FIFA World Cup 2010

I feel like Danny Glover at the end of every Lethal Weapon film, too old for this shit (I'm 22). If Torres comes good tonight and scores the winner I think I'll be so depressed that I'll sit in my pants watching My Summer With Des on a continual loop for the next week, gently weeping. Then just as I'm healed, Milner will join Man City.

Seriously, I hope today he'll make a comeback. My prediction is that Spain will win 2:0, with him scoring the first.

That would mean a brand new team will win the World Cup for the first time.

On a side note, it's the first time the Euros are winning in a different continent.

Im going for Germany today!!!! I think they got enormous chance to be WC champions. And I think Spain isn't at its best (apart from Villa and Casillas), so i think Germany will smash them

dont talk to me for like a week!

YAAAAYYYYYYYYY SPAIN! :hell yea!:

Gooooooooooo Netherlands!!!!

You mean you'd swap the comedy fat guy and the hot women for Mick McCarthy and Mark Lawrenson? If so, I think I speak for the majority of UK viewers when I say - if you insist!

i wish Germany went through

no more Leo = X 10

VAMOS ESPAÑA!!!

PODEMOOOOOS!!!

Commiserations, Fred. I wouldn't have minded seeing Germany go all the way this year.

Holland and Spain are both perennial World Cup underachievers, so it'll be a nice final for all the romantics out there. Since the Germans are no longer an option, I'll be backing Spain. The Dutch have been surprisingly boring so far.

The Spainards have been surprisingly boring so far.

fixed.

Seriously though, if one team has dissapointed me so far, that has to be Spain (OK, I exaggerate). I followed all of their games in Euro 08', almost all in qualifing groups, and most of their friendlies. They were awesome, and were one the 3 teams I was happy with getting the trophy. Now, they're playing like wussies (pardon my french). In the group stages they had a total of 4 goals. Thats what I'd expect them to average (or at least do against Honduras). In the elemination rounds they've had a perfect streak of 1:0 victories. Thats really sad for them. They've come this far with their solid defense, and up till the game against Germany, Villa had scored, or assisted all of their goals. Hell, Sergio Busquets is not even entering the opponents half (I'm not trying to knock him, thats probably his assignment (which makes it even sadder)).

The Dutch, you (and most people) claim to be boring, have scored 5 more goals than Spain. Almost twice in other words. I don't know why they tend to self-destruct so much on final minutes, but at least they do so after gaining comfortable leads.

Besides Robbens selfishness, and vPersies inept display as a scorer, there's nothing to hate on them. I can't even believe it myself, but I am actually rooting for Netherlands. To me they, along with Brasil, have been the best teams of the tournament. And that's coming from a guy, who was hating both teams before the tournament started.

P.S.: I now I tend to come a little over-the-top, when sharing my opinions, but hopefully you don't take anything I said personal. Just trying to add to conversation, really.

Cheers Mike.

This tournament is the best France, Italy, Brazil, Germany... all of them are already out :hell yea!:

And the final's gonna be EPIC - two of my very favorite teams (besides England that sucked this time...)

I remember people moaning about Brazil in 1994, and in 1998 and in 2002 ("sure they score goals but where's the defense?!") and again in 2006. Regardless of whether or not they win any given tournament, I'm convinced that unless they start playing with actual maracas in their hands (you know, like they used to ) and with five strikers, there will always be the need for constant wistful recollecting about 1970. Don't get me wrong, there's valid criticism to be had in the real world, and Lord knows Dunga's Brazil did little to endear themselves to me personally, but then there's also the Tim Lovejoy generation and their troubling portrayal of football history. People/players/media goons citing England's crap start to Italia 90, now officially re-branded as England's finest hour, as some kind of noble validation of England's crap start to this tournament? Spare me.

Question for Michael: what's going on between Guy Mowbray and Lawro? Every game they commentate on together has the uneasy tension of a soap opera wedding. And its only getting worse! I genuinely thought Mowbray was going to tell him to

fuck off

during the Germany-Spain game.

The Spainards have been surprisingly boring so far.

fixed.

