World Cup Draw

Let's be honest, the draw goes along way w/a team like the US on whether or not they can make it to the knockout stage.

Read an article on possibility of increasing the number of teams to 40, where the tournament is increased by a week. You would have 8 groups of 5. It's easy to make the argument that it would only dilute the product and you would only be including more teams that have no chance of winning, but when you wait 4 years with the guarantee (if you qualify) of only playing 3 games, increasing it to 4 would be fine with me, thoughts?

 

Me too.

 

I would be fine with increasing it to 40. It gives more nations the opportunity to go and I think would favor nations with depth all the more - something that I think would be beneficial to the US.

What I dont like about the World Cup draw, though, is being put in the same pot as Oceania. To me they are clearly the weakest confederation and it just doesnt seem right that the US, a team FIFA ranks as 14 in the world, has no chance of being in the same group as one of their teams. I think how you finished in your confederation qualifying should have something to do with which pot you are placed in. That's how tournaments are usually set up. Pot A could still be the top 8 teams in the world but then you fill in the remaining pots with a combination of the teams' qualification record and how it is currently done

 

Can't wait for the World Cup Draw so then we can stop talking about the World Cup Draw.

Here are my HOTTAKES:

• Groups won't be as absurdly difficult as portended. There will be plenty of "meh" to go around.
  
• African nations, Algeria aside, are massively overrated. Asian nations are underrated. European nations are a crapshoot.
  
• Most players will be really tired heading into WC, and will only get more tired jetsetting around the massive nation. Meaning the group stages will probably be exciting but have some really bad football.
  
• I will be highly unproductive this summer

 

I think the majority of groups in the WC are difficult - rare is the "easy" group as some stronger squads will slip and some lesser squads will hit unexpected results.

Still, I have a sinking feeling that tomorrow will produce a draw for the US that may require me to shrink into the fetal position.

 

We're toast. We may not win a single match. :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead: :angry-banghead:

 

Ghana, Germany, Portugal in that order and the US will travel more miles than any other team at the WC.. :confusion-helpsos: WIll have to deliver payback against Ghana in that first game.

 

Nevzter below

 

Horrible draw but probably about the most dramatic I could imagine. Revenge, revenge, revenge

 

Yep, so many great narratives here. Unfortunately, the narratives all end with our slaughter.

 

i'm barely able to type this from my position indicated by Mo's (brilliant) photo, but i hate Fifa. #$%&* 'em. i can see the u.s. getting a result against ghana and even portugal but germany is a bridge too far...

 

If you add up the FIFA rankings for each group, this is what you get

Brazil, Croatia, Mexico, Cameroon - 97
Spain, Netherlands, Chile, Austrailia - 84
Columbia, Greece, Ivory Coast, Japan - 81
Uruguay, Costa Rica, England, Italy - 57
Switzerland, Ecuador, France, Honduras - 91
Argentina, Bosnis-Herz, Iran, Nigeria - 105
Germany, Portugal, Ghana, USA - 45
Belgium, Algeria, Russia, S. Korea - 113

My husband thinks they should pick the seeded pot randomly and then have those countries pick their opponents by order of seed, serpentining back in forth. That would be interesting.

Someone needs to pull a Nancy Karrigan on Christiano Rinaldo

 

Shoot, getting out of the group stage will be a significant achievement for both teams with that draw. Outside of drawing the hosts, could we have been dealt a worse hand?

 

Simple. Payback time for the Black Stars, scratch out draws against the 'Guese and krauts and we're through. Easy. It's our effin' hemisphere. 'Murrica beh beh. Hell yeah. The mulleted one is ready, and I hope he's named. [tweet]https://twitter.com/brekshea/status/409010357752315904[/tweet][tweet]https://twitter.com/brekshea/status/409004881530191872[/tweet]

 

To be the man, you have to beat the man.

 

WOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

 

Don't look now, friends, but we SURVIVED THE GROUP OF DEATH!

Don't worry, Tim, there will be no penance (unless you just wanna say an Our Father or Hail Mary).

 

If there was ever a time to be wrong... :dance: