Uruguay to win the world cup

They have a live chance
They won coppa america in Argentina.
Brazil and Spain apart they can beat any other team

They are 15/8  to top the group. I think that's a great bet.  Can get off to a good start with a win against Honduras.

if there is going to be an unexpected wc winner it will be uruguay imo - they went close last time so they have the belief and confidence - they have a set style of play and a very solid team with some excellent players. they are in their own back-yard so they will feel at home, will have have plenty of support and conditions will suit. it all points to a good wc for them.

Yeah, Honduras are not very good.  If they get results against Ecuador and Switzerland they might England are in trouble.

Uruguay will do England for starters. And no, I am not Irish before I get stupid replies.

28/1 is going to look big come QF stages.

They seem confident that Suarez will be back in time for the World Cup. I'm not sure how much the surgery will affect him. It's one of these things, you wont know until he plays. It can often be psychological, with the player scared to do damage to himself, especially if he hasn't been given enough time to recover properly. If that doubt is in his head he might perform very poorly. It's a bad blow for Uruguay and could be massive boost to England's chances of qualifying.

Uruguay wont even make it out the group stage AWFUL BET

Brazil at these odds are a mug bet imo. The problem with this Brazil side is they haven't proved themselves at all. They didn't have to qualify. All they've done is win a friendly tournament that no one really cared about, except them. I would wait to see what Brazil can do in the first round qualifying section before I even think of having a bet on them. They have everything to prove, including dealing with the intense pressure on them. Personally, I think they'll struggle in this competition. I don't fancy them at all.

I hope they come out and play dazzling samba football and prove me wrong. I really do.

I was at that game too! Mexico r@ped them!

Interesting formatting.  Is that 4-4-2?

neymar didn't look much like "a supreme talent" this season in la liga

I thought it interesting that the likes of Messi & Aguero seemed injured more often than not but were fit and well at the end of the season and Neymar had a comparatively quiet season where as Ronaldo was producing the goods on a regular basis at club level and particularly in the champions league but played poorly by his high standards in the champions league final and actually looked burnt out.

Neymar's Senior career*


Years
Team Apps† (Gls)†

2009–2013
Santos 103 (54)

2013–
Barcelona 26 (9)

National team‡


2009
Brazil U17 3 (1)

2011
Brazil U20 7 (9)

2012
Brazil U23 7 (4)

2010–
Brazil 47 (30)

247lol, this is neymar's chance to prove himself. he will never get a better opportunity than this to shine... no excuses! and that goes for messi too. i'm fed up hearing so many excuses for these prima donnas. it's time to put up or shut up.

247lol, you are talking about stats and as any right thinking person knows stats can be very misleading. If you are going to use your "facts" as an argument then you need to do so comprehensively, not just cherry picking the "facts" that suit your argument the best.

You produce a list of Neymar's goals, okay but what were the circumstances of those goals? How many were the important match wining goals when it counted and how many were consolation/meaningless goals? Also what did Neymar contribute to those games overall? Goals cant tell you that.

A very recent example. The history books will say that Ronaldo scored in the CL final. That is a fact. Ronaldo's supporters will claim this stat as proof of his genius, what they won't tell us is that Ronaldo was non-existent in the game, made no impact at all except for a pen that was scored without any pressure on him when the game was over.

Bale scored the winning goal when it mattered, but he also played poorly. The best player on the pitch was Di Maria who didn't score but is the main reason RM won the trophy. You would only know this if you watched the game. And this is why I only go by what I see with my own eyes. I have watched Neymar all season for Barca and he has been poor, we saw flashes of ability but that is all. I do not rate him as anywhere near best in the world, not even close. He may prove himself to be in due course but at this moment in time he has not.

Stats tell you nothing, nothing at all. They are meaningless drivel.

I think we already know Ronaldo is one the best players we have seen for a long time and I have already pointed out on another post(England will surprise thread) that Ronaldo had been producing all season which may explain his lacklustre performance in the champions league final although it could be said that maybe when the real pressure is on he doesn't produce the goods in the games that matter(Euro final v Greece ?).
Also pointed out that Neymar has had a relatively quiet season for Barcelona and Messi and Aguero had missed quite a few matches through injury, point I think I am making is have players been saving themselves deliberately for the world cup ? where as Ronaldo knows deep down Portugal won't be winning so has produced all season on the club scene.
I will agree on the stats point because following stats has cost me money in the past but they can be helpful in proving a point

Point already made that Neymar and others have been saving themselves for the World Cup which is in his country which makes it of much more significance.

will be lucky to get out of group same as italy,, going home early though 2nd rd gone

Well that what we were hoping for Davey that Uruguay were going to badly miss Suarez and that he won't turn up fit for the world cup, Rooney had been off a month and look how bad he looked last night this has come at the wrong time for Suarez and the right one for England.

What no one has discussed is what a massive advantage the heat is going to be for Uruguay over England & Italy, plus the fact they should get an easy 3 points on the board early, which will take alot of pressure off.

I wouldn't worry too much if Suarez even misses the group stages, as Forlan & Cavanni are more than capable and it would keep Suarez fresh for knockout stages..