Who will flop at the World Cup?

[Señor]

Simply put, which team do you think will flop at the World Cup and underachieve?

My vote goes to the Netherlands, Belgium, Uruguay and Brazil. Don't think the first three will make it past the second round and in my opinion, the latter won't make it past the quarters.

 

[harms]

England and Argentina for me. England won't make it from the group and Argentina will not go far in the playoffs

 

[JuanTheMan]

Not sure if the Dutch can be classed as a flop with their group, they have a relatively young squad and I doubt many expect them to do too much.

I agree with Belgium though and I think England will also go out in the groups.

 

[Dutch-Moroccan]

I hope Spain/France/Germany
I think Belgium/Holland

 

[Henrik Larsson]

Holland for sure, have you seen our defense? Van Gaal is one of the more attacking minded coaches and even he thinks we need to play 5-3-2 to try and survive.

I think Belgium are going to do very well. Will be difficult for England too playing in the extreme heat and all.

 

[Mad Winger]

Argentina and Belgium.

Just based on gut-feeling.

 

[Dutch-Moroccan]

Holland for sure, have you seen our defense? Van Gaal is one of the more attacking minded coaches and even he thinks we need to play 5-3-2 to try and survive.

I think Belgium are going to do very well. Will be difficult for England too playing in the extreme heat and all.

How do you think van Gaal will play?
I hope he'll play like this;

--------------Krul----------------
-----BMI----Vlaar----De Vrij----
Janmaat--------------------Blind
-------Sneijder----De Jong------
----------------RvP---------------
------Robben----Huntelaar------

I think that is the best team you can make with the players we have.

I serious don't understand why he didn't select players like; Emanuelson, Bacuna, Pieters, Douglas, van Dijk....
My team would be;

---------------Krul----------------
Janmaat---vDijk--BMI----Pieters
-----De Guzman--De Jong-------
Robben---Sneijder---Emanuelson
---------------RVP-----------------

 

[Henrik Larsson]

How do you think van Gaal will play?
I hope he'll play like this;

--------------Krul----------------
-----BMI----Vlaar----De Vrij----
Janmaat--------------------Blind
-------Sneijder----De Jong------
----------------RvP---------------
------Robben----Huntelaar------

Don't really see Huntelaar as a striker suited for counter attack. He's more the perfect finisher when you have loads of possession, play dominant and give him a lot of service. I like him though, and we might need him. But against Spain, we won't have much of the ball I'd reckon.

Makes my wonder how it's gonna work out against Spain and their line up too, and because it's a new system, perhaps it's not working out in the preparation friendlies and we'll ditch it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - Vorm/Krul - - - - - - - - - - - -

--------------------- De Vrij ----------------------
------------- Vlaar -------- Bruno de Massaman----
Janmaat ------------------------------------- Blind
---------- De Jong - - - - - - - - - Fer -----------
---------------------Sneijder ---------------------

--------- Van Persie + + + + + Robben ----------

 

[Dutch-Moroccan]

Don't really see Huntelaar as a striker suited for counter attack. He's more the perfect finisher when you have loads of possession, play dominant and give him a lot of service. I like him though, and we might need him. But against Spain, we won't have much of the ball I'd reckon.

Makes my wonder how it's gonna work out against Spain and their line up too, and because it's a new system, perhaps it's not working out in the preparation friendlies and we'll ditch it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - Vorm/Krul - - - - - - - - - - - -

--------------------- De Vrij ----------------------
------------- Vlaar -------- Bruno de Massaman----
Janmaat ------------------------------------- Blind
---------- De Jong - - - - - - - - - Fer -----------
---------------------Sneijder ---------------------

--------- Van Persie + + + + + Robben ----------

Yes, but still think The Hunter is a better finisher then RvP.
I am curious about how RvP will play in a role like Rooney does in United.

Nice line-up though. I only like de Guzman more than Fer in midfield.
With De Jong- Fer you have not many creativity

 

[The Mitcher]

I'm sure Gerrard will flop all over the place this World Cup.

 

[AlwaysRedwood]

England will fail miserably.

 

[sullydnl]

Belgium, probably.

 

[Jericho]

Messi. Compared to the high standards he has set for himself in general, he will flop.

 

[Nick 0208 Ldn]

England exiting at the group stage may not necessarily represent a "flop" at the tournament you know. The team are in a competitive group and much will depend on how they go about their football, a repeat of South Africa would obviously be a short road to one sacking and clamour for players to be retired off.

