gocubsgo55

here it is, the final 32 teams. http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com/06/en/...qualified.html

shame my ancestors' native Iraq came one game away from playoffs, but you cant blame them for the wars they've endured.

A LOT of first-timers here, especially from Africa. I'm planning on getting tickets as soon as the 3rd sales period starts in December. I'll be going to Europe this summer and I can't miss this. I'll be going with my buddy if everything works out right.

Chime in, footy fans..

BstonBruin

yeah I go home to Switzerland a few times a year and in the summer, so im gonna make the trip over to Germany. Switzerland just qualified by beating Turkey in the playoff, they won their first game at home 2-0...but then lost 4-2 in Istanbul (its good that the away goal counts double)

FastAcura

Ill be going too. Thank god Bahrain didn't make it. They would get beat worse than that 9-0 trashing that Saudi Arabia got in 2002.

gocubsgo55

Bahrain has a suprising array of talent. I gotta hand it to the Middle East and Africa, they're really putting out good young talent. Iran is proof of that. Hand it off to western coaching skills and the drive to win I guess.

Oh, and congrats to Australia. It's good to see that the veterans who have shown such pride in their nation's football make it like Viduka and Schwartzer. I'm missing the other names. Ukraine is TEARING it up, and Serbia-Montenegro's young stars are shining now.

As for Denmark, Austria, and Turkey.. this proves to me that youth in soccer can beat a team filled with veterans. I might be missing some crucial points here, but all 3 brought essentially the same teams from Korea/Japan back to these qualifiers. Now I'm not saying veterans are a bad thing, obviously not since Sweden's Ibrahimovic and Portugal's Pauleta stormed qualifiers with their teams, but coaching has progressed so much in this era that new stuff can win fast with proper care.

That's why I see the US doing very well this year.

F900

Ireland ..WTF there not on the list.... after there Orlando World cup, it was all down hill from there...

gocubsgo55

what?

moonraker

i think he means irelands performance in usa 94.. orlando was one of the cities where they held games

ill be pulling for THE MOTHERLAND/my cousin's team (andreas köpke, goalkeeping coach) the host nation germany aka deutscher fussball bund (dfb) baby. hopefully the home support will lead us to victory

i actually think the US will do decently this year as well

amisconception

how do you have .5 of a team?

FastAcura

Deutschland Deustschland ueber alles

I saw Germany's game against France last weekend. If they can keep that up, they'll be a tough team to beat.

Lister00169

We're singing for England, EN-GA-LAND!

Spunky

Go Iran!

geminisdc

Brazil is going to take it again .

FastAcura

Mahdavikia and Karimi are the only good players. That goalie is a joke

btsilver

Go Trini, Go USA!!!

jlukja

Hope Poland represents a bit better this time around. Go USA

ianbiz

YEA!!!!!!!!!!

i think italy or england will win

Fibonacci

Shall we make this a sticky?

RaviNJCLs

iTrader: (4)

As a Trini....Go Trinidad and Tobago.

ianbiz

lots of support for the trinis

woot

JimmyCarter

But I think England is gonna have a great Cup. Rooney, Beckham and Owens on the attack should be fun to watch

Fibonacci

Lot of stars making their last big run - including Zidane and Beckham. I think Germany being host, has got to be a favorite to win it all.

I hope team USA can make a run.

FastAcura

Not bad, but how about Adriano, Kaka, Ronaldinho and Ronaldo, or Zidane, Pires, Trezeguet, Henry, Cisse and Anelka. Those two teams have the best attack. But as we know by now, the only thing that can stop Brazil from winning it all is their defense.

gocubsgo55

speaking of defense, Serbia is packing a sleeper defense coming into this competition; I really like what they've done. I'm betting they'll be one of the suprisers in the group stage, but you've gotta score against the best to win.

FastAcura

Is Mihajlovic still playing? I hate that guy. The only other guy I know in their defense is Krstajic. Since Bosnia didn't make it, I'm gonna have to root for Serbia too.

gocubsgo55

I believe both Stankovic and Mihajlovic are still playing. Coupled with the new breed of Serbian players (coming from one of the top 3 U21 programs recently), this team is going to rock.

