2014 FIFA World Cup
 

A big enough event that it deserves its own thread. The full schedule has now been released for the group stage.

The matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazilâ„¢ - FIFA.com

The US plays on the following days:

Monday, June 16th (6pm Eastern) - Ghana
Sunday, June 22nd (6pm Eastern) - Portugal
Thursday, June 26th (Noon Eastern) - Germany

Info on the ESPN Pick 'em:

Here's the current Calcutta auction standings:

Good luck to the US team...
Its a hard group but Ghana and Portugal are highly overrated

I'm taking the first week of WC off of work to just hang in a soccer bar all day for a week.

My wife is so proud.

Might do the same, but definitely getting the 26th off!

ESPN has released their television schedule for the tournament.

ESPN Schedule for 2014 FIFA World Cup « ESPN MediaZone ESPN MediaZone

Nike's new commercial leading up to the World Cup is awesome.

A few friends of mine entered the random draw for tickets and ended up getting the group that contains US/Germany.(Also has Mexico vs somebody and I think Japan/Ivory Coast) The trip was far too expensive for my budget but I bet they have a blast.

That is a brilliant Nike commercial.

Looking forward to the World Cup and especially the England games, pity that I only expect them to last a total of 3 games

yup

Awesome commercial.

Pretty dang cool. But I'm a bigger fan of last year's. That was revolutionary.

I've created a FOFC group for the Pick 'em at ESPN.

ESPN - Bracket Predictor - Group: Who will rise on soccer’s biggest...

pwd: trout

One month to go!

EJ didn't make the 30 man preliminary roster for the US.

World Cup: Klinsmann names preliminary USMNT 30-man roster - CBSSports.com

I'm honestly surprised EJ didn't make the 30 man roster, but I completely understand it. He is the dude most likely to cause some locker-room drama during the tournament, and we are a team who doesn't need any additional distractions, especially from a borderline player.

He pretty much talked himself off this team over the last 7-8 months, which is miraculous. That being said, I didn't think Klinsmann would leave him out of camp entirely. It's definitely the headline for today.

I'm surprised Joe Corona got called in, as I don't think he really has a chance to make the 23 in this group, and as much as I love Deandre Yedlin he is nowhere near ready. Timothy Chandler is a calculated move, and I understand it, though I was personally hoping he'd be left off.

The subtext of everything is that Klinsmann is lying awake at night scared about the LB and RB situation. He called in almost everyone on the radar for this 30 man camp, and I imagine he's hoping some surprises emerge.

Will be an interesting group, especially since the german team has a lot more question marks than people might realize.

Lots of players had disapointing or injury riddled seasons.

short by-position analysis:

Goal: Manuel Neuer (FC Bayern München), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)

No problems here and Löw even went out of his way and included Weidenfeller after years of ignoring him. Neuer is the clear starter and a Top 3 keeper in the world, Weidenfeller a very capable backup.


Defense:
Jérôme Boateng, Philipp Lahm (beide FC Bayern München), Erik Durm, Kevin Großkreutz, Mats Hummels, Marcel Schmelzer (alle Borussia Dortmund), Matthias Ginter (SC Freiburg), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke 04), Marcell Jansen (Hamburger SV), Per Mertesacker (FC Arsenal), Shkodran Mustafi (Sampdoria Genua)

lots of multi-position players in that group, will be interesting how many cuts Löw will make here. Very likely to be cut are Mustafi and Durm. A lot depends on Lahm. Is he going to play Right Back or move up into midfield as he´s done most of the season with Bayern ? If he moves up, there will be an additional Full Back (or 2) given a roster spot.

The german public always bemoans the lack of quality Full backs, but imo it is not as bad as it is made out to be. No perfect choices, but some decent options. As said, lots of versatility. Großkreutz can play on both sides (and at AML and in a pinch at DM/CM), Boateng can move out to either side. From Midfield, Lars Bender could move back into the Full Back role (started against Portugal at the last European championship). Ginter is a very interesting prospect, could make the roster over Höwedes.
On the left side there will be tough competition. Schmelzer seemed like the sure starter but had a tough season, Jansen had a crappy season but is possibly the "best on a good day" in the group (but those are few and far between). Then you have Großkreutz who could easily switch over here. Durm is the one with the least chance here even with the real nice season he had.
The Center Back pairing is very much up in the air, between Mertesacker, Boateng and Hummels. It is a tough choice to have to make, with Mertesacker adding leadership, Boateng much needed athelticism covering either of the others relative slowness and Hummels possibly being the best passing/playmaking Centre Back in the world.


