|
 |
 |
|
You are in: You are in: Sports Talk |
 |
|
Tuesday, 4 December, 2001, 12:07 GMT
Will Argentina take the title?
Argentina are hotly tipped as favourites to win the 2002 World Cup.
Can the winners of the South American qualifiers repeat their feat in Japan and Korea?
Argentina made qualifying for the 2002 finals look easy. While their South American counterparts struggled to find cohesion, Argentina sailed through. They have an impressive World Cup pedigree, winning the trophy in 1978 and 1986, and reaching the final in 1930 and 1990. Boasting a squad with the likes of Crespo, Veron and Batistuta, and with Saviola waiting in the wings, Brazil legend Pele has them down as the team to beat. But their draw - against in-form European sides England and Sweden and African powers Nigeria - is arguably the toughest for any of the seeded teams. Can Argentina go all the way or will your own team have their say?
Detailed look at England draw: First round: safe draw with Argentina (catch 'em cold!) 1-1. Beat Sweden for first time in 20-odd years, 2-1. Beat Nigeria, the best in Africa, 3-1. England top group and play...Denmark in 2nd round, defeat Denmark 2-1. Play Turkey in quarter-final, defeat Turkey 2-0 and play France in semi-final who have first bad day of tournament, defeat France 3-2 aet and play...Germany!! In the final - it's meant to be! Defeat Germany 3-1 and win World Cup!
Study the draw and see how it could work!
Argentina is going to come back with the 2002 world cup.
Argentina have on paper, not just one of the best teams ever but one of the best squads. They are clearly going to be the biggest threat especially as 90% of their squad play their football in the top teams in Europe.
Along with France and Italy have to be the top favourites. However, I think Portugal, Brazil and yes, England are in a group behind the top three and are all capable of surprising them. My tip for the big surprise is Japan. They have obvious advantage as co-hosts and were very unlucky in 1998.
Argentina are arguably the best team in the World at the moment with so much experience and can easily win it. My prediction is that they will settle for a draw with England and win their other two matches to avoid France in the second round. England will go through to second round but will be knocked out by France. Nigeria has the talent but they are not serious enough to proceed to second round. Sweden will not pose any threat and will not stand the heat in the group of death. France will retain the title.
I think Argentina has good players in the midfield and up the front, but not at the back. They play a typical South American style football - attack rather than defence. If England can reshuffle their back, combined with the likes of Beckham and Owen, I don't see any reasons why England fear Argentina or France.
Hey World, watch out for Paraguay. Remember how we were eliminated by France in the last World Cup? This time will be different. Just be aware.
Argentina is the team to beat, but no one can rule out the unpredictable Brazil and Germany. Spain and Italy are two fire powers, both have great players at their disposal. This World Cup has so many great teams competing we cannot predict the final. Remember, like cricket, football is a game of glorious uncertainty.
Will Argentina make the second round is a more pertinent question! If England haven't got enough residual anger about their defeat by Argentina in France to beat them this time I will be disappointed. And I wouldn't bet against Ljungberg, Larsson and co springing a surprise either...
As long as they don't; foul, cheat, dive, handball, feign injury, exaggerate tackles, use 'gamesmanship'...they will win. Looks like they haven't a chance then.
I think Argentina are a formidable force, however they don't seem to travel too well. I think Portugal or France will end the Finals on top!
Whoever wins group F will win the World Cup.
I will be surprised if Argentina are not there or thereabouts come June 2002. The strike force is outstanding, so much so that Batistuta is not certain of making the first 11. Defence is strong with Ayala, Samuel, Sorin and the under-rated Javier Zanetti. Midfield is crowded with talent.
The only question mark remains on the goalkeeping.
England will qualify, but their time will most likely come in the next World Cup. England in WC 2002 will be what Argentina were in WC 98, a good side lacking experience.
They have peaked far too early and have everything to lose. Watch for the teams who have just started coming into form. Go Slovenia!
Why is everyone in England so critical of the English team? Here in Spain we all look at England as one of the best five teams in the world, and of course they can win. Some of the comments here are unbelievable, in Europe we all fear England. I hope Spain do well but although we always have good teams here but they always are disappointing. Argentina and France are favourites but I think England can win also!
Daniel Law must have been watching a different England team to everyone else. Apart from Sheringham, England haven't had a creative player since Gazza. As for Argentina - they'll win it. Great ability, a developing maturity and, importantly, they should have the ability to withstand the humidity.