My good Serbian buddy is really excited, and for good reason. As for rooting for them, I think they'll be my team along with Nederlands (!!) Although not Iraqi (I am actually Assyrian, part of the Christian minority in Iraq), my parents come from Iraq so my heart is with them. Too bad they didn't make it. Can't blame them with all that their land has gone through.

But as for my predictions as of right now (they'll probably change as the teams get closer to the first game);

I have Brazil and Germany in the finals with Germany winning it.

For suprises of the tourney, I have the US and Serbia. I really think this will be the 3rd place match.

FastAcura

Really? What's his name, maybe I know him

Any team that finishes in front of Spain in the group must be good. I'm suprised how well Bosnia did.

nandowong

I hope Ecuador does well this time around. Last time was our first world cup ever and we did awful. eventhough we finished second in the south american qualifiers. second only to brazil.

I just hope we win a game or two. that would be enough for me

Type Sun

USA! USA! USA!
All I hope is that Germany doesn't win. They got lucky when they beat USA in the quarterfinals of 2002, and same goes for their win against S. Korea in the semi's. Got some satisfaction watching them lose to Brazil in the final, but still would like to see a rematch where USA gets redemption.

fdl

Forza Azzurri

JediMindTricks

pires probably won't be playing since he's pretty much an outcast because of the manager. but you're right, france's attack is sick, but they haven't played well at all since euro2004 qualifiers. (and finally anelka is on the squad because dude is insane if he wants to be)

but brazil have to be the favorites:
ronaldo
ronaldinho
adriano
kaka
robino
roberto carlos
ze roberto
emerson
julio baptista
oliveira
alex (fenerbahce)
cafu

their defense isn't that bad as long as roque junior stays away as far as possible

JediMindTricks

i forgot to mention my favorite brazilian player: juninho (lyon)

FastAcura

Yeah, he's great. I remember last years 7-2 trashing of Werder Bremen (my favorite team) He can score on free kicks like no other.

You should sign up for the Champion's League fantasy league. He's on my team. I think I'm about 1000th out of 200,000.

Roque sucks. He's been horrible for Leverkusen this year.

JediMindTricks

yea roque junior...i dunno why he's consistently starting! i can't remember who it was...i think it was bobby mcmahon (i think that's his name) from fox sports world saying he's convinced that roque junior is starting because he's the only brazilian that stays in the defensive half! it was funny if you think about it...

and juninho is sick with his free kicks. what impresses me is, his free kicks are always on target. awesome.

Fibonacci

Soccer World Cup Schedule

Schedule for the 2006 soccer World
Cup in Germany (all kickoffs in local time):

GROUP
JUNE 9
A Germany vs Costa Rica Munich 6:00 p.m.
A Poland vs Ecuador Gelsenkirchen 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 10
B England vs Paraguay Frankfurt 3:00 p.m.
B Trinidad & T. vs Sweden Dortmund 6:00 p.m.
C Argentina vs Ivory Coast Hamburg 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 11
C Serbia & Mont. vs Netherlands Leipzig 3:00 p.m.
D Mexico vs Iran Nuremberg 6:00 p.m.
D Angola vs Portugal Cologne 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 12
F Australia vs Japan Kaiserslautern 3:00 p.m.
E U.S. vs Czech Rep. Gelsenkirchen 6:00 p.m.
E Italy vs Ghana Hanover 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 13
G South Korea vs Togo Frankfurt 3:00 p.m.
G France vs Switzerland Stuttgart 6:00 p.m.
F Brazil vs Croatia Berlin 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 14
H Spain vs Ukraine Leipzig 3:00 p.m.
H Tunisia vs Saudi Arabia Munich 6:00 p.m.
A Germany vs Poland Dortmund 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 15
A Ecuador vs Costa Rica Hamburg 3:00 p.m.
B England vs Trinidad & T. Nuremberg 6:00 p.m.
B Sweden vs Paraguay Berlin 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 16
C Argentina vs Serbia & Mont. Gelsenkirchen 3:00 p.m.
C Netherlands vs Ivory Coast Stuttgart 6:00 p.m.
D Mexico vs Angola Hanover 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 17
D Portugal vs Iran Frankfurt 3:00 p.m.
E Czech Rep. vs Ghana Cologne 6:00 p.m.
E Italy vs U.S. Kaiserslautern 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 18
F Japan vs Croatia Nuremberg 3:00 p.m.
F Brazil vs Australia Munich 6:00 p.m.
G France vs South Korea Leipzig 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 19
G Togo vs Switzerland Dortmund 3:00 p.m.
H Saudi Arabia vs Ukraine Hamburg 6:00 p.m.
H Spain vs Tunisia Stuttgart 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 20
A Ecuador vs Germany Berlin 4:00 p.m.
A Costa Rica vs Poland Hanover 4:00 p.m.
B Sweden vs England Cologne 9:00 p.m.
B Paraguay vs Trinidad & T. Kaiserslautern 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 21
D Portugal vs Mexico Gelsenkirchen 4:00 p.m.
D Iran vs Angola Leipzig 4:00 p.m.
C Netherlands vs Argentina Frankfurt 9:00 p.m.
C Ivory Coast vs Serbia & Mont. Munich 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 22
E Czech Rep. vs Italy Hamburg 4:00 p.m.
E Ghana vs U.S. Nuremberg 4:00 p.m.
F Japan vs Brazil Dortmund 9:00 p.m.
F Croatia vs Australia Stuttgart 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 23
H Saudi Arabia vs Spain Kaiserslautern 4:00 p.m.
H Ukraine vs Tunisia Berlin 4:00 p.m.
G Togo vs France Cologne 9:00 p.m.
G Switzerland vs South Korea Hanover 9:00 p.m.