Likely picking order:

RB: Lahm, Großkreutz, Boateng, Durm
CB: Mertesacker, Boateng, Hummels, Höwedes/Ginter, Mustafi
LB: Schmelzer/Großkreutz, Jansen, Durm


Midfield:

defensively/central:

Lars Bender (Bayer Leverkusen), Leon Goretzka (alle Schalke 04), Toni Kroos, Bastian Schweinsteiger (alle FC Bayern München), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid)

Philipp Lahm ???

Before the season, i´d have said that there were no issues at all here with filling the all important 2-man centre midfield. Now Schweinsteiger has had a so-so season and lots of injuries the last couple years, his heir-aparent (Ilkay Gündogan) is missing out with a back injury, Khedira just came back from a long time knee injury. Kroos is a player that Löw really likes, but pairing him with Schweinsteiger is problematic as both are no physical presence and lack athleticism. Lars Bender might just end up being the sure fire starter as he´s a good fit next to all other candidates with his versatility and box-to-box ability. If Khedira gets into shape, he would be my choice next to him. Lots of people are critical of him, but imo he does a lot of little things people often overlook (chases down lots of balls, really makes the field smaller for the oposition with his positioning and presence).
As you can see, there is actually some substance to the idea of starting Lahm here. I personally do not think it is a good move, though. Bender imo is a much better option here than any of the CBs replacing Lahm back there.
Goretzka has almost no shot at making the final roster, but has a very bright future. At 19 years old he allready featured prominently with 3rd placed Schalke. Will be a terrific box-to-box midfielder sooner rather than later.

offensively:

Julian Draxler, Max Meyer (alle Schalke 04), Mario Götze, Thomas Müller, (alle FC Bayern München), André Hahn (FC Augsburg), Mesut Özil, Lukas Podolski (beide FC Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), André Schürrle (FC Chelsea)

Very good area on paper, but as of now i still see a few issues with how the parts will fit together. Outside of Thomas Müller (imo the clear cut starter at AMR) none of the realistic options are good defensive players, which would be problematic if indeed Löw goes with a Schweinsteiger/Kroos pairing.
On the left wing, Reus will very likely be the starter after playing otherworldly for the last weeks of the season.
In the middle, Özil obviously had a terrible season but has long been a favourite of Löw.
Schürrle, Götze and Podolski are the next 3 in line i think. I think that Andre Hahn is a dark-horse candidate as he adds a different element. He is a straight up winger going vertically up the pitch, but also is very physical and has a knack for scoring.
Draxler is very talented, but does not do anything well enough to really add anything at this point and imo ought to stay home. Max Meyer is another immensely talented youngster whose time will come, but not yet. He would, however, make for a decent super-sub option with his 1:1 skills and agility against presumably tired defenses.

likely picking order:

AML: Reus, Podolski/Schürrle, Draxler
AMC: Özil, Götze/Reus, Kroos (who could slide up)
AMR: Müller, Götze, Schürrle


Attack:

Miroslav Klose (Lazio Rom), Kevin Volland (1899 Hoffenheim)

yeah, not exactly spoiled for choice. Mario Gomez does not get selected after basically missing all year. But why pick Klose then, who not only missed nearly as much time but is also ancient by modern football standards ? Well, because Gomez is always an awkward fit in the system even when fully healthy while Klose´s style of play is the absolute perfect fit. He is a decent goal scorer, adds some much needed aerial ability but is also a really good passer and opens up space moving horizontally. He is also a terrific defensive player for a striker who helps out deep in the own half. Also very important for the squad with his experience.
Volland is a very talented young player, not even a full rime striker but played on the wing a lot for Hoffenheim. Very physical player with good ball skills, could be the solution for after the WC. Not 100% sure if he makes the team. Pretty sure that Löw would rather go with Götze/Özil as a "false nine" or slot in Müller/Podolski in a pinch than start Volland. Then it would make sense to give the spot to an additional midfielder. But it would be good for his development to train alongside Klose and soak up the atmosphere.

whomario - any surprise over there that RRZ was included over ter Stegen?

Also, added disclaimer: Klose has long been my favourite player for his style of play and demeanor on the field. His play against England and Argentina last WC was among the best striker performances ever. So of course i am a bit biased regarding his importance. But i truly think that the only chance for Germany to win the title is for him to get into shape one last time.