They have the most offensive side I have seen in years. They also have three of the most promising young players. Saviola, Aimar and Requimlie who will all shine in the World Cup. They play a 3-3-1-3 formation, with Ayala, Samuel and Chamot in defence. Then Veron, Zanetti and Simeone in midfield. Then Aimar, and the three strikers left are Batigol, Crespo and Saviola. With this team they can certainly win the World Cup.
Argentina will definitely win. At their last two matches of South American qualification, they don't even need Bati or Crespo. They dominate the midfield, and Veron is the best player of the moment. Some claim that he's not that great at Man Utd, so that he is not very good.
Well, the difference between Man Utd and Argentina is that Argentina trust and depend on Veron 100%, so that he can perform perfectly. Veron's role in Argentina squad is the conductor, while his role in Man Utd is just a player who is in the midfield. That's Man Utd's problem, not Veron's. I just can't wait to see Argentina teach the rest of the world how to play football. They will entertain us.
All depends how Argentina can regroup themselves if they fall behind early. When this team sails, it is fun to watch the likes of Ariel Ortega arguably the most difficult player to contain on a one-to-one situation.
If Redondo plays in midfield, the team will be pretty unstoppable. I cannot rely much on Veron given his happy-go-luck attitude. The key players will be Ayala in defence, Ortega in midfield and Batistuta upfront. If this trio is on song, the World Cup is going to Buenos Aires.
Football, like all sports is dependant on the day. Take the last World Cup for example. Croatia and Holland in the semi-finals. Holland aren't even in this World Cup and no-one even mentions Croatia (even though they are a strong team).
There are 11 men in a football team and at any given time one of them can make a mistake and that mistake could lead to a loss. So any team could win if the other team makes a mistake, be it Argentina or Senegal.
Having ridden an easy qualification doesn't necessarily means the team has a better chance. It's six months to the start of the tournament and lots of things can change for a football team in such a period.
They've got a collection of fantastic players though. Can't wait to see England v Argentina.
England have nothing to fear. Argentina are a great team, but they seem to possess something that proved to be Germany's downfall on 1 September - arrogance. This is England's best ally in this World Cup. If no one gives us a cat in hell's chance of winning, then hopefully we will be underestimated and could be the surprise package of the tournament.
It's good to see that Argentina's complacency is already coming to the fore. The hard part is getting through the group stage after that who knows? I believe that Spain or Portugal could be the dark horses, but don't write off England
A lot of people are taking Nigeria and Sweden for granted. Argentina may not even make it to the next round due to goal differences. I see England and Nigeria coming out from this group.
Argentina can go all the way as could a number of other teams including Spain, England and Italy. Argentina have an excellent defence and strike force but I feel England offer more creativity and goals from midfield than many other teams in the World Cup.
So Jason in Argentina doesn't give England a chance. Four years ago you struggled to beat ten-man England, and as usual, luck was on your side. Veron is typical of South American players when things aren't going their way - the heads start to drop. When he gave the ball away against Chelsea for the second goal, Veron couldn't even be bothered to chase back. That's the difference between English and certain foreign players, that never say die attitude. That's what will carry us through.
If Argentina don't win this world cup then I'd be shocked. France are not the team they were, Brazil are all at sea, the hosts are not even quarter-final possibilities and with their depth of talent and entertainment value, I sincerely hope to see Argentina triumph in Yokohama. Having said that, England can beat them in the group stage or at least aim for a point, they're not unbeatable.
Their qualifying form demonstrates that they can go all the way. Apart from holders France and the hard-to-beat Italy (with Totti my tip for being the top scorer), it would be hard for anyone else to do it. Teams like Germany, England, and Brazil can upset these teams though.
Smart money is on Argentina with Crespo banging them in!
I'm inclined to agree with the earlier comment from Ronald van Loon - write off the Italians at your peril. They are now a team of champions peaking just at the right time. They are the tournament team without any doubt and have the luxury of a legend like Giovanni Trappatoni to guide them all the way to lifting their fourth world cup title.
Argentina will win it. They have so many good attackers that even Batistuta is not guaranteed a starting place!
Argentina are arguably the strongest attacking footballing force in the world. This will make them extremely hard to beat, and they are deservedly favourites to lift the famous trophy.
However, I cannot help but feel that their weakness lies in defence. Apart from Walter Samuel at Roma, they have no real strength in defence. I believe the Argentines may come unstuck against the Italians, who have world class defenders and goalkeepers to choose from, as well as exciting attacking players like Del Piero, Totti, Vieri and Pipo Inzaghi.