SECOND ROUND
JUNE 24
1st Group A vs 2nd Group B Munich 5:00 p.m.
1st Group C vs 2nd Group D Leipzig 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 25
1st Group B vs 2nd Group A Stuttgart 5:00 p.m.
1st Group D vs 2nd Group C Nuremberg 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 26
1st Group E vs 2nd Group F Kaiserslautern 5:00 p.m.
1st Group G vs 2nd Group H Cologne 9:00 p.m.

JUNE 27
1st Group F vs 2nd Group E Dortmund 5:00 p.m.
1st Group H vs 2nd Group G Hanover 9:00 p.m.

QUARTERFINALS
JUNE 30
(1)1st A/2nd B vs 1st C/2nd D Berlin 5:00 p.m.
(2)1st E/2nd F vs 1st G/2nd H Hamburg 9:00 p.m.

JULY 1
(3)1st B/2nd A vs 1st D/2nd C Gelsenkirchen 5:00 p.m.
(4)1st F/2nd E vs 1st H/2nd G Frankfurt 9:00 p.m.

SEMIFINALS
JULY 4
Winner QF 1 vs Winner QF 2 Dortmund 9:00 p.m.

JULY 5
Winner QF 3 vs Winner QF 4 Munich 9:00 p.m.

THIRD PLACE PLAYOFF
JULY 8 Stuttgart 9:00 p.m.

FINAL
JULY 9 Berlin 8:00 p.m.

SilverFleetCLP

go s. korea



ouch.. rough first game w/ france tho

98SilverSurfer

Can't wait till the WC starts. I'm rootin for a few teams, Portugal, USA, England, and Spain.
I see Brazil goin far this year as usual. England should be interestin to watch. I think they'll be unpredictable.
Anything but France winnin.

Fibonacci

Beauty in the Beasts
Wayne Rooney, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lionel Messi: The brightest stars at next summer's World Cup may well be a trio of headstrong but divinely talented youngsters.

By Malcolm Beith
Newsweek International


Dec. 26, 2005 - Jan 2, 2006 issue - It's difficult to spot a diamond in the rough. It's even harder to see the beauty in, say, a pig. But football—known as the beautiful game—has, on occasion, transformed what some might consider rather ordinary beasts into priceless gems. A short, stout and cocky Diego Maradona emerged from the Buenos Aires slums to become a god on the pitch, his ability to sweep defenders aside truly Biblical. Zinedine Zidane, born to Algerian immigrants in the rough banlieues of Marseille, led France to World Cup and European championship glory. Even megacelebrity David Beckham was once just a shy, mild-mannered kid from a working-class neighborhood in Essex.

