Spain still favourites to win it

roll on monday...come on HONDURAS

not a time to panic, im on brazil, but spain will go through, by far and away the better team, it could be that the game may have took it out of them, torres winced a couple of times and inesta lookd done in, alonso also looked a spent force, but i think they will be alright.

Has to be doubtful if they qualify - if Chile draw with Swiss they only need a draw against Spain, which they could well get. Swiss only need to beat Honduras in that case.

I think if they end up second in their group they will play Brazil in the last sixteen. With Chile looking quite good today whose to say that Spain will even qualify for the second round.

could spain 2010 be the france of 2002...

i hope so

Brazil v Spain in next round looking very likely.

Suddenly every other team has to only beat one of the two favourites.

Biggest result of the tourney so far.

they will win there next two games, and i think Chile will beat the swiss, so it could very well go down to gd, i think they will spank the Hondurans

With Spain's price hardly moving atoll on here in the outright market after their first game with Switzerland, the layers are surely suggesting that the defeat to the cuckoo clock makers was irrelevant to Spain's aspirations of taking the world cup, but honestly I ask you, is that a valid judgement?

No. They are in denial. Same old Spain. They bottled it again.

I can see how they can still win the WC.

I cannot see how they should be favourites!

Agree,should not now be favs.They have made it harder to qualify by losing,and will have a tougher match in the next round should they finish 2nd.
I guess the bookies have to be a bit careful cos they are still a side full of talent and if it did come together they are still a big threat.But they certainly should not now be favs,thats for sure.

Plus, did they actually look that good, aside from missing goal chances? Playing a highly limited team, but couldn't make any headway - I think they might even struggle to hold Chile after todays performances. But, even if they do scrape through I can't see that they were more impressive than several other sides so far, which makes their 'favourite' price pretty silly.

Should never of been favorite even before today. Many have been saying that on here for months.

Yep,for a side that had 74% of possession,they certainly lacked ideas or invention,and that aint good enough!! I was very dissappointed with them having stuck up for them on various threads,but they let me down badly,and more importantly themselves.I honestly thought that there ultra confidence and undoubted talent would stand them in good stead,but if today is anything to go by,the old habits are still there.
They can still redeem themselves,but i have real doubts now.

Confidence will now be the thing most likely to be lacking.

And confidence is one of the most important things. Often underestimated by the average punter who thinks it's all about the form of the last 2 years or how well a player has played for their club this last season.Confidence is more important. This is why England are crap at penalties. It's the little voice in the back of the head that says we always lose on penalties. Now the Spanish players will be thinking we never win the World Cup.Imo it's a big ask for them to overcome that now.

To be fair,one could be forgiven for thinking that Spain would have plenty of confidence.Given their winning record over the past few years,and winning their 1st tournament plus a lot of their players winning major club trophies.
Its not over yet,and an early goal in their next game could see a total difference to today,and the football they are capable of could return.
Next Monday is a massive game for this side- no doubt!!

Brazil just gone clear favz

Even if they struggle to a 1-0 win I don't see it will help their confidence

Against Honduras that was

An early goal and a convincing win and its all different,such is this game of football.

Not beyond the realms of possibility that they win both remaining games, Chile beat the cheesemen and Spain still top the group. See West Germany in 1982, lost first game and still topped group. Funnier things have happened....

surely only a sedriously sick man would consider backing spain as favs  at this stage, qualifying is in serious doubt.only blind faith would allow anyone to back em at the mo.

luckynot to be fair Germany do have a past record of losing matches and coming back and still doing well. Unlike Spain who just have a past record of turning up and playing badly in the World Cup.Also I think you will find Italy won the 82 World cup not Germany.

I wouldn't back them at the price they are now but I wouldn't give up on them either.

They will surely beat Honduras and whilst I have a lot of respect for Chile, I think they may play into Spain's hands unless they can find a less offensive way of playing. I'm not sure they can. 2 wins is in all likelihood going to be enough to see Spain through.

But if Spain can't manage to win this group (and it's out of their hands now) they've given themselves a much tougher route to the final and for that reason I reckon they should be a bigger price than they are at the moment. And I've already backed them pre-tourney.

lots of empty pockets talking on here.. some are saying spain shouldnt be favs now.. so who should? germany in from about 14s after beating the real worst team in the tournament..

brazil after a much more ponderous display against north korea who most on here thought would be beaten out of sight but prob now say n korea are legends..

england after the hardest game of the top four in the betting? and lets face it.. it was.

holland? i must admit i was impressed by these in the second half.

argentina who beat nigeria 1-0 after an early goal?

i lost on a little double on spain but on another day they would have been 3-0 up before the swiss had a sniff.. pique should have scored, villa should have donebetter twice int he first half

did someone on here really say alonso looked a spent force? ffs he dominated the game and kept spain going most of the time. always willing to have the ball and go wide with it or to villa if he was free.. must watch different games imo

Thought Alonso was quite good.

Thought Silva was the one who let them down a bit.

Fabregas should be out there, even though he is a dirty gooner.

