SirFozzie Posted November 23, 2013 Share Posted November 23, 2013 after seeing yet another complaint filed in African qualifying, I think next time around, there should be no games played, instead the whole system should be played out via legal notices. Oh wait, that's what's going on now. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25060833 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted November 26, 2013 Author Share Posted November 26, 2013 Well FIFA rejected Burkina Faso's appeal http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/25113296 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted November 27, 2013 Author Share Posted November 27, 2013 Crane collapses, kills 3, severely damages stadium set to host WC opening ceremony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 I tried the Guardian's draw simulator the first time and got: Switzerland, USA, Cameroon, Portugal. We actually advance with Portugal and immediately get whomped by Spain but still, baby steps people. The other draw I got with USA, Uruguay, France and Holland would be an epic ass-raping. EDIT: Ooh. Got a draw with Switzerland, USA, Ecuador and Greece where not only did we top the group, but get past Russia and Cameroon to make it all the way to the semis and... Spain, who beat us and BELGIUM to win it all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 2, 2013 Author Share Posted December 2, 2013 The first one I ran with the Guardian one had the US with Germany, England and Ghana. And then Ghana and England advanced???? So yeah that special "upset percentage" they added might be a little too high. EDIT - Of course, I ran one that had Belgium, US, Bosnia and the Ivory Coast. In that one Belgium and the US advanced They then proceeded to met again in the Finals (with Belgium winning) Umm... yeah... no... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted December 2, 2013 Share Posted December 2, 2013 Someone tweeted they ended with a final of brazil vs bosnia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Rippa or someone with more knowledge of FIFA how would you rank the teams in each of the pots? I am an idiot and this doesn't have much thought POT 1 1) Spain 2) Brazil 3) Germany 4) Argentina 5) Uruguay 6) Colombia 7) Belgium 8) Switzerland Random Thoughts on Pot 1 You could argue that Brazil should be the top team in Pot 1 because they are playing at home. It basically is 1 and 1a. I put Colombia ahead of Belgium solely because they beat Belgium in a friendly a week or so ago. (Belgium also lost to Japan recently) POT 2 1) Netherlands 2) Italy 3) Portugal 4) England 5) Russia 6) Croatia 7) Greece 8) Bosnia-Herzegovina Random Thoughts on Pot 2 I like England and they really should be better than me randomly having them at 4 but I think everyone around these parts are well familiar with England and disappointment in big tournaments. POT 3 1) France 2) Ghana 3) Chile 4) Ecuador 5) Nigeria 6) Ivory Coast 7) Cameroon 8) Algeria Random Thoughts on Pot 3 Fucking hell - anyone who really can tell you much about the Africian teams outside of Ghana is good and Algeria is bad is a liar. And we will assume they will all field elgible players for the length of the tournament. Basically anyone wanting to avoid a group of death doesn't want to draw France or Ghana. And the US DEFINITELY doesn't want to see Ghana. Well and Chile, who probably could be a sleeper team. POT 4 1) Japan 2) United States 3) Australia 4) Mexico 5) South Korea 6) Costa Rica 7) Honduras 8) Iran Random Thoughts on Pot 4 The US expectations are way too high so they most likely will crash out with 1 point. I think everyone always forgets how good Japan is and how much fun they are to watch. I am an Aussie mark so there. Mexico probably should be considered the true #3 as I am pretty sure they finally have their head out of their asses. They are way too talented to keep playing like they did. Only reason I have Iran at 8 is because I know nothing about them - they probably are world's better than Costa Rica and Honduras. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Oh and apparently FIFA is supposed to announce the Draw Format today. And little note I stumbled upon ESPN statistician Paul Carr ran through the permutations and, based on his national team rankings, found that the U.S. had a 43 percent chance to move through to the second round next summer. Its worst-case-scenario group – Spain/Netherlands/Chile — produces a 15.3 percent chance of advancement. Those odds improve to an optimal 73.6 percent if the Americans are drawn with Switzerland, Algeria and Croatia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 Aww... so FIFA threw a little curveball Here are the Pots POT 1: Argentina, Brazil, Belgium, Colombia, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Uruguay POT 2: Algeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Chile, Ecuador POT 3: USA, Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Australia, Iran, Japan, South Korea, POT 4: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, England, France, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia As you can see - Pot 4 has all 9 UEFA teams in it. So on the day of the draw, they apparently going to randomly pick a team to be in Pot 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 So it's conceivable there could be a group like Spain/Italy/Netherlands/Sacrificial Lamb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 No just because the other note was that they will change on the fly to prevent three UEFA teams from being in the same group. It was unclear HOW they were going to do that but yeah... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cristobal Posted December 3, 2013 Share Posted December 3, 2013 Obvious answer would be that the UEFA team in Pot 2 must be paired with one of the South American teams in Pot 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 3, 2013 Author Share Posted December 3, 2013 So far only Ultra Zone has updated their simulator to reflect the new pots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nofuture Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Pretty good article showing the inequality teams will face depending on their draw. For example, one team will have to travel 3482 miles in the first round compared to one team only traveling 435 miles. http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2013/12/02/the-numbers-that-show-the-inequity-of-the-fifa-2014-world-cup-draw-2/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 As a reminder - coverage of the draw starts at 11:30 am EST but knowing FIFA - the actual draw wont start till around 12:15 pm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Oooh.... ESPN3 is streaming the World Feed (they started at 11 am) I have no idea who any of these people are but I am totally down with this as opposed to Alexi Lalas babbling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 I think calling Marta the greatest women's football player ever is debatable but I guess that is a conversation that only me and Slotman care about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubbymark Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, and Alex Morgan (sometime down the line) will have something to say about that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Draw is happening shortly (they are explaining rules now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Most of the stars being guys who I grew up watching and are now retired is not helping me feel younger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Spanish Waiter Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Mia Hamm, Abby Wambach, and Alex Morgan (sometime down the line) will have something to say about that. They would be wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cubbymark Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 Univision show discussing possibility (or lack thereof) of the draw being rigged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 I missed who this women is who is helping with the draw I am assuming Brazilian super model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nofuture Posted December 6, 2013 Share Posted December 6, 2013 So Pot "X" is the rigged pot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RIPPA Posted December 6, 2013 Author Share Posted December 6, 2013 Here we go Im gonna be sick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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