Posted on 06/13/2006 6:05:50 AM PDT by soccer_maniac
World Cup favorite Brazil will kick off its World Cup campaign on Tuesday as the opening round of the tournament continues in Germany. The defending champions will face Croatia at 3 p.m. ET (ESPN2) in Berlin in the second Group F match, following Australia's come-from-behind victory over Japan Monday.
The match will feature the highly-anticipated debut of FC Barcelona great Ronaldinho as he looks to lead the South Americans to a record sixth championship. But the reigning FIFA World Player of the Year is hardly the only weapon in coach Carlos Alberto Parreira's arsenal. Also at his disposal are Ronaldo, Kaka, Robinho and Roberto Carlos -- just to name a few -- who could leave the Croatian defense in for a busy day.
In the day's first match, first-time qualifiers Togo will be looking to upset 2002 semifinalists South Korea (9 a.m. ET, ESPN2). Though the Asian side does not have home field advantage as they did four years ago, the side is very experienced and boasts much talent, including 10 players returning for their second consecutive finals. The Koreans will be looking to Ahn Jung-Hwan for offense.
Togo enters the match as one of the surprise teams in the field, having secured qualification for the first time in the tiny nation's history. With many players coming from the French, Swiss and English leagues, they are a side capable of raising a few eyebrows.
Also making their 2006 World Cup debuts on Tuesday will be France and Switzerland, the neighboring nations squaring off at 12 noon ET on ESPN2. 'Les Blues' are chock full of world-class talent, including Arsenal's Thierry Henry and former FIFA World Player of the Year Zinedine Zidane, who led the French to their only World Cup title on home soil eight years ago.
(Excerpt) Read more at mlsnet.com ...
>The USA team is not lacking in fitness.<
Did not say they were.They are not as big or strong as the Europeans.All the fitness in the world will not help if your opponent is bigger and stronger and just as fast.
They can't compete on headers they either get pushed off the ball or are afraid to show creativity because it will result in physical punishment (Beasley).
The European club teams the US players are own spot them and do not have a whole team of frail bodies(Rena,Couvey,Beasley,Donovan,McBride)
Well he won't be for the rest of the World Cup. I think he tore his hammy.
The US is in a "Catch-22" conundrum with soccer.
We can't win without the best athletes, but the best athletes won't want to play soccer until the US wins at a high level.
They seem to indicate that it’s possible he could return, but I wouldn’t bet the house on it.
Teams are secretive about injuries. If a player broke both legs, the team would just say its a groin injury and they're day-to-day.
Koller himself said he'll just miss one game.
The Czechs shouldn't have much trouble beating Ghana, unfortunately.
Oh, if you havn't done so already, please add me to the ping list. Thx
Czech v Italy should be a great game though. There will likely be a real incentive not to lose that one.
Well, that's the way he ALWAYS is.
Actually it would be better for the US if the Czechs ran the table.
If the Italians beat the Czechs, even if the US beat Italy, the US would still be out, unless they beat Italy by 3 goals or more.
I'd say avoiding Brazil qualifies as a real incentive!
The only positive aspect of being humiliated by the Czechs is that Italy might look past us to their match with the Czechs. In fact Italy can tie us and then finish first by beating the Czechs.
In the past we've squeaked into the knockout phase with 4 points. That won't happen this time -- we'll almost certainly need 6. So no point in sitting back against Italy.
I predict Germany or Italy and Brazil or Argentina are the prohibitive favorites to make it to final next month. I give Germany good odds because after all they are playing on home territory and anticipate a repeat of 74, the second time they won the World Cup.
God Bless You!
Rosicky was signed by Arsenal and Cech already plays for Chelsea. We don't have players that are signed by major European clubs.
I don't think the #2 ranking of the Czech Republic is a fair reflection of where they actually rank but they are not a weak side by any means.
Nice pics, but your real work is about to begin.
I'll be eating at my desk while working and watching internet coverage. Some pics of Brazilian chicks would definitely manke lunch a more enjoyable occasion!
Not that I'm complaining about the chicks posted so far ... but Brazil takes it to another level.
Are those chicks really Brazilian or are they just bandwaggoners?
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