The World Cup Round Down

England are stinking out the joint but will probably come right against Slovenia.
The Argentinians are the class act and the Spaniards, Brazilians and Italians need to step up to the plate. It hasn't been a great tournament so far but I expect more in the knockout round.

Stand by for a team by team synposis later on in the tournament.

In the mean time here are some of my takes on the history of the World Cup

8 Greatest Winning Teams (in order) since 1950

1. Brazil 1970
2. Italy 1982
3. Argentina 1986
4. W. Germany 1974
5. Brazil 2002
6. England 1966
7. France 1998
8. Brazil 1958

8 Greatest teams never to have won the World Cup

1. Netherlands 1974 (in my opinion the second greatest World cup team ever)
2. Hungary 1954
3. Brazil 1982
4. England 1970
5. Brazil 1998
6. Brazil 1950
7.Italy 1970
8. Netherlands 1998

3 Weakest teams ever to win the World Cup

1. West Germany 1954
2. Argentina 1978
3. Brazil 1994


5 Weakest teams ever to reach the World Cup Final (Weakest first)

1. Argentina 1990
2. Germany 2002
3. West Germany 1986
4. Netherlands 1978
5. Italy 1994

5 Most Exciting World Cup Competitions

1. Mexico 1970
2. England 1966
3. Switzerland 1954
4. Spain 1982
5. France 1998

5 Most boring World Cups

1. Italy 1990 (by a mile)
2. Chile 1962
3. Brazil 1950
4. Japan/South Korea 2002
5. South Africa 2010 (possibly)

Ten Greatest Matches

1. Italy 4 West Germany 3 - 1970
2. Italy 3 Brazil 2 - 1982
3. Portugal 5 North Korea 3 - 1966
4. England 4 West Germany 2 - 1966
5. Netherlands 2 Argentina 1 - 1998
6. West Germany 3 England 2 - 1970
7. Italy 3 Argentina 1 - 1982
8. Argentina 2 England 2 - 1998 (Argentina won on penalties)
9. Scotland 3 Netherlands 2 - 1978
10. Brazil 4 Italy 1 - 1970

2 Most Boring Finals

1. West Germany 1 Argentina 0 - 1990
2. Brazil 0 Italy 0 - 1994 (Brazil won on penalties)

Ten Greatest performances by a player at a World Cup

1. Mardonna - 1986
2. Garrincha - 1958
3. Garrincha - 1962
4. Zidane - 1998
5. Rossi - 1982
6. Cruyff - 1974
7. Ronaldo - 2002
8. Muller - 1970
9. Lato - 1974
10. Kocsic - 1954

10 Most Disappointing Teams

1. Italy - 1966
2. France - 2002
3. England - 1950
4. Brazil - 1966
5. England - 1958
6. Argentina - 1994
7. Spain - 1998
8. Italy 2002
9. Portugal 2002
10. Sweden 1990

6 Best Cinderella Teams

1. Bulgaria - 1994
2. Croatia - 1998
3. Belgium - 1986
4. South Korea - 2002
5. Chile - 1962
6. Turkey - 2002

World Cup Predictions

Argentina to win the whole tournament. I am backing England but the South Americans have far and away the greatest attacking force in the tournament (although there are questions about the defense which may leave me with egg on my face).

Here are my predictions for Friday and Saturdays matches. A few on the edge

SA vs Mexico - A draw. Possibly 1-1.
Uruguay vs France. 1-0 to the French.

England vs USA. 2-0 England.

Lets see...I may have to rethink my strategy.

On World Hypocrisy

An Excellent Article from Front Page Magazine by Pilar Rahola

Why don’t we see demonstrations in London, Paris and Barcelona against Islamic dictatorships? Or demonstrations against the Burmese dictatorship?

Why aren’t there demonstrations against the enslavement of millions of women who live without any legal protection?

Why aren’t there demonstrations against the use of children as human bombs where there is conflict with Islam?

Why has there been no leadership in support of the victims of the Islamic dictatorship in Sudan?

Why is there never any outrage against the acts of terrorism committed against Israel?

Why is there no outcry by the European Left against Islamic fanaticism? Why doesn’t it defend Israel’s right to exist?

Why confuse support of the Palestinian cause with the defense of Palestinian terrorism?

Finally, the million dollar question: Why is the Left in Europe and around the world obsessed with the two most solid democracies, the United States and Israel, and not with the worst dictatorships on the planet? The two most solid democracies, who have suffered the bloodiest attacks of terrorism, and the Left doesn’t care.

For the rest go to: Front Page