Group B consists of Denmark, Portugal, Germany and Holland. Undeniably the most difficult of the four groups. Let's dive in.
Denmark
Denmark are in a bit of a difficult situation, here. They're a decent side, with a decent history in the European Championship (winning it in 1992 against all odds, finishing 4th in 1964, and making the semi-finals in 1984). They qualified for the championships in first place, in a group with Portugal and Norway. It's fair to suggest that they're a decent side. The question is whether or not they can do it on the big stage, and whether or not they can perform in such a tough group. Granted, they've beaten Portugal already to make the competition, but form goes out the window at this stage. I would suggest they're an easy 3 points for the much more mature and experienced sides in the group.
Denmarks key men include the prolific Nicklas Bendtner (sarcasm intended), Thomas Sorensen, Daniel Agger, Christian Eriksen and the super Poulsen Brothers (I assume they're brothers), so they've actually got quite a strong squad. Manchester United's Anders Lindegaard is the third choice 'keeper, and he's pretty good, so the fact he's not even first choice suggests they've got real strength here.
I'm gonna say it now; Denmark are going to either win the group or finish bottom. They could be the surprise package at this years tournament, but my head says otherwise. I'll put a asterisk next to their spot as a permanent reminder of their potential to surprise.
Group Prediction: 4th*
Portugal
The underachievers of the group, Portugal have never won the tournament. the made the final in 2004 (losing to the Greek), but have never lifted The Henri Delaunay Trophy. They qualified through the play-off system, beating a rather average Bosnia and Hertzegovnia to get here. They usually show up during the group stage, doing enough to get into the knock-outs, however that might not be enough for them this time around. They've got real competition from Holland and Germany. It's difficult to see them picking up enough points to get through the groups. Then again, maybe they've got enough about them, and enough experience to draw from, to pull something out of the bag.
Playerwise they're somewhat top heavy, taking no less than 7 attackers. Captained by the former "best player in the world" Cristiano Ronaldo, they've real potential to cause team defensive problems. Nani and Silvertre Varela will no doubt support him, and they're pretty good (sometimes). The midfield will be anchored by a personal favourite player of mine, Joao Moutinho, who I genuinely believe could set the tournament alight.
In fact, when you look at the Portugal squad, they're choc full of genuinely talented players. They just haven't been able to cross the line mentally. To be honest, I can't see that changing this year,but they could potentially be a real force in Brazil 2014.
Group Prediction: 3rd
Germany
This German side are amazing. There are no two ways about it. They made the final in 2008 (losing to Spain), and got to the World Cup semi-final in 2010, (losing, again, to Spain). The younger players have two years more experience so you expect them to top this group, and make the final, even.
History-wise, they've won the tournament no less than 3 times, and finishing runners up 3 times also. They qualified winning every single qualifier. 30 points is a pretty decent haul, and I wholeheartedly expect that form to continue.
Stars across the field for Germany. Mesut Ozil, Thomas Muller, Miroslav Klose, even Manuel Neuer's getting a mention. These are real star players, who can turn it on for the big sides. And I've only scratched the surface. Their one weakness is the defence. Just look at it, it's shocking. For me, Ozil was the star of the 2010 World Cup, and there is potential in this squad who could become stars in their own right. Keep one eye on Mario Gotze. Just saying.
They're good enough to win this group. They're good enough to make the final. Hell, I'm tipping them to win the whole thing. This is a real special team, and they're going to go all the way.
Group Prediction: 1st
Holland
The dirty Dutch have won the competition once (1988), and have made the semi finals 4 times. in 2010, the managed to fight (literally) their way into the World Cup final, only to lose in extra time to Spain. Their history in football in general is one of hurt and suffering. They're the nearly men of the footballing world. They qualified in first place, losing only once (to Sweden), so they're certainly a force. Do they have enough about them of exorcise the demons of 2010? Maybe...
They're a very talented squad, the Dutch. Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Robin Van Persie to name three. I could delve even further. They're a skillful side with enough about them win this group. It's a straight shoot between them and Germany for me. And when those two meet, expect it all to kick off.
Group Prediction: 2nd
Germany 3 2 1 0 7
Holland 3 1 2 0 5
Portugal 3 1 2 0 5
Denmark*3 0 0 3 0
Friday, 25 May 2012
Thursday, 24 May 2012
Euro 2012: Group A Preview
With about 15 days left until this tournament kicks off, NOW'S the time to get somewhat interested in the forthcoming weeks of footballing action. And with that; World Cup Willie returns as an establishment, and a benchmark for footballing coverage. And that coverage begins now. I'm gonna preview Group A for you. For those who haven't been paying attention, Group A consists of Russia, Greece, Poland and the Czech Republic. Let us commence.
Russia
Undeniably the best side in an insanely poor Group A, Russia, who have a history in this competition, having won it in 1960, and finished as runner up on 3 separate occasions (albeit as the Soviet Union), will be looking to capitalize on their recent resurgence by getting somewhere this year. In 2008, Russia made the semi-finals, losing to Spain 3-0, and failed to push on into the 2010 World Cup.
