Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bo Peabody]

The world cup drawing is over! The Socceroos are up against Ronaldinho in the group stages! Ing-er-lund is up against Paraguay and Sweden! The Argies are yet again drawn into a group of death! And South Korea gets into, by far, the easiest group!



From the Guardian Unlimited, Rob Smyth
http://football.guardian.co.uk/worldcup2006/story/0,16888,1663821,00.html
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Group A Germany, Costa Rica, Poland, Ecuador

Group B England, Paraguay (Frankfurt, June 10), Sweden (Cologne, June 20), Trinidad & Tobago

Group C Argentina, Ivory Coast, Netherlands, Serbia & Montenegro aka The Group of Death

Group D Mexico, Iran, Angola, Portugal

Group E Italy, Ghana, Czech Republic, USA

Group F Brazil, Croatia, Australia (Popovic v Ronaldinho! Viduka v Viduka!), Japan

Group G France, Switzerland, Togo, SOUTH KOREA

Group H Spain, Ukraine, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia

[ez2engage2]

South Korea was one ping pong ball away from even an easier group - Group H.

US is in a tough group.

Anyone know how the round of 16 get matched up?

[SarcasmKills]

I would hardly call Argentina's group the "group of death".. I think Group E is far more competitive.

[Bo Peabody]

[indytrucks]

Group C, E and F are all tough groups. And yes, Korea were extremely lucky. Best result possible for them, IMO. I wouldn't say Spain are a lock for Group H either.

By the way, did anyone actually watch the draw? I hauled meself out of bed at 4 am to see it, and aside from the draw itself, I thought the whole thing was pretty cheesy. The Draw in Korea was much more entertaining. The German magician was nearly cringe-inducing.

[whitebeagle]

Thru my foolproof method of form analysis....

Group A winners- Germany
runners up- Poland
Group B winners- ENGLAND!
runners up- Sweden
Group C winners- Argentina
runners up- Holland
Group D winners- Portugal
runners up- Mexico
Group E winners- Italy
runners up- Czech Rep.
Group F winners- Brazil
runners up- Japan
Group G winners- France
runners up- S.Korea
Group H winners- Spain
runners up- Ukraine

Phew..... now 2nd Round...
1. Germany v. Sweden
2. Argentina v. Mexico
3. ENGLAND v. Poland
4. Portugal v. Holland
5. Italy v. Japan
6. France v. Ukraine
7. Brazil v. Czech Rep.
8. Spain v. S.Korea

Quarter Finals...
1. Germany v. Argentina
2. Italy v. France
3. England v. Holland
4. Brazil v. S.Korea

And the Semis...
1. Argentina v. France
2. England v. Brazil

Woo hoo! The Final...
Argentina v. Brazil

surprise surprise

Make your way to the book makers right away to claim your winnings (although Brazil are probably about 100/99 by now)

[Universalis]

Tough break for Team America...

I'm gonna stick to my prediction that the South Korean team, lacking home field advantage and bad referees on their side, will implode next year in Germany.

Brian

[keithinkorea]

[VanIslander]

[khyber]

i'm sure you all know a LOT more than me on the matter...
but that won't stop me from sayin' stupid stufff.

re: NL...they haven't performed well in the WC in a long while. I simply can't believe they're gonna start this year... I certainly hope oranjie do better...

oz....yeah, that is t r o u b l e. i hope oz does well. I had a dutch (soccer LOVING) friend of mine come to korea for business. We spent quite a while talking about gggooooooss". NL seemed pretty proud of him. And geez, oz actually made it in underhim. Maybe he has some sorta lucky charm up his pooper that'll help oz pull something out.

i do agree there really doesn't seem to be a "group of death" this time around.

[indytrucks]

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

Group C is the group of death though it is as pronounced as the group of death in the last WC but it's still very strong.

Argentina (enough said, behind Brazil one of the most fancied sides to win the WC), Netherlands (along with Argentina, one of the most fancied), Serbia & Montenegro (very, very impressive during European qualification, under-estimate them at your own risk) & Ivory Coast (probably the strongest African side and could be capable of some upsets, been liked to the Senegal side of '02). Despite having two of the clear favorites for the Cup being drawn in this group, I'm confident that Argentina will get through though wouldn't be surprised if Serbia & Mont. pip the Netherlands for 2nd spots with Ivory Coast being the real wildcards. Argentina 1st, Netherlands 2nd.

The next toughest group is Group E for mine. Italy, Czech Rep., Ghana & USA. Italy notoriously slow starters though should go through, I fancy Czech Rep. to be second, the Americans are stronger than many think though I don't fancy them getting through. While Ghana I rate as the 2nd strongest African side in the comp. though I don't believe they will make it past the group stage. Italy 1st, Czech Rep. 2nd.