If we progress beyond the group i think many will simply look to enjoy any further success, maybe some will begin to wonder at what is possible however this shall hopefully be a status earned rather than stumbled upon.

 

[marukomu]

I fully expect England to fail miserably. We always do. I just hope that Gerrard is to blame for this exit and not the usual United player.

 

[Kloroform]

England and Rooney will flop

 

[slacker38]

England (again) - as long as they do not win the thing, would be considered a failure given the unrealistic expectations from the media on the team.

 

[slacker38]

I fully expect England to fail miserably. We always do. I just hope that Gerrard is to blame for this exit and not the usual United player.

haha! Don't worry, it will still be a United player, like it always has been.

 

[NoPace]

Germany could go out in the groups. A loss to an epic Ronaldo performance, a tough draw against one of Ghana or U.S.A who adapt better to the heat and the wrong results in other games could see them pick up 4 points and finish 3rd in the group on goal difference or just from one of Ghana or the U.S.A only getting the one point in their draw against Germany and the other one beating Portugal. So, something like:

Portugal 3 Germany 2
USA 2 Ghana 1
Germany 3 Ghana 1
USA 1 Portugal 1
Germany 1 USA 1
Portugal 2 Ghana 0

would see Portugal and the U.S.A go through with 7 and 5 points, respectively, and the Germans go out with 4. Similar result if the Germans beat the Americans but the Americans edge the Portuguese and get a few on the counter against a desperate Ghana and goal difference comes into play.

That group could be a real clusterfeck.

 

[Fred the Red's left foot]

England (again) - as long as they do not win the thing, would be considered a failure given the unrealistic expectations from the media on the team.

we are on this again? English media has been fine since the debacle of 2010. We are shit, the public know it, and the media know it, but pls keep peddling the stereotype

 

[JonathanEvans]

Brazil, think they'll struggle with all the hype and pressure and crash out in the last 16

 

[marukomu]

England in world football are the equivalent of West Ham in the Premier League. Nobody would ever expect them to win it. Maybe a miracle might get them into 7th or 8th. I expect England to reach the quarters if we play well.

 

[ricky-romeo]

england reaching the last 8 would be something okayish for them. semifinal, then they are over achieving.

 

[Get In Scholesy]

Can England not doing well in the World Cup even be considered a flop anymore? I mean its come to be expected really, only England and their fans hype them up unnecessarily. Them doing well (quarter finals) would be more of a surprise then them getting eliminated from their group, in my opinion.

The same kind of applies for Holland, a nation with 3 final appearances and no wins. Each other of the three previous teams to make the finals boasted players much better than this current squad, why would them failing be considered a flop when it unfortunately become the norm for them to underachieve.

Discussing who will flop is nearly impossible as there are so many factors involved in what flopping can be, it all depends of the context of the match, opponent, stage of the tournament etc.

 

[Get In Scholesy]

It would be much easier to speculate on which players will have a bad tournament, I think.

 

[vettyvignesh]

David luiz error in the QF,kicks Brazil out.

 

[Lyricist]

Germany could go out in the groups. A loss to an epic Ronaldo performance, a tough draw against one of Ghana or U.S.A who adapt better to the heat and the wrong results in other games could see them pick up 4 points and finish 3rd in the group on goal difference or just from one of Ghana or the U.S.A only getting the one point in their draw against Germany and the other one beating Portugal. So, something like:

Portugal 3 Germany 2
USA 2 Ghana 1
Germany 3 Ghana 1
USA 1 Portugal 1
Germany 1 USA 1
Portugal 2 Ghana 0

would see Portugal and the U.S.A go through with 7 and 5 points, respectively, and the Germans go out with 4. Similar result if the Germans beat the Americans but the Americans edge the Portuguese and get a few on the counter against a desperate Ghana and goal difference comes into play.

That group could be a real clusterfeck.

I completely agree with you, it's wide open. But I highly doubt Ghana is going to get 0 points. I could see them picking up points against any of the three other teams and I think they might be ahead of the USA. In 2010 they really convinced me when they were in Germany's group!

It's a ridiculously tough group anyway to be fair.



If Argentina plays Di Santo at all they might fail too! Don't understand his squad inclusion.

Also who knows, maybe Brazil will crumble under the pressure. I've seen better looking Brazil squads and some of the other teams have very strong squads this year.

 

[Dirty Schwein]

England and Portugal. I would say Holland but they have a tough group and will be a success if they make it out of that.

