Uruguay to win the world cup

not a chance...

they wont even get out of the group

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

The advantage Suarez has over the English squad is inestimable, knowing them ALL inside out.  Uruguay will exploit that to the full.  England's players will know little about them though, other than scouting reports and I've never known a dossier to win a match yet.
When Uruguay beat Costa Rica and England ( maybe ) draw against Italy then the game on Thursday 19th June becomes MASSIVE for England, who will play for a draw, and another point, to allow them to attempt to exploit Costa Rica in their last match.
So, clearly, if England fail to win at least their second point against Uruguay, in their second match, they will be packing their bags.
England's best hope of doing anything in this World Cup is via set pieces - at least they have two fine exponents of those in Rooney and Gerrard.  They can't hope to play effectively in these debilitating conditions.

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.

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.

it should also be noted that uruguay won the wc the last time it was held in brazil

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

midfields trash although no where near as bad as polands or montenegros

they will gte second behind italy in the group but wont win it imo unless they improve dramatically

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.

suarez now doubtful with knee injury...

i said they wouldnt get out of the group beforehand, and im sticking to it...

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.

anyone watching Costa flopping last night will be very concerned about Suarez.

Uruguay wont even make it out the group stage AWFUL BET

Well they do have Godin, Gimenez and Rodriguez all from Atletico Madrid in their squad but I would not read to much into that 2011 Copa America win, Brazil look significantly stronger now and have a new manager as do Argentina not to mention a not 100% fit Suarez being a huge blow for Uruguay.
The betting looks right with Brazil and Argentina looking the best squads on paper.

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.

Agree with you metaphor. A totally different pressure for the Brazil team at this WC compared to last summer's Confed Cup. I was surprised how well they played at the 2013 Confed Cup having been at the Olympic final at Wembley in 2012 & seeing Mexico largely outplay more or less the same Brazil team (at least all the U23s including the likes of Neymar) & deservedly go on to win the gold with a 2-1 victory. I think it's a very tricky group for Brazil as both Mexico & Croatia will be highly competitive.

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

A number of the Brazilian squad play in the best domestic league in the world ie Spain so its hard to imagine a supreme talent like Neymar being under any more pressure than he regularly deals with at Barcelona the same comment applies to Messi and Co for Argentina.
                                                                                                                         Since June 9th 2013 Brazil have beaten France 3-0, Mexico 2-0, Italy 4-2, Uruguay 2-1, Spain 3-0 and Portugal 3-1, if countries were not bothered about the confederations cup they would not turn up but the likes of Suarez, Xavi, Iniesta, Pirlo etc did turn up and Brazil put them in their place, it was a chance to sample the conditions and atmosphere they will encounter at the world cup, Brazils closest match was the 2-1 victory over Uruguay which was gained via a late winner from Paulinho, so lets hope Suarez doesn't fully recover in time for the match with England.
                                                                                                                                      Croatia's chances have been scuppered recently with a number of injuries ruling players out of their squad.

Interesting formatting.  Is that 4-4-2?

Its actually the 2-7-1 maybe a formation England might try against Uruguay

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

I don't think you can take much notice of the Olympics tournament. Spain finished bottom of their group without scoring a goal so I don't think you can take that much from it.

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)

Neymar is 22 years old and he's already scored 30 goals for Brazil, we have yet to see the best of this guy but he's already a very accomplished player.

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.

All about opinions but I like to back them with facts and when someone knocks you because they cannot accept what your saying but fail to produce something to back it up it kind of pi**es you off, I have put some facts about him there and will add to that I think Neymar is a bit special and we will likely see why Barcelona purchased him but there are also the likes of Messi and Ronaldo about so he will have to be a bit special to over shadow them.

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.

But wouldn't the stats tell you that Di Maria had lots of the ball. Assist for the goal. Lots of attaching plays and was MOM?

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

Neymar, quiet?....

At least someone said it. I have watched a LOT of Neymar this season and the overall end product from him has been mediocre at best.
In fact on many occasions you would look at him and say, yes, he has definitely played football before, he has looked that bad.

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.

Uruguay were very poor v a patched up Northern Ireland team tonight.

