Boo, I'm hardly a clairvoyant, so it seems. England SHOULD have win this game. And yeah, Wayne lost his flair and should have been replaced after 1st half.
I haven't seen any of news of riots in other cities, only Marseilles. Let's do an experiment: when team England moves to Lens, let's see what happens to the riots.
I was in 1 minute from guessing the result of England - Russia. It's such a disappointment. To me, England deserved to win, they created a lot of chances and were very quick. But in the same time, my bet on Wales paid off
I was in 1 minute from guessing the result of England - Russia. It's such a disappointment. To me, England deserved to win, they created a lot of chances and were very quick. But in the same time, my bet on Wales paid off
Horrible stuff going on with the hooliganism. As can be seen from my facebook newsfeed, it is particularly shocking for many American fans, who are new to the game and unaware of the history of hooliganism. Had to tell my brother about the Heysel disaster to put this in perspective. So senseless. With the attack on the gay club in Orlando, this is a horrible week in terms of violence.
That said, let me move on to a better topic. My predictions!
Group A 1. France: The hosts and presumptive favorites. With Pogba and Griezmann they have two star players, and a very impressive supporting cast with great holding players. Also a great keeper 2. Swiss: good squad, should make it out
Group B 1. England: Quite a talented generation here, with some young players. I am actually positive about England for once! 2. Wales: Top-heavy squad in terms of talent, but a very cohesive unit with a great spirit I would actually switch my two now after the first result, but I will stick with what I initially believed when I first made my predictions
Group C 1. Zee Germans: World Champions for a reason 2. Poland: Quite a good team, will surprise people this tournament
Group D 1. Spain: People are sleeping on them for no reason. They had a poor World Cup, but are still immensely talented. Even better, their talent is evenly distributed across the team, with no gaps. 2. Croatia: Great midfield
Group E GROUP OF DEATH 1. Belgium: Solid team, but missing fullbacks. Good enough to finish on top of a hard group, but with two natural centerbacks playing as fullbacks I can see them struggle in later stages against some of the teams with better widemen. 2. Italy: Picking Ireland is enticing, and I'm supporting them this tournament, and Zlatan is of course a god, but I think Italy slightly pips Sweden to this spot.
Group F 1. Portugal: In typical Ronaldo fashion, he has the easiest group. Shouldn't even be a competition. 2. Austria: Second best of a bad bunch
Third Place Teams: Interesting scenario here, since some good teams will miss out because they are in harder groups. Its almost like the worse the third place team you are, the better your chances of advancing. 1. Turkey: The Turks have a strong team, with some great players. They are the best of my third place finishers, and I'm going to give them the best chance of making it despite today's bad result. 2. Sweden: Unfortunately for Ireland, the team I am supporting as I am there now studying abroad and they have been just wonderful hosts, I think Sweden will beat them. The Swedes will also need a result against Italy most likely, but if they can beat the Irish and draw another match then 4 points should be enough. 3. Russia: Slovakia is not a bad team, but if the Russians beat them then they are at 4 points already, which should get them through. That is, if they are not sent home because of the behavior of some crazy fans! 4. Romania: I can see them beating Albania and getting some sort of result against the Swiss
We shall see! Will give more predictions after the group stage begins, but my ranking of the teams: First Tier: 1. Zee Germans 2. France 3. Spain 4. Belgium Second Tier: England, Portugal Third Tier: Croatia, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy
Here is my prediction based on my group stage choices. However, I am not confident making picks so early!
The real match will be between Germany and France. Germany has one hell of a difficult path to the final, having to beat Belgium, France and then maybe face Spain in the Final. That would be a gauntlet! I am picking France because they are at home, but if they meet Germany in the semis it would really be a coint toss.
Comments
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At the 92 minute I was on to 3 out of 4 accurate predictions as well... Double blow...
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Lastly... What is all this talk of Russia sending military personnel to support the team? Organised disruption? Madness!
Congrats to @Anduin for guessing 2 exact scores
This is the table so far:
TUR - CRO 0-1
POL- NIR 3-1
GER-UKR 2-1
Horrible stuff going on with the hooliganism. As can be seen from my facebook newsfeed, it is particularly shocking for many American fans, who are new to the game and unaware of the history of hooliganism. Had to tell my brother about the Heysel disaster to put this in perspective. So senseless. With the attack on the gay club in Orlando, this is a horrible week in terms of violence.
That said, let me move on to a better topic. My predictions!
Group A
1. France: The hosts and presumptive favorites. With Pogba and Griezmann they have two star players, and a very impressive supporting cast with great holding players. Also a great keeper
2. Swiss: good squad, should make it out
Group B
1. England: Quite a talented generation here, with some young players. I am actually positive about England for once!
2. Wales: Top-heavy squad in terms of talent, but a very cohesive unit with a great spirit
I would actually switch my two now after the first result, but I will stick with what I initially believed when I first made my predictions
Group C
1. Zee Germans: World Champions for a reason
2. Poland: Quite a good team, will surprise people this tournament
Group D
1. Spain: People are sleeping on them for no reason. They had a poor World Cup, but are still immensely talented. Even better, their talent is evenly distributed across the team, with no gaps.
2. Croatia: Great midfield
Group E GROUP OF DEATH
1. Belgium: Solid team, but missing fullbacks. Good enough to finish on top of a hard group, but with two natural centerbacks playing as fullbacks I can see them struggle in later stages against some of the teams with better widemen.
2. Italy: Picking Ireland is enticing, and I'm supporting them this tournament, and Zlatan is of course a god, but I think Italy slightly pips Sweden to this spot.
Group F
1. Portugal: In typical Ronaldo fashion, he has the easiest group. Shouldn't even be a competition.
2. Austria: Second best of a bad bunch
Third Place Teams: Interesting scenario here, since some good teams will miss out because they are in harder groups. Its almost like the worse the third place team you are, the better your chances of advancing.
1. Turkey: The Turks have a strong team, with some great players. They are the best of my third place finishers, and I'm going to give them the best chance of making it despite today's bad result.
2. Sweden: Unfortunately for Ireland, the team I am supporting as I am there now studying abroad and they have been just wonderful hosts, I think Sweden will beat them. The Swedes will also need a result against Italy most likely, but if they can beat the Irish and draw another match then 4 points should be enough.
3. Russia: Slovakia is not a bad team, but if the Russians beat them then they are at 4 points already, which should get them through. That is, if they are not sent home because of the behavior of some crazy fans!
4. Romania: I can see them beating Albania and getting some sort of result against the Swiss
We shall see!
Will give more predictions after the group stage begins, but my ranking of the teams:
First Tier:
1. Zee Germans
2. France
3. Spain
4. Belgium
Second Tier: England, Portugal
Third Tier: Croatia, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy
The real match will be between Germany and France. Germany has one hell of a difficult path to the final, having to beat Belgium, France and then maybe face Spain in the Final. That would be a gauntlet! I am picking France because they are at home, but if they meet Germany in the semis it would really be a coint toss.