He could break a few records along the way, btw: Could move into sole first place for german goal scorers (tied with legendary Gerd Müller at 68)and could pass Ronaldo´s 15 goal mark at WCs(currently 14)131 Caps and 68 goals ain´t too shabby at all for a guy who still played 4th division football at age 21.


nah, it is a non issue. Ter Stegen had a decent season but nothing spectacular and he had a couple horrific outings when getting a shot with the national team. He also is thought to be a little too "enthusiastic" for a reserve role (he even had some clashes at the U21 level).
Ter Stegen is more talented than Zieler but there is no immediate need for either to play and it will be still a couple years before Neuer slows down. So Löw choose the safer bet in terms of team chemistry (Zieler also has been with the team more often) and then in 2 years he will get his go at a tournament as the No 2 keeper if things go normally.

Well I've entered the predictions - be interesting to see how things go, I can't see a European nation winning it this year ... if its not Brazil then it'll be very open.

Makes sense. Maybe SI need to tweak ter Stegen's personality then. ;)

RRZ is no slouch though - he might not have the POTENTIAL of ter Stegen, but for a 3rd keeper that's not so important.

Which bar?

The 2014 Oranje 30-names list was revealed. Only 8 players of the 2010 squad are still in the race for Brazil. Regardless of the final list, the team will be young and lean heavily on the big three Van Persie, Robben and Sneijder.


goalkeepers:
Jasper Cillessen, Tim Krul, Michel Vorm, Jeroen Zoet.

Krul and Vorm should be famililiar names as the goalkeepers from Newcastle united and Swansea City. Cillessen became Ajax' fulltime starter this season, Zoet is PSV's goalkeeper. Vorm would be returning for his second World Cup, , the rest of the squad would be new. Cillissen is the favorite to become the starter, but neither Krul or Vorm would be a weakness. I'm expecting Zoet to miss the 23-men cut.
Missing is Maarten Stekelenburg, our 2010 goalkeeper and heir to Edwin van der Sar. He's coming off a disastrous season with Fulham.


defenders:
Patrick van Aanholt, Daley Blind, Daryl Janmaat, Terence Kongolo, Bruno Martins Indi, Karim Rekik, Joel Veltman, Paul Verhaegh, Ron Vlaar, Stefan de Vrij.

All of these players haven't played a World Cup before. Aston Villa central defender Vlaar is the only veteran of this bunch. Janmaat is an upcoming offensive minded right back. Verhaegh should be the alternative. Martins Indi, Kongolo, Van Aanholt and Blind are left back options. Kongolo, Martins Indi, Rekik and De Vrij are the alternatives to be the second central defender. Rumors are that we might play a system with five defenders, but given the list of names, I don't see it happening. Van Aanholt and Rekik might be the prime suspects to miss the team if no injuries take out someone else.
Most prominent missing names are 2010 starters Gregory van der Wiel, Johnny Heitinga and Joris Mathijsen. Van der Wiel is said to be injured. Heitinga and Mathijsen have fallen out of favor. Leftbacks Urby Emanuelson from AC Milan and Alexander Büttner from Manchester United are also missing.


midfielders:
Jordy Clasie, Leroy Fer, Jonathan de Guzman, Nigel de Jong, Wesley Sneijder, Tonny Vilhena, Rafael van der Vaart, Georgino Wijnaldum.

Sneijder and De Jong were key players in 2010, Van der Vaart a key backup. Sneijder and Van der Vaart will be the offensive midfielder options, Wijnaldum an alternative for them. The rest are all defensive or all-round options, adding Blind to the bunch as another defensive minded alternative.
Missing from the squad is obviously AS Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman, a key player in the qualification campaign.


forwards
Jean-Paul Boëtius, Memphis Depay, Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Dirk Kuijt, Jeremain Lens, Robin van Persie, Quincey Promes, Arjen Robben.

Kuijt, Van Persie and Robben were our 2010 front unit, Huntelaar the alternate central piece. Kuijt is likely to ride the bench in Brazil, with Lens taking over, providing we'll play with three attackers. Boëtius, Depay and Promes all are win attackers, with Depay also capable to play more of a striker role.


Potential starting line up:

		Vorm
	De Vrij		Vlaar
Janmaat				Martins Indi
	de Jong		Blind
Lens		Sneijder		Robben
		Van Persie
or
		Vorm
	De Vrij	Vlaar	Martins Indi
Janmaat				Blind
	de Jong		Clasie
		Sneijder
	Van Persie		Robben

Vilhena deserves special mentioning, representing Maassluis. If he makes the team, that would keep that alive after Khalid Boulahrouz did in 2006 and 2010.