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

Uruguay have a team full of world class forwards....but have an average defence and midfield.

they got lucky in 2010.. expect them to get found out in 2014.

how can people have them down as winners when they only came 5th in South American qualifying... they only qualified coz they beat Jordan in the playoffs

both Spain and Brazil beat them in last years confed cup... plus Suarez could be injured..

etc etc.....

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.

They only made it to the 2010 WC courtesy of the play-offs. They certainly weren't lucky, bardo. They deserved their place in the last 4. Ghana were outplayed for long periods in the qf but the Beeb were desperate for Ghana to go through & were determined to portray them as unlucky when the last minute penalty would have been a complete mugging if Gyan had scored it. They have quality throghout their side. The S.American WC qualifying is the hardest, most competitive WC qualifying around. They're a proven tournament team. Referencing that 1-0 victory over N.Ireland last night as proof they are rubbish is a laughable statement given they have not lost a competitive match at home since October 2009. Sorry, too much straw-clutching on this thread. Obviously they would be weakened without Suarez but I expect him to be fit for the WC.

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..

As I said before
(1)the climate in Italy and the climate in Uruguay are much the same.  And the leagues do not play in summer.
(2)only 5 of the 23 man Uruguay WC squad play in South America, 2 of those 5 are goalkeepers, so 15 of 18 Uruguay outfield players don't play in South America.

Doesn't matter where they play, they're used to that climate in their genes...

Well aside from it likely being near 30 degrees for Englands first game things seem to be swinging their way a little Uruguay with Suarez and now Italy losing an attacking midfielder with over 50 international caps tonight with a broken leg.

Uruguay are a massive price

I believe they will be a stronger side than last world cup where semis were reached , added to fact their easiest game is their opener for a confidence boost

Same manager , settled side with players who have grown into europes top sides

36 is way too big

SuperHans, you can have lots of the ball but do nothing with it. I want to know the impact a player had on the game, not how many easy passes he completed.

247lol, you are putting a lot of eggs in one basket there son. You are hoping your theory about certain players saving themselves for the World Cup is true. Anyway, if that is the case and presumably it is known within football, why on earth did Barca buy a ridiculously expensive player like Neymar in a WC season with full knowledge that he will deliberately under perform to save himself? Tell me was Yaya Toure saving himself all season as well? How about Suarez and Sturridge? How about David Silva, Diego Costa and Sergio Ramos?

Or... just maybe, Neymar had a poor season because he couldn't get to grips with the higher standard of a top European League?

always makes me laugh when people use friendlies in their collateral form reading.

I could pick out any number of examples but here are just 2 - England and Italy.

England always win friendlies - but never perform in major tourneys.
Italy never win friendlies, but have a great WC record.

If Suarez is fit, Uruguay will do very well in this tourney.

Mmmm Neymar 22 playing for a team with a genuine chance of winning the world cup as compared to Toure 31 playing for Ivory Coast who have no chance of winning it, not thinking this out to well are you ? good thing I am here isn't it.
And as already said playing a world cup in your own country for any player is a massive deal and its not as if Barcelona massively under performed they were just pipped in the league with the champions league winners in 3rd and just pipped by Atletico Madrid in a champions league tie who had proved a very hard team to play against all season.

But you get the feeling that Neymar Aguero and Messi might have been reserving themselves a bit because they play for countries that have very good squads and genuine chances of winning the world cup if their players perform.

247lol, oh dear, I love how you choose one name that you think supports your argument and ignore the rest. What about Suarez, Sturridge, Costa, Ramos and Silva, were they saving themselves or not? Are you now going to tell me that Spain and Uruguay have no chance of winning this World Cup? If you do... see that dot on the horizon? Well, that's your credibility.

For the benefit of the mentally retarded and those that just cannot accept "the majority opinion" which is what I am generally agreeing with here is a vote by over 80,000 people worldwide conducted by MSN on who would win the world cup.