Next summer's World Cup in Germany is guaranteed to usher forth a host of new heroes. And while the pretournament hype will likely focus on Brazil's exceptionally graceful Kaka and Portuguese pretty-boy Cristiano Ronaldo, it may well be a trio of hardworking, hard-nosed ugly ducklings who emerge as the swans: England's Wayne Rooney, Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger and Argentina's Lionel Messi.

None older than 21, all three possess the same vigor as the young Maradona of the late ' 70s and early ' 80s who took our breath away, before cocaine and the temptations of fame took his. And when the legs of older teammates like Beckham, Michael Ballack and Juan Roman Riquelme grow weary during this summer's grueling, monthlong tournament, these youngsters will be expected to carry their teams.

They've already proved more than capable. In leading Argentina's youth side to this summer's world championship, 18-year-old Messi, a midfielder with a gift for the piercing pass, stepped into the shoes of his team's lagging strikers to emerge as the tournament's leading scorer. During Euro 2004, England's Michael Owen found himself cornered by defenders at every turn. Enter 18-year-old striker Rooney, who lifted the team—and an entire nation's hopes—onto his shoulders and into the quarterfinals with his fearless, darting runs into the box and crisp finishing touch. After he hobbled off with a broken foot, the England team lost its confidence and limped to a loss at the hands of Portugal.

And time and time again, the raw, explosive and uber-fit Schweinsteiger—a midfielder like Messi—has penetrated defenses when Bayern Munich teammate Ballack's game has been off. (He seems to think little of defense in general: when German defenders found themselves at Australia's mercy in June, he helped salvage a 4-3 win, and boldly declared, "If we give up seven goals, and shoot eight, then it doesn't really matter to me.") Expect the 21-year-old to do the same in 2006, when all the current media hype surrounding Ballack and striker Lukas Podolski translates into triple coverage and hacked shins for both of them.

Of course, with the exuberance of youth often comes a penchant for petulance. And at the World Cup, opposing players will do their best to provoke these headstrong youngsters. Schweinsteiger's weakness for cheeky fouls has already earned him several yellow cards. While Messi is generally regarded as calm and collected—at least in Argentina, where such terms are relative—he did receive a red card in his debut after trying to shake a defender who had attached himself to his shirt. He's also picked up several yellows at Barcelona, and if the ref isn't on Messi's side in Germany, he could find himself on the receiving end of a few more, at a much higher cost to his team. And Rooney's reputation for rage is already legendary. His frustration during England's appalling September loss to Northern Ireland earned him a yellow card, a one-match ban, howling headlines (wind him up, watch him go, read one) and a much-publicized locker-room spat with captain Beckham.

Still, if their elders respect anything, it's talent. The once petulant Beckham, now a footballing elder at 30, recognizes the upside to Rooney's volatility. "At the end of the day, in a way it is good that you see players react like that," said Beckham after the Northern Ireland match. "You know they have a lot of passion, and Wayne plays with a lot of passion." A wiser, more clearheaded 45-year-old Maradona has asked the Argentine football association to allow Messi—whom the international press has actually taken to comparing to El Diego—to wear his retired No. 10 shirt in Germany. And Schweinsteiger has garnered tremendous praise from German legend Franz Beckenbauer. He may have a name that literally means "pig mounter." But expect him and his fellow tyros to prove in Germany that beauty is indeed in the eye of the beholder.

© 2005 Newsweek, Inc.

© 2005 MSNBC.com

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10510087/site/newsweek/

TLover

Forget the soccer.

GINge!

Same here, they are ranked 6th afterall. I would love to see soccer get the kind of following it does in the UK and Europe & the ROW. I used to watch some NASL games in the 80's but they were all pretty poorly attended.

Imagine the kind of powerhouse team the US could assemble if kids started playing soccer instead of basketball/baseball/football etc?

moonraker

just thought id mention i got all the german national team's presentation warmup suit stuff and all their jerseys in the mail today from my cousin (their goalkeeping coach).. and this shit is AMAZING. just gettin me pumped up to wear it for all their games

any of you guys felt the material on adidas' jerseys for the cup yet? the new climacool material is awesome... anyone else who plays soccer would appreciate this. if you can, go check it out, its so ridiculously soft and lightweight. i want to wear it all the time now haha (well, after winter at least)

almost feel like i need to go out and pickup a US jersey too to sport it for their games.. that way im reppin both sides of the heritage

summer needs to get here faster!!