Russia have a decent squad of players, most notably Pavel Pogrebnyak, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin, all of which have plied their trade in the Premier League in recent years. Decent players, with the question lingering over them: "can they perform on the big stage?" Time will tell.
Group Prediction: 1st
Greece
Greece. Boring, boring Greece. They won the tournament in 2004, and that's all they've done. Ever. Seriously. Bottled the Confederations Cup in 2005, didn't qualify for the World Cup in 2006, and finished bottom of their group in Euro 2008. That's...pretty bad....
Big names in the Greek side include Premier League legend Giorgos Samaras and Football Manager favourite Sotiris Ninis (seriously, snap him up, you'll get one hell of a player). To be fair to the Greeks, they DID win their qualifying group, and they WERE unbeaten...maybe they'll spring a surprise. Again. I doubt it, but maybe...
Group Prediction: 3rd
Poland
Much like group-mates Greece, Poland have very little history in this competition. Unlike Greece, they've only ever been involved in one European Championship, and that was in 2008. Where they picked up a single point. Against Austria. They really aren't a footballing nation per se, more a nation who knows football exists. And sometimes play it.
There are some decent players involved with Poland. Robert Lewandowski (currently of Borussia Dortmund, linked with Manchester United) and Wocjiech Szczesny are the notable names in this side, but there just isn't enough talent across the pitch for them to seriously worry Russia or the Czechs. Aim for a point against Greece, and that will be a success. Poor tournament for the co-hosts.
Group Prediction: 4th
Czech Republic
The final side involved in this group are the Czech Republic. They finished as runner up in 1996, made the semi finals in 2004. TECHNICALLY they've won it before, but as Czechoslovakia (1976), so does that count? How do they and Slovakia go about sharing the trophy? I assume they only get it for weekends and bank holidays or something.
Petr Cech, Milan Baros and Tomas Rosicky are the players you'll know about in this side. We all know how good Cech is (even if he does seem to bottle in for his country), Rosicky is an Arsenal regular, and Baros...played for...Portsmouth?
For me it's a straight shoot for second between these and Greece, so the game on the second match day could be very interesting. Or very boring. Can't see past the Czechs, though.
Group Prediction: 2nd
FINAL STANDINGS
GP W D L P
Russia 3 3 0 0 9
Czech Republic 3 2 0 1 6
Greece 3 1 0 2 3
Poland 3 0 0 3 0
I'll do a Group B preview tomorrow. I'd imagine it'll be a bit better than this one. Still getting back into the swing of things.
Russia
Undeniably the best side in an insanely poor Group A, Russia, who have a history in this competition, having won it in 1960, and finished as runner up on 3 separate occasions (albeit as the Soviet Union), will be looking to capitalize on their recent resurgence by getting somewhere this year. In 2008, Russia made the semi-finals, losing to Spain 3-0, and failed to push on into the 2010 World Cup.
Russia have a decent squad of players, most notably Pavel Pogrebnyak, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin, all of which have plied their trade in the Premier League in recent years. Decent players, with the question lingering over them: "can they perform on the big stage?" Time will tell.
Group Prediction: 1st
Greece
Greece. Boring, boring Greece. They won the tournament in 2004, and that's all they've done. Ever. Seriously. Bottled the Confederations Cup in 2005, didn't qualify for the World Cup in 2006, and finished bottom of their group in Euro 2008. That's...pretty bad....
Big names in the Greek side include Premier League legend Giorgos Samaras and Football Manager favourite Sotiris Ninis (seriously, snap him up, you'll get one hell of a player). To be fair to the Greeks, they DID win their qualifying group, and they WERE unbeaten...maybe they'll spring a surprise. Again. I doubt it, but maybe...
Group Prediction: 3rd
Poland
Much like group-mates Greece, Poland have very little history in this competition. Unlike Greece, they've only ever been involved in one European Championship, and that was in 2008. Where they picked up a single point. Against Austria. They really aren't a footballing nation per se, more a nation who knows football exists. And sometimes play it.
There are some decent players involved with Poland. Robert Lewandowski (currently of Borussia Dortmund, linked with Manchester United) and Wocjiech Szczesny are the notable names in this side, but there just isn't enough talent across the pitch for them to seriously worry Russia or the Czechs. Aim for a point against Greece, and that will be a success. Poor tournament for the co-hosts.
Group Prediction: 4th
Czech Republic
The final side involved in this group are the Czech Republic. They finished as runner up in 1996, made the semi finals in 2004. TECHNICALLY they've won it before, but as Czechoslovakia (1976), so does that count? How do they and Slovakia go about sharing the trophy? I assume they only get it for weekends and bank holidays or something.
Petr Cech, Milan Baros and Tomas Rosicky are the players you'll know about in this side. We all know how good Cech is (even if he does seem to bottle in for his country), Rosicky is an Arsenal regular, and Baros...played for...Portsmouth?