 

[RoadTrip]

A lot of people really seem to be raving about Argentina this time around, but I really don't understand why. They've got a worse than average defense. They've got scintillating attacking players correct, but against any of the bigger international sides, I just can't see that defense doing the business.

I really think for their standards, the Germans may underperform this year. They've struggled for goals, and their team lacks a real out and out striker.

Knowing how our season at club level is gone, wouldn't be surprised to see Van Gaal make a cock up of it and destroy our optimism for next season

 

[Kaos]

England, Brazil and Spain.

 

[Maxii]

While England usually flop, mostly because the expectations on the team were always massive, it might suit them this time around as not many people are expecting much. They can go out without fear of a total meltdown from the English media if they are knocked out, and they might actually surprise a lot of people this time around.

 

[Lyricist]

A lot of people really seem to be raving about Argentina this time around, but I really don't understand why. They've got a worse than average defense. They've got scintillating attacking players correct, but against any of the bigger international sides, I just can't see that defense doing the business.

That's what I've been thinking as well. With all the hype Argentina has been getting I'd have thought their squad would be better in defense and CM positions. They're always one of the top top teams obviously but maybe this time their defense might not be enough. At least their manager can't be as clueless as last time around. :P

I really think for their standards, the Germans may underperform this year. They've struggled for goals, and their team lacks a real out and out striker.

Infact no team has scored more goals than Germany during the qualifiers (at least during the European qualifiers). Most of those goals were coming from the offensive mid positions anyway, the striker position is not as vital as it would be for a team with a target man up top. Looking at the stats right now Germany has actually scored more goals during the qualifiers than Spain and Belgium combined!

 

[Brinky]

A couple of the big European heavyweights have the potential too. Whoever bests adapt will have the best chance of success.

 

[OoopsMisclick]

england, holland and maybe belgium (totally depends on their first match in my eyes)

 

[bishblaize]

Can England not doing well in the World Cup even be considered a flop anymore? I mean its come to be expected really, only England and their fans hype them up unnecessarily. Them doing well (quarter finals) would be more of a surprise then them getting eliminated from their group, in my opinion.

Agreed. Its interesting to see the hype machine getting into action again.

The simple fact is that England haven't beaten any team better than Sweden or Denmark at an international tournament since 2002. They've managed three wins at the knockout stages in the last 9 tournaments.

If they get past a group of Uruguay, Italy and Costa Rica, and then beat one of Colombia or Ivory Coast it would be a fantastic achievement, easily their best tournament since 1990 & way above expectations. Going out at the group stages would be par for the course.

I suspect Argentina might have a poor one. Messi and Aguero have both had stop start seasons, with niggling injuries in the last few months. Not only that, every game will have a hostile crowd, since locals will probably support whoever they're up against.

 

[RoadTrip]

That's what I've been thinking as well. With all the hype Argentina has been getting I'd have thought their squad would be better in defense and CM positions. They're always one of the top top teams obviously but maybe this time their defense might not be enough. At least their manager can't be as clueless as last time around. :P



Infact no team has scored more goals than Germany during the qualifiers (at least during the European qualifiers). Most of those goals were coming from the offensive mid positions anyway, the striker position is not as vital as it would be for a team with a target man up top. Looking at the stats right now Germany has actually scored more goals during the qualifiers than Spain and Belgium combined!

I don't know where that thought came to my head from then.... Maybe I'm thinking Spain lol. Or maybe because I had in my mind that they may have to take Klose again to the world cup for the 7millionth time since their striker options suck

 

[Red Shorts]

Belgium have been massively hyped up to be the dark horses of the competition, so I can easily see them falling at the second hurdle after a straightforward group stage. Argentina also to go out early after boasting the best front line in the world.

 

[bishblaize]

Belgium have been massively hyped up to be the dark horses of the competition, so I can easily see them falling at the second hurdle after a straightforward group stage. Argentina also to go out early after boasting the best front line in the world.

Indeed. Belgium will probably face Portugal or Germany then Argentina (unless they flop) in their first two knockout stages. I don't think they're going to light up the tournament.

I think people are shocked at the quality that a fairly small country has assembled. Its certainly a once in a generation occurance. But when you actually compare it to the big boys, its not that awesome.

 

[Krits]

Think England might do well this world cup. Not a lot of pressure (seems like it from here at least) and some good young attacking threats in the team. Who will be England's first choice CB pairings?

I think Belgium for all their hype will fail and so will Argentina.

 

[sizzling sausages]

France, Holland and England.