Although I'm French, I wouldn't be too disappointed to see Argentina lifting up the trophy! They are an exciting side and it's always a pleasure to see them play. They obviously are an ever better team with Saviola on the field!
Argentina will go all the way. They do not possess any of the self-doubt that plagues the England squad. They will have a tough test in the group stage, but I think this will only serve to boost their confidence and they will pretty much sail through the entire tournament. The only worry they will have is if they can come through their first game with Nigeria without sustaining any major injuries
Come June 2002 with one squad and Ronaldo fully fit by then Brazil will come out of their crisis and lift the World cup. Only an idiot would write of Brazil. However Argentina will be its closet rival.
I can't see Argentina having a problem qualifying from their group, and if England play like they did against Germany in Munich they should progress too. The problem is that England's Munich performance doesn't seem to happen all that often. They undoubtedly have some great players, but all too often perform like they did against Albania and Greece, where they struggled. I think Italy are actually the team to beat this time, and have the much easier side of the draw too. They won't encounter France or Argentina until the final.
Argentina probably will win the World Cup. It would take a minor disaster for them not win their opening group as they only really have one team to worry about, but I think Sweden are likely come out the losers when they meet each other. So I think it will be an Argentina Sweden one-two with Argentina going on to take the trophy as long as they don't meet France on the way.
They could quite easily win it. They have had a long qualifying campaign, but there hasn't really been any pressure on them with Brazil flapping around, and the supposedly stronger teams of South America not making an impact either.
They are well known for starting slowly so there could be an upset in the group matches, and if they qualify second the route to the final is not an easy one.
They look a very good bet, but the point about the World Cup is to peak at the right time. Argentina have always been masters of this in the past, and if the current team and coaching staff can manage that aspect they will probably be there at the end. I doubt they are as worried about the first round draw as we are, and don't be surprised if the England v Argentina match actually ends up a bit dull. Argentina will be pacing themselves and won't be at full tempo that early in the competition.
I honestly cannot see England getting a result against us apart from a defeat. Our players are on a different level - Crespo, Batigol, Veron and Claudio Lopez could finish England off in 45 minutes, let alone the full game. We are doubtlessly the favourites to win this trophy.
Argentina are the perennial favourites for the competition, but have become increasingly brittle in the final stages. The team no-one is talking about is Italy. They have a sound defence and some exciting players at the peak of their powers. I fancy them to progress from a relatively easy group to winning the whole thing.
England should be happy if they can get a draw against Argentina. Against REAL class strikers like Batistuta and Crespo, Sven should be looking for something better and FASTER than Arsenal's centre-backs. If England can manage to go through their group I think they should be ready to make a step forward this time round in the Cup.
France won the world cup in '98 because of their defence and their midfielders. Now they got good strikers and the rest is quite steady. I do think that Argentina will have to rely strongly on their defenders to go through to the final.
I tipped Argentina two years ago and I've seen nothing to change my opinion. In fact I feel more confident now after the way they qualified. If Batistuta (the world's most underrated player and after Van Basten the greatest striker I've ever seen) ,Redondo and Simeone are fully fit then I can't see them being stopped. Their defence would be a slight worry but I think they'll be okay.
I think it will be Argentina lifting the trophy in the Yokohama stadium in June. Attacking wise they are simply awesome and have terrific strength in depth and in Saviola a talent waiting to explode on the world stage. England should forget any illusions they may have of gaining revenge for St. Etienne and pray they can somehow scrape a point from their first round encounter
If Veron's recent form is anything to go by, they haven't got a chance!
They can go all the way, but the England-Argentina game will be the highlight of the competition!!!
|
|
  Eriksson's Latin link  Wonderful Argentina
Other top Sports Talk stories:
Links to more Sports Talk stories are at the foot of the page.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Links to more Sports Talk stories
|
|
||
 |
^^ Back to top | |
| Front Page | Football | Cricket | Rugby Union | Rugby League | Tennis | Golf | Motorsport | Boxing | Athletics | Other Sports | Sports Talk | In Depth | Photo Galleries | Audio/Video | TV & Radio | BBC Pundits | Question of Sport | Funny Old Game ------------------------------------------------------------ BBC News >> | BBC Weather >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- © MMII | News Sources | Privacy |
||
E-mail this story to a friend