Next toughest group is Group F. Brazil, I believe are certainties to go through though this makes it interesting for the next 3 sides competing for the one remaining spot. Croatia would be most people's pick for the second side through and it's fairly difficult to argue with that but seeing as I'm Australian I'm try.

I'm fairly happy with our group though, hey it's the World Cup you've got to play the best in the world and I'd prefer to match up against the best, Brazil, rather be slotted into one of the easier groups. From Australia's point of view, we've got to get the best possible result out of the Brazil match, a draw would be fantastic though a narrow loss is still good and more realistic. I believe we have what it takes to match up to Japan (and if we lose against Japan, if does show that we're clearly not good enough yet). The Croatia match will be very interesting, most would say Croatia have this won easily but there'll be a bit of history and feeling going into this match as several Australian players are of Croatian heritage, while there are also a couple of Australian-born players on the Croatian side who deserted their birthplace in favor of their motherland. The Croatian coach has already said that he doesn't really rate us and believes they will win so that's going to add fuel to the fire. Head says: Brazil 1st, Croatia 2nd. Heart says: Brazil 1st, Australia 2nd. I'll go with my heart.

What makes it tougher for both Group E and F is that they match up against each other in the Round of 16 so these 8 teams really have their work cut out just making the quarter-finals.

Now for the other groups ...

Some of the groups are definitely easier than others though I always think that there's no truly easy groups in a World Cup besides one or two, where the top two teams go through without any real worry.

Group A, Germany seems like the only real standout for me here. I rate the other three as fairly even though at this point, I'll jot down Ecuador as the second team through. Germany 1st, Ecuador 2nd.

Group B, challenging group from English point of view though I see England and Sweden going through. Paraguay will be difficult for everyone though. England 1st, Sweden 2nd.

Group D, perhaps one of the easier groups. I expect Mexico to go through while Portugal should finish second, though I think Iran could be an outside chance to get through. Mexico 1st, Portugal 2nd.

Group G, definitely one of the softer groups. France, while still very good, aren't what they used to be. Switzerland went well in qualfying and after getting past Turkey to make it, well and truly deserve to be there. South Korea will be solid, I don't expect a repeat of 2002 though while my head says Switzerland I'll tip Korea to go through second after France. France 1st, South Korea 2nd.

Group H, another softer group it seems. Saudi Arabia aren't as bad as they were back in 2002 and while Tunisia are a decent side I can't see them get past Spain or Ukraine. Spain 1st, Ukraine 2nd.

[Kimchi Cha Cha]

Now for the rest of the tournament ...

Round of 16 ~ winner in caps - no real surprises for me

GERMANY vs. Sweden
ARGENTINA vs. Portugal
ITALY vs. Croatia/Australia
FRANCE vs. Ukraine
ENGLAND vs. Ecuador
Mexico vs. NETHERLANDS
BRAZIL vs. Czech Republic
SPAIN vs. South Korea - Vengenance for Spain

Quarter-Finals

Germany vs. ARGENTINA - tough one, I pick the Argies to surprise the home-town Germans
ITALY vs. France - Italy just over France in penalties
England vs. NETHERLANDS - big match, for some reason I favor the Dutch in this
BRAZIL vs. Spain - Brazil too good for Spain

Semi-Finals
ARGENTINA vs. Italy - Argentina too good for Italy
Netherlands vs. BRAZIL - great match, though Brazil with too much class

Final
Argentina vs. BRAZIL - great match-up of the two South American powerhouses, though Brazil win with their class

Netherlands win the third place playoff

[SPINOZA]

I sure hope Park Ji Sung and company smash the Frogs up good and proper - a conspicuously wicked nation. Apart from Eric Cantona.

I agree that Argentina's group is the Group of Death. Any group with Holland in was bound to be.

Germany's group is a joke.

COME ON ENGLAND! COME ON KOREA!

[jurassic5]

damn...group e....a very difficult grouping for the US. 1990 all over again.

the czechs are damn good, italy is italy and ghana is no pushover.

i wish the US was playing Italy first (before they get time to gel) and then Czech. but oh well, that's the luck of the draw. having to face Ghana last is a good thing, that way the US will know how to play them and what they need to advance.

On paper, US is 3rd best in the group. In reality....who knows....the bigger they are, the harder they fall. at least there's no pressure on the US.

as for korea's group. the swiss are no pushover and no one knows what to expect with togo. unlucky for korea to have to play togo before anyone gets to see them play. hopefully korea can get out of this group and advance. if they keep improving their form under dick, they have a good chance to.