I do like the way the Dutch play, but man...that's a heavily young team, and having a totally inexperienced backline like that is...wow.

Yeah. I'm not worried about Vlaar, Janmaat and Blind, I think they have proven themselves. And De Vrij and Martins Indi played quite a bit in the qualification campaign. Verhaegh has been a steady Bundesliga player, but the rest of that bunch is young and even inexperienced at the Eredivisie level. I would have preferred to see another experienced player (like Mathijsen or Heitinga), but Louis van Gaal does have quite the resume, so who am I to judge his decisions? :lol:

In america, do they sell some sort of web based world cup package? My brother was leaning towards finally getting cable but if you can just get a streaming package that would be better.

Interesting. When I did my picks it really seemed to me that Spain and Germany should be the favorites, and Brazil among them mostly because they're the hosts. Argentina's the only other SA team with a chance, IMO.

Wish you could have sent De Guzman back home, we could have used him in qualifying. Thanks, Canada.

I think Spain has a great chance because they are so strong right now and the South American climate won't affect them as much as a "typical" European nation. The central/northern European countries (including Germany) have very little shot IMO.

If I had to pick my three, it would be Brazil, then Spain then Argentina. Brazil are such an interesting non-Brazil team this time around - incredibly strong at the back and disciplined in midfield, but no great striker and less attacking flair.

Argentina are who ended up winning the tournament in my bracket - although thats partially because I went against reality and forced England to win a few matches they probably won't ... ;)

(in reality Brazil have to be favorites, Spain have the best shot of the European sides - but for some reason I don't think they'll make it (tiredness, niggling injuries etc.) - outside of that Argentina probably ... although its a short tournament anyone who makes the knock out stage 'could' win it ..)

I think this is going to be Neymar's coming out party. He'll be out of the shadow of Messi. He's scored a lot more often for Brazil than Barcelona.

Spanish 30 men list, to be cut to 23.
Looking at it, we could have probably two full teams able to have a good run in the WC.

GK: Casillas, Reina, De Gea

Def: Azpilicueta, Piqué, Ramos, Jordi Alba, Alberto Moreno, Javi Martínez, Albiol, Juanfran, Carvajal

Mid: Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Koke, Iturraspe, Xavi, Thiago, Pedro, Navas, Silva, Cesc, Mata, Cazorla, Iniesta

Att: Diego Costa, Villa, Torres, Negredo y Llorente.

The "surprises" are:

De Gea: With Valdes out he was the logical choice after the good season in Manchester. He is the future substitute for Casillas as Reina is too old and in fact brought to the team because how good team player he is more than because his GK skills.

Arlbeloa out, not really a surprise for anybody. Really hard worker, but not enough quality for the national team, nor for R.Madrid either imho.

Iturraspe: Had a great season with Bibao but he won't make the final 23.

Carvajal: Was named right winger of the year in Germany past season, and had a good one this year in R.Madrid too. Will compete with Juanfran for the right wingback, Juanfran will end having it because he is more experienced i think.

I think we have a great chance, the problems are Xavi and Xavi Alonso getting old and not having great seasons, both also more injury prone now. On the other hand, Diego Costa is a great new addition and the fighting Striker we have not had for a while, also none of our other strikers besides Llorente have had a really good season this year in their teams.

Btw, no matter how I like Costa, I don't think it's fair to have in the national teams in any sport players that have not been born in that country or at least to have lived there since kids. For a top pro player is to easy to get the new nationality but I wonder how Spanish is Costa in his heart, this is just a chance to win the WC as it was not sure he would go with Brasil. It's like when i see top African runners running for Denmark in the Olympics just because money, stripping the poor African countries from their top stars.

I only recognize three of those players, wow. Martins Indi, Vlaar, and de Vrij.

I have to know the answer to this so I can be jealous.

I think i had all of those on one of my teams at some point in my FM playing career :D

Instead of Georginho Wijnaldum I've recently found more use for his younger brother Giliano. I advocate him as the solution to "who will play LB for Holland." He's only 22, so maybe not in this WC, but next time round for sure.

I'll hit the George & Dragon for the USMNT games but plan on just trying a few different ones out, there are three or four new ones that have opened up around Ballard/Fremont in just the past few months.

Dog friendly will be a plus since my guy just had his bad knee fixed and will still be recuperating.

Check out all the World Cup squads | Football365 | Features | F365 Features

Every squad on one page.

Excellent.

ever been to Market Arms? Same owners as George and Dragon. They have an outdoor patio with TVs. Right on MArket and 24th in Ballard.

