What odds on last time’s finalists going out in the group stages? Whilst France wasn’t such a surprise, Italy was a real shock but fair play to Slovakia. So, it’s into the Round of 16 and South America is flying high with all 5 teams through. Africa has been disappointing and Europe certainly not dominant [...]
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So someone flicked a magic switch between round 1 and round 2 and now there’s more goals and more yellow cards and more simulation than you can poke a stick at. And if New Zealand’s exploits weren’t dramatic enough, there’s the French. A review of round 2 and a head-hurting review of the final group [...]
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So the ball’s too round and vuvuzuelas are too loud and Brazil weren’t pretty, but…Japan secures a first ever WC win on foreign soil, New Zealand its first ever WC point and Switzerland beat raging favourites Spain. How’s that for a start? Of course, if you are Greek or Australian then there’s probably little that [...]
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Having got through last week’s warm-up show unscathed, which is more than can be said for a whole host of players, we tackle the second and, it must be said, superior, half of the draw. For reasons best known to FIFA, we find Brazil and Portugal, ranked 2 and 4 in the same group with [...]
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It can't have escaped the likes of Germany, England and France that the World Cup draw is decidedly lop-sided with with a potential path to semi-finals involving none of the top 5 teams in the competition.
So, opportunity knocks but for whom? We look at Groups A - D and it appears to be plain sailing for the big boys, a potential capsizing for Argentina whilst Australia could well be sinking.
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Put your money where you mouth is. Who's going to win the World Cup and which team is going to be this time's surprise package?
There's always a moment in a World Cup that lives on. It might be a special goal, a miss, a save or and outrageous handball. What's your World Cup moment?
Chris can go as far back as 1978, Mark being a young pup 1982. When was your first World Cup and which player did you dream about being?