Seriously though, if one team has dissapointed me so far, that has to be Spain (OK, I exaggerate). I followed all of their games in Euro 08', almost all in qualifing groups, and most of their friendlies. They were awesome, and were one the 3 teams I was happy with getting the trophy. Now, they're playing like wussies (pardon my french). In the group stages they had a total of 4 goals. Thats what I'd expect them to average (or at least do against Honduras). In the elemination rounds they've had a perfect streak of 1:0 victories. Thats really sad for them. They've come this far with their solid defense, and up till the game against Germany, Villa had scored, or assisted all of their goals. Hell, Sergio Busquets is not even entering the opponents half (I'm not trying to knock him, thats probably his assignment (which makes it even sadder)).

The Dutch, you (and most people) claim to be boring, have scored 5 more goals than Spain. Almost twice in other words. I don't know why they tend to self-destruct so much on final minutes, but at least they do so after gaining comfortable leads.

Besides Robbens selfishness, and vPersies inept display as a scorer, there's nothing to hate on them. I can't even believe it myself, but I am actually rooting for Netherlands. To me they, along with Brasil, have been the best teams of the tournament. And that's coming from a guy, who was hating both teams before the tournament started.

P.S.: I now I tend to come a little over-the-top, when sharing my opinions, but hopefully you don't take anything I said personal. Just trying to add to conversation, really.

Cheers Mike.

I don't get why so many people are are disappointed with Spain or don't rate them. Before the start of the tournament, they were one of the favourites with a near-perfect record spanning 2,5 years. Naturally, other teams will be studying them and trying to stop them. Why do people expect them to be winning by massive margins when they have to find a way through packed defenses that are 3 lines deep and have 8-10 players sitting behind the ball? You could accuse them of being too patient and not using their width enough, but that is part of their style and their loss against Switzerland has not deterred them from playing the best way they know how. Kudos to Spain for not only sticking to their philosophy, but for actually playing football the way it should be played (from the eyes of a romantic ). If you want to blame someone, blame every other country for parking the team bus in front of goal. I, for one, would like to see any national team in the world come out and have the guts to play football with Spain because they would all fail bar none (but respect to Chile, who gave it a decent shot). Admittedly this Spain team is a different one to the Euro-winning team, but they have been operating on 80% throughout the tournament and have still made it to the finals (with the help of some bad officiating mind you!), which has got to count for something.

And nothing to hate on the Dutch? Not only have they been boring and relied on a few players to magically pull goals from nowhere so they actually have a lead to protect, but they have had their fair share of luck too (which is why I think they'll win the World Cup - for all the form in the world, nothing can buy you luck...unless you do some serious bribing ). I don't hate the Dutch but they certainly haven't endeared themselves to anyone with their style of play and no matter how many goals they score, it doesn't make them entertaining in the slightest. However, I think any fan of football only needs one reason to hate them: van Bommel!

Win at all costs. Why would or should, for instance, Paraguay try and out pass and attack Spain? Are we saying that the way Spain play is the only style acceptable or deserving of reward? Everyone needs to be able to adapt to any given game, not just the underdogs but also the teams beloved to the neutral. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying 'negative tactics' are something to be overly romanticised about and teams like Greece took it to truly new levels of tedium but ultimately a rear guard century from Shivnarine Chanderpaul is worth just as much as a majestic one from Ricky Ponting. I support Aston Villa and when Sir Graham Taylor returned as manager few years ago, he attempted to make us play attacking, exciting football. It didn't work because the players simply didn't justify such tactics. Now under Martin, we have players that suit width and high tempo passing, making us more attacking and adventurous than any Villa team in years. Use what you have accordingly.

And nothing to hate on the Dutch? Not only have they been boring and relied on a few players to magically pull goals from nowhere so they actually have a lead to protect, but they have had their fair share of luck too (which is why I think they'll win the World Cup - for all the form in the world, nothing can buy you luck...unless you do some serious bribing ). I don't hate the Dutch but they certainly haven't endeared themselves to anyone with their style of play and no matter how many goals they score, it doesn't make them entertaining in the slightest. However, I think any fan of football only needs one reason to hate them: van Bommel!