For me it's a straight shoot for second between these and Greece, so the game on the second match day could be very interesting. Or very boring. Can't see past the Czechs, though.
Group Prediction: 2nd
FINAL STANDINGS
GP W D L P
Russia 3 3 0 0 9
Czech Republic 3 2 0 1 6
Greece 3 1 0 2 3
Poland 3 0 0 3 0
I'll do a Group B preview tomorrow. I'd imagine it'll be a bit better than this one. Still getting back into the swing of things.
Euro 2012: World Cup Willie's European Adventure
After months of speculation and deliberation, we're set to return in podcast, blogcast, facebookast and twittcast fashion. Basically what we did two years ago, but with a European beat. Follow our facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Euro-2012-World-Cup-Willies-European-Adventure/131402000212917, twitter thingamajig at: https://twitter.com/#!/WorldCupWillie1. End Transmission.
Sunday, 5 June 2011
Saturday, 14 August 2010
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
Podcast No. 6
if yu can't wait until tomorrow, you can listen to the podcast here and now! the end of an era! :'(
Monday, 12 July 2010
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa review
Well, after 30 days of football filled frivolity, the FIFA world cup in South Africa has gone out with a fizzle, and not a bang. Can Africa's first world cup be considered a success? Should Africa ever get a world cup again? Was this world cup better than the 2006 one? All these questions and more will be answered over the course of this review.
Lets be honest, looking back, the matches left much to be desired in terms of excitement. As it's the god damned world cup, you would've thought that teams would've made at least some effort to play attractively. We had to wait until the secnd day before we saw a win, and even that was boring. But, once the first matches were out the way, things started to pick up. France got hammered by Mexico, Slovenia and the USA pulled a 2-2 outof somewhere, which was somewhat exciting, and Portugal narrowly murdered North Korea 7-0. And England beat Slovenia 1-0, in what can only be described as the best performance by England at this or any world cup. (I jest).
The weak were picked off one by one, and the Knock out stages began. What a crock of shit. Bad football, bad officiating, and worst of all, Slovakia lost. The quarters and the semis threw out little shocks. Uruguay failed to make the final, losing to Holland, and Germany lost to Spain, setting up a final which would guarentee a brand spanking new winner.
The stage was set for Holland and the Netherlands. the match was boring as hell, neither team really hitting top gear. Van Bommel did his best to liven things up, mainly by stabbing every Pedro and Juan on the pitch, but the referee did a Wenger. The only goal of the match came on the 116th minutes, when Iniesta smashed a half volley into the bottom left of the Dutch goal just seconds after Sneijer had a corner turned down, despite the ball actually spinning so far wide of the target it was unbelieveable, and Elia was impaled on the edge on the Spanish area.
So Spain won the world cup. Statistically the most boring team in the tournament undeservedly won the greatest prize of them all. And I am furious.
Was this world cup a success? No. Should Africa host another world cup? No. Keep it somewhere sensible. Like Holland or Mexico. Was it better than 2006? Marginally. But only because World Cup Willie made it so.
So thats it for another 4 years. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoy cyonide. We'll be back at the start of the premier league season if you want us, and I'm certain we'll sort something out for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. See you in a few.
Lets be honest, looking back, the matches left much to be desired in terms of excitement. As it's the god damned world cup, you would've thought that teams would've made at least some effort to play attractively. We had to wait until the secnd day before we saw a win, and even that was boring. But, once the first matches were out the way, things started to pick up. France got hammered by Mexico, Slovenia and the USA pulled a 2-2 outof somewhere, which was somewhat exciting, and Portugal narrowly murdered North Korea 7-0. And England beat Slovenia 1-0, in what can only be described as the best performance by England at this or any world cup. (I jest).
The weak were picked off one by one, and the Knock out stages began. What a crock of shit. Bad football, bad officiating, and worst of all, Slovakia lost. The quarters and the semis threw out little shocks. Uruguay failed to make the final, losing to Holland, and Germany lost to Spain, setting up a final which would guarentee a brand spanking new winner.
The stage was set for Holland and the Netherlands. the match was boring as hell, neither team really hitting top gear. Van Bommel did his best to liven things up, mainly by stabbing every Pedro and Juan on the pitch, but the referee did a Wenger. The only goal of the match came on the 116th minutes, when Iniesta smashed a half volley into the bottom left of the Dutch goal just seconds after Sneijer had a corner turned down, despite the ball actually spinning so far wide of the target it was unbelieveable, and Elia was impaled on the edge on the Spanish area.
So Spain won the world cup. Statistically the most boring team in the tournament undeservedly won the greatest prize of them all. And I am furious.
Was this world cup a success? No. Should Africa host another world cup? No. Keep it somewhere sensible. Like Holland or Mexico. Was it better than 2006? Marginally. But only because World Cup Willie made it so.
So thats it for another 4 years. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoy cyonide. We'll be back at the start of the premier league season if you want us, and I'm certain we'll sort something out for Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. See you in a few.
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