Who can stop Brazil ???

[Ipoh Shark]

Ok, danny. Still a bit early (key injuries can happen in the next few months) but my 2 cents worth.

Group stages
Brazil is in Group F with Croatia, Australia and Japan. The most dangerous name here is Croatia. Croatia was unbeaten in their Group going 7-3-0, GS 21 GA 5. Teams like these which do not concede many and have no problems scoring themselves will frustrate Brazil. The bad news is they face each other in the 1st match, so I only rate an upset here at 35%. Imho, Australia has only 25% chance of upsetting Brazil and that is due to the Miracle worker Hiddink, or else it’ll be even lower. Japan will not be a threat, a draw would be considered an “upset”.
Even if Brazil lose 1 game here, cannot see them going out in the Group stage (So didn’t the whole world when France went out the last time).

2nd round
Brazil will play against Italy, Czech, Ghana or USA (in Group E), most likely Czech as Brazil will want to avoid a meeting with Italy. Brazil will play to the result they want in their final Group match against Japan, as it will be played after the result of Group E is known. Ghana or USA does not have the clout to upset Brazil. Czech is dangerous on their day but I have a feeling that this Czech team is past it, chances of an upset is only 30%.

Quarter finals
Whatever happens Brazil will meet opponents from Group G or H in the qf. U can take ur pick from France, Togo, Spain or Ukraine to progress this far.
France- other than flashes of brilliance from Zizou or Henry, cannot see how the ageing French can contain the magic of some younger Brazilians waiting to burst onto the world stage. 35% chance of upset.
Togo- unknown but qf is as far as they’ll go (if they get there). Don’t think Brazil will lose to an unknown African team.
Spain- should be good to watch stuff with end to end excitement. 40% chance of an upset, should be higher if they have a more experienced squad. Brazil has attacking edge.
Ukraine- solid and can keep it tight, it’s no surprise that they were the 1st to qualify to Germany. Shevchenko, supported by Vorobei and Voronin, needs only a glimpse to get the vital goal. 40% chance of upset.

Semis
At this stage, will most likely meet teams at the top half. Spain or Italy (if they do not meet earlier), Germany, Poland, England, Sweden, Argentina, Netherlands, Mexico or Portugal will be mouth watering. Other than Poland (which should have been long gone by this stage), all others are capable of pulling an upset. 60-70% chance of an upset at this stage.

"Home ground" for the Europeans means the whole of Europe will be behind any European teams which play against Brazil.

[odannyboy]

Yes, it is a shame that every major tournament there afew big names out due to injury, but it always happens and sometimes its gives new talent a chance.

Looking at both Korea, Portugal,....Egypt (Afr nations) and many teams across the years, home advantage always plays its part. Also worth considering is the fact that nearly all the Brazilian team play in Europe anyway and I,m sure they won't be short on support, even this far from Rio !!!

So the orginal question.....who can stop Brazil ??

They can and will be stopped and going on recent history, like others I can't see past Argentina or Mexico to be the men for the job.
Off course theres still a part of me that would love to think it will be England
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Football is simple, but the hardest thing to do is play simple football.

[king pete]

[Seagull]

Nice to see that the poll is taking a decidedly patriotic shape!

Those bets are even worse than scorecasts - which I wouldn't touch with a bargepoll. There are enough variables in predicting the winner of a match let alone a tounament and top scorer.
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[chilin_dude]

45s on Messi to be top scorer are good IMHO as are 40s on Lampard.

[zagreb]

After last nights friendly i have to say i was very impressed with Italy`s demolition of Germany.

O.K. i know Germany are not what they used to be but on home soil they are hard to beat (England 5 Germany 1 excluded )

I also know i will be accused of predjudice but Italy have a well balanced squad great Keeper in Buffon strong midfield and attack and the only weakness strangely could be defence even then they have Cannovaro and Nesta.

Early days yet and Italy could face Brazil in the K.O. phase but worth an investment.

[odannyboy]

Just found this which I started in February......

Think the samba boys have shown their beatable this World Cup, but take a look at some of the views, those who tipped Argentina look to be on too a good thing. Then again, France, Italy and England are all still alive.

Do you still rate a French upset at 35% then Ipoh ???

Good views from all by the way
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Football is simple, but the hardest thing to do is play simple football.

[aye66]

if brazil defend like they did against ghana, it'll be curtains for them. Drop adriano and put on robinho, and they'll have a chance. Drop emerton too as vieira/zidane will dominate him in my opinion.

france can play the same formation but malouda has to be dropped for the brazil match in my opinion. A bit contentious, and I know that wiltord is getting bad press in france at the moment, but he could do a decent job in malouda's place and his experience will be vital. Let zizou play up there with henry, even though he hasn't provided an assist for him. He's the only player who can get the best out of wiltord by bringing him into play. I thought ribery finally showed what a good player he was last night. I've been raving about this guy for most of last season... he's really the new zizou in the making. zizou peaked when he was around 25, ribery can do it as he still very young. This is the man who destroyed the england U21 last season in the uefa euro u21 playoffs, and he's been outstanding for marseille as well. I hope an english club comes in for him as he's proved he can handle the english game by his U21 performance.

[Ipoh Shark]

Another piece of evidence on how predictable this World Cup has been. If a novice like me can predict (some months before kickoff) most of the teams which will survive up to this stage, then more experienced guys here will have got the eventual winner correct.

yes, danny, it is still 35% for a France win (this before the AH odds is out). As i said,

[aye66]

[aye66]

I would think the probability of a low scoring game is higher though 2-1 is a decent shout.. could see it going that way. Was discussing it at length with my brazillian mate today about this match. I think the brazillians will be a bit cagey about playing against the french.

It's a race against time for the brazillians. Robinho is crucial and so is kaka. Adriano has to be dropped if Robinho is fit. Emerson also has to be dropped in favour of G. Silva or Juninho. You have to take into account that Juninho was a sub in the last game and it's difficult to come on from the bench and make a great impact... that said, he did have a good shot attempted which sailed just over the bar against Ghana. It was close.
To be honest, our (me mate and I) main discussion was who was better suited to play this match in place of emerson... silva or juninho. Silva is a good defensively, while Juninho's knowledge of the french could prove beneficial. Bearing in mind that setpieces could decide the outcome, his freekicks and his long range shooting would also prove handy. Brazil might go aggressive first and then defensive once they get the lead, ie put Juninho and replace him with Silva when they're in front. Or they might go safety first with Silva and put on Juninho if they're behind. They could also stick with Emerson and play the same lineup as the Ghana match with the exception of Robinho coming in for Adriano.

2-1 to the french is a reasonable shout. The french hasn't conceded more than 1 goal in a match for some time... and defensively they're on song... I do think that brazil can score against the french tho, so it would be either 1-1, 2-1 in my opinion as a value bet (or i might take both!)... of course, i may change my mind when the lineups get revealed, and the above's just food for thought at the moment.

[jkmccrann]

Well, at least 10% of us were right.