Pungent thoughts: No group of death in South Africa 2010
December 1, 2009 at 2:41 am 2 comments
Seemingly, the high-seed teams (and the rest of draw-pots) in the World Cup of South Africa are determined. Maybe, the rumors about famous and news guests will increase… or prepare to see the likes of Beckenbauer, Pele, Karembeu and the rest of the gang… once again.
Image: servifutbol.com
Germany, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, France, England, France, Italy and South Africa. Sweet and comprenhensible list, beyond the weird formulas used by FIFA for these draws.
I’m just waiting for criticizing for France high-seeding, while Netherlands and Portugal are stuck with second-fiddle roles. I just have to say one thing: the performances in recent FIFA tournaments are taking in consideration for this seeding. So, the French succesful campaign in Germany let them to get the nod. It isn’t the case for Portugal and Netherlands, especially the latest.
The rest of the post are these (made by geographical criteria):
Pot 2: Denmark, Switzerland, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Netherlands and Portugal.
Pot 3: Paraguay, Chile, Uruguay, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria and Algeria.
Pot 4: Mexico, USA, Honduras, Japan, Koreas, Australia and New Zealand.
As a loyal football fan, I find this system terrible. You must be prepared for watch a boring and predictable group phase.
Just imagine about this possible group: Spain, Slovakia, Nigeria and North Korea. Boring as a Geraldo talkshow marathon. I don´t complain about Spain, they´re the real deal. But. ¿can you imagine that team playing the weak North Korea? The Spaniards wouldn’t need even a 50% of their capacity to get the three points.
The existence of a group of death in this scenario is minimal. It would take a group drawn with high-seeded team (minus South Africa), Netherlands or Portugal, Cote D’Ivoire and the USA. Nothing less. It will occur if the 0,0000013% of possibilities works…
It´s a shame. And FIFA has to take the blame for it. They want more money, more TV coverage. This have turned the World Cup in a great show for the ones who want to know more about different countries and cultures… but pretty horrid for the ones who look for well-played football.
This is ironic. I never watched the 16-teams World Cups. But I miss them.
Entry filed under: Pungent thoughts: football. Tags: Football, group of death, North Korea football team, Pungent thoughts, Spain football team, World Cup, World Cup draw.
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