Tough call to name the fav now.None of the so called top sides have solid credentials from what i have seen,and none look they should be favs.Germany beat Australia well and looked good but i think any of the top sides would have done the same in that match.Brazil and Spain were dissappointing against teams they should beat comfortably,England too although they did play a pretty good side.Holland laboured at times but did improve in 2nd half,and Italy and France look well short of what is required and dont to me have what it takes to get better.
Could not back anyone with any confidence at the moment,and imo best to wait till it really gets going and teams have to produce- if that ever happens!! We may then start to see a side look the part of favourite.

silva is shyte imo as ive said before.. headless chicken and i hope united dont get him..

not sure abuot fabregas in the role silva plays they will prob play torres..

alonso was the heart beat of the side imo... xavi was as quiet as i have seen for a bit and they were playng against 10 defenders and lost to a dozy goal

buddeliea even tho you dont rate england.. NOW do you see why i said the price wasnt much wrong and why i said so?

as daft as it sounds if england had won 3-0 they wouldnt be far off second favs now

Pretty much agree with all that.

Iniesta also sh1ts me, he is terrific with the ball, no doubt, but he is about as tough as rice paper.

Plus i'ma Chelsea supporter and he completely d1cked us that time...

Did not mention Argentina,maybe they should be fav.Of all the sides i have seen they looked good going forward with Messi looking lively,but they did seem to tire 2nd half i thought,and defensively look a bit iffy.
No,no side really deserves to be fav,so lets have 6 joint favs!!

i like iniesta.. is the most skillful and all round imo out of all the spanish players.. isnt the toughest i agree but they get the job done with barca and their holding mid doesnt make all the tackles.. they harass and mither high up the pitch..

i wouldnt lose faith in them yet that was like their tune up imo and i havent backed them but i did villa and rooney top goalscorers..

i am just amazed when ppl say england CANT win then watch some of the other top sides playing much lesser (on paper0 opposition and make a pigs ear out of it and we still get hammered constantly.

buddeliea a more realistic book would prob have about 4 at 7-8s and thwe other three or four 'top' sides at about 10-12s

Yeah I can never understand the downcast attitude about the English team. 

The funniest one is the picking out random hype teams like bloody Mexico and claiming they have class all over England when in truth they have one bloke tops who would be even considered for English selection.

just leave em to it.. all of them who think layign england match to match is free money will lose in the long term.. we dont lose often at these things and tend to get to the qfs or semis.. just how it is

Not sure how you figure that out morrissey, England have played twelve times and only made it to the semis twice.

what about the quarters then? seems like recently when england have been at a world cup and got through the group stage the qfs is the least of their ambitions.. aND  i did say qfs or semis..

since 1966

won 66

qfs 70 w germany

82 first round

86 qfs argentina

90 semis germany

98 2nd round argentina

2002 qfs brazil

2006 qfs portugal

not the worst record really is it.. and its not like we ever lose to 'average' teams either..

Yeh Morrissey, i can see what you were saying about England,and compared to the other sides they ARE about the right sort of price,but i was expecting more from some of them!! I still think we are short of what is required cos i seem to disagree with our manager!! Who knows he may prove me wrong,he certainly should being a proven manager over a long time,but i just dont see his current formation winning a WC. If he changes and drops Heskey i may think differently.

buddeliea a more realistic book would prob have about 4 at 7-8s and thwe other three or four 'top' sides at about 10-12s

I would agree with that.

Thing is about Spain,IF they were to get an earlyish goal against Honduras the flowing class football would probably surface and they could win impressively,what price then??
Truth is it is really wide open and any team that we know is capable of playing good winning Football could win the WC,and Spain are one of those.

spain would resort to their pre tournament price imo.. i saw them as short as 7/2 with some books after brazil less than impressive!!! ridiculous.

england will shorten a point or two with one or two convincing wins as well imo..

Germany should be favourites at the moment, end off.

no they shouldnt.. end of.. played one woeful team who have no pace, no skill and dont defend that well and who played a tiny midfielder up front no his own lol

Ive been saying for some time that England have as strong a squad as anyone and considerably better than most.  I also happen to believe that they played pretty well in their opening game.

Of course, when you post such views, the idiots on here immediately think you're saying England will win it.  Im not saying that but having seen all the teams now, I'm more convinced than ever that we are capable of going a long way.

nah if you ahve seen me mate you will know my thoughts.. we have a top squad on paper imo even if all players arent world class whatever that means these days.. if david silva is world class then so is swp...

Just saw an interesting stat on ESPN to add to the mix.  No team that has lost their first round match has won the World Cup.

morrissey Joined: 09 Jan 02
Replies: 6100 17 Jun 10 06:10   


lots of empty pockets talking on here.. some are saying spain shouldnt be favs now.. so who should?



Brazil. They should have been favs from the start. Brazil have won 5 from 18 World Cups. So if this is only a average Brazilian team they should be 5/2.Or 3/1 because they are a bit below average.


germany in from about 14s after beating the real worst team in the tournament..


What makes you think that. How do you know that it wasn't the germans that made them look bad.

brazil after a much more ponderous display against north korea who most on here thought would be beaten out of sight but prob now say n korea are legends..

england after the hardest game of the top four in the betting? and lets face it.. it was.

holland? i must admit i was impressed by these in the second half.

argentina who beat nigeria 1-0 after an early goal?

i lost on a little double on spain but on another day they would have been 3-0 up before the swiss had a sniff.. pique should have scored, villa should have donebetter twice int he first half


Yes same old Spain.

did someone on here really say alonso looked a spent force? ffs he dominated the game and kept spain going most of the time. always willing to have the ball and go wide with it or to villa if he was free.. must watch different games imo

Right at the moment seems like there are about 8 teams that could all have a pretty decent chance of winning this WC, and when they meet one another there will be little between the sides.

could well be the odd goal difference between these sides.