I won't say much about the Turkey game. More than any individual performance, what stands out is that the team was able to make adjustments to improve. The US under Bradley (and Arena before him), because team depth was suspect, has had a tendency to stick with the gameplan whether it was working or not. Seeing Bradley make lineup adjustments to spark the attack gives me some comfort going into the tournament.
Now, the group D picks. This is actually a tough group to pick. Ghana and Germany are missing key players and Australia, while ostensibly the minnow of the group, has surprised people before.
Serbia vs. Ghana (6/13) - Draw
Germany vs. Australia (6/13) - Germany
Germany vs. Serbia (6/18) - Serbia
Ghana vs. Australia (6/19) - Ghana
Ghana vs. Germany (6/23) - Ghana
Australia vs. Serbia (6/23) - Serbia
1st Place: Ghana 2nd Place: Serbia
Rationale: What?!?!? Not picking Germany? How dare me! Call it a hunch, but Germany looks like a team that's desperate to under-perform. I also think Serbia deserves respect for winning one of the tougher qualifying groups (not that any of the European qualifying groups are actually that challenging... but I'll save my rant on the BS that is European qualification for another time). While I think Germany has some potential, Klose and Podolski are not the players they were in 2006. Who's the best player on that team without Ballack? Lahm? I don't like this Germany team, and I think Serbia and Ghana will be fast and motivated. In another group, I might be inclined to give the Socceroos a look, but I really think Australia is outclassed across the board.
Full Disclosure: The teams that get out of this group match up against the teams that get out of the US' group, so I'm hoping for as much discord as possible here.
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3 comments:
this will be the toughest group for sure. you're wrong about ghana though. boateng is no essien and karma is against them here - especially playing in the same group as germany. nice thought an african team doing well in the first african cup, but it'll be just a thought.
i think we're going with australia and i'd say serbia. serbia has the momentum and i think you're right about germany underperforming. every game count will count in this one.
fat rabbit
maybe you best take the aussie pick back - u.s. doing a number on them now!!
the black squirrel
Really? Germany not even second in this group? Some of this looks like wishful thinking to me, but I suppose I can get behind that.
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