Croatia's first win against England was largely a fluke. That England team went down 1-0, then Robinson COMPLETELY missed a pass from one of his defenders, slipped and the ball went in. If this hadn't happened, I bet England would have come out with atleast a draw, but that slip up really hurt the team motivation. For the most part, I view Croatia as an average squad who will really battle out Poland for 2nd in that group. Croatia got a bit lucky with England being so poor in qualifiers and having a below average group.
Spain is definitely my pick to win it all. They are simply the most talented team. Their young stars are now much more seasoned than they were in the WC. Torres and Villa on the attack is SCARY, to go along with Fabregas in the middle. If Spain matched up with Italy in the quarters, I think Spain's youth and speed would crush an aging defense. Plus, Spain's group draw is favorable, with an easy win against an outmatched Russia, and a win from either Sweden or Greece, would be a nice warmup for that squad.
I disagree about Portugal. I think Nani will perform well, and obviously having Ronaldo up front will take the pressure off. Plus this team still has Carvalho and Deco. Theres enough talent to top their group.
I disagree with Switzerland. They may be the most boring team in the world to watch. They have good ball control, but almost never have a good enough attack. I see no chance of them beating Portugal or Czech Republic. If they get to the quarterfinals, its only because of home advantage. The fact that they didnt have to qualify for the Euros will only be a disadvantage for them.
I don't put too much stock into friendlies. And who their competition was in the 2006 World Cup qualifying is sort of irrelevant considering they finished 2nd in a group which top 4 (Ireland, Israel, Switzerland, France) were probably the 2nd or 3rd best group talent wise in 06. If you think Ireland or Israel are 'pathetic' national teams, then you don't know soccer. Faroe Island, Cyrpus.. every group has pathetic teams at the bottom. We can name them all. The Swiss then went on against Turkey and qualified outright to make the 06 World Cup. And they dominated their group in the World Cup (didn't allow a goal), in a group that featured France, South Korea and Togo.
Spanish will probably be David Villa, he takes all the dead balls (even corners) for Valencia and took at least one PK in the WC for Spain. Dutch could be a lot of guys, Van Persie if he is healthy is the most likely, if not him, I would guess Sneijder on free kicks, not sure about PKs.
i hear you, but i think he starts, with henry, and anelka comes into support. the past 3 friendlies hes gotten the go ahead so i have no doubt he starts at least 2 out of the 3 group games, and come of the bench in the other. ive found it profitable to take the tournament goal scorer before in these competitions. I still think Ronaldo will be the top goal scorer, but Benzema will make an impact for france by hitting the net, in my opinion more times then the books think he will.
Depends if Van Persie is healthy, if so, then I don't think it does. Either way, I think Benzema at roughly the same price is a better play. I'm also not terribly high on the Dutch, but after the last 3 French friendlies I think they have a better chance of escaping that group than I thought 10 days ago.
Point of note for those that love Spain (I am included in that group), you might as well consider them being part of the group of death. Their quarterfinal game, finish first or second in group, is against the group of death teams that advance. We all know Spain's history at large tournaments (look like world beaters in group and lose in their next game), just something to consider.
I also read an article yesterday that said Aragones is "pondering" a 4-5-1 formation that would leave David Villa out and have Cesc in (with presumably Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso and I don't know who else) or a 4-4-2 that would not include Cesc in the 4.
Eric, RVP also said he probably couldn't go 90 today. So who knows. Sounds like neither of them are worth any money.
I also read an article yesterday that said Aragones is "pondering" a 4-5-1 formation that would leave David Villa out and have Cesc in (with presumably Iniesta, Xavi, Alonso and I don't know who else) or a 4-4-2 that would not include Cesc in the 4.
Eric, RVP also said he probably couldn't go 90 today. So who knows. Sounds like neither of them are worth any money.
