great season in Serie A.

I see your point, but their qualification scoring record was pretty oxf*rd, only 19 goals in 10 games.
Besides Balotelli and Rossi there's not really anyone of high quality to displace.

[Maguire]

Just watched us lose 4-1 to Germany in South Africa.

GaROFLeth BaROFLROFLy

This is something that irks me about England. You should never play unfit players yet we do so repeatedly.

Owen, Beckham, Rooney have all played at various points despite not being fit because they were star names. Milner played v USA in 2010 when he was ill because Capello wanted him in - subbed in the first half (?) after getting rinsed by Cherundulo. Gareth Barry selected because he fitted Capello's system that he used in qualifying even thought he clearly wasn't fit. Duly rinsed by Ozil. It's very annoying.

Germany game pisses me off too because England played their way back into that after a terrible first 25 minutes and should have been back to 2-2. Hit the bar again at 2-1 down then pushed way too many players forward and got hit on the break twice. Shit selection, shit tactics.

Oh and a shit team of course.

[Silver Fox]

No Lando Donovan in the US squad

[stealthpapes]

I watched the England Germany game in a pretty lakeside swiss town. They were most definitely NOT neutral.

[stealthpapes]

Actually, more lolzworthy in that game is Upson's defending.

[Royalclapper]

.......Milner's lack of pace.

.......Our defence getting run ragged and opened up virtually every time they attacked.

Worryingly, there's the potential for something like that to happen again this time. Hopefully Hodgson will be more aware of England being caught flat footed by decent opposition and keep them more compact and composed.

Milner & Johnson starting on the right doesn't exactly do a lot to instill any confidence that we won't get trounced again, opposition manager's aren't exactly going to need much prompting that it's our most vulnerable area.

[Whatevs]

Injured Bender won't make the World cup


....etc

[Big Foot]

Just watched back every goal from 2010

I've watched the Blanco penalty for Mexico about 10 times, absolutely unbelievable run up

[stealthpapes]

Uruguay last penalty vs Ghana

[Libertine]

The US has officially thrown in the towel before play begins. Ending up in the official Group of Death with Germany, Portugal and Ghana, Klinsmann has decided not to include Landon Donovan as part of his 23 man roster opting to go with Bayern Munich's 18 year-old Germerican Julian Green. If there is anyone at the US's disposal to turn to to have an impact on a game it is Donovan, even though he is 32. I guess in Klinsmann's thinking it is better to get the young guys in there to gain experience in how to take a proper beating by the world's football superpowers every 4 years than to actually give it a go in this tournament. To be fair I don't see the US finishing anywhere but at the bottom of the group, with or without Donovan, and they might be lucky just to get a solitary point. This team's form is poor as it is and their world ranking of 13th doesn't flatter it represents absurdist humor. It will probably rival how epically poor we were in 2006 in Germany. FIFA usually never does us any favors though even being put in the same group as England in the previous World Cup notwithstanding.

I guess I will have to pull for Italy and England this go round.

[Silver Fox]

Did I misread somewhere or are there only 5 players with WC experience in the US 23?

[Libertine]

Nawwww there are more than that, I think. Dempsey, Bradley, Jones, Howard, Altidore ( ), Beasley, and errrr, ummmm. Ok there are only 6.

But we did include Kyle Beckerman as a DM. He is so slow he makes Mikele Leigertwood look like Usain Bolt.

I guess this WC is to give all of our young foreign born American internationals who Klinsmann recruited (Chandler, Johannson, Brooks, Diskerud, Green, Johnson) their first taste of the WC.

Our defense, other than Beasley, has at most 24 caps for the national team. And the player with those 24 caps is Stoke City superstar Geoff Cameron, who will probably anchor our defense. I am sure that will strike fear into the hearts of the other teams in our group. Sigh...

[Libertine]

I really never think we are going to go very far in any given WC. Any WC where we make it out of the group is an unqualified success. I just am dreading being embarrassed again, like we were in 2006, in front of the whole world.

[Royalclapper]

Always a special place for the U.S.A. in WC history, Soldier Field Chicago '94 - England penalty coach Diana Ross does the biz:

http://youtu.be/BAKsGT9-XB0

[davidstarkey]

Woke up early.

Threw on 2006 world cup video, narrated by Ian Darke.

Lovely stuff.

Germany WC 2006 In a word = Cannavaro

Absolutely.

Germany v Italy was one of the most engrossing WC games I have ever seen.

Cannavaro charging out of defence like a maniac at 1-0, winning the ball, three passes later and Del Piero sticks it in the back of the net. Amazing game.

Yeah absolutely cracking game, shows you don't need a 4-3 or 3-2 scoreline for a game to be a classic. Grosso didn't have an amazing club career but scored the winning penalty in the final, the (effective) winner in the semi and if I remember he earned the winning penalty in another game. Crazy stuff.

[davidstarkey]

I've not seen that many great previews but this one isn't bad and the 4-4-2 one is pretty sleek. Starting to get excited now.

[stealthpapes]

Currently watching the offical world cup videos from World Cups past. Awesome.

Also:



Battiston's teeth

[TBM]

I want a massive wall chart to stick up at my desk.......anyone know of a paper or place that is doing them!?