I like Market Arms, that's my second choice for the US games if I don't get to the George early enough and it is too packed. So many good places to choose from!

Might also drive down to Fado for a day, since my wife works downtown she can drive us both home from there.

Love Fado.

Used to go there before game downtown.

Buckleys in Queen ANne is decent as well.

Buckley's in Seattle? Wowzers - was just there a couple weeks ago - company I work for is a couple blocks away.

If you're not watching "Inside: U.S. Soccer's March to Brazil" on ESPN2 right now, you should be.

Edit: And on WatchESPN!
May 13, Tuesday, 7-8 p.m.: Series premiere
May 21, Wednesday, 7-7:30 p.m.: Episode 2
May 29, Thursday, 7:30-8 p.m.: Episode 3
June 3, Tuesday, 7:30-8 p.m.: Episode 4
June 10, Tuesday, 8:30-9:30 p.m.: Episode 5
June 11, Wednesday, 9:30-10 p.m.: LIVE series finale
More info here: Full Episode Schedule Announced for New ESPN Series ‘Inside: U.S. Soccer’s March to Brazil’ - U.S. Soccer

And yes - so apparently Tuesday was the first airing - I missed it then. But it's replaying now, and it's available online.

final 23 man roster for Germany:



Tor: Manuel Neuer (Bayern München), Roman Weidenfeller (Borussia Dortmund), Ron-Robert Zieler (Hannover 96)


Abwehr: Jérôme Boateng (Bayern München), Erik Durm (Borussia Dortmund), Matthias Ginter (SC Freiburg), Kevin Großkreutz (Borussia Dortmund), Benedikt Höwedes (Schalke 04), Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund), Philipp Lahm (Bayern München), Per Mertesacker (FC Arsenal)


Mittelfeld: Julian Draxler (Schalke 04), Mario Götze (Bayern München), Sami Khedira (Real Madrid), Christoph Kramer (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Toni Kroos (Bayern München), Thomas Müller (Bayern München), Mesut Özil (FC Arsenal), Lukas Podolski (FC Arsenal), Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund), André Schürrle (FC Chelsea), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern München)

Angriff: Miroslav Klose (Lazio Rom)


2 major surprises in Christoph Kramer (who was not even on the preliminary 23 but called up after an injury) and Erik Durm, who now has gone from 4th Division striker to the World Cup as a left back in little over a year. He might even start, played impressive as heck yesterday.

Oranje squad, with a semi finals mission as per usual:

goalkeepers: 1 Jasper Cillessen, 23 Tim Krul, 22 Michel Vorm,
defenders: 5 Daley Blind, 7 Daryl Janmaat, 14 Terence Kongolo, 4 Bruno Martins Indi, 13 Joel Veltman, 12 Paul Verhaegh, 2 Ron Vlaar, 3 Stefan de Vrij,
midfielders: 16 Jordy Clasie, 18 Leroy Fer, 6 Jonathan de Guzman, 8 Nigel de Jong, 10 Wesley Sneijder, 20 Georgino Wijnaldum,
forwards: 21 Memphis Depay, 19 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, 15 Dirk Kuijt, 17 Jeremain Lens, 9 Robin van Persie, 11 Arjen Robben.

Missing because of injuries: Gregory van der Wiel, Rafael van der Vaart and Kevin Strootman.

Starting lineups still to be expected as posted earlier, except that Cillessen appears to be the starting goalkeeper and Clasie might be replaced with De Guzman.

Looks like Van Persie just got injured?

I think he's fine. The most newsworthy thing over here is the jersey number change of De Jong and De Guzman after they've been announced by the KNVB (Dutch FA). That and the fact that the team flew to Brazil today.

I have no idea a) why the Netherlands thought Wales would be a good warmup (Bale and Ramsey were never going to play) and b) why the hell you would play a warmup for Brazil in a north European climate. Dodged a bullet with the Van Persie injury but the whole thing just didn't make much sense to me

The number of alternatives of preparing in a representative location are limited. Brazil itself is a no-go area because FIFA disallows games to be played in any of the World Cup stadiums in June. That basically forces the participating teams to prepare in a different climate than where they'll be playing. Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia decided to play friendlies at home against non-qualifiers, whilst Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay all went to Europe for friendlies. But most of these countries are a stretch anyway, because of climate differences.

Ribery out for the tournament - the number of injuries starting to become a serious downer before it's even started

As for that MIJB - true to an extent but England have done a nice job getting acclimatized in Miami, which might not be perfect but still a hell of a lot closer to Brazil than Amsterdam is