Brazil 29,921
Germany 11,901
Argentina 7,779
Spain 6,872
Mexico 5,355
Italy 2,267
Belgium 2,182
Holland 1,890
Columbia 1,753
Russia 1,560
Portugal 1,420
France 1,354
England 1,270
Uruguay 911

I have not put the lower ones in but as you can see the general public opinion would be that Uruguay do indeed have little chance of winning the world cup and Spain are thought by many people to not be quite up to previous standards after winning 2 European championships and a world cup hence the reason they are only 4th on the vote.
Now what was that about credibility ?

"Shovels for sale"

An MSN poll? This isn't X Factor, 247

Well I am sure if I googled other polls they would produce similar results, its an internet based poll does not matter if its MSN or FIFA still football supporters.

radio 2 listeners voted keane the best band of all time, majority votes like that mean f**k all. msn votes even less so

and i'm sure spain will just pack their bags and go home once they've found out that most housewives and 14 year old girls on msn don't reckon they will win the world cup...

My eyes were straightaway drawn to the 2,182 bandwagoners on Belgium. Then I noticed there wer 1,560 utter retards backing Russia.

Oh, and as for the 5,355 on Mexico, well they've certainly been sampling something else Mexican.

Suppose its all about opinions and whether as said it was msn or anywhere else there was still over 80,000 votes which although maybe quite meaningless is still a lot more relative than your own personal opinions and it was the largest collective vote I could find trying to prove a point another individual who obviously doesn't get out much and likes to be heard , so I am with you on the relavance but don't get to carried away with your own opinions without being able to back them up because it may end making you look quite stupid.

Mehhhh-ico

That MSN Poll is the most retarded thing I have ever seen... How on earth do Mexico have over 5,000 votes... Everyone is entitled to their opinion, there is no way I would discount Uruguay.

Doesn't matter where polls or done or who votes people with apparently little knowledge will always have opinions that differ but are they really as daft as you think as you think after all Greece and Denmark won European championships when apparently having no chance and lets face it the conditions will suit Mexico better than most teams, they're not my immediate fancies but someone once said "footballs a funny old game".

I find it surprising that nobody seems to be going for argentina,climate will suit,tradition to win  world cups,and messi a potential world cup hero.

Not sure this thread was started so people could put up Brazil/Argentina/Germany/Spain?
If you want to, start a thread.Maybe called "stating the bleeding obvious"

Lol Ok Uruguay will not win because Suarez won't be on his best form after the operation simple as that, England when looking like they may have a half decent midfield and attack may end up losing the fragile Wilshire and the impressive Oxlade Chamberlain in a mean nothing friendly, add to that England's most pathetic defensive performance I have ever seen and that's their chances disappearing rather rapidly, the Italians form is even more worrying than England's after 2 dire draws and losing an experienced midfieder through injury so one half looks like easy passages for Spain and Argentina to the 1/4 finals and the tougher half looks like Brazil, Germany and France progressing with the semi's likely to be Brazil v Germany or France and Argentina v Spain, then we will see some serious quality football.

now he's posting a poll

247lol accuses another of "doesn't get out much, likes to be heard" the words "pot, kettle and black" spring to mind

the fact you took the time to post that poll is hilarious - it's meaningless drivel of course but still hilarious

polls don't win world cups - it proves nothing except how desperate you are to bolster your incredibly weak argument

We do tend to get involved in other petty differences of opinion along the way but I think my last post just about sums up the current situation.

bottom line is the their best player has not kicked a ball in 3 weeks  - they are pretty average team without this guy and if he comes back  ....he wont be at his best...the surprise factor is gone from this team ...

i agree with you about suarez, having an operation is def not the ideal prep for a major tournament, but you never know he might surprise everyone by playing well. italy seemed to improve at the euro's with pirlo showing that he is absolutely top class. if you stop pirlo you stop italy, it seems simple enough. england look very poor defensively with johnson being the weakest link. i wouldn't have a liability like him in my side. england need to utilize the one strength they have in their side, pace. if they can do that they have a chance of progressing.

Uruguay wont be winning the world cup, maybe two years ago, but not with Uruguay's answer to Alex Bruce at the back

Brazil will rip them to bits in the qf if they get that far.

Ribery now out so will correct that semi final prediction to Brazil v Germany