2014 world cup
 

Well England wont win it
Brazil might
Spain might
Mexico wont
who do you think will?
I will be cheering for England.
Then I will be cheering for any team that plays Germany

As a fellow Englishman I sentiment the last two lines of your post. I think England might surprise - if they play on the break there is certainly enough speed in the team to cause serious damage to opponents in the expected heat.

In terms of their group for once I have no fear of Italy (drew with Luxembourg in Italy last week - Luxembourg!!!!) and Uruguay are poor at the back. I see progress from the group then it is knock-out all the way so anything is possible.

Had a dream last night - the final plays out thus Brazil 3 - Germany 0

Going to be a painfully tough tournament for me to watch though as my latest blog entry shows - "My World Cup lament":

http://fourpawsandatailphotos.org/20...ld-cup-lament/

Sorry for your loss. Clearly puts sport into perspective.


I look at the England team and find it difficult to see them progressing far in the tournament. That said, the lower level of expectation can only help them this time around. Here in London, there doesn't seem to be quite the same level of excitement as for previous World Cups.


As a neutral, it's interesting to see if Brazil can deal with the pressure of being hosts and exorcise the ghosts of 1950. It's an open tournament with both Spain and Germany having the potential to become the first European side to win the trophy outside of Europe.

So sad. I hope your wife is doing well.

Thank you for the kind words Ciaran!

I think England will struggle in defense. I'm a Liverpool fan and cannot see what Johnson offers apart from vulnerability (for club too). There is a chance England may get into some high scoring games - I think the firepower is good. At least the media aren't expecting a victory this time = so much less pressure on the players.

I'd suggest it is one from five teams that will win - Brazil, Spain, Germany, Argentina or Holland.

We'll see though!

Howard - thank you for the kind thoughts and consideration.

Hugo is our first child and we've been told there are risks to Mum's health from the HELLP Syndrome (it is basically pre-enclampsia on steroids to use a sports analogy) if we are to try again. Lots of counselling and support will be needed. We do feel blessed to have spent 5 weeks with our super little boy though. There are so many other babies in the cemetry that were stillborn - so sad.

I talk to Hugo's spirit and will fill him in on all the games!

Holland?? Now there is a wild card I never noticed, good call
On another note:
WHY DO DUTCHMEN WEAR WOODEN SHOES?
TO KEEP THE WOODPECKERS OFF THEIR HEAD!!

Kind of tired to always see the same powerhouse countries advance. It would be nice to have some Cinderella stories with an up n coming nation sneak into the round of 4.

Chile are my dark horse team. They have players in form and the climate is in their favour too.

My nation is Northern Ireland and, whilst we never made it through to the last 4, I grew up as a child with fantastic memories of our time in the 1982 and 1986 World Cup finals - in particular, our 1-0 victory against hosts Spain in the 1982 finals. I was just approaching 7 at the time but the game will forever be in my mind.

As a very small nation, undergoing civil strife, we were the cinderella story that year.

I was back at my family home last weekend and came across my Northern Ireland - World Cup Mexico 1986 scarf. I brought it back to London with me and it will accompany me to my next international game (Hungary vs Northern Ireland in Budapest in September).

Not sure who the cinderella team will be in Brazil.